A REFORMATIONAL NEWSLETTER!
WINTER 2012 VOLUME 1 (2)
A Post-Christmas Reflection
Perhaps it’s just a sign of age, but every year I find the Christmas story more emotionally power-packed than the year before. Sure, its celebration has been grossly commercialized, cheapened by over-decoration, by slickly packaged for movies and TV, and even declared illegal in government buildings. It’s been badly eclipsed by the charming 19th century fairy story a New England father wrote for his children. But – so far, at least – it hasn’t been completely stifled. Just when it seems about to be replaced by its own trappings, the real story shines through again: a section of The Messiah on the radio, the words of a carol in a shopping mall, a picture on a greeting card, or Linus’ moving recital of Luke 2 in Charley Brown’s Christmas. What hit me this year harder than ever before was how the central characters of that story are such absolutely ordinary folk going about their everyday lives, and how its message is so clearly for us ordinary folk going about our everyday lives. We now think of Mary and Joseph as saints, but to their friends and relatives they were no different from thousands of other pious Jews awaiting the coming of the Messiah. The baby Jesus looked and behaved like any other newborn. The business about the birth being in a stable, and their having to use a manger for a crib, shows how far they were from being celebrities. To be sure, the birth itself was a miracle. But at the time only Mary and Joseph knew that. The only other thing that was out of the ordinary was the appearance of angels to announce the birth. And look where they went to do it! They didn’t
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go to Rome to talk with the Emperor, or to Jerusalem to discuss theology with the Chief Priest; they didn’t appear to the loyal Jewish underground seeking to overthrow oppressive Roman rule, or to historians to make sure all was recorded properly. Instead they went a couple of Joe Average bluecollar workers who’d pulled the night shift on a Judean hillside – men who are not even named in the story! By having the angels declare the Great Gift from heaven in this way God shows us just what he thinks of human power, fame, wealth, pomp, and wisdom. He says, in effect, that since his gift is to all people it just won’t matter which ones he picks to be the representative recipients of his birth announcement. Every year I feel more like a shepherd. Roy Clouser
Contents A post Christmas reflection
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Mike Goheen Interview
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Book reviews
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Recent and forthcoming publications 7 WYSOCS News
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All of life redeemed updates
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Contributors
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A REFORMATIONAL NEWSLETTER! INTERVIEW WITH MIKE GOHEEN
Mike, could you tell us a little bit about yourself ? I have been married to Marnie for 32 years, and we have four grown children, ranging in age from 24-30, all of whom (as of August 2011) are married. We have three grandchildren (as of July 2011). We live in the greater Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada. I hold the chair of reformational worldview studies at Trinity Western University, and am a teaching fellow in mission studies at Regent College. I am also minister of preaching at New West Christian Reformed Church, Burnaby, B.C. I enjoy most kinds of sporting events and working out each day. How did you 'discover' reformational philosophy? When I went to Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, USA, there were two Reformed traditions in evidence in the curriculum. I couldn’t sort out the two at the time but now realise they were a more Presbyterian tradition built on Scottish Common Sense philosophy in writers like Warfield and Hodge, and a more Dutch Calvinist tradition in writers like
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Bavinck, Kuyper, Berkouwer, and so on. I read sections from Dooyeweerd’s Critique for a class on Christianity and science and other more reformational books during my time in seminary. I found myself quickly gravitating toward the Dutch Calvinist tradition in terms of worldview, philosophy, and theology.
