Stephen W. Hiemstra's Blog, page 83
August 2, 2022
Ortberg Sharpens and Freshens Jesus
John Ortberg. 2012. Who Is This Man? Unpredictable Impact of an Inescapable Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra
John Ortberg’s new book, Who Is This Man?, is a biography focused on the unexpected influence Jesus has on the many spheres of our lives. Ortberg writes:
“After his disappearance from earth, the days of his unusual influence began. That influence is what this book is about…Normally when someone dies, their impact on the world immediately begins to recede…Jesus’ impact was greater a hundred years after his death than during his life…after two thousand years he has more followers in more places than ever.” (11).
Talk about influence. Most of us would be happy if our parents and/or kids listened to us.
Details, DetailsOrtberg has an eye for details and for things contrary to expectations, either today or in ancient times. For example, in evaluating Jesus as a leader, he outlines his strategy for influencing people. Paraphrasing a pep talk by Jesus for the disciples, he writes:
“Here’s our strategy. We have no money, no clout, no status, no buildings, no soldiers…We will tell them [Jewish and Romans leaders, Zealots, collaborators, Essenes] all that they are on the wrong track…When they hate us—and a lot of them will…we won’t fight back, we won’t run away, and we won’t give in. We will just keep loving them…That’s my strategy.” (107)
Huh? Who would have thought that a group using this strategy would even survive the first century, let alone influence anyone.
BackgroundJohn Ortberg is the pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, California which is part of the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO), a new denomination formed in 2012. According to the foreword written Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State, this book started out as sermon series. The book is written in 15 chapters, including:
The Man Who Won’t Go Away,The Collapse of Dignity,A Revolution in Humanity,What Does a Woman Want?An Undistinguished Visiting Scholar,Jesus Was Not a Great Man,Help Your Friends, Punish Your Enemies,There Are Things That Are Not Caesar’s,The Good Life Versus The Good Person,Why It’s a Small World After All,The Truly Old-Fashioned Marriage,Without Parallel in the Entire History of Art,Friday,Saturday, andSunday (5).These chapters are preceded by a foreword and acknowledgments, and followed by an epilogue and references. I was first exposed this this material in a men’s group discussion where we viewed the DVD. There is also a separate study guide.
Ortberg is Well RoundedOrtberg is surprisingly well read drawing on details from a range of resources ancient and modern. For example, describing a bit of his own background from a psychologist’s perspective he writes:
“The quickest and most basic mental health assessment checks to see if people are ‘oriented times three’: whether they know who they are, where they are, and what day it is. I was given the name of Jesus’ friend John; I live in the Bay area named for Jesus’ friend Francis; I was born 1,957 years after Jesus. How could orientation depend so heavily on one life?” (11)
He observes that each of his 3 orientations (who, where, and when) were influenced directly by Jesus. Pretty good influence for someone who lived 2,000 years ago!
Holy SaturdayOne of the chapters that impressed me the most was the chapter called: Saturday. Saturday after Good Friday and before Easter is starting to be celebrated as a religious holiday in itself—I often wondered why. Ortberg describes these 3 days as a typical 3-day story with a specific form: day 1 starts with trouble; day 2 there is nothing; and day 3 comes deliverance. The problem with day 2 is that you do not know if day 3 is coming—faith is required. Saturday is the only day in 2,000 years when not a single person on earth believed that Jesus was alive. It’s only on the third day that you know you are in a 3-day story! (175-177) Next year I think that I will look for a Saturday service to attend.
AssessmentJohn Ortberg’s book, Who Is This Man?, offers a fresh description of Jesus, his thinking, and his life. Most Christians today have heard too many bland accounts of Jesus for our own good—so much so that we have trouble hearing God’s voice in these accounts. Ortberg’s insights come in explaining Jesus’ context so artfully that Jesus’ radical contribution is more obvious—Jesus steps out of the picture frame into the room with us. This is the kind of book that, after reading a couple chapters, you will want to buy copies for your family and friends. In other words, drop what you are doing and read this book.
