Film in review: “In the Land of Blood and Honey”
The battle for Bosnia was the bloodiest combat since World War II, but it did not raise our national awareness like, say, the Gulf War.
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Film in review: “Contraband”
We feel for Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg). In his younger years, he led a life of crime, but somehow he has been able to get out of “the life” and go straight, without anybody coming after him, either the law or his former cohorts. His successors in the international smuggling business have apparently felt no need to eliminate him as a potential informant.
Film in review: “Carnage”
Originally titled, in French, “The God of Carnage,” and written as a play, this one definitely looks staged, and definitely worships chaos.
In Israel, Christian population has lowest growth rate
Jerusalem (ENInews) Christians have the lowest growth rate among
religious groups within the Israeli population, according to an Israeli
Central Bureau of Statistics report released Jan. 6.
Eight church elders urge congregations to rethink plans to leave the PC(USA)
Eight Presbyterians, including Cynthia Bolbach and Landon Whitsitt, the moderator and vice-moderator of the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), have issued a letter and video expressing their hope in the future of the denomination.
Essential tenets, an alternative proposal
The quaint expression, “essential tenets,” comes from the 18th century-bred subscription vow for Presbyterian officers: “Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God?”
Egyptian Christian leaders consider dialogue with Islamic groups
(ENI) Christian leaders in Egypt are meeting to discuss
opening a dialogue with Islamic groups as a way of addressing sectarian
violence.
Report names 50 worst countries for Christian persecution
(ENI) The international Christian organization Open Doors
released its annual World Watch List this week, naming the 50 countries
where it says Christians face the worst persecution. For the first time in
the 20 years that the list has been compiled, the situation for Christians
did not improve in any country, Open Doors said.
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Here I stand if only
Here I stand; I can do no other.” I’ve heard those words more times than I can recall — mostly from pastors who were drawing a line in the sand and separating themselves either from a rival faction in the congregation or from their denomination of affiliation or both. However, many of those pastors ultimately sounded a different refrain: “If only I’d known what would have resulted, I never would have started this.”
Religious, political leaders call for AIDS-free generation
WASHINGTON (RNS)
A star-studded array of political and religious leaders — from President Obama to rock legend Bono to AIDS activist Kay Warren — came together Dec. 1 for World AIDS Day to call for an entirely AIDS-free generation by 2015.
Luther’s hammer blows still echo in religion, language, education, music
Martin Luther’s footsteps are all over Germany — where he preached, prayed and inspired people to think about God in a new way.
The hand of the past lies heavy on everyday life in Germany
Travel in Germany and the phrase “in former times” becomes almost a refrain. It can mean, depending on the context, during World War II, during the Communist era that divided the country for more than 40 years, during the Nazi regime which so scarred the country, or during an even longer stretch of history leading back to medieval times.
Gutenberg made possible the Luther Bible’s impact
Once upon a time, in the 1600s, Martin Luther was a best-selling author in Europe. And his rise in popularity was connected to a technological revolution of the time: Johannes Gutenberg’s development of the printing press.
To the tech-averse: get over it
A pastor whom I admire recently scoffed at technology. A not-for-profit agency director did the same, saying especially that she was determined to avoid Facebook.
Nature as Spiritual Practice
Nature as Spiritual Practice
by Steven Chase
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmanns. 286 pages
reviewed by SARAH SCHERSCHLIGT
On a morning walk, I caught sight of a bird circling over a pond. I was awestruck to witness it plummet into the pond and emerge with a catch.
Will There Be Faith? A New Vision for Educating and Growing Disciples
Will There Be Faith? A New Vision for Educating and Growing Disciples
by Thomas H. Groome
New York: Harper Collins. 384 pages
reviewed by JAMES F. CUBIE
Thomas Groome is a wise practical theologian who has written a superb book on how to do educational ministry that gives both a compelling, systematic vision of the theology that should support any practical effort to educate and grow disciples, and leads its reader through a series of personal and communal questions that relate directly to how a church operates day-to-day.
TOP 10 Presbyterian stories from 2011
Exactly how Presbyterians would rank the top news of 2011 in the denomination, and how they would characterize what happened, will depend on their perspective. Here’s an effort to recap some of the biggest developments of the year. Feel free to make your own list.
Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good
Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good
by Amy L. Sherman
InterVarsity Press Books, 272 pages
reviewed by JANICE HORTON
This book hits the spot. The “Vocational Sweet Spot” that is. Defined by Amy Sherman as “that place where our gifts and passions intersect with God’s priorities and the world’s needs,” it’s the place Christians ought to be aiming for when they consider their life’s work.
Indigenous Christianity in Madagascar
Indigenous Christianity in Madagascar
by Cynthia Holder Rich
Peter Lang Publishing, 188 pages
reviewed by JOELA RANAIVO
Cynthia Holder Rich provides a volume with a huge historical and informative value, tracing the Fifohazana, a spiritual revival movement in Madagascar, from its genesis in the late 19th century until now.
Life is what happens while you are planning it
On New Year’s Day people often write annual resolutions and promise to make positive changes in their lives. Obviously it is impossible to be productive as individuals or a church in the months ahead without careful planning.
It’s true: American Protestant congregations continue decline
For mainline Protestant denominations, it is not good news.
The once and present church
In 1991, Loren Mead wrote “The Once and Future Church,” a book about the future of ministry.
What in the church is a council?
Here I will confess, if that’s the appropriate word, I myself am a lapsed Presbyterian. It’s the diction that did it, finally, the worn-thin, shabby, church-poor words, so overused they connote to me a poverty of spirit, not the richness of it.
— E.L. Doctorow, The Waterworks
Seeking firm footing amid shifting sands
Louisville, KY.
Doing ministry in a time of “shifting sands” has become the reality of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).
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