Albert Durer's Visual Exegesis

Home > 2008 > August (Web-Only)
Christianity Today, August (Web-Only), 2008
Slideshow
Albrecht Dürer's Visual Exegesis
The Museum of Biblical Art showcases the artist's work and the apocalyptic concerns of Renaissance-era Germany.
Compiled by Susan Wunderink posted 8/28/2008 11:17AM



see slideshow here

Albert Durer's Visual Exegesis

Home > 2008 > August (Web-Only)
Christianity Today, August (Web-Only), 2008
Slideshow
Albrecht Dürer's Visual Exegesis
The Museum of Biblical Art showcases the artist's work and the apocalyptic concerns of Renaissance-era Germany.
Compiled by Susan Wunderink posted 8/28/2008 11:17AM



see slideshow here

Wing Beneath My Wings by IK

Wind Beneath My Wings - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Wing Beneath My Wings by IK

Wind Beneath My Wings - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

The Dark Knight Revisited

Like Dent, Batman ends the film as a villain, at least in the eyes of Gotham. Gordon and Batman agree that the public cannot know that their hero, Dent, became evil. So they blame the city's descent into chaos on Batman. Only he and Gordon's family know the secret: Gotham will pursue Batman, but he is actually their dark knight. In order to defeat the city's villains, he must become one of them. Only dark can overcome dark.

This is a view critics sometimes ascribe to the Old Testament, filled with stories of God's people destroying God's enemies — men, women, and children. Like Batman, Samson excelled in hand-to-hand combat. He needed only the jawbone of a donkey to kill 1,000 Philistines (Judges 15:15-16).

read more

The Dark Knight Revisited

Like Dent, Batman ends the film as a villain, at least in the eyes of Gotham. Gordon and Batman agree that the public cannot know that their hero, Dent, became evil. So they blame the city's descent into chaos on Batman. Only he and Gordon's family know the secret: Gotham will pursue Batman, but he is actually their dark knight. In order to defeat the city's villains, he must become one of them. Only dark can overcome dark.

This is a view critics sometimes ascribe to the Old Testament, filled with stories of God's people destroying God's enemies — men, women, and children. Like Batman, Samson excelled in hand-to-hand combat. He needed only the jawbone of a donkey to kill 1,000 Philistines (Judges 15:15-16).

read more

Jesus for President

Amid all the buzz of politics and elections, Jesus for President is a refreshing reminder that our ultimate hope lies not in partisan political options but in the Jesus who gave his life for us. Politics for ordinary radicals who want to love the world into the kingdom of God.

Jesus for President is a radical manifesto to awaken the Christian political imagination, reminding us that our ultimate hope lies not in partisan political options but in Jesus and the incarnation of the peculiar politic of the church as a people “set apart” from this world.

A fresh look at Christianity and empire, Jesus for President transcends questions of “Should I vote or not?” and “Which candidate?” by thinking creatively about the fundamental issues of faith and allegiance. It’s written for those who seek to follow Jesus, rediscover the spirit of the early church, and incarnate the kingdom of God.

Book description from Zondervan

Jesus for President

Amid all the buzz of politics and elections, Jesus for President is a refreshing reminder that our ultimate hope lies not in partisan political options but in the Jesus who gave his life for us. Politics for ordinary radicals who want to love the world into the kingdom of God.

Jesus for President is a radical manifesto to awaken the Christian political imagination, reminding us that our ultimate hope lies not in partisan political options but in Jesus and the incarnation of the peculiar politic of the church as a people “set apart” from this world.

A fresh look at Christianity and empire, Jesus for President transcends questions of “Should I vote or not?” and “Which candidate?” by thinking creatively about the fundamental issues of faith and allegiance. It’s written for those who seek to follow Jesus, rediscover the spirit of the early church, and incarnate the kingdom of God.

Book description from Zondervan

Top 15 Finds in Archaeology

Top Fifteen Finds from Biblical Archaeology

Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., is President and Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary published in CONTACT (Winter 2005/2006)
It is difficult to reduce several hundred rather major archaeological finds to a mere 15 that top the list. Indeed, Michael D. Coogan attempted to list the "10 Great Finds" in the 20th anniversary issue of the magazine Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR, vol. 21.3, May-June 1995, pp 36-47). Some of my top picks will coincide with his, but all 15 will be listed here because of the way each has affected the interpretation of Scripture. With some attention to their importance, I will list the 15 in order of greatest significance.

read more

.