What lessons does Newbigin have for the reformational movement? There are many convergences between Newbigin and the reformational tradition. But Newbigin offers some emphases that can enrich our tradition: a Christocentric foundation, a strong emphasis on mission including the importance of suffering, Who/what were your earliest evangelism, and spirituality, and influences? the importance of the local con I’ll take earliest here to mean gregation. I have written on this earliest in my development in the here. reformational tradition. Probably three writers were deeply forma- You have just written a book tive in my early years: Al Wolters’ on the missional church – Creation Regained, Herman Ridcould you tell us how that derbos’ Coming of the Kingdom came to be? and other short pieces, and I wrote my doctoral dissertaHerman Bavinck’s Our Reasontion on Newbigin’s missionary able Faith. I should probably add ecclesiology. Baker contracted Henry Van Til’s Calvinist Concept with me to write a book overof Culture that I read at Westviewing missional ecclesiology in minster. terms of biblical, historical, systematic, and practical theology. I Why did you do your PhD on was challenged by some pastors Newbigin? to limit myself to the biblical I found both his ecclesiology and aspect since there was such a understanding of gospel and cul- paucity of good exegesis on misture quite helpful. In terms of sional church. I also wanted to ecclesiology, I was a church open up mission to embrace the planter and pastor for the first full scope of our cultural mission seven years of my career after in public life—a theme dear to seminary. I found the two tradireformational folk. tions—confessionalist and church growth—unhelpful for ecclesiology. One was theologically rigorous but out of date while the other was pragmatic and little rooted in Scripture. I found in Newbigin a way that was faithful to the gospel, theologically rigorous, and culturally relevant. I also heard many echoes of the reformational tradition that I had adopted by that time. In terms of gospel and culture, I found his theory of contextualisation to be quite profound in relating gospel, church, and culture.
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A REFORMATIONAL NEWSLETTER! MIKE GOHHEN INTERVIEW (CONTD) What was your aim in writing the book? The Western church has lost its missional consciousness. What we need are two things: a missional self-understanding. That is, our identity is defined by our role in the biblical story to witness to the coming kingdom in our whole lives. We exist for the sake of the world to be an attractive preview of what is coming and to invite others into the coming kingdom. Secondly we need a sense of a missional encounter with culture. The myth of a Christian culture and the myth of a neutral, secular culture (in both its modern secular and its postmodern pluralist forms) don’t allow us to see the deep religious and idolatrous roots of Western culture. If we are to be a distinctive people shaped by the biblical story rather than the idolatry of the Western story we need to develop this consciousness. The book was meant to provide some biblical foundations for this. What other projects are in the pipeline? Will be see the third part of the Drama/ Crossroads trilogy soon? Craig Bartholomew and I are working on a philosophy book that will include history and systematic philosophy. It is with Baker and we are working toward a first draft later this month. I am also working on an introduction to mission studies book with IVP and hopefully the first draft of that book will be ready by the end of the summer. What do you do for fun? Exercise, watch numerous kinds of sports, travel with my wife,
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enjoy conversation with my children and their spouses, play with my grandchildren, hike.
WINTER 2012 VOLUME 1 (2)
BOOKREVIEWS
What was the first piece of music you bought? In the 1970s I bought an album by Creedence Clearwater Revival. They remain one of my favourite groups. I know that both the music and technology date me! What music are you listening to now? Well, I have a very musical family. My four kids were a string quartet and two of them are now professional musicians. My wife has started a very successful choir and orchestra for young people. But I am aesthetically and musically challenged. However, I have had to work on this to fit into my own family! But my tastes are still quite limited I’m afraid. I listen mainly to two kinds of music—classical and oldies. What are you reading now? At the moment I am reading for the writing I am doing. So I am reading in the area of mediaeval philosophy and in various areas of mission and world Christianity. If you were on a desert island and were allowed two luxuries what would you take? I suppose the immediate response would be books, a computer, and a TV to watch sports but that would be predictable—and it’s three! So I’ll try to be a little more creative—which is hard for me— and say chocolate and Tim Hortons coffee (although I don’t know how you store them on an island).
Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction. Richard Mouw Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 2011. Paperback. Pages xi + 136. ISBN 978-9-8028-6603-5. This is a superb introduction to Abraham Kuyper. As the subtitle suggests it is short (less than 140 pages), but it is also a very accessible and compelling reading. Mouw seeks to introduce some basics of Kuyper's thought. Kuyper was a great polymath, and he wrote on such diverse subjects as art, politics, science, the Holy Spirit and biblical devotional material. To cover all that ground would require several monographs. Hence, the personal nature of the book; Mouw focuses on some of the aspects of Kuyper that 'lured' him into Kuyperiansism. The book is in two parts. Section one looks at an overview of Kuyper on theology and culture. Section two looks at his legacy for the twentyfirst century. This is an excellent first place to look to understand Kuyper's work. But don't just take my word for itsee a fuller review and endorsement of the book by Byron Borger.
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A REFORMATIONAL NEWSLETTER!
