*****
GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net
Colleagues List Web Site:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com
"Quicklinks" are included with many items
at the beginning of this issue. To get a more
complete picture, however, scroll down to
find your special selection in the body of
the blog.
Note that not all items here have links.
*****
Dear Friends:
My Special Item this week is a notice for
a book that has been on the market for
3-4 years but to which my attention
was drawn only recently as part of another
book study. It is entitled:
"Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy"
by Eric Metaxas
http://tinyurl.com/mtwgv2o
- and is a volume I hope you will consider.
For my notice, scroll down.
--
Colleague Contributions this week are from
Jim Taylor - who writes about "knowing our place"
http://tinyurl.com/3m3alz8
Martin Marty - who describes "the end of elite
denominational headquarters in the USA"
http://tinyurl.com/kso2hq7
Ron Rolheiser - who has us reflect on
"groaning beyond our words"
http://tinyurl.com/kc7uocj and
Marjorie Gibson - who shares "chance encounters"
http://tinyurl.com/k62sm95
--
Net Notes this week include:
"After Crimea" - what should the West do
now that Russian presence in the Crimea
is a fait accompli (America Magazine)
http://tinyurl.com/k2occ9d
"Light Without Sight" - a helpful Lenten
reflection from a writer we appreciate
(The Christian Century)
http://tinyurl.com/mqkvmu5
"Anglicans Reflect on the TRC" - as the
Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission
completes its hearings across the country
we listen to personal reflections from it
(Anglican Journal) http://tinyurl.com/lcwto5y
"Painful Native History to be Taught" -
Canada is determined to learn from its
bitter residential school experience
(Canadian Press) http://tinyurl.com/lqccqtu
"Francis and Obama Meet With Smiles" -
a great first encounter for these two world
leaders of church and state, with pictures
(National Catholic Reporter, Washington Post)
http://tinyurl.com/ku26uaq
http://tinyurl.com/lgrwz82
"Vanier Also a Papal Visitor This Week" -
another Francis guest this week was a
long-time mentor of Colleagues List
(L'Arche, Youtube) http://tinyurl.com/ljuosgz
"Vatican Dumps Luxury German Bishop" -
as might have been expected, the
"bishop of bling" has been deposed,
but will others follow as well?
(El Jazeera, Religious News Service)
http://tinyurl.com/qagv3t9
http://tinyurl.com/qgw2934
"World Vision Flip Flops re Gays in SSMs" -
the winner of this week's news item with
the most heat, if not light, is this story
(Christianity Today, Religious News
Service Rachel Held Evans Blog)
http://tinyurl.com/kzjhqm2
http://tinyurl.com/m9kn6sg
http://tinyurl.com/prxktqt
http://tinyurl.com/mrmdfts
"'Noah' - is Deeply Passionately Biblical" -
another biblical movie appears in theatres
this weekend accompanied by good reviews
(Sojourners Online) http://tinyurl.com/kplq47l
"El Salvador Struggles With Its Violent Past"
- new elections here, but will things really
change in this troubled land?
(National Catholic Reporter)
http://tinyurl.com/n5vfzma
--
Wisdom of the Week come to us from
Sojourners online:
James Weldon Johnson, Edwin Louis Cole
and Adrienne Rich
Please scroll down.
