Are You a Saint or an Ain’t?
Voice from the Past: Born Again
This article was originally published in the GES newsletter in April of 1991. Have you ever heard or had a conversation something like the following? “Are you a Christian?” “Well of course I’m a Christian! Do you think I’m a heathen? I’m an American!” “Well, I mean do you believe…” “I believe in God.” “But […]
You and Your Teaching – 1 Timothy 4:16
During the hundreds of years in which the notorious Spanish Inquisition was in force to root out and destroy “heresy,” there was a “ceremony” called an auto da fe, which is Portuguese for “act of faith.” In Spain, Portugal, and their New World colonies, Protestants, Jews, and other non-conformists were frequently burned at the stake-often […]
Historical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles
Historical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles By William M. Ramsay. Ed. by Mark Wilson. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1996. 160 pp. Paper, $9.99. Many religious writers have doubted or denied the historical reliability of at least parts of the Bible. Few, however, have gone out to test these theories as did Sir William Ramsay (1851-1939). […]
In Defense of the Faith: Biblical Answers to Challenging Questions
In Defense of the Faith: Biblical Answers to Challenging Questions. By Dave Hunt. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1996. 347 pp. Paper, $11.99. Hunt’s full and well-researched book seeks to answer the hard questions on the Bible and on conservative, Evangelical Christianity in this organized and interesting volume. Part of the success of the text […]
Witnesses in Stone: Landmarks and Lessons from the Living God
Witnesses in Stone: Landmarks and Lessons from the Living God. By Frederic R. Howe. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1996. 144 pp. Paper, $8.99. There is an old Jewish story that when God was creating the earth He assigned two angels to drop stones all over the earth. Each angel got a huge sack of stones […]
The Parable of Joy: Reflections on the Wisdom of the Book of John
The Parable of Joy: Reflections on the Wisdom of the Book of John. By Michael Card. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995. Pp. 259. Cloth, $19.99. Especially after reviewing the emasculated “Inclusive” Oxford variant of the NRSV and the loose and racy Message, I find musician Card’s book reverent, artistic, and accurate. His work is a […]
The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Version
The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Version. Ed. by Gold, Hoyt, Ringe, Thistle-Thwaite, Throckmorton, and Withers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. 55 pp. Cloth, $14.95. Since this book is a further revision of the NRSV in the interest of even more inclusive language than was there allowed, perhaps it would be germane to […]
The Message: New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs
The Message: New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. By Eugene H. Peterson. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1995. Pp. 940. Paper, $17.00. All Scripture quotations in this publication [review] are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. The author—I feel “translator” would be a misnomer—says that the NT was […]
The Shepherd of Hermas
“The Shepherd of Hermas,” in The Apostolic Fathers, 2:2-305. Translated by Kirsopp Lake. Cambridge, MA: The Loeb Classical Library, 1977. Cloth. If you hate free grace, forgiveness, and divine compassion, you’ll love “The Shepherd of Hermas,” here printed in Greek and English on facing pages. A more legalistic, works-oriented allegory would be hard to come […]