Top 15 Finds in Archaeology

Top Fifteen Finds from Biblical Archaeology

Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., is President and Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary published in CONTACT (Winter 2005/2006)
It is difficult to reduce several hundred rather major archaeological finds to a mere 15 that top the list. Indeed, Michael D. Coogan attempted to list the "10 Great Finds" in the 20th anniversary issue of the magazine Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR, vol. 21.3, May-June 1995, pp 36-47). Some of my top picks will coincide with his, but all 15 will be listed here because of the way each has affected the interpretation of Scripture. With some attention to their importance, I will list the 15 in order of greatest significance.

read more

.

Augustine's Thinking Faith

Anthony Meredith SJ of Thinking Faith explores the life and works of the man who left a great legacy to the Church in the form of his seminal writings and the theological vision he expressed in them.

At the centre of Augustine’s attempts to understand the divine nature is the central thought that God is beyond the range of the human mind. In a famous sermon [52], he writes ’If you think you have grasped him, it is not God you have grasped’ - si comprehendis non est Deus. Yet, while always recognising the inevitable mystery of God. Augustine does not let the limitations of the human mind deter him from his pursuit of a greater understanding of God, and there are many examples of this.

read more

Augustine's Thinking Faith

Anthony Meredith SJ of Thinking Faith explores the life and works of the man who left a great legacy to the Church in the form of his seminal writings and the theological vision he expressed in them.

At the centre of Augustine’s attempts to understand the divine nature is the central thought that God is beyond the range of the human mind. In a famous sermon [52], he writes ’If you think you have grasped him, it is not God you have grasped’ - si comprehendis non est Deus. Yet, while always recognising the inevitable mystery of God. Augustine does not let the limitations of the human mind deter him from his pursuit of a greater understanding of God, and there are many examples of this.

read more

Some Cats are Forever

Abba Ah Beng bought a kitten to catch the rats that were eating his loincloth. The kitten was very cute but playful. During chapel service, she would sneak quietly into the chapel and distract the young disciples of Sow Lin Monastery from their prayers and meditation. A sudden touch of warm fur and a perfect purr was enough to draw the most devout from the depths of God.

Abba Ah Beng finally solved the problem by tying the kitten with a string to a stake in front of the chapel. The disciples become used to seeing the little kitten and later a large cat tied to the stake as they enter and leave the chapel. The cat died and Abba Ah Beng bought a new cat and continued the tradition of tying his cat to the stake in front of the chapel before services. Abba Ah Beng was finally called home by the Lord and was succeeded by Abba Ah Lek. Abba Ah Lek continued the tradition of tying the cat to honor his spiritual director and mentor.

One hundred years later, a brand new gleaming mega-church auditorium stands where the Sow Lin Chapel used to be. It is large enough to sit 6,000 people comfortably. However, at the front entrance there is a stake to which a cat will be tied before each worship service. When asked about the reason, senior Pastor Joe Pan said he does not know but there has always been a cat in front of the worship hall. He postulates it may in some way draws God’s blessings on the congregation. Anyway, who is he to change a hallowed tradition.

To this day, if you visit the mega-church where the ancient Sow Lin Monastery once stood, you will see a cat tied to a stake in front of the worship auditorium. You can see the cat sitting and walking. The cat is active except when its battery runs down.

Do we need to keep all of our church traditions?

.

Some Cats are Forever

Abba Ah Beng bought a kitten to catch the rats that were eating his loincloth. The kitten was very cute but playful. During chapel service, she would sneak quietly into the chapel and distract the young disciples of Sow Lin Monastery from their prayers and meditation. A sudden touch of warm fur and a perfect purr was enough to draw the most devout from the depths of God.

Abba Ah Beng finally solved the problem by tying the kitten with a string to a stake in front of the chapel. The disciples become used to seeing the little kitten and later a large cat tied to the stake as they enter and leave the chapel. The cat died and Abba Ah Beng bought a new cat and continued the tradition of tying his cat to the stake in front of the chapel before services. Abba Ah Beng was finally called home by the Lord and was succeeded by Abba Ah Lek. Abba Ah Lek continued the tradition of tying the cat to honor his spiritual director and mentor.

One hundred years later, a brand new gleaming mega-church auditorium stands where the Sow Lin Chapel used to be. It is large enough to sit 6,000 people comfortably. However, at the front entrance there is a stake to which a cat will be tied before each worship service. When asked about the reason, senior Pastor Joe Pan said he does not know but there has always been a cat in front of the worship hall. He postulates it may in some way draws God’s blessings on the congregation. Anyway, who is he to change a hallowed tradition.

To this day, if you visit the mega-church where the ancient Sow Lin Monastery once stood, you will see a cat tied to a stake in front of the worship auditorium. You can see the cat sitting and walking. The cat is active except when its battery runs down.

Do we need to keep all of our church traditions?

.

