مراجعة كتاب بعازر عجاج

مراجعة كتاب

 الجليل يشهد: شهادات حيّة لجليلييّن قبلوا المسيح فسبقونا للمجد

إعداد وتحرير: عزيز سمعان دعيم

إصدار ونشر: كنيسة الإخوة المسيحيين – عبلين

تاريخ النشر: كانون الاول 2012-12-26

Download the PDF.

Book Review of 'Out of Islam: "free at last"'

Another NETS Book Review, this one by Alex Miller:

Catholic, Kurd, and ex-Muslim:

a book review of Out of Islam: “free at last”

By Daniel Ali (TatePublishing, 2007, 162 pages)

 

Click HERE to download the PDF.

Spring 2013, MA Classes

 

 

Theology of Suffering and Persecution,
taught by Bryson Arthur
 

Ephesians,
taught by Brent Neely

 

 

 

Tentative beginning date: January 21st.

 

Review of Steven Paas' book on Johannes Rebmann

In our latest NETS Book Review, Phil Hill reviews Steven Paas' book Johannes Rebmann: a servant of God in Africa before the rise of western colonialism (VTR Publications, 2012, 271 pages).

Download the PDF of the book review.

New Faculty Publication

Alex Miller interviewed an experienced, veteran minister who spent many years in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and assisted in training new workers who went on to affect the Middle East in various ways. Here is part of that interview:

2) Your ministry put you in a position where you were able to know and influence a large number of young and new missionaries. What were some of the main things that you tried to teach them?

1. That pleasing God is the only worthy goal in any phase of ministry. Others goals constantly seek to influence us, i.e., fluency in the local language, impressing others, emulating some famous missionary of the past, having a large group of friends, saving money, winning a certain number of converts, not making the mistakes of so-and-so. All these goals, and many other seemingly worthy ones, compete for prominence in our thinking, but when allowed to dominate they can all become idolatrous and all devastating to the psyche, family, fellowship, and personal satisfaction of the worker.

2. Similarly, in language instruction I encouraged students to fo- cus on faithfulness to the language-learning process rather than on achieving results. I taught that faithfulness is our obligation whereas resulting skills are a gift of God, necessarily variable according to His will for each individual. Thus, I hoped, the terrible pressure of expec- tations in language acquisition would not add to the host of other difficulties and stresses already being experienced by students new to the culture of Jordan, and, counter-intuitively, the freedom from pressure would enable the student's mind to relax itself and acquire language more naturally and freely. 

3. I tried to pass on to students some insights into Jordanian culture. I hoped that my descriptions of customs and people of that land demonstrated both the God's love for the Arabs and the delightful humor that can be derived from cross-cultural experiences. 

The entire interview appears in Volume 8:6 of St Francis Magazine. Download the PDF by clicking HERE.

NETS on Wikipedia

Sooner or later a seminary needs a Wikipedia page...

Here it is.

Let us know what we are missing and we'll add it. Soon to come, I hope, will be that page in Arabic.

Christianty in Palestine: Lectures 7, 8 and 9

Lecture 7: Pilgrimage and Penance

Lecture 8: Pilgrimage

Lecture 9: Monasticism

Miller Botero on Theological Anthropology and Mission

This is not a recent writing of mine, but as it is very related to questions of mission and witness I felt it was worth  posting to our website. The research paper was submitted to the faculty of St Mary's University (San Antonio, Texas) towards the completion of the degree of MA in Theology.

Abstract: A missiological essay on theological anthropology, seeking to balance aspects of the human being and the sacramental, charismatic and evangelical Christian traditions. The author argues that balancing these three traditions corresponds to balancing the body, spirit, and mind of the human being, and that this balance is essential to the success of the Church as it engages its misssion in the world.
 
Key Words: evangelicalism, charismatic Christianity, sacramentality, theological anthropology, mission.

Citation: Miller Botero, Duane Alexander. 'The Lights we have Kindled'. Unpublished research paper. San Antonio, Texas: St Mary's University 2005.

Get the PDF here. The essay is also available here.

Phil Hill: Paul and Jesus on Marriage and Divorce

Our seminary is glad to announce the publication of Mary's Well Occasional Paper (1:5)

Phil Hill, our dean of students at Nazareth Seminary and lecturer in Church history, has recently composed a research paper for the Evangelical Christian Convention in Israel. We are releasing an edited version of this paper as Mary's Well Occasional Paper 5 (of volume 1).