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BOOKREVIEWS The Crisis in Humanist Political Theory: as seen &om a Calvinist cosmology and epistemology Herman Dooyeweerd (Translated M. Verbrugge, edited by D.F.M. Strauss, coedited Harry van Dyke) Paideia Press, 2010 ISBN-13 9780888152121
have been sympathetic to the neo-Kantian democratic perspectives of Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch. This was a few years before Hitler became Chancellor of the Reichstag in 1933. Of interest to historians of political theory will be Dooyeweerd's analysis of the apologia for dictatorship from Carl Schmitt (18881985). Schmitt's theory, forged in the heat of the inner spiritual crisis of humanism, prepared the way for the Fuhrerstaat. This volume is the translation of an early ! The second half of the book prowork of Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977), vides Dooyeweerd's (neo-Calvinist) view of originally written and published in Dutch the way the State must function if it is to in 1931. It is the summation of extensive study made carry out its calling "under heaven", and "do" public juswhile he was a policy researcher for the Abraham Kuyper tice. Dooyeweerd, the professor of jurisprudence, was Foundation, think-tank of the major Calvinist political keen to appropriate positive aspects of Abraham party in The Netherlands. It contains an initial systemKuyper's vision of "sphere sovereignty". But that also atic formulation of the Christian philosophy that is asso- meant avoiding some of the dogmatic concepts implicit ciated with his name. in Kuyper's uncritical view of science and scholarship. ! The term Calvinist in the book's title, will for For Dooyeweerd, political theory in the Calvinistic line some suggest a political justification of the doctrine of (from Johannes Althusius (1563-1638), required its own predestination and the Biblical teaching of the "chosen Christian philosophical critique of the scientific task, people". Such a suspicion is not entirely unwarranted, and those a radical critique of any theological endorsegiven for example the historic connections between ment of science's autonomy that go all the way back to Dutch reformed theology and the apartheid ideology in Aristotle and Plato. ! South Africa. But readers of Dooyeweerd's work will ! For Dooyeweerd, Christian political theory is discover that his "reformational" perspective is cut from born outside any attempt to bring Christian and pagan another cloth. This is no work of Protestant triumphalthought into a synthesis. Such an attempted marriage ism. It self-critically maintains a critical distance from has diverted Christian scientific endeavour since the the worldly pride that has repeatedly dogged many podays of the early church. That is not to say that litical contributions of those claiming a Calvinistic inDooyeweerd's argument defaults to a triumphalist view heritance since the 16th and 17th centuries. of Calvinism's contribution to world-history. Not at all. ! Indeed, in his line by line analysis of the then cur- Calvinism as much as other strands of Christianity have rent body of political thought - an incredible library of all been implicated in this attempted "monster marweighty scholarly tomes from the German historical tra- riage". Calvinism's distinctiveness is to be found in its dition, in the tradition of humanistic idealism of Kant idea of law centred on God's will for His creation. and Hegel (and many more) - Dooyeweerd presents him- Dooyeweerd's "philosophy of the idea of cosmic law" self as a reformer of the intellectual tradition. He sifts thus is a signpost to Christians "doing political theory" and evaluates the theories and analyses of those who had that they need to exercise self-critical discernment about formed, and those who were shaping, the contours of the concepts they develop and avoid presuming on their political science. "purity". ! Political theory is assumed to be an important, ! The significance of Dooyeweerd's contribution to though not totally indispensable, scholarly contribution political theory is in his comprehensive definition of the to the work of those called to political oďŹƒce in the adState's task in the promotion and maintenance of public ministration of public justice. Led by the concept of justice. His analysis rejects any view that suggests the public justice, this is the discussion of a reformer of poState should impose or justify any nationalist, ethnolitical theory. He does not proceed to the articulation of supremacist or religious community's ideology. This his own contribution before "doing yeoman's duty" as "neo-Calvinistic" political theory also decisively rejects one who has mastered the strengths and weaknesses, any presumption of its "manifest destiny" to succeed twists and turns, and most importantly the underlying where all other world-views have failed. The implication "ground principles" (what he would later come to refer is that it is not only neo-pagan America which fails but to as "religious ground-motives"), of the prominent poalso any neo-pagan Calvinism! Calvinism's decisive conlitical theories of the day. tribution to political theory is thus interpreted from the ! It is also important to note that this is a work that standpoint of a Christian world-view which promotes was written to be appreciated by a predominantly Gerscientific engagement motivated by the Christianman post-World War I readership. The Netherlands had Biblical ground-motive of creation, fall and redemption remained neutral in the Great War and this analysis was in the communion of the Holy Spirit. penned during the years of the Weimar Republic, said to Bruce C. Wearne