Tozer on False Christianity

"Many of us Christians have become extremely skillful in arranging our lives so as to admit the truth of Christianity without being embarrassed by its implications. We arrange things so that we can get on well enough without divine aid, while at the same time ostensibly seeking it. We boast in the Lord but watch carefully that we never get caught depending on Him."


The Root of the Righteous 39.

We All Need X-Ray Vision

“Ah, this is the life,” said Ah Kow with a satisfied sigh as he lay back on the soft grass in the courtyard of the Sow Lin Monastery. Ah Lek burped in reply. This is the time of the day these young disciples loved the best; after a hearty meal and all the chores for the day has been done. They will laze around and watch the sun set until the call for evening prayers.

“Do you know the Abba who preached at chapel this morning come in his new BMW X6? Man that was a beautiful car. I wish I could I can have a car like that,” said Ah Kow wishfully.

read more

.

We All Need X-Ray Vision

“Ah, this is the life,” said Ah Kow with a satisfied sigh as he lay back on the soft grass in the courtyard of the Sow Lin Monastery. Ah Lek burped in reply. This is the time of the day these young disciples loved the best; after a hearty meal and all the chores for the day has been done. They will laze around and watch the sun set until the call for evening prayers.

“Do you know the Abba who preached at chapel this morning come in his new BMW X6? Man that was a beautiful car. I wish I could I can have a car like that,” said Ah Kow wishfully.

read more

.

Anak by Freddie Aguilar

Anak by Freddie Aguilar

Do You Have the Courage to Teach?

Home > Faith in the Workplace > Interviews

I have been personally touched by Parker Palmer's book, The Courage to Teach and, his other books and especially by his lecture, The Violence of Our Knowledge which challenged me to think about the way we teach and learn.

Interview with Parker Palmer, Part 1
Do You Have the Courage to Teach?
by Marcus Goodyear


Ten years after its first release, Parker Palmer is republishing his book of encouragement for teachers called The Courage to Teach. The book helped countless teachers and other professionals to recover meaning in their work lives, in the midst of troubled, sometimes toxic systems. Recently, TheHighCalling.org spoke to Mr. Palmer about helping teachers and other professionals reconnect with their vocations and reclaim their passion for work.

What advice do you have for public school educators who are trying to serve God in their daily work?

School educators are the subjects of intense public, media, and political criticism. They are often misunderstood, berated by larger society. Public education is hard-pressed by "No Child Left Behind." The motives behind the bill were to hold public education accountable to results, and to make sure all schools measured up, no matter how many disadvantaged children they serve. Unfortunately its major impact has been to get children to pass standardized tests. Teachers find themselves having to "teach to the test," which is very different than trying to educate the whole child to become a whole adult. Kids get factoids, rather than dealing with deeper educational tasks, with values, with relationships, with questions of character, ethics, and one's own vision for one's life. Education is in a world of trouble. Teachers need help to sustain their vocation. The Courage to Teach is aimed at nurturing the teacher's heart. If they bring their truest, best self, or as we Quakers say, "that of God and every person" to their work as educators, they will find courage to resist those things that deform education and ill-serve our children.

You have said, "Good teachers join self, subject and students in the fabric of life." How does a Christian do this in public schools without indirectly imposing their faith on their students?

In the early years of the American experiment, Quakers were persecuted, even hanged, on Boston Common by other Christians who were threatened by their beliefs.

So I don't have any romanticism for the good ol' days when someone's religious beliefs could dominate our public processes and public institutions. But I also have very little patience with a system of education that ignores the questions of meaning, purpose, and value. I don't want to go back to Boston Common, but at the same time I want to open public education to the profound questions of meaning that young people have in our times. I think in a public school classroom, it's possible to help young people with questions, meaning, purpose, who they are and why they are here on earth without ever sending a child home saying to Jewish parents, or Muslim parents, or atheist parents, "Mom and Dad, this teacher is trying to turn me into something else." We owe children a gracious, open exploration of these questions, and adult companionship, without trying to engage in the sort of proselytizing that crosses the church/state barrier in inappropriate and destructive ways.

What is dangerous about proselytizing?

As a Christian, who grew up Methodist, I was deeply influenced by the scripture in 2 Corinthians that says, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us." I think those earthen vessels include our language, and theological formulations. I think the mystery of God, and the mystery of God in Christ is so vast. It's idolatrous to claim that my church is the one who has been able to boil that down into a right set of words that everyone must agree with.

You've said, "The sense of self is very closely tied to what people do." How does one bring identity into a profession, without losing oneself to that profession?

You're asking, "How do we live open-heartedly in the world without having our hearts broken?" At 68, I have come to a simple conclusion: I have a choice to make.