The Convention is seeking recognition from the State of Israel as an official ecclesial community, which means it should have church laws regarding marriage, re-marriage, and divorce. This careful and valuable study is a contribution towards the formation of such a set of church laws.

Here is a section:

[...] there are at least four views of what Scripture teaches about divorce and remarriage in relation to that covenant. Some, especially in the Anglican Church, hold that marriage is indissoluble, so that neither divorce nor remarriage is allowed. Others hold that divorce is exceptionally permitted in response to cases of adultery or desertion, but not remarriage. A third view is to include in that the right to remarry for the innocent party. This approach was first proposed by the great Christian humanist Erasmus and became the predominant view of the Reformed Churches. Finally, there are those who argue that both divorce and remarriage are permissible for a wider variety of reasons.

Download the PDF HERE. 
 

Citation:

Hill, Phil. ‘Do Jesus and Paul agree with the OT laws concerning marriage, divorce, and remarriage?’ in Mary’s Well Occasional Papers, 1:5, November (Nazareth, Israel: Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary 2012).

 

Key Words:

Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, Covenant, Evangelicals

Editing done by Alex Miller and Stephen Louy.
Previous Mary's Well Occasional Papers are also available for download:

1:4 by Duane Alexander Miller Botero
1:3 by Azar Ajaj
1:2 by Stephen D. Louy
1:1 by J. Bryson Arthur

Recent review of our Sabbatical program

Jim and Julia Binney recently took part in our sabbatical program here at NETS. You can read the review at their blog.

Time for a Sabbatical?

Visit our seminary website if you might be interested in a sabbatical coordinated through our seminary.

Alex Miller reviews Steven Paas' new book

In our second NETS book review, Alex Miller, lecturer in Church history and theology, reviews Christian Zionism Examined by Steven Paas.

Download the PDF by clicking here.

Here is the first paragraph of the review:

Christian Zionism is a hot topic right now among evangelicals and is always a relevant issue for Christians living in Israel/Palestine. Last week I was teaching at the women’s bible study for the local Episcopal church here in Nazareth and one of the ladies blurted out, “Where does this idea that the Jews still own the land come from!?” Even though that was not at all the topic of the study at all.

Christianity in Palestine: Lecture 6, Constantine and Helena

Lecture 6_Constantine and Helena

Constantine, a controversial figure, was influential for the development of Christianity after the 4th Century. In relation to Palestinian Christianity, Helena, his mother, was equally important but in a different way, as the one whose mission to the Holy Land would lay out the basic map of holy places for all future generations, including ours.

Lecturer: Duane Alexander Miller Botero

Assigned Reading: St Constantine the Great: an Orthodox perspective by Marina Shelley Havach

Christianity in Palestine: Lecture 5, Traits of the Early Church

Lecture 5_The Church in the Roman Empire

Lecture 4 was about the Roman Empire, and this lecture is about key traits of the early Church related to mission. It was 1) shaped by persecution, 2) by c. 200 episcopal in its polity, 3) alive and well outside of the Roman Empire, and 4) engaged in apologetics. Special attention is paid to Justin Martyr, a native of Palestine (Neapolis-Nablus).

Lecturer: Duane Alexander Miller Botero

Reading: Justin’s First Apology

Christianity in Palestine, Lecture 4

Lecture 4: The Roman Empire and the Spread of Christianity

Synopsis: What were the factors present in the Roman Empire that facilitated the surprisingly rapid growth of the Christian faith? This lecture will cover factors like the Pax Romana, Roman infrastructure, the Jewish diaspora, and the Septuagint.

Lecturer: Alex Miller

Course Information: Christianity and Mission in Palestine (Fall of 2012).

Brent Neely reviews Gabriel Said Reynolds' new book

In our first NETS Book Review, Brent Neely, our Vice President for Academic Affairs, reviews the new book by Gabriel Said Reynolds, The Emergence of Islam: Classical Traditions in Contemporary Perspective (Fortress Press, 2012).