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A REFORMATIONAL NEWSLETTER! Purpose in the Living World Jacob Klapwijk Cambridge University Press ISBN:9780521729437 322pages The discussion around creation and evolution is often polarized and intemperate. Characterised simplistically as a conflict between science and religion opponent positions are dismissed as creationism or evolutionism. Despite this many of the former reject a literal 6 day creation and the latter insist they do not stray from the conclusions of science. Is there a way out of such an impasse? Well lets be realistic, too much is invested in both sides to expect a sudden shift to a more moderate and creative dialogue. Still no one should feel bound by the current terms of the debate and thankfully Klapwijk gives us a fine example of what it can look like. Klapwijk does not take up a mythical posture of neutrality on the topic. He is up front about developing his ideas within the context of a "final hermeneutical horizon of our knowledge and understanding of reality" (197). Klapwijk takes his stance from the Genesis account as "a believing witness regarding God as the source of all being and the origin of all that lives" (9). He distinguishes this creation belief from creationism which goes further in taking the Genesis account as "also a scientifically reliable representation of the manner in which He brought the world and diverse forms of life into being at the beginning of time" (9). Given his philosophical inclination for hermeneutics and siding with creation belief it seems surprising that very early on he states that evolutionary theory is based on "facts as hard as nails". Given later comments - on evolutionary science "not as rectilinear and objective a scientific approach as it would seem at first" (76), and "isolated facts do not exist" (163) - it is probably best to read this opening gambit as more a rhetorical positioning than a philosophical assertion. This is not meant in a critical sense. Klapwijk is making clear that in this book he is not interested in a philosophical critique or rejection of the results of science, but a philosophical reflection on those results (so perhaps we could say "critique" in the kantian sense of discerning the limits of scientific results). Another surprise is that his own upfront con-
WINTER 2012 VOLUME 1 (2) fession of a "hermeneutical horizon" does not lead to a damning of his opponents but almost the opposite: "I acknowledge without hesitation that the naturalistic continuity faith, which I don't share, also has heuristic value" (51-52). For Klapwijk it nevertheless leads to dogmatism when the faith of "naturalistic evolutionism" gets disguised as science and claims for itself a scientific monopoly that wipes all competing faith horizons from the table. Klapwijk's main thesis is what he calls a "general theory of emergent evolution" (GTEE) which "draws our attention to significant differences in level that occur not only in nature but also in human beings and human society. It can be seen as an ontological vision of the differences in level that have, through evolution, delineated themselves in the world of our experience. In this sense "levelism" is a theory not only of emergent evolution but also of ontological stratification. It implies that the world has gradually disclosed itself in an all embracing hierarchy of lower and higher levels that reach from the physical and biotic domains up to the complex spheres of human society" (153-154). This is Klapwijk's own original articulation of philosophical themes pioneered by the Dutch philosophers Herman Dooyeweerd and Dirk Vollenhoeven. One possible misunderstanding of what Klapwijk's thesis is supposed to achieve is the criticism that it fails to offer a mechanism to explain emergence. But this is the scandalous heart of his proposal which argues that no overall explanation can be offered (162) because explanation always works within idionomic domains or ontological levels (135fn). So GTEE is "an open scheme of thought" that works at the approximating level of ideas rather than the precise objective level of conceptual determination (161162). Klapwijk rejects the continuity faith of naturalism which believes that on the basis of a single science all the mysteries of life can be solved. Evolutionary naturalism is a one-dimensional scheme of thought which involves itself in all sorts of contradictions when it confronts the multidimensional world we experience. Each special science has its limits and is unable to provide explanations capable of crossing ontological levels or idionomic domains. Rudi Hayward
NOTHING MATTERS BUT THE KINGDOM. BUT BECAUSE OF THE KINGDOM EVERYTHING MATTERS. GORDON SPYKMAN