Either I live with my heart open, investing in my work and taking the risks that come when the expression of my own truth might get me crosswise with people. Or I exist in my work and in the world in a closed-hearted way. To me this choice is a no brainer, because to be in the world in a closed-hearted way is to risk a kind of spiritual death, a death of integrity really. As Thomas Merton said, most of us live lives of self-impersonation. To be in the world as an impersonator of yourself, when selfhood is your birthright gift from God, is an insult to your Creator and certainly a diminishment of yourself. I have learned to choose to be in the world in an open-hearted way, because pain itself is a sign that I'm alive. Being open-hearted is my only chance at the joy that life can bring.

So why is living with integrity so difficult for us?

Our work institutions compromise the integrity of their mission. Public schools try to win favor under "No Child Left Behind." Some HMOs and even hospitals are more interested in the bottom line, rather than the well-being of the patient. In these examples, the personal integrity of teachers or physicians become threatening to the institutions in which they work. When personal integrity threatens institutions, the Jesus story happens all over again. He was crucified, because his integrity got him crosswise with the major institutions of his time, with the arrangements of power. The Christian story has moments that contain a penetrating, sad, and sometimes depressing description of reality. But ultimately, the Christian story is hopeful. We can stand in the midst of a death dealing reality, open-hearted, bringing new life, taking the risk of threatening the hard-heartedness of institutions.

In this new life that comes from being open-hearted, what is the relationship between renewal and courage?

A powerful book in my life is by a Guatemalan poet named Julia Esquivel. A political refugee in Guatemala, she was forced into exile. For simply trying to help her grade school students survive, she got on the wrong side of an oppressive regime. Esquivel wrote a book of poetry, Threatened with Resurrection. When I first saw that title, it just turned me upside down. I was raised in a church that said, "Death was the big threat and resurrection was the great hope." But here was a woman of great courage and integrity saying, "Sometimes a living death is more comfortable than being truly resurrected, which is a threat." She means if you can tamp down your feelings, get your heart in a box, and not get crosswise with anything that's wrong around you, maybe they will not see you. Maybe they will ignore you and let you live your little private life. But if you embrace resurrection and new life, God knows what you might be called to. The teachers who suddenly understand their calling is not to satisfy the people who make the tests but to serve the children, these teachers need resurrection or renewal. They need the courage to act on what their hearts say. The doctors who remember they have taken a hippocratic oath and say to themselves, as one physician said to me a while back, "You know I work in an HMO, which has me right on the edge of violating my hippocratic oath three or four times a week." That's a person who will need courage to act on his renewal of heart.

When we start connecting and bringing our identity to work, suddenly there's a tremendous pressure to avoid failure, because our egos may be tied to our performance. How do we reconcile that?

I think ego is strongest when we are not in touch with our own identity as children of God. My ego, or false identity, is the piece that tells me that I'm something special, that I'm not anybody's child, that I'm the leader of the pack. That's the piece of me that doesn't want to fail. The failures I've experienced and the pain brought as a result were because I was working heavily out of ego. When one works out of ego, the aim is not to serve your patients or your children. Instead it becomes about winning, looking good, and not being deprived of one's perks. Identity and integrity rightly understood are the antidote to ego.

It's baffling and troubling to me that there is this Christian cult of success that I actually think is very ego driven. So many Christians have embraced this cult of success.

So by contemporary standards, you're saying that resurrection isn't a success story?

If you read it as a success story by contemporary standards, you're distorting the fact that Jesus did none of the things that contemporary success cult members tell us that we can do by believing in him. Jesus opened himself to shared suffering with the poorest and the most oppressed. The right belief will not make my bank account bigger, my reputation brighter, and all things well.

Inner and spiritual renewal doesn't reduce our stress or get us comfy with life.

For me, the most powerful meaning of the cross and of Jesus' life is God's willingness to suffer with us, to bring redemption and meaning out of that suffering, with a sense of purpose.

Are we called to suffer or to be renewed?

We Quakers have a saying that renewal is about getting in touch with "that of God within me." When people do this, they hear more clearly their calling. And they recognize their need for courage to walk this path to which they've been called.

read more

© 2001 - 2008 H. E. Butt Foundation. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Laity Lodge and TheHighCalling.org.

Do You Have the Courage to Teach?

Home > Faith in the Workplace > Interviews

I have been personally touched by Parker Palmer's book, The Courage to Teach and, his other books and especially by his lecture, The Violence of Our Knowledge which challenged me to think about the way we teach and learn.

Interview with Parker Palmer, Part 1
Do You Have the Courage to Teach?
by Marcus Goodyear


Ten years after its first release, Parker Palmer is republishing his book of encouragement for teachers called The Courage to Teach. The book helped countless teachers and other professionals to recover meaning in their work lives, in the midst of troubled, sometimes toxic systems. Recently, TheHighCalling.org spoke to Mr. Palmer about helping teachers and other professionals reconnect with their vocations and reclaim their passion for work.

