I was asked about "PowerPoint" Presentations and stuff and so I suppose I should give some links where they can be found. I have generally stopped filling up this website with files. Slideshare. (I don't really add anything new to Slideshare since they were bought by Scribd, but there are a fair bit of older …
Month: January 2025
862AD 1st Millennium Missions History. Holy Language
I am not an expert on Cyril and Methodius, so I feel like whatever I say here would be based on knowledge too thin to be of value. However, I chose 862 since that was the year that the brothers Cyril (ca 826-869AD) and Methodius (ca 815--885AD) were asked to evangelize the Slavs. The brothers …
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Reflecting on Myself and Christian Missions Education
I just finished reading a book on teaching missions. The book is "Equipping for Global Mission: Theological and Missiological Proposals and Case Studies." It is edited by Laura P Saunders, Gregory Mathias, and Edward L. Smithers. It is published by William Carey Publishing in 2024. This is not a review of the book (though I …
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782AD 1st Millennium Missions History. Interfaith Dialogue
Patriarch Timothy I lived from around 740AD to 823AD. For a little over half of his life he served as Patriarch of the Church of the East (780 - 823). Supposedly, in 782 he had a discussion of religion with Caliph Al-Mahdi (reigning 775-785). In some ways this appears to be the earliest (or at …
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776AD 1st Millennium Missions History. Start of “The Cross or the Sword”?
Many years ago I read a book, "The History of Anti-Semitism" by Leon Poliakov. Actually, I only read Volume 2 because that was the only one for which I had a copy. (The book is available in digital form at http://www.archive.org.) It is rather disheartening that the topic of anti-semitism would need to have multiple …
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754AD 1st Millennium Missions History. Death of Boniface
In 754 AD, St. Boniface died. He was killed by Frisian robbers. I must admit that, although there is much to commend him in terms of missional fervor and even in terms of innovation (such as supporting women serving in a missionary capacity), I find him rather unlikable. The main thing is his active support …
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Quote on Missionary “Authority”
When we consider the missionary task, one potential danger (which happened so often during the colonial days and still happens in some areas today) is that the recipients of the gospel elevate the missionary, the missionary's culture, or even the missionary's theology to an exalted status. Because the missionary is often sent from a place …
635AD 1st Millennium Missions History. Moving East
Christian Missions in the 4th and 5th centuries seemed to grind to a halt. If I remember right, Patrick Johnstone described this period as the "First Stagnation." PERHAPS that is the "triple whammy" one gets from Christianity becoming a state religion. #1. There is the temptation to see the faith as an "Ethnic Religion"--- seeing …
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369AD 1st Millennium Missions History. Inspiring But Different
369AD was the approximate date of the completion of the translation of the Bible into the language of the Goths--- a Germanic Language. This was completed before the Vulgate Latin translation (although Latin translation did occur before this). The Gothic Bible exists before the Armenian translation. That is kind of amazing considering that Armenia was …
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Reflections on “Intentionally Blank”
Long long ago, I was in the US Navy. I attended Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. For our PT (physical training--- exercise activities) we would wear a tee shirt that was based on what company we were in. I was in "Alfa Company" and had a logo on the front that had the …