Both Christian and Muslim? Sort of…
June 28, 2007
The Seattle Times reports that Rev. Dr. Ann Holmes Reading, an Episcopal priest, has announced that she has been a Muslim for the last fifteen months. The conversion of a clergyperson of one faith to another is newsworthy, perhaps, but Dr. Holmes Reading has surprised people by declaring that she is both Christian and Muslim.
Her bishop has backed her, saying that he finds “the interfaith possibilities exciting,” while the leaders of her Islamic study centre welcome her. Other Episcopal and Islamic clergy, however, find the whole notion preposterous–indeed, heretical and blasphemous. Even the newspaper runs a list of contradictory doctrines.
The question at the heart of this interfaith controversy, of course, is what “faiths” are going to be “inter-ing.”
“Creation vs. Evolution”: Is This a Sensible Question?
June 22, 2007
School boards in an uproar. Parents protective of their children. Teachers defensive. Students confused. And American presidential candidates feeling compelled to declare their views. The furore over creation versus evolution has been going on for almost a century and a half since Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species (1859).
The sad thing is that so much energy is wasted on what is, mostly, a non-issue: “creation versus evolution” is, in most respects, nonsense.
Reginald Bibby, Officer of the Order of Canada
June 19, 2007
I’ve just returned from a weekend consultation with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada as the EFC sets up an exciting new research arm.
Among the several old friends among the several dozen gathered there was Reginald Bibby. It was my privilege to nominate Reg for the Order of Canada, and my delight to see him named an Officer of that order last year.
Here is my letter of recommendation to the Governor-General, which I post here as a tribute to my friend and as an introduction to those of you who don’t know of Reg, and should:
A Perfect Blog Post
June 16, 2007
I’m back from vacation (and thanks to the several of you who wrote kind notes encouraging me to come back!), so I want to aim high. Here it is, then, faithful readers: the perfect blog post.
Indeed, it’s not just perfect. It’s great, awesome, and more.
At least, it is by the standards of our current vocabulary.
Rich Mouw, president of Fuller Seminary, posted recently about how servers in restaurants all seem to greet his orders now with the same response: “No problem.” I get that a lot, too, as I’m sure you do. But I’ve noticed a different trend.
Vacation Time!
June 2, 2007
Yesterday I sent to New York my latest manuscript–about 570 double-spaced pages of a book whose working title is Making the Best of It: Christian Discipleship in the Real World–to be published by Oxford University Press likely early in 2008. I’ve pushed hard to make the June 1 deadline, and I’m going to take some vacation now.
So I’ll leave off blogging for a fortnight. Thanks to the hundreds of you who have been reading and recommending this blog, and to the special few who offer comments! As I take this time off, I’m going to reflect on this blogging experience (started last December) and seek God’s guidance as to whether to continue. Thanks for praying for me in this regard, if you’re inclined to do so. And I pray for you a fine June, until we connect again here in cyberspace.
Christianity Today magazine recently published a troubling article about a group of churches in the United States associated with Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California.
What was troubling was that an old, old pattern among evangelical leaders has emerged yet again. Entrepreneurial, charismatic leaders, such as Calvary Chapel’s Chuck Smith, strike out on their own in innovations that result in considerable blessing to many. Calvary Chapel was the home, most famously, of many of the “Jesus music” rock bands of the 70s and 80s and was a key centre for the “Jesus People.”
But such freewheeling personalities are prone to want to do it all themselves and to keep doing it themselves. And they typically fail to realize that the “go it alone” approach that made sense in the “pioneering” phase can devolve into sheer dictatorial egomania in the “settler” phase.
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