--
On This Day:
From the archives of the New York Times:
"Khrushchev Becomes Supreme Russian Leader"
http://tinyurl.com/yawo3ba
"Israel and Egypt Sign Camp David Accord"
http://tinyurl.com/7h4hd57
"Exxon Valdez Runs Aground Off Alaska"
http://tinyurl.com/c3kf4w
"US Withdraws from Vietnam"
http://tinyurl.com/7pgd6y6
--
Our Closing Thought this week is from
the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard
Continued Lenten Blessings,
Wayne
******
CHURCH AND UNIVERSITY TEACHING
Contact Wayne Holst
403-286-2416
waholst@telus.net
WINTER CLASSES
At St. David's:
LINK TO OUR CURRENT MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
50 Book Sets Sold; 35 Course Registrants
NEAR DEATH AND LIFE AFTER LIFE - Course Design
http://tinyurl.com/kvmu8o5
Study Books:
"The Light Beyond" by Raymond Moody and
"Eternal Life" by Bishop John Shelby Spong
Audio and Video Links Added as Class Develops
Moody Series:
http://tinyurl.com/kq6ukpd
http://tinyurl.com/n6vpgy6Contact Wayne Holst
403-286-2416
waholst@telus.net
WINTER CLASSES
At St. David's:
LINK TO OUR CURRENT MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
50 Book Sets Sold; 35 Course Registrants
NEAR DEATH AND LIFE AFTER LIFE - Course Design
http://tinyurl.com/kvmu8o5
Study Books:
"The Light Beyond" by Raymond Moody and
"Eternal Life" by Bishop John Shelby Spong
Audio and Video Links Added as Class Develops
Moody Series:
http://tinyurl.com/kq6ukpd
http://tinyurl.com/kjkltd2
http://tinyurl.com/kdxchff
Spong Series:
http://tinyurl.com/kyfuqo8
---
At the University:
LENTEN FRIDAY NOON FACULTY,
STAFF AND STUDENT STUDY
"In Search of Deep Faith" -
A Pilgrimage Among People and Places of Europe
by Jim Belcher, IVP, paperback. 2013.
February 27th - April 3rd, 2014
Six Fridays, 12-1PM. Native Centre Board Room,
Mac Hall.
Co-sponsored by St. David's United and the
U. of C. Faith and Spirituality Centre.
At the University:
LENTEN FRIDAY NOON FACULTY,
STAFF AND STUDENT STUDY
"In Search of Deep Faith" -
A Pilgrimage Among People and Places of Europe
by Jim Belcher, IVP, paperback. 2013.
February 27th - April 3rd, 2014
Six Fridays, 12-1PM. Native Centre Board Room,
Mac Hall.
Co-sponsored by St. David's United and the
U. of C. Faith and Spirituality Centre.
THIS CLASS HAS NOW BEGUN
*****
ST. DAVIDS BOOK STUDY ARCHIVE
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice -
BONHOEFFER:
Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
by Eric Metaxas
Thomas Nelson, 2011.
608 pp. Paperback.
$21.00 CAD Kindle: $11.69
ISBN #10-1595552464.
Publisher's Promo:
Who better to face the greatest evil of the
20th Century than a humble man of faith?
As Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seduced a nation,
bullied a continent, and attempted to exterminate
the Jews of Europe, a small number of dissidents
and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third
Reich from the inside. One of these was Dietrich
Bonhoeffer—a pastor and author, known as much
for such spiritual classics as The Cost of Discipleship
and Life Together, as for his 1945 execution in a
concentration camp for his part in the plot to
assassinate Adolf Hitler.
In the first major biography of Bonhoeffer in forty
years, New York Times best-selling author Eric
Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer's life -
the theologian and the spy - to tell a searing story
of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous
evil. In a deeply moving narrative, Metaxas uses
previously unavailable documents - including
personal letters, detailed journal entries, and
firsthand personal accounts - to reveal dimensions
of Bonhoeffer's life and theology never before seen.
In Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy -
A Righteous Gentile vs the Third Reich, Metaxas
presents the fullest accounting of Bonhoeffer's
heart-wrenching 1939 decision to leave the safe
haven of America for Hitler's Germany, and using
extended excerpts from love letters and coded
messages written to and from Bonhoeffer's Cell 92.
Metaxas tells for the first time the full story of
Bonhoeffer's passionate and tragic romance.
Readers will discover fresh insights and revelations
about his life-changing months at the Abyssinian
Baptist Church in Harlem and about his radical
position on why Christians are obliged to stand
up for the Jews. Metaxas also sheds new light on
Bonhoeffer's reaction to Kristallnacht, his
involvement in the famous Valkyrie plot and in
"Operation 7," the effort to smuggle Jews into
neutral Switzerland.
Bonhoeffer gives witness to one man's extraordinary
faith and to the tortured fate of the nation he sought
to deliver from the curse of Nazism. It brings the
reader face to face with a man determined to do
the will of God radically, courageously, and joyfully -
even to the point of death. Bonhoeffer is the story
of a life framed by a passion for truth and a
commitment to justice on behalf of those who
face implacable evil.