What advice do you have for public school educators who are trying to serve God in their daily work?

School educators are the subjects of intense public, media, and political criticism. They are often misunderstood, berated by larger society. Public education is hard-pressed by "No Child Left Behind." The motives behind the bill were to hold public education accountable to results, and to make sure all schools measured up, no matter how many disadvantaged children they serve. Unfortunately its major impact has been to get children to pass standardized tests. Teachers find themselves having to "teach to the test," which is very different than trying to educate the whole child to become a whole adult. Kids get factoids, rather than dealing with deeper educational tasks, with values, with relationships, with questions of character, ethics, and one's own vision for one's life. Education is in a world of trouble. Teachers need help to sustain their vocation. The Courage to Teach is aimed at nurturing the teacher's heart. If they bring their truest, best self, or as we Quakers say, "that of God and every person" to their work as educators, they will find courage to resist those things that deform education and ill-serve our children.

You have said, "Good teachers join self, subject and students in the fabric of life." How does a Christian do this in public schools without indirectly imposing their faith on their students?

In the early years of the American experiment, Quakers were persecuted, even hanged, on Boston Common by other Christians who were threatened by their beliefs.

So I don't have any romanticism for the good ol' days when someone's religious beliefs could dominate our public processes and public institutions. But I also have very little patience with a system of education that ignores the questions of meaning, purpose, and value. I don't want to go back to Boston Common, but at the same time I want to open public education to the profound questions of meaning that young people have in our times. I think in a public school classroom, it's possible to help young people with questions, meaning, purpose, who they are and why they are here on earth without ever sending a child home saying to Jewish parents, or Muslim parents, or atheist parents, "Mom and Dad, this teacher is trying to turn me into something else." We owe children a gracious, open exploration of these questions, and adult companionship, without trying to engage in the sort of proselytizing that crosses the church/state barrier in inappropriate and destructive ways.

What is dangerous about proselytizing?

As a Christian, who grew up Methodist, I was deeply influenced by the scripture in 2 Corinthians that says, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us." I think those earthen vessels include our language, and theological formulations. I think the mystery of God, and the mystery of God in Christ is so vast. It's idolatrous to claim that my church is the one who has been able to boil that down into a right set of words that everyone must agree with.

You've said, "The sense of self is very closely tied to what people do." How does one bring identity into a profession, without losing oneself to that profession?

You're asking, "How do we live open-heartedly in the world without having our hearts broken?" At 68, I have come to a simple conclusion: I have a choice to make.

Either I live with my heart open, investing in my work and taking the risks that come when the expression of my own truth might get me crosswise with people. Or I exist in my work and in the world in a closed-hearted way. To me this choice is a no brainer, because to be in the world in a closed-hearted way is to risk a kind of spiritual death, a death of integrity really. As Thomas Merton said, most of us live lives of self-impersonation. To be in the world as an impersonator of yourself, when selfhood is your birthright gift from God, is an insult to your Creator and certainly a diminishment of yourself. I have learned to choose to be in the world in an open-hearted way, because pain itself is a sign that I'm alive. Being open-hearted is my only chance at the joy that life can bring.

So why is living with integrity so difficult for us?

Our work institutions compromise the integrity of their mission. Public schools try to win favor under "No Child Left Behind." Some HMOs and even hospitals are more interested in the bottom line, rather than the well-being of the patient. In these examples, the personal integrity of teachers or physicians become threatening to the institutions in which they work. When personal integrity threatens institutions, the Jesus story happens all over again. He was crucified, because his integrity got him crosswise with the major institutions of his time, with the arrangements of power. The Christian story has moments that contain a penetrating, sad, and sometimes depressing description of reality. But ultimately, the Christian story is hopeful. We can stand in the midst of a death dealing reality, open-hearted, bringing new life, taking the risk of threatening the hard-heartedness of institutions.

In this new life that comes from being open-hearted, what is the relationship between renewal and courage?

A powerful book in my life is by a Guatemalan poet named Julia Esquivel. A political refugee in Guatemala, she was forced into exile. For simply trying to help her grade school students survive, she got on the wrong side of an oppressive regime. Esquivel wrote a book of poetry, Threatened with Resurrection. When I first saw that title, it just turned me upside down. I was raised in a church that said, "Death was the big threat and resurrection was the great hope." But here was a woman of great courage and integrity saying, "Sometimes a living death is more comfortable than being truly resurrected, which is a threat." She means if you can tamp down your feelings, get your heart in a box, and not get crosswise with anything that's wrong around you, maybe they will not see you. Maybe they will ignore you and let you live your little private life. But if you embrace resurrection and new life, God knows what you might be called to. The teachers who suddenly understand their calling is not to satisfy the people who make the tests but to serve the children, these teachers need resurrection or renewal. They need the courage to act on what their hearts say. The doctors who remember they have taken a hippocratic oath and say to themselves, as one physician said to me a while back, "You know I work in an HMO, which has me right on the edge of violating my hippocratic oath three or four times a week." That's a person who will need courage to act on his renewal of heart.