FootnotesAs a writer and publisher, I immediately picked up on the absence of footnotes in this book. References are given in the back of the book sequenced by chapter. However, there are no footnotes or endnotes indicated in the text itself. Actually, I liked this style of referencing because the text flows more naturally with fewer distractions.
Other 3-days stories that he mentions are: Abraham (Gen 22:4), Joseph (Gen 42:17-18), Rahab (Jos 2:16), and Esther (Est 4:16).
Ortberg Sharpens and Freshens JesusAlso see:Webb: Analyzing Culture Books, Films, and MinistryOther ways to engage online:Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.netPublisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Sum_22, Signup
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August 1, 2022
Discipline: Monday Monologues (podcast), August 1, 2022
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on Spiritual Disciplines. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).
To listen, click on this link.
Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!
Discipline: Monday Monologues (podcast), August 1, 2022
Also see:
Monday Monologue On March 26, 2018
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net,
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com.
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July 30, 2022
Prayer for Discipline
By Stephen W. HIemstra
Almighty Father,
We praise you for the gift of life. Walk with us on the beach in the morning. Run with us through peaceful cornfields in the night. Swim with us as we exercise bodies and minds.
Forgive us our many sins and addictions. Cleanse us of our evil ways; strengthen our hands in your service; and give us hearts for you alone.
We thank you for heathy habits and lifestyles fitting for your people. Make us whole again.
In the power of your Holy Spirit, transform us day by day into the people you would have us be.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Prayer for Discipline
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
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July 29, 2022
Spiritual Disciplines
Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 6:19)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
Centering on God is more than an intellectual exercise. Spiritual disciplines are less about working out our salvation, which is Christ’s work, than about praising God more completely in our daily lives. If our praise of God is to be heart felt, which spiritual discipline should we focus on?
Sin distracts and separates us from God. The spiritual disciplines of highest value target sins to which we, as Americans, are especially vulnerable—sexual immorality and gluttony. Both are sins against the body.
Heart and Mind, and the Problem of Sin
Jesus is clear when he says that sin begins in the heart. On the question of adultery, he says: “Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt 5:28) This statement is immediately followed by hyperbole about chopping off body parts that lead to sin. This transition from heart to body is an example of how the body and mind are unified (Macchia 2012, 104).
The unity of body and mind applied to spiritual disciplines is found the writing of Henry Nouwen. Nouwen describes our spiritual journey as a unity of three dimensions—reaching inward to ourselves; reaching outward to others; and reaching upwards to God. In ourselves, we move from being lonely to becoming content in solitude. In our relationships with others, we move from hostility to hospitality. In our relationship with God, we move from illusion to prayer (Nouwen 1975, 15). The paradox of this unity in three dimensions is that progress in one dimension makes progress in the others easier.
Sins of the Body
This linkage of spiritual progress in different dimensions is especially important in dealing with sins of the body. Sins against the body invariably involve mild to severe addictions—obsessive behaviors that we repeat. When we allow ourselves our little indulgences, they spread to other aspects of our life. Bad behaviors turn into bad habits that turn into bad lifestyles.
Undertaking a fast in vulnerable areas of our lives can nip bad behaviors early in the process. May (1988, 177) writes: “It all comes down to quitting it, not engaging in the next addictive behavior, not indulging in the next temptation.” Physical discipline, accordingly, works to cleanse the whole system.
Exercise as a Spiritual Discipline
Why exercise? The simple answer is because your body is the temple of God. We are under obligation to ourselves and to God to keep our temple clean. A more nuanced answer is that the physical disciplines grant us strength to discipline other, less obvious, areas of our lives. The body and the mind are inseparable—physical exercise is a kind of beach assault on our island of sin (Reynolds 2012). Beach assaults, like the one on Iwo Jima during the Second World War, are risky but the payoff is huge. It is strangely ironic that when we exercise we often exhibit less interest in food, alcohol, and tobacco because we are more relaxed and self-confident.