--
"Eric Metaxas has penned this volume on
Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The English-speaking
public needs to know far more than it does
about his thought as well as his life.
(His books have already helped many reflect
on the nature of the Christian life and of
Christian community.)
It is impossible to understand Bonhoeffer
without becoming acquainted with the
shocking capitulation of the German church
to Hitler in the 1930s. How could the
"church of Luther," that great teacher of
the gospel, have ever come to such a place?
The answer is that the true gospel, summed
up by Bonhoeffer as costly grace, had been
lost. He opposed formalism - the belief that
God loves and forgives everyone. He also
opposed legalism - the belief that it is enough
to try to live a good disciplined life. Both
formalism and legalism he called "cheap grace."
Both these impulses made it possible for
Hitler to come to power. As a result, Germany
lost hold of the brilliant balance of the gospel
that Luther so persistently expounded...
we are saved not by what we do but by grace.
We know that grace comes to us by costly
sacrifice... and costly grace changes you from
the inside out...
That lapse couldn't happen to us today, surely,
could it? Certainly it could. We have a lot of
Christians today who talk only about God's
love and acceptance... If we are not careful,
we too run the risk of falling into the belief
of "cheap grace" - formalistic and legalistic.
So it looks like we still need to listen to
Bonhoeffer and others who go deep into
discussing the nature of the gospel.
- Timothy J. Keller
--
"Metaxas magnificently captures the life of
theologian and anti-Nazi activist Dietrich
Bonhoeffer . . . A definitive Bonhoeffer
biography for the 21st Century." Kirkus.
--
Author's Words:
In the early part of the summer of 1945,
only months after the war had ended,
the ghastly news of the death camps
emerged - along with the unfathomable
atrocities that the Nazis had visited upon
their victims...
Now, the reality of what had happened
was confirmed by photographs, newsreel
footage and eyewitness accounts of
soldiers who liberated the camps in April
during the last days of the war...
--
To win the war, the allies had to forge
a belief that the only good German was
a dead German. But now, the war was over.
Many in the West had little awareness of
Germans who had opposed Hitler from he
beginning - like the Bonhoeffer family
of Berlin. But they did not know that the
youngest son of that family had died
until the BBC had broadcast a memorial
service for him... Many English could only
then take in the hard news that this dead
man, who was a German, was good...
The man who died was engaged to be
married. He was a pastor and theologian.
And he was executed for his role in the
plot to assassinate Hitler.
This is his story.
- Eric Metaxas in a summary of the Preface
--
My Thoughts:
Seventy years after his martyrdom in
1945, many are only now becoming aware
of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I am particularly
pleased to recommend this Bonhoeffer
biography because, unlike many of the
earlier studies of this man - conducted
by Continental and English writers -
this wonderful work was written by an
American.
That fact - appearing forty years after the
last major biography of Bonhoeffer -
suggests the growingly global appeal
of his story, and also, that he continues
to build an important place in Christian
history.
I first began reading books like "Letters
and Papers from Prison," "The Cost of
Discipleship," and "Life Together," as
a young Lutheran seminarian during the
mid-sixties. That was only twenty years
after those books had started appearing
in the English-speaking world.
Now, fifty years later, more and more
readers from around the world are
beginning to learn about a man I have
appreciated and respected for fifty
years. There is nothing more satisfying
to me than introducing Bonhoeffer
to students with evangelical Protestant,
African and Asian and secular background
as I currently have the opportunity to do.
Bonhoeffer continues to appeal because
he writes intelligently and with a broad
theological depth.
Bonhoeffer continues to appeal because
he showed great courage in standing up
to authority in both church and state.
Bonhoeffer continues to appeal because
he tried to discern the hard meaning of
the Gospel in a social environment that
was consumed with secular pursuits.
Bonhoeffer continues to appeal because
he was deeply committed to the gospel
in his own life and in the communities
where he found himself.
He was consistent. He lived what he
believed as he led an illegal seminary
for several years north of Berlin -
and when he was in prison daily
awaiting his demise.
