William Hunter
8th November 2005, 03:07 PM (15:07)
This is the title of a new book I am reading by Kent Bower, published by Beacon Hill Press. He refresningly moves away from the modern Biblical cirticism that liberal "theologicans" use to water down the Word, and moves into a bried study of the culture and teachings of the days when Christ walked this earth. While one must do some reading out of bibliography to gain a more detailed history, he gives enough to give good insight into some of the teachings of Christ in the Gospels. This is going to be a book that is hard to put down. I bought one for my youth pastor, too.
Some here have wondered about waht appears to be a passing away of our Wesleyan/Holiness stand as a denomination. If we can get a wide reading of this book, especially by pastors, we may go along way to see this cooling trend reversed. On page 29 he makes this statement in reference to all that has gone before so far in this book: "Without an awareness of this context, we will have great difficulty understanding Jesus and the Gospels, and the call to be a holy people will remain a doctrine divorced from its roots."
The description of Bower reads like this: "Dr. Kent Bower has taught and guest-lectured at colleges, universities, and seminaries around the world for more than 30 years. He has earned degrees from Canadian Nazarene College and Eastern Nazarene College, and a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester under the supervision of Professor F.F. Bruce. Dr. Brower currently serves as Vice-Principal and Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies at Nazarene Theological College in Manchester, England, where he lives with his, Francine."
I'd like to see some of us read this book and discuss some of the insights from it here. I think it would give us a good base from which to grow in our understanding and communication of real Wesleyan-Holiness.
Some here have wondered about waht appears to be a passing away of our Wesleyan/Holiness stand as a denomination. If we can get a wide reading of this book, especially by pastors, we may go along way to see this cooling trend reversed. On page 29 he makes this statement in reference to all that has gone before so far in this book: "Without an awareness of this context, we will have great difficulty understanding Jesus and the Gospels, and the call to be a holy people will remain a doctrine divorced from its roots."
The description of Bower reads like this: "Dr. Kent Bower has taught and guest-lectured at colleges, universities, and seminaries around the world for more than 30 years. He has earned degrees from Canadian Nazarene College and Eastern Nazarene College, and a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester under the supervision of Professor F.F. Bruce. Dr. Brower currently serves as Vice-Principal and Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies at Nazarene Theological College in Manchester, England, where he lives with his, Francine."
I'd like to see some of us read this book and discuss some of the insights from it here. I think it would give us a good base from which to grow in our understanding and communication of real Wesleyan-Holiness.