I have often liked to surprise people by saying that Missionaries (or Cross-cultural ministers if you prefer) are FLEXIBLE and WILLING, but not particularly SPIRITUAL. And I upon reflection, I think most people kind of get what I mean by that. However spirituality is visualized in a faith tradition, missionaries within that faith tradition tend …
Month: May 2024
Book Review: “Strange Religion” by Nijay Gupta
I had never heard of this book, nor its author until he was on the Preston Sprinkle's podcast "Theology in the Raw" (Episode 1170). They were talking about Nijay's new book, "Strange Religion: How the First Christians were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling." I have always wanted to gain a clearer understanding of the early church. …
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The Gospel of Hosea
When we speak of the Gospels (Good News) we speak of the four Evanglists--- the stories of Jesus by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But the Good News is presented in other ways as well. The 2nd chapter of Acts is a great example of this. Some describe the Parable of the Prodigal Son (probably …
Struggling with that Whole Decolonizing of Anthropology Thing
In a previous post I said I was going to read up more on "decolonization" as it pertains to anthropology, as it is considered a pretty important trend right now. I did some reading... but I kept bumping up against two issues. Issue #1. I kept reading takes on decolonizing anthropology related to racism that …
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Learning in Four Dimensions
The following is a presentation that I did years ago for learning cognitively, affectively, behaviorally, and spiritually. It is loosely based on Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning. Although it is old, I still don't have too much of a desire to update it. I think it is still pretty valid. A major concern I have is …
God as a Corrupt Judge?
One of my favorite parables of Jesus is the Parable of the Unrighteous Judge... or the Unjust Judge... or the Persistent Widow. I prefer, "The Parable of the Corrupt Judge." It is in the Gospel of Luke 18:1-8. Below is the NIV translation of the passage. Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show …
Is Prayer Needed in Missions? Reflecting on the Unrighteous Judge
Is prayer needed in missions? I truly believe that it is needed. But I must admit that I am not sure in what ways it does. Let me suggest a few possibilities. #1. Prayer is needed in missions because God will not bless unless he gets enough prayers to do so. This sounds rather dubious …
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Does Video Communication and the Internet Make International Missions Unnecessary?
Most real-world "Yes/No" questions have three good answers (in my view): Yes, but... No, but... I don't know, but here are some of my thoughts... For the question above, the correct answer is "No, but..." and that answers fills out into 'No, but it is a helpful tool." Here are a few points in this. …
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Reflections on Sci-fi Aliens and the Incarnation (Part 3)
This is the final part of a three-part series. to start earlier, you can go to PART ONE or PART TWO. Those of the Abrahamic Faiths have often struggled in their visualization of God. I will not pretend to have expertise of other faiths (including my own). With the Abrahamic Faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) …
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Reflections on Sci-fi Aliens and the Incarnation (Part Two)
If you missed Part One. you can CLICK HERE. I have been slow in getting to the Incarnation of Christ, but I will delay it a bit longer. Consider a change of perspective. If you were a being visiting an alien world full of... well... aliens, how would you want to present yourself. You have …
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