In our midst: The moderator’s April column
LOUISVILLE (OGA) — This month’s column by the Moderator is a video podcast available at www.youtube.com/gradyeparsons. Below is the transcript.
More Stories from this Author
Five new church developments receive $40,000 each to further Presbyterian mission in their communities
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (General Assembly Mission Council) Five new church
developments have been named winners of the 2011 Sam and Helen R. Walton
Awards. Each recipient church ministry will receive $40,000.
Sometimes change can be messy
PHOENIX
Sometimes change can be messy and chaotic, and the Big Tent Christianity Conference in Phoenix Feb. 10-11 was a bit of both.
King’s Bible, king’s speech
Back to the Book(s): KJV at 400: Life is the Bible. The rest is just commentary.
One need not exaggerate to claim that the publication of the King James Bible 400 years ago has influenced the English-speaking world more than all the millions of other books published before and after.
On leaving the King James version
Reading news about preparations under way to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible prompted poignant memories from my own past.
Should the Dead Sea Scrolls be recommended reading?
The late William Albright, generally regarded as one of the deans of Old Testament archaeology, described the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) as “the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times.” For most Christians, that might seem a bit of a stretch. After all, if the scrolls are so extraordinary, why don't they have something important to say not just to academics like Albright but to people in the pews?
Creationism is not even good theology
Scientists generally say that creationism/intelligent design is not good science. As a scientist who also claims to be a Christian, I also say that creationism is not even good theology.
KJV@400
Four hundred years with the King James Bible? But I’d thought it was written by the Apostle Paul!
World Vision wins on Jeopardy
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. (ABP) A Christian relief organization won big in a man-versus-machine contest pitting a computer against two human champions on the TV game show Jeopardy!
Religious groups fight for tax deductions
WASHINGTON (RNS) For the third time in three years, President Obama’s proposed budget tightens limits on tax deductions for high-end charitable donors.
WCC pressed to develop new policy on gender justice
GENEVA (ENI) During its meeting here, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee passed judgment on the ecumenical movement’s progress on gender justice: too little.
Supreme Court rejects 10 Commandments case
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Supreme Court has chosen not to reexamine its decision to strike down displays of the Ten Commandments in two Kentucky courthouses.
Judge rejects Christians’ health care suit
WASHINGTON (RNS) A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by five Christians who argue that President Obama’s health care overhaul violates their religious freedom.
Allah: A Christian Response
by Miroslav Volf
New York: HarperOne, March 2011. Hardcover, 336 pp., $25.99.
ISBN 978-0-06-192707-2
reviewed by Douglas A. Hicks
It is hard to imagine a more timely topic than Christians’ and Muslims’ understandings of one another and of God. It is equally difficult to identify a Christian theologian better situated than Miroslav Volf to tackle the questions he raises. In brief, this book deserves all of its hype, and I recommend it heartily to every pastor, theologian, layperson, and citizen who reads the Outlook.
The Difference Heaven Makes: Rehearing the Gospel as News
by Christopher Morse
New York: T & T Clark 2010. 145 pages.
reviewed by CURRIE BURRIS
Most of us carry around in our minds either an image of heaven shaped by popular culture, pictures, images, stories or movies, or an image shaped by the modern scientific world view in which heaven is nowhere to be found. We either imagine a heaven filled with clouds, harp-playing angels and golden mansions somewhere up in the sky, or we find the notion of that kind of heaven wholly at odds with the real world.
What’s the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian: A Guide To What Matters Most
by Martin Thielen
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. 156 pages.
reviewed by JEFF KREHBIEL
I remember speaking with a young man from a fundamentalist background who was trying to understand my faith as a liberal mainline Christian.
To Be Reformed: Living the Tradition
by Joseph D. Small
Louisville: Witherspoon Press. 157 pages.
reviewed by MARTHA MOORE-KEISH
For years, Joe Small has provided Presbyterian and Reformed Christians wise interpretation of the Reformed tradition for an ecumenically diverse and increasingly post-denominational world. His most recent volume is a significant reworking of God and Ourselves: A Brief Exercise in Reformed Theology (1996).
The Pastor: A Memoir
by Eugene Peterson
HarperCollins, New York. 336 pages.
When asked what he liked most about being a pastor, Eugene Peterson responded, “the mess.”
Briefly Noted
Reviews by Roy W. Howard
Outside Looking In:
Adventures of an Observer
Viking Penguin. 195 pages.
Conferees seek ways to vivify church; That seems blander than a toasted bagel
INDIANAPOLIS
What comes next for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)?
Stop fighting
I can tell you “Six Surefire Ways to Grow Your Church.” But they will come to naught unless you start with a seventh.
Source Code
Have you ever awakened in a strange place and had no memory of how you got there?
Insidious
The truth is many sincere, devout, well-meaning Christians who think of themselves
as post-Enlightenment consider the devil to be a concept in Scripture that needs
interpreting in its cultural context.
GAMC meeting slated for Seoul; complications beset Big Tent plan
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, the General Assembly Mission Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will hold its September 2012 meeting in Seoul, South Korea.
Commission opens door to ideas on changing church governance
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The General Assembly Commission on Middle Governing Bodies is inviting all Presbyterians – and that means everyone – to give it feedback on ways to creatively structure the work of presbyteries and synods.