Download the PDF by clicking here. Here is the first paragraph of the review:

Gabriel Said Reynolds' The Emergence of Islam: Classical Traditions in Contemporary Perspective  is a masterfully-written book. The argument is propelled by an engaging style, economy of words, and a momentum built in to the structure of the book. Reynolds' approach is academic and empirical, but the target audience is educated non-specialists. His tone is candid without being sensational or polemical. In fact, his ability to give context and a fair hearing to a wide spread of data is rather refreshing given the contentious nature of much writing on Muhammad and Islam. In terms of spirit one might place Reynolds somewhere between the poles of philo-Islamic advocates and anti-Islamic polemicists, a polarity which he explicitly illustrates with reference to Karen Armstrong and to Robert Spencer (locations 198-212, Kindle Edition).

Christianity in Palestine, Lecture 3: The Content and Method of Jesus' Ministry

Lecture 3: The content and method of Jesus’ mission

Nazareth Seminary, Fall of 2012.

Lecture questions: In what ways was Jesus’ ministry original? In what ways did he simply carry on established traditions? What was the content of his teaching? And how did he envision to accomplish that goal?

Lecturer: D. A. Miller

Christianity in Palestine, Lecture 2

Christianity in Palestine, Fall 2012, lecturer D A Miller

Lecture 2: when Christianity became a religion

Christianity in Palestine, Lecture 1

Christianity in Palestine, Fall 2012, lecturer D A Miller

Lecture 1: what is contextual missiology?

Christ Church (Anglican) in Nazareth, by Duane Alexander Miller

Do you ever wonder what the churches in Nazareth today are like? Very few of them have any documented history, and one of our goals is to document the history of the churches here in our city.

With that in mind, our lecturer in Church History and Theology, Alex Miller, has recently published a brief history of Christ Church, which is the Anglican/Episcopal church here in town. This article appears in St Francis Magazine. The article has some nice pictures of the church as well as some helpful information.

Click to download the PDF of the article.


Mr Miller has also published articles on the following churches in the region:

Church of the Redeemer (Anglican/Episcopal) in Amman, Jordan

The Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr (Anglican/Episcopal) in Jerusalem

The Alliance Church (CMA) in Jerusalem's Old City


If you would like to see some pictures of a few churches check these out:

St Joseph's (Latin) in Nazareth

Annunciation (Orthodox) in Nazareth

Christ Church (Anglican) in Nazareth

St Michael's (Anglican) in Heliopolis, Egypt

If you have pictures of any church in the Middle East and would like to corroborate in a project to preserve photographic records of these structures please contact Mr Miller by leaving a comment on this blog's most recent post, regardless of topic.

Mary's Well Occasional Papers 1:4 "It is okay to question Allah"...

Nazareth Seminary welcomes you to read our fourth Mary's Well Occasional Paper.
 
Abstract
The author presents a theological analysis of Farewell to Islam, by Saiid Rabiipour (Xulon 2009, 348 pages). In analyzing Rabiipour’s writing he argues that Rabiipour’s experience of being trapped in Iran should be read as a metaphor for Islam, both as a religion and as a political structure. In American Christianity Rabiipour finds a space of freedom and liberation. Utilizing the extended metaphor of his de facto captivity in Iran, Rabiipour offers both an American, Christian apologetic, and a critique of Islam as a religion and a politic.

Key Words
Liberation theology, Iranian Christianity, ex-Muslim, Muslim-background believer, MBB, freedom
 
And here is the bibliography:
 
Miller, Duane Alexander. ‘"It is okay to question Allah": the theology of freedom of Saiid Rabiipour, a Christian ex-Muslim’ in Mary’s Well Occasional Papers, 1:4, September (Nazareth, Israel: Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary, 2012).

Click HERE to download the PDF.

Previous Mary's Well Occasional Papers can be found here:

Mary's Well Occasional Paper 1:3 by Azar Ajaj
Mary's Well Occasional Paper 1:2 by Stephen Louy
Mary's Well Occasional Paper 1:1 by Bryson Arthur

Dwight Baker on the Baptist Golden Jubilee in Palestine-Israel

I am enjoying our new scanner in the office! In addition to the previous document on Arab Anglicans in the Holy Land, here is a document written by a former Southern Baptist missionary from the USA named Dwight L. Baker.

Baker, Dwight L. 1961. Baptists Golden Jubilee, 50 Years in Palstine-Israel: A Short Commemorative History. Nazareth, Israel: Association of Baptist Churches.

Click HERE to download the PDF.

