Latest From THE PROFESSOR’S CORNER

THE PEOPLE’S HOUSE begins with a parable by the scholar Carlos Mesters giving insight into what was lost when the enlightenment adopted a historical-critical approach to scripture.  Do you agree or disagree with Mesters?  Did you know that the approach advocated by Mesters has affinities with the early Christian attempt at allegorical or spiritual interpretation? For further information, see James M Dawsey, “The Lost Front Door into Scripture:  The Church Fathers and Latin American Biblical Interpretation,” The Anglican Theological Review 72,3 (1990):  292-305.

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This Week’s MEDITATION

THE LOST COIN concerns the efforts of a woman to recover something precious.  Are we, too, in 2012 searching for something valuable lost in 2011?

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Emory & Henry STUDENT INSIGHTS

In 1676, the great Isaac Newton wrote to Robert Hooke that “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”  While it is true that all learning builds on what has gone before, it is also true that students often surpass their teachers.  In our religious journey, insight many times comes from unexpected  places and true wisdom from travelers who see with fresh eyes.

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Missionary Stories

God asks us to take the good news of his love and his desire for peace, mercy, and justice into the world. And we are to love others as God has loved us. Jesus’ final words according to Matthew were commission and a promise: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:19-20). Christians are called into obedience. Once baptized into Christ we are clothed with Christ (Gal 3:27) and are governed by his values. One such value requires a new take on freedom. In the great Reformer Martin Luther’s phrasing, “A Christian is a free lord of all, subject to no one; yet also a willing servant of all, subject to everyone.”

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Through THE EYES OF FAITH

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD contrasts superficial appearance with a religious aesthetic.  The Apostle Paul often used the phrase “in Christ” to describe the new perception that accompanies the Christian’s life.  Attitudes and activities that once governed life, such as envy, greed, and enmity were replaced, he thought, by other values such as love, patience, and kindness.  One of my favorite descriptions of Jesus comes from Peter who said of him simply that “he went about doing good” (Acts 10:38).  Do you agree or disagree with the daughter’s assessment of her mother in the Post?

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What’s new in BOOKS AND REVIEWS

Look for a copy of J. M. Dawsey’s Handbook for the Christian Faith: Essential Beliefs and Practices for Twenty-First Century Methodists and Like-Minded Protestants. A Book About Extraordinary People on the shelves of your favorite bookstore or at Amazon.com, in paperback, hardback, audiobook, or kindle, fall 2023.