Cross-Cultural Servanthood Chapter Summary

I personally felt that this book is not only for Christian ministers or leaders but for everyone and anyone because, as mortal human beings, we live in a societal world where caring or helping each other is indispensable. I like the way Nouwen makes us see the four chapters of this book, as entering into four different doors, each representing the ‘problems of ministry in the modern world’ (Nouwen, 2010, p.3). I’ve categorized my reflections on this book into three particular headings. The Human Condition Nouwen starts the first chapter by portraying Peter, a young man going through the contemporary human condition, which is, the search of meaning to their life.

I view my case with me trying to spread Quakerism in England in the same regard. Religion is meant to be the reflection of one’s conscience in their own ability to worship, and their conscience to worship must not be coerced to worship as through

Roy Lessin, an American author, wrote “you’re here not by chance but by God’s choosing, to fulfill His special purpose in your life for this generation.” In many ways this quote ties to A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. As Johnny Wheelwright (the narrator) revisits his past with his best friend Owen Meany, he sees signs that a greater force was interfering in their lives, and some coincidences are too perfect to be natural. Owen himself realizes he is on Earth for a specific purpose, God’s purpose. Irving uses a litany of references, symbols, and images to distinguish Owen Meany as a Christ figure.

Rick Warren and Sam Harris are undoubtedly leaders in different spheres of thought. Warren, a big-name evangelist and founder of one of the largest churches in the United States, debated Harris, a soft-spoken neuroscientist and key player in the proliferation of New Atheism, under the supervision of Jon Meacham for a Newsweek special. In the conflict of theism versus atheism—God or no God—Warren makes a case for the former, explaining that because of our limited knowledge of the universe and our inherent feeling of spirituality, we must have faith in the traditional Christian God. I agree with Warren in that the human scope of knowledge is extremely limited, but I staunchly disagree that this assumes the existence of God. Not only are Warren’s claims about miracles, atheists and his rationale regarding morality factually unfounded, they are primarily the result of some characteristic psychological fallacies.

God’s love, strength, justice and wrath are infinite but the worldly disappointments, hatred and the fear ends. King uses Christian scriptures as his evidence. In the bible, God promised his people as long as they have full faith in him that he would aid them and strengthen them to do what is difficult in the midst of hard

There was much focus on the Spirit in the old testament even though there are clear passages that could have been used to show the holy spirit in action. Then we see in Judges that he sees Samson and Gideon as persons we should emulate. Rather I think the book of judges as a show of God’s faithfulness. He also begins to say that we need to make ourselves worthy vessels for the Holy Spirit. Which I think will make think they need to earn the holy spirit Isaiah 64:6

Biblical perspective should be our worldview, so when one states that we are integrating our worldview into the classroom, theoretically they should be integrating Biblical principles into the classroom (MacCullough, 2008)        In his book , "The Universe Next Door", James Sire defines worldview as providing a foundation on which we live, move, and have our being based on stories from our heart whether they be true , partially true , or false . Another definition of worldview is defined as, “a set of presuppositions or assumptions which we hold consciously or subconsciously about the basic makeup of our world (McCullough p.14). Worldview also deal with our background; culture; values; philosophy of life; religious choices and faith together, creating our identity.

With many prayers and asking God for his favor, grace, along with the focus and tenacity to understand all that was ahead of me. However, after researching several universities, I felt strongly God was leading me to enroll at CCU. This verse comes to mind in writing this paper, “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (Exodus 4:12 NIV).

So true justice does not rest on what society reflects upon with reason alone. The place to learn about justice is first and foremost from the biblical narrative of God’s creative, sustaining and redeeming activity in the world. The meaning of justice is known primarily from God’s revelation in history, and in the Bible is found the record of this revelation. The Bible is the story of God’s self-disclosure in both word and deed, and it is from this disclosure that one comes to know and understand more what justice entails. Social justice finds its beginning in God, who is both social and just.

Christian educators are beginning to realize that to be truly Christian, is more than providing a theoretical guidance and generalization about education and work. It is a vital part of the content of the curriculum and integrated with all subject matter. Consequently, some persons are exhibiting an idolatrous attitude towards Christian “education and work” undertaken in capitalist societies” (Cates, 2005). Even though the Bible should be the integrating factor around which all other subject matter is correlated and arranged, and provides the criterion by which all other subject matter is judged. The philosophical work of human hands tends to conceal the work being done by the hand of God, ironically heightening the alienation experienced by workers and educators (Cates, 2005).

Falk took on a secular worldview and he attempted to change the Bible to fit this worldview. In doing this he may have done more harm than

Below write 200 words stating and outlining 3 KEY POINTS gained from the lecture material and explain why you consider them key points. My first main point is how Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of the promise by Yahweh to sent the Messiah, ‘The one who saves’, in the New Testament. The Gospel texts describe who Jesus is or what he did and are linked to Old Testament texts. This important as it associates and further bring together all parts of the Bible as the New Testament is written in light on the Old Testament.

I grew up in a fundamentalist church environment that Entwistle (2010) would describe as a group that is “typically opposed the entire field of psychology…and [is] critical of those who did not share their distrust of psychology” (Entwistle, 2010, p. 47). For the last fifteen years, I have fellowshipped at non-denominational churches but must admit that, whenever I felt theologically challenged, I always fell back on my fundamental Bible training. As a result of Entwistle’s book, I learned that I have a monotheistic Christian worldview that affects how I interpret and evaluate people, places, and things. Even though I believe that coaching and counseling share some of the same goals (behavior correction and change), I had not thought about the implications of embracing other disciplines, in my Christ-centered, Christian coaching model. It turns out that, after reviewing Entwistle’s (2010) integration models, I would be a cross between the Enemies (Christian Combatant) and Colonists models.

Oswalt gives accurate details of how Israel believe in one divine being and goes on to name in today’s society there are only three monotheism religion ; Christianity, Judaism and Islam. These three religion have one thing in common; Old Testament. Oswalt tells the readers that God is a spirit and is self-existing. There are many who relates to God as a male because of how he is describe in the Bible.

Origins Reflection There are many different perspectives, and theories on how the universe and human life came about. One perspective in particular really trumps the knowledge of us as human beings. The Christian worldview comes down to faith. According to the textbook, faith “is the process of committing to particular presuppositions; the act of trusting in Jesus Christ to define oneself, which constitutes a transformation of a person 's spirit from selfishness to selflessness. ”(Waddell, 2014)