A snapshot of Arab Anglican ministry in the Holy Land in 1925

The interior of Christ Church, Nazareth, est. 1871

D. Alex Miller 2012 copyright

We are happy to make this rare document about the history of the Anglican church in the Trans-Jordan available to scholars. The scan is not of high quality, but then again it is a scan of a copy of a copy. Nonetheless, this 1925 pamphlet contains a snapshot of what the ministry among the CMS and Arab Anglicans in the region looked like.

Click HERE for the file. If that does not work, try HERE.

Palestine Church Council. 1925. Palestine Church Council: an illustrated report of the origin, work, and needs of the Council of the Episcopal Evangelical Church in the Holy Land. London [?]: CMS [?].

In memory of Dwight Baker (1923-2011)

Our library at NETS is named after Dwight Baker, a Southern Baptist missionary from the USA who was an influential figure in the growth of evangelical Christianity in Nazareth. He was also instrumental in seeing that the Baptist House in the American Quarter of Nazareth was transferred to the locally-led Association of Baptist Churches in Israel (ABC). The seminary today is located in that same building where Baker and other missionary families lived over the decades.

Here is a memory from the Rev. Ibrahim Simaan who ministered along-side Dwight Baker, originally posted here:

Dwight Baker was sent to Nazareth, Israel in the early 1950ies with a clear mission, to rebuild the Baptist Mission to the Holy Land, and re-organize the Baptist Church, whose majority of the members, and leadership were disbursed throughout the whole Middle East due to the Arab-Jewish War of 1948.

The young missionary worked very hard to get the church in Nazareth re-started, as well as the Nazareth Baptist School...and worked very hard to sustain an orphanage which included some 19 kids.

He was joined later by Paul Rowden, and the Baptist Convention in Israel was founded..with Dwight in the North and Bob Lindsey in Jerusalem.

In Nazareth, Dwight recruited a good team of new young believers, an initiated quick training for them, with the vision of indigenizing the local church..The church-and school sponsored Sunday School, Brotherhood, Royal Ambassadors, Girls Auxiliary...etc...

He believed in the theory of churches survive if they develop a missionary outreach. Therefore, The Nazareth Church under his leadership started village work covering Cana of Galilee, Tur'an, Eilaboun, Rama, Acre...in 1964, Having turned over the pastorate to a national pastor (Rev. Fuad Sakhnini) he had another phase of his vision for the Baptist witness..Leadership Training, therefore in 1963, he came back from furlough, with a mind set up on this vision, therefore he moved to Haifa, as a more central location in the country, where he started the Christian Service Training Center, as an Extension to Southern Baptist seminaries...During his stay in Haifa, several generations of Baptist potential leaders were located and got their training at the CSTC...including Rev. Edward Souti, Rev. Suheil Ramadan, Rev. Ibrahim Simaan...and later on the CSTC extended its services to Jerusalem, Ramallah and Gaza

Dwight was a great preacher, great pastor, and a great writer and historian...he wrote many articles to well known papers, like "Christianity Today" and the local Baptist publication "Hayahad Digest", and started the Arabic magazine "Al-Jama'h" with me as secretary editor...

He even had a vision to start work among the Bedouins of the Negev...so he worked as an English language teacher at Kusefeh Secondary School near Arad..and moved to live in Arad...He served for two terms in India, and taught church history and Islam at Baylor University.

But I think that his first love-field-of-service was the Holy Land to which he returned as a volunteer-missionary for one year, after his retirement...

He helped founding the Christian Council in Israel, and was its chair person several times...

He did not forget his labor in the Holy Land, and the Baptist House in Nazareth, home to the Nazareth Evangelical Seminary, and the New Life Baptist Church, was purchased in 2005 by the Association of Baptist Churches due to a generous donation from his personal resources.

Many generations shall remember you Father Dwight.

I am indebted with most of what I know to Dwight Baker, having associated with him so many years, and worked under his leadership more than 15 years.

His remembrance shall be forever! (Psalm112:6)

The Arab Spring and Augustine's City of God

Duane Alexander Miller has recently published (online) a brief article at Orient and Occident on how Augustine's thought in his book, City of God (Madiinat Allah), relates to the Arab Spring, and specifically to the situation in Egypt.

You can read it in English HERE, or in Arabic HERE.

Issue 8:4 of St Francis Magazine

We are glad to let you all know that Volume 8:4 of St Francis Magazine is now available. SFM is an online journal dedicated to exploring Christian witness in Islamic contexts.

