Welcome to the third post in a series in which we explore with Mary Poplin her 2014 publication Is Reality Secular? Testing the Assumptions of Four Global Worldviews? (InterVarsity Press). In earlier posts Mary provided: perspective on why she wrote Is Reality Secular? a brief snapshot of the four global worldviews she writes about in Is Reality Secular? In this piece Mary Poplin responds to my question, "What do you desire to be the top takeaways for readers of Is Reality Secular?" In future posts Mary … [Read more...] about Takeaways from “Is Reality Secular?”
christianity
Interview: Barbara J. Hampton on “Reading Scripture Together: A Comparative Qur’an and Bible Study Guide”
While scholars and pundits debate whether in fact we are facing a "Clash of Civilizations" (in Samuel Huntington's words) between the West and Islam, there is a different kind of encounter that is possible in universities in many parts of the world. Christians and Muslims attend classes together, form friendships, compete on intramural teams, and stay up late together sometimes, talking about the deepest questions. While such conversations can't resolve the violent clashes occurring elsewhere, no one knows what might … [Read more...] about Interview: Barbara J. Hampton on “Reading Scripture Together: A Comparative Qur’an and Bible Study Guide”
Book Review: Allah: A Christian Response
A number of years ago a student asked me, "Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?" That is a question that has lingered with me over the years and so I turned with interest to this book in which Miroslav Volf explores the same question and the implications of how we answer it. An important thing to understand about this book is that it is not written in the vein of the "all religions are pointing to the same truth" or that Christianity and Islam are different paths leading to salvation. What Volf, who would … [Read more...] about Book Review: Allah: A Christian Response
Time to discuss faith, psychology and neuroscience?
Preface Robert Boyle, illustrious scientist and Fellow of the Royal Society, described how, while in Geneva on a continental holiday, he underwent a conversion from nominal, unthinking Christianity to committed Christianity. As a result of his experiences, he stressed the need for Christians to have what he called an "examined faith." [1] John Stott, discussing Paul's letter to the Christians in Philippi, drew attention to the importance for all Christians to heed the apostle's exhortation to "contend for the faith … [Read more...] about Time to discuss faith, psychology and neuroscience?
In God We Trust: A July 4th Conversation on the Historian’s Vocation & the Church
The assistant rector at Christ Church in Philadelphia, the Reverend James Abercrombie, once preached a vehement sermon protesting the “unhappy tendency of’those in elevated stations who invariably turned their backs upon the celebration of the Lord's Supper.” Though Abercrombie did not name names, then President George Washington, who was in attendance that day, took the message to be aimed directly at him and thought it “a very just reproof.” Washington's custom had long been to excuse himself from church when it … [Read more...] about In God We Trust: A July 4th Conversation on the Historian’s Vocation & the Church