Tag Archives: worldview

The E-Word: Evangelicals and Evolution

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I just watched an excellent TEDx Talk (17 minutes long) by a Christian biologist, April Maskiewicz, of Point Loma Nazarene University, on evangelicals and evolution.

She tells her own story of first rejecting Christianity because of the popular narrative that she had to choose between God and evolution (as competing worldviews), then coming to faith in Christ, while being an evolutionist.

She lucidly explains, then compassionately dispels, three myths often held by evangelical Christians about evolution.

Myth #1: All Christians think the same way as I do about evolution.

Myth #2: Evolution means “without a creator.”

Myth #3: If humans evolved from a common ancestor, this makes us less special.

It’s well worth watching.

This is the link to the talk.

The Very Best Christian Analysis of ISIS (By Brian Stiller)

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Brian Stiller (a Canadian) has been Global Ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) for the past four years. In this capacity he has visited dozens of countries (including Somalia, Japan, Nepal, Iraq, Egypt, South Sudan) to witness and liaise with Christian groups, especially those suffering persecution.

He has recently edited, along with other scholars, a volume entitled Evangelicals Around the World: A Global Handbook for the 21st Century (Thomas Nelson, 2015).

Along the way Stiller has gained a deep knowledge of the nature and problem of extremist Islam.

His four-part analysis of ISIS is the best and clearest I have found, and should be helpful to anyone wanting to understand the roots, development, character, and goals of this movement. It is particularly helpful in being informative yet non-ideological, while acknowledging the genuine danger of this form of extremist religion.

Stiller’s analysis originated as four “Dispatches from the Global Village” sent as emails to interested persons, which are now compiled into one succinct, yet comprehensive, article. The four parts are:

ISIS Part I: What it is

ISIS PART II: Four central questions

ISIS PART III: Six underlying realities; seven stages in conquest

ISIS PART IV: A Christian response

This is well-worth reading by anyone who wants to be informed on the subject.

 

Michael Gorman to Give Keynote Lecture at Northeastern Seminary Theology Conference

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Northeastern Seminary will be hosting its second Theology Conference on Saturday, March 19, 2016 (the first was held in October 2013 on the theme of New Creation).

The topic for 2016 is Participation in God’s Mission, and the plenary speaker will be Dr. Michael J. Gorman, Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore, MD.

Well-known for his writings on Pauline theology and ethics, Dr. Gorman will be speaking on the shaping of the cruciform Christian life through participation in God’s mission, a theme that blends spirituality and ethics with mission.

Dr. Gorman will present a public lecture for a general audience (on the apostle Paul) on the Friday evening before the conference; then he will give the keynote lecture (on the Gospel of John) for the conference on Saturday morning. Both lectures will be based on his current sabbatical research, for which he was awarded a Henry Luce III Fellowship.

Besides Dr. Gorman’s keynote address, the conference will feature concurrent sessions with papers on topics related to the conference theme. Many paper proposals were submitted before Christmas and they are continuing to come in. The deadline for receiving proposals is currently January 4, but there is a rumor it might be extended by a week. But those interested should still get their proposals in ASAP.

The Call for Papers can be accessed here, and further information about the conference will be posted on the Northeastern Seminary website and Facebook page.

This event is held in partnership with the Canadian Evangelical Theological Association (CETA).

For those interested, you can check out Dr. Gorman’s books here and you can access his blog (called Cross Talk) here.