In clinical pastoral education we were taught to look for dissidence between words and the body language of patients that we visited. This disharmony between words and body language is, of course, a measure of truth. In like manner, the biblical paradigm of beauty is that the truth of an object matches its appearance (Dyrness 2001, 81). But how do we harmonize mind and body?
Although I try to practice continual prayer throughout my day, I most naturally slip into prayer while I am running or swimming laps because my mind is at ease. Did I mention that body and mind are closely bound together?
References
Dyrness, William A. 2001. Visual Faith: Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
Macchia, Stephen A. 2012. Crafting a Rule of Life: An Invitation to the Well-Ordered Way. Downers Grove: IVP Books.
May, Gerald G. 1988. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. New York: HarperOne.
Nouwen, Henri J. M. 1975. Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life. New York: DoubleDay.
Reynolds, Steve and MG Ellis. 2012. Get Off the Couch: 6 Motivators to Help You Lose Weight and Start Living. Ventura: Regal.
Spiritual Disciplines
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Sum_22, Signup
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July 26, 2022
Nouwen: Ministry and Pain
Nouwen, Henri J. M. . 2010. Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society (Orig 1972). New York: Image Doubleday.
Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra
Many call stories recited by pastors started at the foot of a hospital bed. Mine did. Others have suffered chronic illness of a sibling or child. Been there. Awareness of our own pain helps us appreciate the pain of others (4). Lived it. I first read Henri Nouwen’s book, Wounded Healer, in the years before attending seminary. Reading and understanding did not, however, immediately go hand-in-hand.
Lost TranscendenceThinking in terms of the scientific method, the hardest step in problem-solving is often defining the problem—defining the problem in such a way that further inquiry is both doable and productive . For Nouwen, the core problem of postmodernity is a lost sense of God’s transcendence (20-21). Citing Robert Jay Lifton, modern people are characterized by historical dislocation, fragmented ideology, and a search for new immorality (12). Nouwen sees these characteristics as more lost connection with the past or the future (12-13), lost belief in objective reality (15), and lost meaning in the traditional symbols of the church (18-19). This lost sense of transcendence leaves the postmodern person only able to perceive an “existential transcendence”—a kind of breaking out of their private lives to get lost in mysticism or revolutionary causes (20-23). He sees Christianity itself through a dual lens of mysticism and revolution; conversion is itself a personal revolution (23).
ExamplesChurches are clearly experimenting with this idea. Pub ministry offers a kind of bottled mysticism [2]; mission trips present a “revolutionary” breaking of the routine; all sorts of “causes célèbre”, however kinky, give people a sense of being “edgy” or “revolutionary” giving a dull life some sparkle. The problem with this sort of transcendence is that it is not transcendence at all. Nouwen’s existential transcendence is more a kind of participatory immanence than transcendence—transcendence is a divine attribute, not a human one. Only someone lost to themselves or lost in themselves requires surrender to an external “cause” or mountain top experience. Existential transcendence is an ersatz sense of the divine, not divinity in the usual sense [3].
Still, Nouwen is onto something significant here–the church’s task is to point to God both in our daily experiences of life and in our mind’s eye. God is not dull and boring; we are negligent disciples if we make him appear that way. The Psalmist writes: “Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.” (Ps 33:3 ESV) Tension, however, exists in existential transcendence between reflecting the divine image (Gen 1:27) and reaching for one of those shiny apples (Gen 3:6).
Case StudiesNouwen makes use of two important case studies.
The first case study is more of a description. He describes a troubled young man named Peter. Peter is 26, drifting through life, having trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality—likely a psychiatric patient (7-9). Nouwen writes:
“Peter was not torn apart by conflict, was not depressed, suicidal, or anxiety-ridden. He did not suffer from despair, but neither did he have anything to hope for…Perhaps we can find in Peter’s life history events or experiences that throw some light on his apathy, but it seems just as valid to view Peter’s paralysis as the paralysis of all humans in the modern age who have lost the sources of their creativity, which is their sense of immorality [transcendence].” (17)
Peter is a kind of archetype—perhaps a younger Henri Nouwen.