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A REFORMATIONAL NEWSLETTER! Creation, Revelation and Philosophy Johan Mekkes Translated by Chris van Haften Dordt College Press Johan Mekkes was a student of Herman Dooyeweerd and wrote four books which elaborate in his own distinctive way the reformational philosophy that Dooyeweerd pioneered. This is the first book Mekkes published and the first to be translated into English. In his brief introduction Bert Balk, who attended Mekkes's lectures between 1964-1970, writes that "He did not teach us a philosophical system, but delivered philosophy in actu. In particular, he imposed upon his students an awareness of all attempts to transgress, by reason or otherwise, the boundaries set by time and the human condition. Put otherwise, his was a critical attitude towards all
Simply Jesus: Who He Was, What He Did, Why It Matters N.T. Wright SPCK, 2011 I am just finishing reading Tom Wright’s latest book: Simply Jesus: Who He Was, What He Did, Why It Matters (London, SPCK, 2011) It carries a glowing (back cover) commendation from Rowan Williams (‘Tom Wright is, as always, brilliant at distilling immense scholarship into a vivid, clear and accessible form. This book is yet another of his great gifts to the worldwide Church.’). What distinguishes his approach and makes the book quite different from any other on Jesus that I have ever read, is Wright’s worldview approach (which, of course, is no guarantee that there aren’t other books like it – if you know of any, do tell me!) Wright has applied this approach in his major academic series Christian Origins and the Question of God and the first book in that series The New Testament and the People of God (SPCK, 1992) is dedicated to Dr Brian Walsh from whom he gained the inspiration for this approach. Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat have applied it in their Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire (Downers Grov e, IL, IVP, 2004), but Wright has established himself as the major theologian and Biblical scholar using it. Wright’s worldview approach is as developed by Reformational scholars (Brian Walsh, Al Wolters, Michael Goheen et al.) rather than Evangelicals. For commentary on the distinction see, e.g. Bonzo, J. Matthew & Stevens, Michael eds After World View: Christian Higher Education in Postmodern Worlds (Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt College Press, 2009), Smith, James K.A. Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation
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WINTER 2012 VOLUME 1 (2) human attempts to deliver, from some alleged God's-eye pointof-view, the answer to all questions." In Mekkes own words scientific theory is just one sector of our life and so "can only arise from within this life, and its systematisation is a matter of recurrent activity by living people." Philosophy is one activity that people can pursue and in doing so they respond to the needs and possibilities of human life within their historical context. Philosophy has its life as part of the historical context that is the development of western culture and so an investigation of the limits of philosophy must confront the place given to reason in this tradition. Given that philosophy must be rational, what are the limits of this standard of rationality? Once again Mekkes insists that "rationality is no more than an abstraction from one of man's many living acts and actions, acquired by way of theory" and so philosophy cannot find its unity in what is called "reason". We are forced back into the very root of our existence and here we must make a choice to either listen or not listen to creational revelation. Mekkes' claim is that since "the avenue of creation is the avenue of the kingdom" so "Life is only revealed through the cross". Rudi Hayward
(Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Academic, 2009), Smith, James K.A. “Worldview, Sphere Sovereignty and Desiring the Kingdom: A Guide for (Perplexed) Reformed Folk” (Pro Rege, 39 (4), June 2011, pages 15-24) Simply Jesus is the first of Wright’s popular books that really shows the power of this wholistic, big picture approach. Jesus, he contends, came to bring God’s wise, healing rule to bear on the Earth. He did not come to teach people ‘how to get to heaven’, or to mount some kind of quasi-military revolution, or to do things that ‘proved his divinity’: The gospels are not about ‘how Jesus turned out to be God’. They are about how God becameking on earth as in heaven. … It has been all too possible to use the doctrine of the incarnation or even the doctrine of the inspiration of scripture as a way of protecting oneself and one’s worldview and political agenda against having to face the far greater challenge of God taking charge, of God becoming king on earth as in heaven. But that is what the stories in the Bible are all about. That’s what the story of Jesus was, and is, all about. That is the real challenge, and sceptics aren’t the only ones who find clever ways to avoid it. (page 147) One of the greatest challenges facing the church today is the evangelisation of young people. On average half of the children of Christian parents do not grow up to share their parents’ faith, whereas nearly 100% of the children of non-religious parents grow up to share their parents’ lack of religious commitment. Today many Christian young people find themselves in schools or colleges with few or no other identifiable Christians. My, and Mark Roques’, experience is that stories incorporating that wholistic, big picture approach engage young people effectively, whereas many traditional approaches no longer work. But after years of worldview-based mission I am still learning a lot from Wright’s new book. I’ll have to seriously revise my teaching notes on both ‘Biblical Introduction’ and ‘Worldviews’! Arthur Jones