D. Alexander Miller, our seminary's lecturer in Church History and Theology, was the guest editor for the issue. Click to read his letter from the issue editor.

Mr. Miller also interviewed a veteran missionary involved in church planting among Muslims in India. Visit the website to read the interview.

Also included in this issue of SFM is a book review by Azar Ajaj, our lecturer in Biblical and Pastoral Studies. Click to read his review of Emir Rishawi's A Struggle that led to Conversion.

To download the complete PDF of isssue 8:4 click HERE.

BTh classes for Fall of 2012

For our Arabic-language BTh course we will be offering the following classes at our Nazareth campus in the Fall semester of 2012:

Pastoral Epistles

Peacemaking in Christianity

Church History II

Mary's Well Occasional Papers 1:3, by Azar Ajaj

In this third of our Mary's Well Occasional Papers Azar Ajaj, who lectures in Biblical and Pastoral Studies at Nazareth Seminary, explains how the debate about eschatology is not merely academic in the context of evangelical Christianity in Israel. Included in this paper is a useful summary of the two positions--dispensationalism and Covenant Theology--as well as some personal reflections from his many years of experience in the Holy Land.

Ajaj, Azar. 2012. 'Brother against Brother: Covenant and Dispensationalist Eschatologies in the Context of Israeli Evangelicalism' in Mary's Well Occasional Papers, Vol 1:3, July.

Download the PDF HERE.

Previous occassional papers are here (1:1) and here (1:2).

Malcolm White on the early Arab Protestant Pioneers

The Rev. Malcolm White, formerly with the CMS and pastor of English-Speaking Anglican Congregation (ESAC) at the Church of the Redeemer in Amman, has recently published this fine article in St Francis Magazine. The article focuses on the work of some of the very first Arab Protestant ministers and evangelists in the Trans-Jordan. It is a welcome addition to our knowledge regarding the first indigenous evangelicals in the area.

White, Malcolm. "Anglican Pioneers of the Ottoman Period: sketches from the CMS archives of some Arab lives connected with the early days of the Diocese of Jerusalem" in St Francis Magazine (8:2), April 2012.

Thank you Malcolm for your hard work in investigating the lives of some of the early evangelicals in the region.

المحاضرة التاسعة: اوغسطينس ومدينة الله 1

Introduction to Philosophy
Lecture Nine: Augustine and the City of God 1

المحاضرة التاسعة: اوغسطينس ومدينة الله 1

المحاضرة الثامنة: اوغسطينس وحياته

Introduction to Philosophy/Muqaddamat al falsafe
May 3rd, 2012
المحاضرة الثامنة: اوغسطينس وحياته

Schedule Update: Fall 2012 for BTh students

SEMESTER DATES AND CALENDAR

BTh Fall Semester, 2012

Classes begin 17th September

Classes finish 14th December

Sabbatical courses

30th September - 27th October

2013

Latin Easter: 31st March

Orthodox Easter: 5th May

Alex Miller: "The Secret World of God..." in Global Missiology

Duane Alexander Miller has recently published an article in Global Missiology: "The Secret World of God: Aesthetics, Relationships and the Conversion of 'Frances' from Shi'a Islam to Christianity".

In this article Miller explores the role of aesthetics in one religious conversion and asks if evangelicals have ignored this factor in analyzing religious conversions so far. This is a continuation of his previous research on Iranian Christianity and religious conversion.

Download the article here:

PDF

DOC

HTML

Additional articles by Miller can be found at Google Scholar and Microsoft Research.

مقدمة الفلسفة: Tao Te Ching 2

Lecture Seven:

مقدمة الفلسفة: Tao Te Ching 2

مقدمة الفلسفة: Tao Te Ching 1

Lecture 6:

مقدمة الفلسفة: Tao Te Ching 1

Lecture 5: Plato’s Just City (مدينة افلطون العادلة)

مقدمة الفلسفة

Lecture 5: Plato’s Just City (مدينة افلطون العادلة)

مثل الكهف و الملوك الفلاسفة : Lecture 4

مقدمة الفلسفة

Lecture 4: مثل الكهف و الملوك الفلاسفة

سقراط و اثينا: Lecture 3

مقدمة الفلسفة

سقراط و اثينا: Lecture 3

Stephen Louy, Mary's Well Occasional Papers, Vol 1:2

We are pleased to publish our second Mary's Well Occasional Paper. Click here to download 'Barbarian Jews: ethnic identity in the language of Philo' by Stephen D Louy.