The second case study is what chaplains refer to as a verbatim—a case study of a pastoral visit that went poorly which is discussed in a chaplain group as a learning tool. The case is of a middle-aged blue collar worker, plagued with loneliness and despair, in the hospital for surgery who is visited by a young seminarian and later dies in surgery (56-58). How might this pastoral visit gone better? Had the chaplain dealt more effectively with the man’s loneliness and despair, would the man have survived? (72)
Principles of LeadershipOut of this impressive case study, Nouwen derives 3 principles of Christian leadership:
Personal concern;A deeply-rooted faith in the value and meaning of life; andHope that always looks for tomorrow, even beyond death. (76)It is a bit odd at this point that a Catholic priest, like Nouwen, would not draw his principles of leadership more directly from the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For example, What leads us to be concerned? Why does he reference faith in life rather than faith in Christ? What leads us to look beyond death? Maybe his principles have a biblical origin, but we will never know from his meditation.
TitleNouwen does give us some origins. His title, wounded healer, is drawn from a story recorded in the Jewish Talmud about the coming Messiah. Nouwen writes:
“The Messiah, the story tells us, is sitting among the poor, binding his wounds only one at a time [unlike others who bind them all at once], always prepared for the moment when he might be needed” (88).
Nouwen sees one of the greatest wounds being loneliness which is compounded for the minister by professional loneliness—more a sense of being irrelevant (89-93). Nouwen sees our own woundedness as helping the minister to connect with the suffering and offer them both hospitality [a safe space to share] and community (93-99). In this way, the minister empowers the suffering to confront their own issues and find peace with God (Psalm 95:7; 102).
AssessmentHenri Nouwen’s book, Wounded Healer, deeply influenced me early in my seminary career, in part, because of my own experience of loss and pain. His lost sense of transcendence troubles me now that I understand better what he was saying and what he was not saying. Where is God in his pain? How can a priest be so radically alone? These are troubling questions for a book so influential among pastors and seminarians. Nouwen redeems his own pain through ministry, but one gets the sense that he is still ministering out of his own anti-strength, strength not Christ’s. Still, his writing is ever-fresh and his case studies are helpful and will be of interest to seminary students for years to come.
FootnotesThe steps in the scientific methods are: felt need, problem definition, observation, analysis, decision, execution, and responsibility bearing. See: Stephen W. Hiemstra, “Can Bad Culture Kill a Firm?” pages 51-54 of Risk Management, Society of Actuaries, June 2009 (http://bit.ly/1H0Vt68).
[3] The idea of approaching God through human experience runs counter to scripture. God stands outside of time and is holy in the sense of set apart—he must approach us, we cannot approach Him. In the Tower of Babel story (Gen 11), for example, God comes down and laughs at the people trying to build a tower to heaven. The uniqueness of Christ arises is that in Christ God comes to us. With spiritual disciplines, we strip away impediments to God approaching us, we do not ourselves approach God. This is one aspect of God’s sovereignty.
In my own experience, Catholic priests more typically focus on administering the sacraments in a hospital setting and leave pastoral visits to the laity. However, Nouwen was writing in 1972 when things may have been different.
Nouwen: Ministry and PainAlso see:Webb: Analyzing Culture Books, Films, and MinistryOther ways to engage online:Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.netPublisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Sum_22, Signup
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July 25, 2022
Song: Monday Monologues (podcast), July 25, 2022
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on Music as an Image of God. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).
To listen, click on this link.
Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!
Song: Monday Monologues (podcast), July 25, 2022
Also see:
Monday Monologue On March 26, 2018
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net,
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com.
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July 24, 2022
Prayer as Song
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
Father God,
We praise you with songs our whole life long. We serve you gladly and enter your presence with singing. We remember that you are God: you made us; we belong to you; we are your people—the sheep of one shepherd. We come to church with thanksgiving and trust your judgment. Your praise fills our hearts and we bless your name. For you are good and your love never fails us—even as we, ourselves, pass away (Ps 100). In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
Prayer as Song
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
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Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
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July 22, 2022
Music as Image
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,
I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. (Exod 15:1)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
Why does scripture’s account of salvation history often sound like a music video? Music illuminates by emphasizing key transitions in scripture, uniting hearts and minds, and expressing Christian joy.
