By: Phil Goldsberry on November 10, 2016
Introduction I believe that there is truth, absolute truth. Reading, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari is a love/hate relationship with scholarship and the gross error of manipulating the idea of absolute truth. The title implies the word “brief” and Harari claims to go back 13.5 billion years to the…
By: Aaron Peterson on November 10, 2016
Where are we headed as a __________? This question is being asked over and over in almost every aspect of my life. “Where are we headed as a school?” “Where are we headed as a church?” “Where are we headed as a family?” “Where are we headed as a country?” By building a 13.5 billion…
By: Rose Anding on November 10, 2016
A Brief History of Humankind from the Collections of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem Introduction This blog presents a book review of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Sapiens belongs to the species of great syntheses, written in a playful tone and overflowing with information while developing a point of view. Drawing from all disciplines, Israeli historian…
By: Stu Cocanougher on November 10, 2016
Grenz, Stanley J., and Roger E. Olson. Who Needs Theology?: An Invitation to the Study of God. Downers Grove, IL, USA: InterVarsity Press, 1996. When I was 22 years old, I remember meeting with the pastor of my home church, First Baptist Church of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Rev. Billie Friel, or “Brother Billie” as I…
By: Marc Andresen on November 10, 2016
Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion: it considers the nature of “knowing.” Dr. Yuval Harari would have done us a favor if he had begun Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind with this definition. How do we know? Anything to which we are not an eye witness we “know” and…
By: Claire Appiah on November 10, 2016
Yuval Noah Harari – Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Early on I developed an aversion for the content in this book due to the following representative statements and more: P5—“Like it or not, we are members of a large and particularly noisy family called the great apes. Just 6 million years ago, a single…
By: Garfield Harvey on November 10, 2016
Introduction One of the outcomes of our program is to “gain an advanced understanding and integration of ministry in relation to the dynamics of globalization and leadership.” Culture helps to define situations, attitudes, values and sometimes our careers. When we look at culture, it helps us to identify how we fit in based on our…
By: Jason Kennedy on November 10, 2016
Yuval Noah Harari is a brilliant writer. His book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind flows seamlessly from section to section describing man’s evolution from the cousins of chimpanzees to the highly intellectual being that roams the earth today. Compared to Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species, Harari’s is easy to understand and digest.…
By: Katy Drage Lines on November 10, 2016
I’m holding my copy of Who Needs Theology? in one hand and my newspaper in my other hand today [yes, I’m part of the proud few who still subscribe to a hard copy newspaper], and I’m flummoxed over what to say, how to respond to our country’s choice of president. Clearly, we who have critically…
By: Jim Sabella on November 10, 2016
Throughout the year I am in many churches. In recent years I’ve noticed a bit of an emerging theme within the churches I’ve visited. I’ve heard it say that everyone is a pastor; everyone is a minister; everyone is a leader; everyone is a MISSIONARY; everyone is a deacon; everyone is an evangelist; everyone is an…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on November 9, 2016
Sorrow was the primary emotion I felt when my daughter, McKenna, a freshman at George Fox University, called me to discuss the reactions of her classmates to the new presidency. The folk theology that entered their evening discussion was: “God allowed Trump to win the presidency because men are the ones who are supposed to…
By: Lynda Gittens on November 9, 2016
God, the One we have been taught to trust and believe. We have been preached to for numerous years to ask in Jesus name, and you shall receive, be obedient, and God will bless you. November 8th for many believers in America were left wondering why their prayers were unanswered, but there some who believe…
By: Chip Stapleton on November 9, 2016
In the wake of the US presidential election yesterday, I have found it incredibly hard to untangle my thoughts – let alone my emotions – about theology, it’s purpose and usefulness in our lives and our world. [Warning: political opinion] One of the questions that I have been wrestling with is: how in the world…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on November 9, 2016
There is no denying that fact that today Americans woke up with many feelings, emotions, questions, etc. For some, the president-elect is seen as a revolutionary political messiah. A person who vows to protect the racist, bias, sexist, religious, and misogynistic ideals of America while reassuring them that their superiority is restored leaving the marginalized in…
By: Mary Walker on November 9, 2016
Who Needs Theology? By Stanly J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson “Taking faith into life means looking at the society in which we live through theological eyes.” (p. 127) “We invite you to set out on a journey toward becoming a reflective lay Christian theologian anyway.” (p. 135) “Perhaps the largest hurdle or greatest chasm…
By: Geoff Lee on November 9, 2016
One of the leading theologians of the denomination to which I belong reflected that our movement has traditionally preferred exclamation marks to question marks. This has certainly been my experience. I feel like I have grown up in a church full of exclamation marks, that has focused very much on experience and the heart,…
By: Pablo Morales on November 4, 2016
SUMMARY Collins told us that Level-Five leaders surround themselves with self-motivated people who seek understanding together. They learn from mistakes and develop an atmosphere where people’s input is valued. Hirshman told us that it is very important to develop this kind of environment because it allows people to have voice, and in doing so it can…
By: Jason Kennedy on November 4, 2016
In Charlene Li’s work, Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead, she describes a business and leadership world in which openness is the new key to success. Her book is divided into two parts: what is openness and how does a companies and leaders achieve openness. For her, she does not…
By: Kristin Hamilton on November 3, 2016
“So, who is your favorite social theorist?” This isn’t really the kind of question that comes up at dinner parties, sporting events, or (let’s be honest) in seminary hallways. Even now, after reading Contemporary Social Theory by Anthony Elliott, I couldn’t begin to answer that question. I can tell you that social theorists…
By: Phil Goldsberry on November 3, 2016
Introduction Show-and-Tell needs guidelines. Even the concept of “showing” must have some parameters or you can cross over lines that are both offensive, immoral, and possibly illegal. To “tell” is the challenge in today’s social media, world access through the internet, and hundreds of cable stations that bombard us 24/7. In a society that is…