Abstract: This paper is intended to contribute to the continued effort to understand Philo of Alexandria’s ethnic self-identification. Scholarship has long sought to determine whether Philo would be better understood in terms of Jewish or Greek identity, noting that he displays characteristic features of both groups. This paper examines Philo’s use of the Greek word barbaros, barbarian, in order to highlight the dual nature of Philo’s self-identification, and suggests that his writings would best be understood as deriving from a person who possessed what Philip Esler calls “multiple” identities.

Key Words: Philo, barbarian, ethnicity, identity, Esler, Judaism.

J. Bryson Arthur: Revelation and religious pluralism in the theologies of John Macquarrie and Karl Rahner

J. Bryson Arthur is the president of our seminary. His doctoral thesis in theology from the University of Glasgow is now available in PDF form.

Arthur, J. Bryson. 1994. Revelation and religious pluralism in the theologies of John Macquarrie and Karl Rahner. Unpublished Thesis. UK: University of Glasgow.

We are happy to make this thesis more widely available.

مقدمة الفلسفة: Lecture 2

مقدمة الفلسفة: Lecture 2
الفلاسفة قبل سقراط
معلم: دووين الكسندر ميلر

مقدمة الفلسفة: Lecture 1

مقدمة الفلسفة: Lecture 1
دووين الكسندر ميلر
ما هي الفلسفة؟

J. Bryson Arthur: Out on a Limb: a theological exploration of suffering, risk, and persecution

We are happy to announce the first of our seminary's occasional papers, written by our seminary president, the Rev Dr J. Bryson Arthur. This paper is based on three talks he gave to missionaries during a conference in Australia in 2011.

We hope to publish a couple of papers each year, under the name of Mary's Well Occasional Papers. Mary's Well is about five minutes from the seminary (walking) and is a constant reminder to us of our connection to the events we read about in the Bible and our call to faithfulness and obedience as disciples of Jesus.

If you have any questions about our occasional papers please do not hesitate to contact me. Also, if you are interested in submitting a paper for consideration, as the executive editor of the series I will be glad to take a look at it.

--Alex Miller (alex.miller [at] nazarethseminary.org)

Arthur, J. Bryson. ‘Out on a Limb: a theological exploration of suffering, risk and persecution’ in Mary's Well Occasional Papers, 1:1, February (Nazareth, Israel: Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary 2012).

Duane Alexander Miller on Iranian Diaspora Christians

Hi All,

Am glad to let you know that I have published my first article in the online journal Global Missiology (the English-language edition). Here is the Biblio:

Miller, Duane Alexander. 2012. ‘Iranian Diaspora Christian in the American Midwest & Scotland: Historical Background, Present Realities, & Future Challenges’ in Global Missiology 9:2, January.

Here is the abstract:

Over the last few years (2009-2011) I have been able to meet with numerous Iranian Christians in various cities in the UK and the USA. I have attended their churches and gatherings, I have sat down at Starbucks or over Persian food for conversations, and even in a hot tub once. In this article I will share a few of my preliminary conclusions and mention what I understand to be some of the key issues and challenges facing the Iranian Christian community in the coming years.

Download the PDF, or the Word Doc, or just check out the HTML. (I recommend the PDF.) Am glad to answer any questions in the comment section.

Scott Bridger's chapter on 'Mission to Muslims'

Scott Bridger, associate professor at Criswell College and an associate researcher of NETS, recently published the chapter on 'Mission to Muslims', and here is the complete biblio:

Theology and Practice of Mission: God, the Church, and the Nations, ed. Bruce Riley Ashford, 222–237. Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Academic, 2011.

Note that for this chapter he used the pen-name Theodore A. Curry, no doubt a gesture of respect to the great Arabophone apologist and bishop, Theodorus Abu Qurra.

Congratulations to Scott for this publication. The book is available at the Amazon website.

Duane Alexander Miller on the Genesis of World Islamic Christianity

Miller, Duane Alexander. 2010. ‘Woven in the Weakness of the Changing Body: the Genesis of World Islamic Christianity.’ Presented at Coming to Faith in Christ 2, Buckinghamshire, UK, February.

This is the paper I presented at the Coming to Faith in Christ 2 (CTFC2) conference in Buckinghamshire, England, in February of 2010. In this paper I try to analyze some of the main trends that have allowed for a global space wherein conversions from Islam to Christ have increased very substantially since the second half of the 20th Century.

