Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture; An Agrarian Reading of the Bible
Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture; An Agrarian Reading of the Bible by Ellen F. Davis
Cambridge University Press, 2009. Pb., 252 pp. $23.99.
reviewed by Steve Willis
More Stories from this Author
Polish Catholic publisher defends Holocaust book
WARSAW (ENInews) – Poland's largest Roman Catholic publishing house has defended its decision to issue a controversial book, which accuses Poles of profiting from the Holocaust by betraying Jews to the Nazis and stealing their possessions.
Flight of Iraqi Christians cannot dim churches’ witness, leaders say
GENEVA (ENInews) – U.S. troop withdrawals notwithstanding, Iraqi Christians continue to flee because their safety cannot be guaranteed, and there is little hope their lives will improve soon, six Iraqi church leaders said Feb. 18 during the meeting of the World Council of Churches Central Committee.
WCC explores how to adapt to changing religious world
GENEVA (ENInews) – The World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee on Feb. 17 took a hard look at whether it can adapt quickly enough to rapidly changing ecumenical and interreligious realities. If it cannot, one delegate noted, fixation on governance and institutional survival may "suck the life out of the ecumenical movement."
An Appeal for the Word
Re., the vote to delete G-6.0106b from the Book of Order: “This vote will determine whether as a church we will continue..
An Appeal for the Word
Presbyteries are voting on many amendments. I’m writing about Amendment ‘A’ which would delete G-6.0106b from our Book of Order. For almost fifteen years this paragraph has clarified that we Presbyterians believe what the Christian church has always believed, namely, that God’s intention for us humans is “to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or [in] chastity in singleness.”
A Response to a Letter from Dr. Aubrey Brown, Editor of the Presbyterian Outlook, fifty years later
(In December 1961, two students from the Belgian Congo studying at Union Seminary in Richmond, Va., attended the three-week pilot project called Christmas International House (CIH) at the Westminster Fellowship House at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., where I was Presbyterian Campus Minister.
Response to the pastors’ letter to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Many of you have read and are discussing the letter from the 45 pastors of mostly larger churches of a more conservative inclination. In the letter they claim that “to say the PCUSA is deathly ill is not editorializing,” and then proceed to propose a remedy for the church’s ills.
Polity experts say church governance should take a back seat to core beliefs
ORLANDO, Fla. (Presbyterian News Service) – Institutional questions around polity and governance are secondary to questions around identity and mission, two middle governing body executives who are polity experts told the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Middle Governing Body Commission at its second meeting here Feb. 3-5.
San Francisco Seminary closes southern campus Trustees cite budget woes at program in Pasadena
SAN ANSELMO, Calif. – In a surprise announcement at its Feb. 8 meeting here, San Francisco Theological Seminary’s Board of Trustees said it is closing the seminary’s Southern California campus in Pasadena by June 30.
View the latest webinar: The Business of the Church
Ufford-Chase: Paul stood with those excluded from the earthly empire of wealth and power
ALBUQUERQUE – In his younger years, Rick Ufford-Chase had a rocky relationship with the Apostle Paul. He bristled at some of what Paul had to say, finding him racist, sexist and opposed to gays and lesbians. “Mostly, I gave up,” preferring not to argue with those who saw Paul differently because, “frankly, I didn’t want to fight about it,” Ufford-Chase said recently.
When the church and culture collide Denominations discuss role of church in culture at APCE panel
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –Attendees from the five partner denominations of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators annual event dined together here Feb. 3 and discussed diversity, media consumption, use of technology and their churches’ recent handling of cultural issues.
Jean Southard conviction for performing same-sex marriage overturned by PC(USA)’s top court
A minister from Boston did not violate the Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or her ordination vows when she married two women from her congregation, the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC) has ruled. The wedding took place in Massachusetts – one of a handful of states that has legalized same-gender marriages.
Pastors issue clarification letter
The pastors who on Feb. 2 issued a controversial letter declaring the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) saying the denomination is “deathly ill” and needs to be “radically transformed” have now issued a letter of clarification.
Tribes
Tribes are good. Whether we speak of them literally – like Cherokee and Navajo – or figuratively – like family, prayer group, congregation, labor union, alumni club, softball team, or political party – they provide us circles of friendship, of belonging, of learning. Tribes teach community values and reinforce them via tribal rituals.
More religious = more healthy
(rNS) — Americans who are “very religious” are more likely to practice healthy behaviors than those who are less religious, a Gallup survey shows.
Minister housing break in jeopardy
The parsonage (or manse) allowance may soon disappear from ministers’ tax breaks, and the financial implications for clergy will be huge. Church legal expert Richard Hammar reports in the January 2011, edition of Church Law and Tax Report that a California court case threatens to eliminate the parsonage exemption tax break that dates to 1954.
God Box in New York more diverse at age 50
NEW YORK (ENI) — The 19-story granite building on Manhattan’s upper west side, often referred to as the “God Box,” is 50 years old. New York’s Interchurch Center, one of the most visible symbols of Christian ecumenism in the United States, is marking its 50th anniversary as the modern ecumenical movement for Christian unity is celebrating its 100th.
Pope condemns killing outside Egyptian church
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Benedict XVI denounced the “vile and murderous” New Year's Day killing of 21 Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, but was rebuked by Egypt’s top Muslim cleric for an “unacceptable interference in Egypt's affairs.”
World ending May 21, Christian group claims
A Christian broadcaster Harold Camping says the rapture is coming on May 21. A movement of his followers, loosely connected via broadcasts and Web sites, is purchasing billboards, handing out leaflets on street corners, and spreading the word in the two-thirds world to draw many to the faith before that fateful day arrives.
Chinese church officials see unity behind growth
GENEVA (WCC) — Unity among Chinese Protestants is an important factor in the rapid growth of the church in China, Kan Baoping, the general secretary of the China Christian Council, said during a recent visit to the Ecumenical Centre here.
Tribes. Us. Them.
In the ancient Middle East, about a dozen days after the first Christmas (as tradition numbers the days), the gospel broke down an historic tribal barrier as Persians worshiped the Son of Israel’s God.
The end of a congregation — and beyond
Often, Presbyterians want to hear “good news” stories – stories of churches that grow and flourish, or of struggling churches transformed.
Torture: Tribalism in extremis
We are confronted with the now inescapable evidence that our country has been involved in torture in the prosecution of the so-called War on Terror.