Monthly Archives: March 2015

A Tossed Salad

Posted on March 31, 2015 by rjs5

When I was growing up we had tossed salad with dinner quite often, especially during the summer. My dad would make the salad, with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, and such, cut up small and tossed together, well mixed. When we … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Life, Church | Tagged | Comments Off on A Tossed Salad

And It Was Very Good

Posted on March 26, 2015 by rjs5

John Walton’s new book The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and the Human Origins Debate explores a topic at the center of much of the controversy between science and Christian faith. Following the format used in his … Continue reading →

Posted in Adam, Creation, Genesis | Tagged | Comments Off on And It Was Very Good

Hope is Our Foundation

Posted on March 24, 2015 by rjs5

Christianity is a religion founded on hope precisely because it is founded in God and his work in the world through Jesus, the Messiah of God. The resurrection is the clearest example of this hope, but it is far from … Continue reading →

Posted in Eschatology, Resurrection | Tagged | Comments Off on Hope is Our Foundation

But Is it True?

Posted on March 19, 2015 by rjs5

Iain Provan in Seriously Dangerous Religion: What the Old Testament Really Says and Why It Matter has taken us through a survey of the Old Testament to explore the Old Story told in the Bible. He then connected it with … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Problems for Faith | Tagged | Comments Off on But Is it True?

The Nature of Creation

Posted on March 17, 2015 by rjs5

There are several new books on my desk, The Nature of Creation: Examining the Bible and Science by Mark Harris, The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and the Human Origins Debate by John Walton and Religion and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Creation | Tagged | Comments Off on The Nature of Creation

The Riddle of Jesus

Posted on March 12, 2015 by rjs5

I’ve been slowly working through The God of Hope and the End of the World by John Polkinghorne and Surprised by Scripture by N. T. Wright. The books converged this week as I read Polkinghorne’s chapter on The Resurrection of … Continue reading →

Posted in Resurrection | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Riddle of Jesus

Faith and Culture: Uneasy Partners

Posted on March 10, 2015 by rjs5

The final section of Philip Yancey’s new book Vanishing Grace: What Ever Happened to the Good News? looks at faith and culture. The first chapter considers the uneasy partnership between Christians and power (politics) while the second, entitled Holy Subversion, … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Life, Evangelicalism | Tagged | Comments Off on Faith and Culture: Uneasy Partners

New Dimensions in the Old Story

Posted on March 5, 2015 by rjs5

Chapter 12 of Iain Provan’s new book Seriously Dangerous Religion: What the Old Testament Really Says and Why It Matters finally turns to the New Testament, and the story many of us have wanted to dig into from the beginning. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Image of God | Tagged | Comments Off on New Dimensions in the Old Story

When Does it Matter?

Posted on March 3, 2015 by rjs5

The first two chapters in N. T. Wright’s book Surprised by Scripture address questions concerning science and Christian faith. The primary focus in the second was on Adam (It’s About God and God’s Kingdom), but the essay started with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Adam, Bible, Creation, Pastoring and Preaching | Tagged | Comments Off on When Does it Matter?