When we start connecting and bringing our identity to work, suddenly there's a tremendous pressure to avoid failure, because our egos may be tied to our performance. How do we reconcile that?

I think ego is strongest when we are not in touch with our own identity as children of God. My ego, or false identity, is the piece that tells me that I'm something special, that I'm not anybody's child, that I'm the leader of the pack. That's the piece of me that doesn't want to fail. The failures I've experienced and the pain brought as a result were because I was working heavily out of ego. When one works out of ego, the aim is not to serve your patients or your children. Instead it becomes about winning, looking good, and not being deprived of one's perks. Identity and integrity rightly understood are the antidote to ego.

It's baffling and troubling to me that there is this Christian cult of success that I actually think is very ego driven. So many Christians have embraced this cult of success.

So by contemporary standards, you're saying that resurrection isn't a success story?

If you read it as a success story by contemporary standards, you're distorting the fact that Jesus did none of the things that contemporary success cult members tell us that we can do by believing in him. Jesus opened himself to shared suffering with the poorest and the most oppressed. The right belief will not make my bank account bigger, my reputation brighter, and all things well.

Inner and spiritual renewal doesn't reduce our stress or get us comfy with life.

For me, the most powerful meaning of the cross and of Jesus' life is God's willingness to suffer with us, to bring redemption and meaning out of that suffering, with a sense of purpose.

Are we called to suffer or to be renewed?

We Quakers have a saying that renewal is about getting in touch with "that of God within me." When people do this, they hear more clearly their calling. And they recognize their need for courage to walk this path to which they've been called.

read more

© 2001 - 2008 H. E. Butt Foundation. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Laity Lodge and TheHighCalling.org.

Archaeology and the New Testament

Archaeology and the Reliability of the New Testament

by Dr. Sean M. McDonough, Associate Professor of New Testament, who taught New Testament at Pacific Theological College in Suva, Fiji Islands, where he also served as Chair of the Biblical Studies Department before coming to Gordon-Conwell in 2000. Published CONTACT (Winter 2005/2006)

Much of the discussion in New Testament archaeology surrounds the identification of specific places mentioned in the biblical texts. Sometimes this can yield important insights. For example, the five-porticoed pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (John 5) was thought by some to be a fiction invented by John to symbolize the Pentateuch or some other five-membered set. But archaeological study has demonstrated that John spoke about the pool because it was there, and he said it had five porticoes because it did. Just last year, excavators in Jerusalem uncovered another pool mentioned in John’s gospel: the pool of Siloam to which the blind man of John 9 was sent.

read more

.

Archaeology and the New Testament

Archaeology and the Reliability of the New Testament

by Dr. Sean M. McDonough, Associate Professor of New Testament, who taught New Testament at Pacific Theological College in Suva, Fiji Islands, where he also served as Chair of the Biblical Studies Department before coming to Gordon-Conwell in 2000. Published CONTACT (Winter 2005/2006)

Much of the discussion in New Testament archaeology surrounds the identification of specific places mentioned in the biblical texts. Sometimes this can yield important insights. For example, the five-porticoed pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (John 5) was thought by some to be a fiction invented by John to symbolize the Pentateuch or some other five-membered set. But archaeological study has demonstrated that John spoke about the pool because it was there, and he said it had five porticoes because it did. Just last year, excavators in Jerusalem uncovered another pool mentioned in John’s gospel: the pool of Siloam to which the blind man of John 9 was sent.

read more

.

The Watchmen Cometh

Here's some photos of the coming Watchmen movie.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the amoral Comedian

Jackie Earle Haley slips on Rorschach's mask

Malin Akerman is the Silk Spectre II and Patrick Wilson is Nite Owl

Nite Owl and the cave where he keeps the Owl Ship

read more

The Watchmen Cometh

Here's some photos of the coming Watchmen movie.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the amoral Comedian

Jackie Earle Haley slips on Rorschach's mask

Malin Akerman is the Silk Spectre II and Patrick Wilson is Nite Owl

Nite Owl and the cave where he keeps the Owl Ship

read more

Archaeology and the Old Testament

Archaeology and the reliability of the Old Testament

This article by Dr. John Sailhamer, Professor of Old Testament
and Hebrew at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina was published in CONTACT (Winter 2005/2006) , a publication of Gordon-Cornell Theological Seminary


Biblical narratives as a whole cannot always be treated as eyewitness accounts. Much of the book of Kings, for example, records events several hundred years earlier than the time of its composition. That does not mean that these narratives are spun out of thin air. Here is where evangelicals may serve a valuable (if unappreciated) purpose in the larger scheme of things. They, as few others, are prepared to take these biblical texts at face value and ask how they fit into what historians and archaeologists tell us happened.

read more

.