Here is a sample:

One common theme that surfaced again and again was how closed Islamic society has been for many centuries. Closed in terms of not allowing certain forms of critical discourse, an ancient custom reaching back to the Prophet himself, who in one instance, for example, upon being ridiculed by a poet, procured her assassination. In Islamic law this act of execution is not a crude thing indeed to affront the Prophet is to affront God and must be met with the appropriate response. The lack of room for critical discourse in Islamic societies for many centuries has also led to a good deal of conflict, the most famous recent example being the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet of Islam, which led to multiple violent outbursts in many Islamic societies, including in the West, that included arson, murder, and the death threats. Examples could be multiplied, the publication of The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie being another fine example of the use of coercion to force a cessation of critical discourse or even discourse that has been misinterpreted as critical.

Download the entire article HERE.

D A Miller on the Episcopal Church in Jordan

Miller, Duane Alexander. 2011. ‘The Episcopal Church in Jordan: Identity, Liturgy, and Mission’ in Journal of Anglican Studies, Vol 9:2, November, pp 134-153.

Here is the abstract:

The article begins with a brief review of the history of the diocese of Jerusalem. By interviewing eight members of the diocesan clergy in Jordan, the researcher desires to explore how the concepts in the title are related to each other within the Jordanian context. Is there a unique identity of Jordanian Anglicans? What is the desirability and/or feasibility of revising the prayer book? Given the declining demographics of Christians in the region, what avenues are open to these ministers to sustain their congregations? Specific care is paid to the topic of incorporating Muslim converts into existing congregations. Also included are some theological reflections on the meaning of liturgy within the Jordanian context and the diocesan policies for the formation of future priests, which have important implications for the future of the diocese.

Keywords: Anglican; Church Missionary Society; dhimmi; Episcopal; Jerusalem; Jordan; liturgy; mission

Click here to view more details.

'The Joseph Story in the Qur'an and the Bible, and in Muslim and Jewish Tradition' by Azar Ajaj

This is the dissertation submitted by the Rev Azar Ajaj, our seminary's vice president for student affairs. This was submitted in 2010 to the faculty of International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague.

Ajaj, Azar. 2010. 'The Joseph Story in the Qur'an and the Bible, and in Muslim and Jewish Tradition'. MTh dissertation. Prague: International Baptist Theological Seminary.

Download the PDF HERE. Congratulations to Azar on this accomplishment.

'The Land Cries Out', Salim Munayer and Lisa Loden eds.

NETS is glad to share with you the news that Wipf and Stock Publishers have recently released The Land Cries Out, edited by Salim Munayer and Lisa Loden.

Lisa Loden is the head of our leadership development program. Congratulations to her for this accomplishment.

Here is a description of the book from the publisher's website:

Our theology does not exist in a vacuum but must relate to the world we inhabit and must influence our moral and ethical actions. This is especially true when discussing theology of "the land" in the context of a violent territorial conflict. The Holy Land has seen so much bloodshed that the earth itself is crying out to God.

The chapters presented in this book form a unique collection of voices speaking from different perspectives on the issue of the theology of the land. These voices include Messianic Jewish and Palestinian Christian theologians and scholars who live in the Holy Land, as well as others from around the world.

The various chapters respect a wide spectrum of opinion and reveal how much disagreement still exists among followers of Christ. However, the dialogue generated by having these opposing voices side by side, speaking to each other rather than past each other, is encouraging. This book is both challenging and inspirational, and contributes in an innovative way to this important discussion.

The book can be purchased through the publisher's website. Here is a short bio on Lisa:

Lisa Loden is a leader in the Israeli Messianic Jewish community. She heads up and is a lecturer in the Department of Leadership Development Studies at the Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary. She has also served with the Fellowship of Christian Students in Israel (board chair 2009 - ) and Hagefen Publishing (board chair 2003 - ).

Phil Hill: 'The Baptist Revival Fellowship (1938-1972): a study in Baptist conservative evangelicalism'

The Baptist Revival Fellowship (1938-1972): a study in Baptist conservative evangelicalism

by Philip Douglas Hill, B.A.
University of Wales, M.Phil Thesis in Theology
Date of Submission: April 2011

Download the PDF HERE.

And congratulations to Phil for having completed this degree! And now, on to a PhD...