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A REFORMATIONAL NEWSLETTER! Less Than Two Do)ars a Day A Christian View of Poverty and the Free Market Kent A. Van Til Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007. pp. 180. $16.00 pb. ISBN 978-0-8028-1767-9. This book's title is taken from the fact that about 40% of the world's population have less than 2$ per day on which to live. Van Til shows how the free market is unable to help those in desperate poverty. The free market distributes goods on the basis of desert - what you can pay for - rather than needs. The first chapter examines the key terms and definitions and then in chapter two Van Til examines the origin and role of the free market. He also highlights some of the often undisclosed assumptions of the free market. The next chapter reveals why the poor don't gain from the free market's distribution. He argues that the free market is not designed to provide basic sustenance and examines six reasons why it is unable. In chapter four he carefully, albeit briefly, examines what the Bible says about poverty. He ably shows that the biblical mandate requires that we provide basic sustenance for all. Particularly helpful is his discussion of the phrase 'the poor you will always have with you'. This is not a pretext to dismiss our care of the poor to take such an attitude is to face the same condemnation that Judas and the disciples incurred. As, he goes on: Elsewhere in the New Testament, Jesus regards compassion for the needy as the standard of genuine righteousness. In the end-times tale of the sheep and the goats (Matt. 25:31–46), Jesus insists that feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and showing hospital-
The Cultural Way of Being (Spiritual Direction in a Postmodern Landscape) Geoff Hall Bristol: Upptackka Press, 2011 pbk, 82pp Available in kindle, pdf, print and iBook here. How does the institutional church treat artists? By and large it doesn't! Art becomes a means of propoganda for evangelistic or advertising purposes, or it becomes a means of self-expression. Hall writes, in part, to try and alleviate this disdain for the artists' cultural calling. Hall pleads for a collaboration between artists and angels: It is interesting that Jesus' last days in the Wilderness involved being looked after by angels before His return to the public sphere. So if you are an angel investor, this may well be your service to the artist.
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WINTER 2012 VOLUME 1 (2) ity to the stranger are norms of righteousness. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus condemns the rich man not for a particu- lar act of theft or fraud but for his general neglect of the poor Lazarus (Luke 16:9– 31). The parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13– 21) shows just how futile constant accumulation can be. In Luke 12:33, Jesus tells all his disciples (not only the rich young man), “Sell your possessions and give to charity.” In a similar vein, James insists that caring for orphans and widows constitutes true religion (James 1:27). In passages such as these, we see that doing justice requires more than passively doing no harm to our neighbor. It requires, rather, that we go out of our way to love the neighbor by seeking out their good, especially the physical good of the poor neighbor. p. 79. Moving from the Bible to the contemporary context is the topic of the next chapter. Here Van Til builds bridges by connecting the scriptures to theological traditions, to economic definitions of basic needs and contemporary political language. From this he maintains that sustenance is a basic right that implies a duty for contemporary society. In chapter 6 he draws upon Abraham Kuyper's sphere sovereignty and Michael Waltzer's spheres of justice to provide a way forward for workable approach to distributive justice. In the final chapter acknowledging the works of Bob Goudzwaard and John Tiemstra he shows what can be accomplished with a theory of distributive justice. This book is a thoughtful and thought-provoking approach to a Christian view of the free market and to poverty. For as little as $100 a year we can make a difference to those on $2 a day.
It is in this collaboration that artists can make art, art that becomes culturally formative, rather than mere personal expression. But it is not just with investors that this creative collaboration can take place, it can be also with gallery owners, publishers and educationalists. Primarily, though the collaboration must be with God: 'The life of the artist is an intimate walk with God' (p. 33). Through this walk with God artists can be 'sensitised to what is going on "around Christ"' (p. 34). All in all this book is a vigorous and articulate call for artists to take their place in God's kingdom and for kingdom people to support them, so that art can be 'a communal expression for the public domain'. The church can then be transformed from a 'culturally reclusive institution'. It needs to be read by all who long for the artist to take their place in God's good creation.