Archaeology and the Old Testament

Archaeology and the reliability of the Old Testament

This article by Dr. John Sailhamer, Professor of Old Testament
and Hebrew at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina was published in CONTACT (Winter 2005/2006) , a publication of Gordon-Cornell Theological Seminary


Biblical narratives as a whole cannot always be treated as eyewitness accounts. Much of the book of Kings, for example, records events several hundred years earlier than the time of its composition. That does not mean that these narratives are spun out of thin air. Here is where evangelicals may serve a valuable (if unappreciated) purpose in the larger scheme of things. They, as few others, are prepared to take these biblical texts at face value and ask how they fit into what historians and archaeologists tell us happened.

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What Type of Medical Student are You?

Take a look at this classification of the different types of medical students present in the Kasr el Ainy medical school, Cairo. Then again, it's practically the same everywhere. Cordially, the Students' Scientific Society "SSS" - Kasr El Ainy. www.ssscairo.org

What Type of Medical Student are You?

Take a look at this classification of the different types of medical students present in the Kasr el Ainy medical school, Cairo. Then again, it's practically the same everywhere. Cordially, the Students' Scientific Society "SSS" - Kasr El Ainy. www.ssscairo.org

Professor Shelly on Death

PHIL 176: Death (Spring, 2007) Yale Open Courses

PHIL 176 - Death with Professor Shelly Kagan Spring, 2007
There is one thing I can be sure of: I am going to die. But what am I to make of that fact? This course will examine a number of issues that arise once we begin to reflect on our mortality. The possibility that death may not actually be the end is considered. Are we, in some sense, immortal? Would immortality be desirable? Also a clearer notion of what it is to die ... more >>


1. Course introduction [ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ] [ mp3 ]

2. The nature of persons: dualism vs...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

3. Arguments for the existence of the soul...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

4. Introduction to Plato's Phaedo; Arguments...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth [ mp3 ]

5. Arguments for the existence of the soul...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

6. Arguments for the existence of the soul...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

7. Plato, Part II: Arguments for the immortality...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwid[ mp3 ]

8. Plato, Part III: Arguments for the immortality...[ high bandwidth ][ medium bandwidth][ mp3 ]

9. Plato, Part IV: Arguments for the immortality...[ high bandwidth ][ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

10. Personal Identity, Part I: Identity across...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

11. Personal identity, Part II: The body theory...[ high bandwidth ][ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

12. Personal identity, Part III: Objections to...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

13. Personal identity, Part IV; What matters?[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

14. What matters (cont.); The nature of death...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

15. The nature of death (cont.); Believing you...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

16. Dying alone; The badness of death, Part I[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

17. The badness of death, Part II: The...[ high bandwidth ][ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

18. The badness of death, Part III; Immortality...[ high bandwidth ][ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

19. Immortality Part II; The Value of life, Part I[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

20. The Value of life, Part II; Other bad...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

21. Other bad aspects of death, Part II[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

22. Fear of death[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

23. How to live given the certainty of death[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

24. Suicide, Part I: The rationality of suicide[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

25. Suicide, Part II: Deciding under uncertainty[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

26. Suicide, Part III: The morality of suicide...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

Professor Shelly on Death

PHIL 176: Death (Spring, 2007) Yale Open Courses

PHIL 176 - Death with Professor Shelly Kagan Spring, 2007
There is one thing I can be sure of: I am going to die. But what am I to make of that fact? This course will examine a number of issues that arise once we begin to reflect on our mortality. The possibility that death may not actually be the end is considered. Are we, in some sense, immortal? Would immortality be desirable? Also a clearer notion of what it is to die ... more >>


1. Course introduction [ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ] [ mp3 ]

2. The nature of persons: dualism vs...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

3. Arguments for the existence of the soul...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

4. Introduction to Plato's Phaedo; Arguments...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth [ mp3 ]

5. Arguments for the existence of the soul...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

6. Arguments for the existence of the soul...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

7. Plato, Part II: Arguments for the immortality...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwid[ mp3 ]

8. Plato, Part III: Arguments for the immortality...[ high bandwidth ][ medium bandwidth][ mp3 ]

9. Plato, Part IV: Arguments for the immortality...[ high bandwidth ][ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

