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?
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.
Four hundred years with the King James Bible? But I’d thought it was written by the Apostle Paul!
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!
WASHINGTON (RNS) For the third time in three years, President Obama’s proposed budget tightens limits on tax deductions for high-end charitable donors.
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.
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Supreme Court has chosen not to reexamine its decision to strike down displays of the Ten Commandments in two Kentucky courthouses.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
by Eugene Peterson
HarperCollins, New York. 336 pages.
When asked what he liked most about being a pastor, Eugene Peterson responded, “the mess.”
Reviews by Roy W. Howard
Outside Looking In:
Adventures of an Observer
Viking Penguin. 195 pages.
INDIANAPOLIS
What comes next for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)?
I can tell you “Six Surefire Ways to Grow Your Church.” But they will come to naught unless you start with a seventh.
Have you ever awakened in a strange place and had no memory of how you got there?
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.
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.
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.
LOUISVILLE – Both the Ghost Ranch and Stony Point conference centers continue to lose money.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (General Assembly Mission Council) Remember the spring of 2001?
The Synod of the Pacific Permanent Judicial Commission has upheld a lower church court’s ruling that Janie Spahr, a minister from California, violated the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) when she performed same-gender weddings in 2008.
The Presbyterian World Mission ministry area has been in contact with partner
organizations and churches and with all its mission workers in Japan.
since the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
LOUISVILLE – The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is in a “hinge time” of questions,
anxiety and excitement, said Cynthia Bolbach, moderator of the 219th General Assembly.
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