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Work Matters Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work Tom Nelson Wheaton, Crossway Books, 2011 ISBN 978-1-4335-2667-1 221 pages, pbk. There is a tendency for Christianity in some circles to be a leisure activity. We are encouraged to pray, evangelise, worship, study our Bibles in our spare time. Sadly, the 40 hours per week, for forty or so years don't seem to matter - or at least if you looked at the content of most Sunday sermons from the pulpit. It has long been my contention that pastors should every seven years or so take a sabbatical and work in an office, educational establishment, retail outlet or such like. This will help them connect with the everyday pressure those in full-time work experience. Hopefully, it will help them in their discipleship programmes and in what they preach. Christianity is a whole life activity, despite the implicit denial of this from many pulpits. This book, however, provides a refreshing look at whole life Christianity. It's key message is that work does matter.
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Illustrations come from films such as Narnia, WALL-E and Mr Holland's Opus. He also draws upon a wide range of sources Paul Marshall, Os Guinness, Tim Keller, Tom Wright, Miroslav Volf, Luther and Gideon Strauss are all mentioned. He utilises the neo-Calvinist/ Kuyperian framework of creation, fall and redemption to good effect. At the end of each chapter is a short prayer and then several questions for reflection and discussion which makes this book ideal for church small groups. The final chapter 'The church at work' is particularly good. Here he draws upon Lesslie Newbigin's notion that 'the congregation has to be the place where its members are trained, supported, and nourished in the exercise of their parts of the priestly ministry in the world'. he offers some excellent ideas and suggestions how this can be developed. The role of church leaders is to 'prepare the saints for work of service' (Eph 4:12) Too often this gets narrowed down to church-related activities, here Nelson shows with examples that it doesn't have to be that way. Ideas include 'embracing a new vocational paradigm' as he puts it: A primary work of the church is the church at work. Our work not only forms us spiritually; in and through our work, Christ's gospel mission is advanced in the world. (p. 190)
Nelson uses many everyday experiences - including disMany churches employ youth workers and ministers cussions in coffee shops and vignettes from those who maybe one day we'll also see work and vocation ministers have considered how Christianity impacts their work life. too. That will certainly need a paradigm shift. Nelson's eminently readable and accessible book may well
RECENT & FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS
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A REFORMATIONAL NEWSLETTER! he Matrix Reformed Science Fiction, Technology and Christian Philosophy Bert Cusveller, Maarten Verkerk and Marc de Vries Dordt College Press, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-932914-90-3 This book is a translation of the Dutch De Matrix Code. The Wachowski's 1999 film The Matrix has been responsible for a whole cottage industry of books. These include books that deal with the philosophical issues such as Christopher Grau (ed.) Philosophers Explore the Matrix OUP, 2005), William Irwin (ed.) The Matrix and Philosophy (Open Court, 2002) andMore Matrix and Philosophy (Open Court 2005), Matt Lawrence Like a Splinter in Your Mind (Blackwell, 2004) Glenn Yeffeth (ed.) Taking the Red Pi) (Benbella, 2003) and books which use the film to explore Christian themes such as Steve Couch (ed) Matrix Revolutions (Damaris, 2003), Gregory Boyd and Al Larson Escaping the Matrixand Chris Seay and Chris Garrett The Gospel Reloaded (Pinon Press, 2003). And now we have this volume. Is there room for another one? For one as good as this book - undoubtedly! This one is head and shoulders above the rest. It takes
NEWS James Rusthoven on Healthy Bioethics October 22 2011 Dr James Rusthoven, medical oncologist, explored different paradigms for the ethics of life, death and health. In Anchoring Medical Ethics: A Christian Framework, Dr Rusthoven began with a critique of the dominant ethical paradigm in biomedical ethics: the four-principles approach (autonomy + justice + beneficence + non-maleficence). Without disputing the potential importance of these guides to ethical thinking, he argued that simply appealing to them is an inadequate foundation for ethical practice. The belated addition of ‘non-maleficence’ alongside the three longer-established principles epitomises the failure of this approach to understand true beneficence as taught in Scripture. We then heard about the approach developed in Dr Rusthoven’s PhD thesis, which appeals to a covenantal ethic that better respects important interactions among diverse interested parties (physician, patient, family, medical businesses, etc.). The priority of patient care and the integrity of medical practices would be respected by grounding decision-making in discourse among the parties concerned, so that principles such as justice and beneficence are kept in proper perspective viz-à-viz a patient’s rights and individuality.