10. Personal Identity, Part I: Identity across...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

11. Personal identity, Part II: The body theory...[ high bandwidth ][ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

12. Personal identity, Part III: Objections to...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

13. Personal identity, Part IV; What matters?[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

14. What matters (cont.); The nature of death...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

15. The nature of death (cont.); Believing you...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

16. Dying alone; The badness of death, Part I[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

17. The badness of death, Part II: The...[ high bandwidth ][ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

18. The badness of death, Part III; Immortality...[ high bandwidth ][ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

19. Immortality Part II; The Value of life, Part I[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

20. The Value of life, Part II; Other bad...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

21. Other bad aspects of death, Part II[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

22. Fear of death[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

23. How to live given the certainty of death[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

24. Suicide, Part I: The rationality of suicide[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

25. Suicide, Part II: Deciding under uncertainty[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

26. Suicide, Part III: The morality of suicide...[ high bandwidth ] [ medium bandwidth ][ mp3 ]

Why Do We Suffer?

Read this illuminating article by William David Spencer and Afda Besanson Spencer, published in CONTACT by Gordon-Cornell Theological Seminary.

Why was Peter set free by an angel and not James? Why did James die and Peter live? Whether back in Bible times, a world away on the mission field, or right here in New York, the same question keeps coming up! And, whether you were a deacon seeking to comfort Mary, James’ Mom, or a missionary holding on to the Pakistani families as they wailed on your shoulder, or a pastoral counselor trying to reach out to the numbed survivors huddled in shelters near the smoking rubble of the Twin Towers, you faced the same identical nagging question: Why do we suffer?

read more

.

Why Do We Suffer?

Read this illuminating article by William David Spencer and Afda Besanson Spencer, published in CONTACT by Gordon-Cornell Theological Seminary.

Why was Peter set free by an angel and not James? Why did James die and Peter live? Whether back in Bible times, a world away on the mission field, or right here in New York, the same question keeps coming up! And, whether you were a deacon seeking to comfort Mary, James’ Mom, or a missionary holding on to the Pakistani families as they wailed on your shoulder, or a pastoral counselor trying to reach out to the numbed survivors huddled in shelters near the smoking rubble of the Twin Towers, you faced the same identical nagging question: Why do we suffer?

read more

.

Message from the Hawaiian Past

Kaleohano Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Performance by the late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (IZ) at the 1996 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

Listen to this message straight from the heart of Braddah IZ. On the biggest evening for Hawaiian music, the Makaha Sons decides to join Braddah Iz on stage and ho'oponopono all that had happened in their past. On June 26, 1997 Israel Kamakawiwo'ole died.

Message from the Hawaiian Past

Kaleohano Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Performance by the late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (IZ) at the 1996 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

Listen to this message straight from the heart of Braddah IZ. On the biggest evening for Hawaiian music, the Makaha Sons decides to join Braddah Iz on stage and ho'oponopono all that had happened in their past. On June 26, 1997 Israel Kamakawiwo'ole died.

Aloha Oe-Tia Carrere

Aloha Oe-Tia Carrere

Random Musings on Chicago Hawaii 2008 Trip (7)

Aloha

I love the Hawaiian islands. There is a sense of freedom, serenity and shalom in the wild beauty of the islands. The weather is comfortably warm with plenty of blue skies and greenery. It calls me back when I am away too long. I feel a sense of connection to the islands which is interesting since I was not born there. Away from the tourist spots, it is comforting and welcoming.

In My Dreams
In my dreams
all wrongs are righted,
all sins are forgiven
all wounds are healed.

In my dreams
all lost friends are found
all loved ones are united
all pain is forgotten.

In my dreams
laughter replaces anger
smiles replace frowns
and love replaces hate and fear..

But then I awaken
and I realize that I cannot fix
everything that is broken in the World.
And I decide to try to make it just
a little better somehow.

© copyright 2004 by Steven Robert Heine.

Random Musings on Chicago Hawaii 2008 Trip (7)

Aloha

I love the Hawaiian islands. There is a sense of freedom, serenity and shalom in the wild beauty of the islands. The weather is comfortably warm with plenty of blue skies and greenery. It calls me back when I am away too long. I feel a sense of connection to the islands which is interesting since I was not born there. Away from the tourist spots, it is comforting and welcoming.

In My Dreams
In my dreams
all wrongs are righted,
all sins are forgiven
all wounds are healed.

In my dreams
all lost friends are found
all loved ones are united
all pain is forgotten.

In my dreams
laughter replaces anger
smiles replace frowns
and love replaces hate and fear..

But then I awaken
and I realize that I cannot fix
everything that is broken in the World.
And I decide to try to make it just
a little better somehow.

© copyright 2004 by Steven Robert Heine.