February 2007 issue now out
Posted by stimulusjournal on February 24, 2007
The February 2007 issue is now out. The issue continues several of Stimulus‘ ongoing themes. A number of the articles engage overtly with our increasingly postmodern contexts and sensibilities.
The Bible
A marked ignorance of, and concern to get to grips with, the Scriptures is identified – particularly with respect to the evangelical expression of the Church. Mark Brown presents solid evidence of Bible disengagement in New Zealand. A Bible Society survey showed only 21% of those church attendees surveyed read their Bible daily, 22% read the Bible weekly, while 57% read the Bible occasionally or hardly ever! The text of Chris Marshall’s Clyde Vautier Memorial Lecture considers the matter more broadly and sharpens the focus on the major factors in scholarship and culture that condition Bible disengagement among Christians in postmodernity. Chris’ article is followed by a discussion on the matter between John Crawshaw and Chris Marshall, facilitated for Stimulus by Gavin Drew. Peter Stuart writes about the ministry of preaching, seeing it as core to the life of the Church and part of the wider ministry of the Word. His article is aimed at those who actually open the Scriptures for the edification of others in the Church, seeking to help them better understand and perform their mission.
Faith and science
The science/faith dialogue is critically examined with special attention to strengths and weakness of postmodern approached to knowledge. Sean Devine suggests that Christianity and science are far more compatible bedfellows than Christianity and postmodernism. “…in contrast to postmodernism, science does not exclude an overarching explanation of human existence.” Nicola Hoggard Creegan’s regular column discusses Richard Dawkins’ book, The God Delusion. She concludes that it is a combination of the convincing and the outrageous. While Dawkins’ criticisms have validity, they are false in the larger scheme of things.
Global mission
We are reminded of the global context of the Church and her mission as Andrew Butcher reports on his experiences at the Younger Leaders’ Gathering in Port Dickson in 2006, organised by the Lausanne movement. Andrew reminds us that God has “the whole world in his hands” and shares his experiences of meeting, talking, and worshiping with those who follow Jesus in many different countries. Not a few of those with whom Andrew fellowshipped will suffer severe persecution and may die for their faith.
Again Geering
Lloyd Geering, is again topical. In this issue a report and two review articles cover Geering’s autobiography Wrestling with God and the collection of critical essays about him entitled A Religious Atheist? Together the three contributions scrutinise Geering’s thought, as a cultural and intellectual phenomenon, against the backdrop of increasing dissatisfaction with the modernism that shaped him and characterised his life’s work.