Music marks important transitions in the narrative of scripture. Songs of praise accompany, for example, both the salvation of Israel from the Egyptians after crossing the Red Sea, and their entrance into the Promised Land (Exod 15:1–21; Deut 32:1–43). Hannah’s song marks the birth of the prophet, Samuel, (Sam 2:1–10). Songs also begin and end the New Testament (Luke 1:46–45); 2:14; Rev 19:5–8).
This unity of heart and mind in music is so complete that it does not allow us to choose one over the other (Elliott 2006, 86). Even instrumental music communicates complex forms and themes with deep emotion. Because all of us have songs that we have memorized, music is a form of meditation practiced by virtually everyone. We repeat and memorize holy songs that then define who we are, who we were, and who we will be.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once reportedly told his students: “If you want to be pastors, then you must sing Christmas carols!” (Metaxas 2010, 129). God has sovereignly created and saved us. We respond in praise. Accordingly, our minds know that our debt is beyond repayment and our hearts rejoice from the depths of our being. We are loved by the King of kings and we want to tell the whole world! Words alone are not enough. Holy songs bind our hearts and minds together. Choral music is special, in particular, because it binds our hearts and minds in unity seldom seen elsewhere.
Music is also interesting as an image of God because it is non-visual, not limiting the divine image as with visual images.
Holy music is a special gifting from God that draws our hearts and minds to him. Care must be taken with music as a image of God because the image is necessarily an incomplete image, a sign that points to God, because of the power implicit in the unity of heart and mind, and because some will remain content with sign, not seeking further. Consider the problem of “worship wars” of our time: To understand your true theology, look at the hymns that you sing.If God is your object of worship, it should not matter which hymns are chosen.
References
Elliott, Matthew A. 2006. Faithful Feelings: Rethinking Emotion in the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic and Professional.
Metaxas, Eric. 2010. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy—A Righteous Gentile Versus The Third Reich. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Music as Image
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Sum_22, Signup
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July 19, 2022
McGrath: The Rise and Fall of Atheism, Part 3
Alister McGrath. 2004. The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World. New York: DoubleDay. (Goto part 1; goto part 2)
Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra
Because human beings cannot live without hope, nihilism itself points to God. As Freud himself admits, we were created to worship God! In effect, atheism contains the seeds of its own destruction. The paradox of Christianity is that the cross has become a symbol of hope .
McGrath’s argument for the twilight of atheism is found in chapter 7 where he notes an unexpected resurgence of religion. He starts with his own experience as a former atheist and 5 additional points:
The intellectual argument against God has stalled,Suffering in the world is an argument for God, not against God,Atheism lacks imagination,Renewed interest in the spiritual, andThe remarkable growth of Pentecostalism (6-7).Each of these points deserves discussion.
The Intellectual Argument Against God Has StalledMcGrath writes:
“the philosophical argument about the existence of God has ground to a halt. The matter lies beyond rational proof, and is ultimately a matter of faith, in the sense of judgments made in the absence of sufficient evidence…The belief that there is no God is just as much a matter of faith as the belief that there is a God.” (179-180)
Part of the appeal of atheism was that it was logical consistent and, presumably, based on scientific reasoning while Christianity was not. McGrath writes:
“the arguments of Feuerback, Marx, and Freud really offer little more than post hoc rationalization of atheism, showing that this position, once presupposed, can make sense of things. None of the three approaches, despite what their proponents claim, is any longer seen as a rigorously evidence-based, empirical approach that commands support on scientific grounds” (182).
If atheistic arguments require as much faith as those supporting the existence of God, then observers need to make their decision based on something other than logic. In fact, McGrath observes an interesting parallel between the atheist arguments against God and the classical arguments for God’s existence set forth by Thomas Aquinas (181). Once this parallel is acknowledged, it is clear that the atheist argument is no stronger than the argument for faith.