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WINTER 2012 VOLUME 1 (2) seriously film, science fiction, technology and philosophy. But not only that it provides an excellent introduction to a Christian philosophy. But it doesn't do it in a superficial, icing on the cake or WWJD approach. The Matrix raises many of the perennial philosophical problems such as the nature of reality, freedom or determinism, machines and moral judgments. These are dealt with in this book in a clear and concise manner. They examine how the issues are raised in the film, they then look at how the issues have been dealt with in philosophy looking at philosophers such as Plato, Descartes, Dennett, Putnam, Heidegger. They expose how unsatisfactory such approaches have been and then develop a Christian approach to the issues. They do it in a way that is accessible and illuminating. The book then works on a number of different levels: it is a great discussion of film in general, The Matrix in particular and other science fiction films (mentioned alongside The Matrix are Star Wars, Star Trek, Total Reca), Minority Report, Simone, Final Cut and many more); it acts a primer on philosophy and on Christian philosophy. This book will undoubtably be of value to anyone studying media or philosophy and to anyone who has seen the film!
Then in Contemporary Islamic Bioethics in Theory and at the Bedside, Dr Rusthoven reported on a conference in the U.S. convened by Islamic ethicists and medical practitioners to consider the ethics of healthcare, life and death for Muslims in western societies. Islamic bioethics emphasizes the best protection of life not only from cradle to grave but also before birth and after death. There are disagreements, however, as to what role various bioethical principles should play in developing a biomedical ethical framework. We were introduced to some major differences between Shiite and Sunni traditions, as well as within these traditions, regarding moral deliberation and sources of authority for patients seeking expert religious advice on particular health care decisions. This was followed by a response from Sharif Al-Ghazal, a plastic surgeon working in Bradford. Mr Al-Ghazal’s insights into Muslim thought, combined with his medical experience, paved the way to stimulating discussion with contributions from other medical practitioners in the audience. Richard Gunton
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A REFORMATIONAL NEWSLETTER!
WINTER 2012 VOLUME 1 (2)
Contributors UPDATES H. G. Stoker page has been updated with an updated biography and Philosophy of the Creation Idea a a translation of 1970. Oorsprong en Rigting. Volume II, Section 6. Tafelberg: Cape Town (pp. 202- 331) Roy Clouser 2011. "A reply to J. Glenn Friessen" Philosophia Reformata 76.’
ROY CLOUSER Professor Emeritus, Trenton University. He is the author of The Myth of Religious Neutrality and Knowing with the Heart
MIKE GOHEEN Professor of of worldview and religious studies at Trinity Western. He is the author of A Light to the Nations
Harry van Dyke
2011. Slaying Goliath: The genesis of Reformational philosophy - paper presented at WYSOCS,
RICHARD GUNTON Development officer for WYSOCS, Leeds, UK
Leeds August 2011. Added to the Danie Straus pages: Scholasticism and Reformed Scholasticism at Odds with Genuine Reformational-Christian Thinking Translated by Dr. David Hanson. [It originally appeared in Ned. Geref. Teol. Tydskrif (Dutch Reformed Theological Journal), March 1969 (pp.97-114) .]"God in himself " and "God as revealed to us": the impact of the substance concept Acta Theologica Vol 30 (1) 2010:123-144. The central religious community of mankind in the Philosophy of the Cosmonomic Idea, Philosophia Reformata, 2de kw. (pp.58-67). Three papers by Mike Goheen added: Continuing Steps Toward a Missional Hermeneutic, Fideles, Volume 3 (2008), 49-99. A Missionary Encounter with Western Culture, ACT 3 Review, 15, 1, (2006), 155-171. Imaging God in Our Bodily Lives, BC Christian News, (October 2007) 27, 10, 28-29. New pages added: Tony Tol M. C. Smit Paul Otto David Koyzis
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RUDI HAYWARD Teaches Philosophy at a UK school, he blogs at Intermezzo
ARTHUR JONES Church Army’ Tutor with responsibility for Coordinating Training. He is editor of Science in Faith
BRUCE WEARNE Scholar-at-large, based in Australia.
Forthcoming events February 16-18 2012 Forum on Music and Scholarship Calvin College. Grand Rapids, USA, www.fmcs.us/conferences April 19-21 2012 Neo-Calvinism and democracy conference Abraham Kuyper Center for Public Theology
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