a worthwhile event coming up soon in Philadelphia …
My friend Michael Harden puts together what is to me one of the truly important - and different - annual gatherings in the US. Here's the info - coming up in a few weeks:
Book of Peace, Book of Power: Rediscovering the Authority of the Bible
June 3-4, 2009 Eastern University, Philadelphia
Featuring: Tony Campolo & Walter Wink
Can Christianity afford to make the same mistakes it always has, or is the time here for us to reconsider how to read and interpret scripture the way Jesus did?
Jesus came as the Prince of Peace. Does it bother you that for almost two millennia Christians have interpreted the Bible as justification and warrant for war, pogroms, inquisitions and all manner of personal and corporate violence?
Can’t we do better than this? We believe we can! Join us as we begin forming an overarching hermeneutic for the 21st Century. A way of interpreting scripture that takes seriously the intellect of modern persons and our commitment to follow in the faith and footsteps of our Risen Lord Jesus.
Additional INFO at our site: http://www.preachingpeace.org/peacepower.htm
More after the jump:
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follow-ups …
This from Jesse Lava on the Pew Survey regarding church dropouts ...
A lot of somewhat wild and crazy misinformation has been circulating about the Hate Crimes legislation. If people send you dire warnings about the loss of religious freedom, you might want to send them to this fact sheet from Third Way, prepared by people I trust.
My friend Sam Lee shares from his heart on poverty during a recent trip to Philippines ...
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Thanks Stanley Fish!
Joe Phelps passed on this link ... tremendous article on faith, atheism, religion, meaning, theology, etc.
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podcast series on the biblical story …
A few years ago I prepared a series of 20 minute podcasts that give an overview of the whole bible. Emergent Village will be re-releasing the podcasts - for listening online or downloading as mp3's. A lot of people have told me this series has been helpful to them - you can get the first two episodes here.
Speaking of the biblical story - I had a tremendous time over the weekend in Portland, Maine with the good people of Immanuel Baptist Church and several other area churches. Sunday, I preached on Luke 4:1-21 ... 4:1-13 address our inner life, confronting our inner demons, seeking the purifying work of the Spirit in our lives. Then beginning in 4:14, we see Jesus begin his public ministry, proclaiming the Spirit's anointing for addressing poverty, oppression, blindness, debt, and so on. I think we were all struck that this passage brings together two things that never should have been "put asunder" - the inner life of devotion, formation, and character development and the outer life of mission, action, and social change. Both are Spirit-guided activities. Both are essential to the spiritual life ... we need to be (to borrow from Richard Rohr) centered in action and contemplation.
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