"Bernard Ramm helped lead the way in this theoretical experiment when he made two claims in his classic The Christian View of Science and Scripture. These theorems influenced generations of exegetes, including today’s. They include: “Training in logic and science forms excellent background for exegesis. . . . Systematic teaching of Scripture is the Scriptures’ final intention.” <Steffen, …
Continue reading Is Logic and Science the Best Background for Bible Interpretation?
I am going to be talking about sympathizing with people who are going through religious or moral crises that I cannot fully relate to. There are many other parallels that relate to gender, race, nationality, and more. These others are important... perhaps more important. But I am teaching a class in inter-religious dialogue right now …
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(These are my own reflection on a topic that is not my specialty. But since it is quite possible that I don't have a specialty, this seems all right. I may change my mind in a year or two.) I was raised up in an Evangelical or perhaps Fundamentalist Church. There I learned that the …
I have been reading "Character Theology: Engaging God Through His Cast of Characters," by Tom Steffen and Ray Neu. I hope to have a review done in a couple of weeks. However, I was reading a passage that got me thinking: "Recall Charles Hodge’s perspective that the Bible is a “store-house of facts” and “the …
Continue reading What is the Best Way to Teach Theology in Church?
I preached a sermon, "It's Okay to STruggle." It is inspired by a chapter in a book by Federico Villanueva "It's OK to Be Not Ok: Preaching the Lament Psalms." I like to preach the somewhat "Downer" sermons--- sermons on struggling, suffering, and sorrowing. I thank there is great power in these types of sermons …
"Regarding the content of the Christian gospel, the gospel story of Jesus occupies the central place, but students should be instructed to avoid majoring on one phase of Jesus’ earthly life only, as often seen in Western preaching. Often, liberal churches in the West major on the life of Jesus, while conservative churches often major …
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I have been reading "The Global Gospel: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World" by Werner Mischke (Mission One, 2015). I have found it to be a valuable book. It seems to have two primary inter-related thrusts. The first is to recognize that the Gospel very much is tied to Honor/Shame cultures in terms of …
Continue reading Brief Book Review: “The Global Gospel” by Werner Mischke
The following is the first part of an article I wrote for a class I took on teaching in orality cultures. The title is "Biblical Commentary as Story: Is There a Place for Aggadic Midrash in Oral Cultures?" Stories have many purposes in their religious communities. Much of Scripture is in the form of story. Bruce …
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I have been reading "The Global Gospel-- Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World" by Werner Mischke. I still have a long ways to go (I think I am around 1/3 done), but I want to share a diagram from the book. It is in Section 2.7 (I am Kindle-ing it, so I don't have …
In recent years, especially in Christian missions at least, there has been a transition of view regarding divine calling. Traditionally, many mission organizations and churches expected a missions candidate to describe a clear, unambiguous call to ministry. Gary Friesen (in his book, "Decision Making and the Will of God") spoke of the challenge of entering …
Continue reading Is Ministerial Calling a Path, a Destination, or a Vocation?