Suffering In The World Is An Argument For God, Not Against GodThe classical argument against God is a question. How can an all-powerful, benevolent God allow pain and suffering? Either God is not all powerful or he is not benevolent.
While this is a good question, McGrath asks: who planned the Holocaust and who slammed the doors shut on gas chambers? (183) If the new gods of modernity and postmodernity are so good, why is the past two hundred years so full of genocide and murder? By contrast, the God of the Bible is a god who suffers alongside his people—“who bears our sin, pain, and anguish.” (184) The modern experiment, while attractive in theory, has utterly failed in practice and we now know from personal experience what happens when human beings start to think of themselves as gods.
If the logical argument whether to accept the atheist or the Christian religion is a draw, then the practical experience of the modern era clearly favors Christianity, not atheism. The Berlin Wall was built to keep people in, not to keep people out.
Atheism Lacks ImaginationMcGrath writes: “Atheism invited humanity to imagine a world without God.” (188) John Lennon even wrote a song, Imagine—nothing left to kill or die for, on this theme before he was murdered (173). Yet, no one needed to image a world without God anymore—they need only look at the history of the Soviet Union. And the more people learned about it, the less they liked what they saw (187). Those with the most imagination, artists and musicians, often found themselves sent to prison camps—the gulags of Siberia. Meanwhile, Christian writers, artists, and musicians continue to flourish (1986).
Renewed Interest In The SpiritualThe fathers of atheism predicted that the world would outgrow the infantile illusions of religion, but in fact the opposite has occurred. In no place is this more true that in the former communist nations of Eastern Europe and Russia itself (189).
The Remarkable Growth Of PentecostalismThe Pentecostal movement started as a revival in Los Angeles in 1906 but now accounts for about a half billion believers (193-195). McGrath sees 2 factors accounting for the popularity of Pentecostalism:
“Pentecostalism stresses the direct, immediate experience of God and avoids the dry and cerebral forms of Christianity.” and“The Movement uses a language and form of communication that enables it to bridge cultural gaps effectively.” (195).McGrath sees Pentecostalism as the single, most significant alternative to Roman Catholicism and as the “new Marxism” of the third world. That honor used to go to the churches of the Protestant Reformation who seemed to have lost their sense of the sacred and have become significantly secularized (195-197). McGrath contrasts the dry rationalism of protestants—theological correctness whether left or right— to the living faith of the Pentecostals (214-215) .
All good things must come to an end.
McGrath ends with a lengthy account of the life and exploits of Madalyn Murray O’Hair. Madalyn is best known for her lawsuit in 1960-63 to end prayer in U.S. public schools (248). She went on to found the society called American Atheists from which she apparently stole an enormous sum of money (253). What is less well known is that her son, William J. Murray, on whose behalf her lawsuit was filed, grew up to become a believer, a writer, a Baptist minister and an advocate for return of prayer to public schools (248) . What could be more ironic?
Alister McGrath’s The Twilight of Atheism is a wonderful book and a great read.
Footnotes“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matt. 5:4 ESV). Also see: Jesus: Joy in Sorrow (http://wp.me/p3Xeut-Xg).
McGrath writes: “How can God’s existence be doubted, when God is such a powerful reality in our lives? And how can God’s relevance be doubted, when God inspires us to care for the poor, heal the sick, and work for the dispossessed?” (216)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_...
ReferencesWilliam J. Murray. 1995. Let Us Pray: A Plea for Prayer in Our Schools. William Morrow & Company.
William J. Murray. 2000. My Life Without God: The Rest of the Story. Harvest House Publishers.
McGrath: The Rise and Fall of Atheism, Part 3Also see:Webb: Analyzing Culture Books, Films, and MinistryOther ways to engage online:Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.netPublisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Sum_22, Signup
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July 18, 2022
Parting Words: Monday Monologues (podcast), July 18, 2022
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on Parting Words. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).
To listen, click on this link.
Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!
Parting Words: Monday Monologues (podcast), July 18, 2022
Also see:
Monday Monologue On March 26, 2018
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net,
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com.
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