As an Evangelical Christian, I tend to take a rather dim view of the movement to discover the “Jesus of History” at least as it supposedly differs from the “Jesus of Faith.” Many who are part of the search for the “Historic Jesus” have presuppositions that I would not accept: Philosophical Naturalism... …
Month: May 2013
Missions History and Hydroponic Christians
I will be teaching Missions History at seminary (PBTS) and Cultural Anthropology at ABGTS this upcoming term. I like both subjects... but I have a special love for Missions History. I taught the class once before and it was one of my two least successful teaching efforts (the other being "Perspectives on the World Christian …
“Prophecy” and a Confession, of Sorts
I was talking to my son about a logical glitch I have in a couple of my blog posts from a few months ago. He suggested that, instead of fixing them, I put a blog post about them. In one post, I was complaining about a self-styled "prophet" from America, who had made a "prophecy" …
Oh My Pop-Culture Jesus: Knows Two Gods, Still a Christian
I think this article completes my collection on "Doing Missions in the Marvel Universe."
Doing Missions in the Marvel Universe. Part III
I realize that Part II, I sort of "shot my wad" in that I essentially said that doing missions in today's culture is like doing missions in the Marvel Universe, since the today's culture is like the Marvel Universe culture. The loop is kind of closed leaving little room for more than expounding further on …
Continue reading Doing Missions in the Marvel Universe. Part III
Doing Missions in the Marvel Universe, Part II
I. First, the Marvel Universe fits the Worldview (or Zeitgeist if you prefer) of those around us. David A. Zimmerman wrote "Comic Book Character" that looks at character and morality from comic books. In chapter 7, he compares the DC Universe and the Marvel Universe. The DC Universe, particularly its classic version as seen in …
Continue reading Doing Missions in the Marvel Universe, Part II
Doing Missions in the Marvel Universe. Part I
I used to be a comic book collector. I still have hundreds of comics stuffed away back in the US. I tended to collect mostly Marvel Comics, although far from exclusively. Part of this was that I found it easier to relate to many of the characters, such as Peter Parker, or many of the …
Continue reading Doing Missions in the Marvel Universe. Part I
“Sorry. That is Not My Gifting…”– Is lacking a “spiritual gift” really a good excuse?
We just finished Vacation Bible School Week 1 at our church here in the Philippines. Celia, my wife, is the primary organizer, working with the WMU (Women's Missionary Union) and Youth in holding VBS. We did one in a community on the other side of the mountain, and next week we will do one at …
Challenges to Church-Initiated Community Development in the Philippines
<div style="margin-bottom:5px"> <strong> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/bmunson3/challenges-in-doing-churchinitiated-christian-development-in-the-philippines" title="Challenges in Doing Church-Initiated Christian Development in the Philippines " target="_blank">Challenges in Doing Church-Initiated Christian Development in the Philippines </a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/bmunson3" target="_blank">Bob Munson</a></strong> </div> I was originally thinking about doing my dissertation on this topic. Then I realized that there were so few churches in the Philippines …
Continue reading Challenges to Church-Initiated Community Development in the Philippines
Making Good Stories that Teach.
I have talked a bit before about stories that have a mythic or parabolic function. I feel that it is more useful to define myths and parables in terms of their function within a specific culture rather than their structure. If a story is resonant with a specific culture and challenges beliefs or assumptions in …