Bonhoeffer helps up prepare for a
good death, and to live faithfully to
the end our days.
Bonhoeffer helps us to bear the
sufferings of our own lives with
a purpose.
Many consider it a tragedy that
Bonhoeffer died at Flossenburg
Concentration Camp in Bavaria,
only two weeks before the place
was liberated by American forces.
I am not at all certain that Bonhoeffer
would have considered this a tragedy.
He had prepared to die well and he
did so. Apart from missing his fiancé
and his family, he knew where he was
going after his earthly life ended.
If you have been intrigued by
what I have been sharing about
this very special hero of mine,
I hope you will consider buying
this excellent biography.
*****
Buy the Book from Amazon.ca
http://tinyurl.com/mtwgv2o
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
March 24th, 2014
"Keeping in Our Proper Place"
http://tinyurl.com/3m3alz8
--
MARTIN MARTY
Chicago, Il.
Sightings
March 24th, 2014
"End of Elite Denominational Headquarters"
http://tinyurl.com/kso2hq7
--
RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
March 23rd, 2014
"Groaning Beyond Our Words"
http://tinyurl.com/kc7uocj
--
MARJORIE GIBSON,
Vancouver, BC
Marjorie Remembers Blog
March 28th, 2014
"Chance Encounters"
http://tinyurl.com/k62sm95
*****
NET NOTES
AFTER CRIMEA
No Return to Cold War
America Magazine
April 7th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/k2occ9d
--
"LIGHT WITHOUT SIGHT" -
BARBARA BROWN TAYLOR
A Lenten Reflection
The Christian Century
March 24th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/mqkvmu5
--
ANGLICANS REFLECT ON TRC
Canadian Hearings End This Week
Anglican Journal Online
March 27th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lcwto5y
--
PAINFUL NATIVE HISTORY TO BE TAUGHT
Native Story Will be Part of Curriculum
Canadian Press
March 27th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lqccqtu
___
FRANCIS AND OBAMA MEET WITH SMILES
First Meeting Strikes Highly Personal Note
National Catholic Reporter
March 27th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/ku26uaq
Five Vatican Meeting Pictures You Need to See
Washington Post/Sojourners Online
March 28th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lgrwz82
--
VANIER ALSO PAPAL VISITOR THIS WEEK
L'Arche Founder Makes First Visit to Pope
Youtube
March, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lgrwz82
--
VATICAN DUMPS 'LUXURY' GERMAN BISHOP
Not Exactly "the Pope's Man"
Al Jazeera
March 27th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/qagv3t9
Will More Firings Follow?
Religious News Service
March 26th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/qgw2934
--
US WORLD VISION HIRING GAYS IN SSMs
Major Step for Big Evangelical Organization
Christianity Today
March 24th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/kzjhqm2
WORLD VISION REVERSES DECISION ON GAYS
After Intense Pressure from Key Supporters
Christianity Today
March 26th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/m9kn6sg
Religious News Service
March 27th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/prxktqt
--
Author Blasts Evangelical Obsession
Says "How Out of Control We've Become"
Rachel Held Evans
Personal Blog/Christian Post
March 25th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/mrmdfts
--
"NOAH" IS DEEPLY, PASSIONATELY BIBLICAL
Biblical Movie Opening This Weekend
Sojourners Online
March 28th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/kplq47l
--
EL SALVADOR STRUGGLES WITH VIOLENT PAST
Long and Tragic History in a Struggling Land
National Catholic Reporter
March 24th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/n5vfzma
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
"This country can have no more democracy
than it accords and guarantees to the humblest
and weakest citizen."
- James Weldon Johnson
--
"A fast is not a hunger strike. Fasting submits
to God's commands. A hunger strike makes
God submit to our demands."
- Edwin Louis Cole
--
"If you are trying to transform a brutalized
society into one where people can live in dignity
and hope, you begin with the empowering of
the most powerless."
- Adrienne Rich
*****
ON THIS DAY
From the Archives
of the New York Times
March 23rd - 29th
"Khrushchev Becomes Supreme Russian Leader"
http://tinyurl.com/yawo3ba
"Israel and Egypt Sign Camp David Accord"
http://tinyurl.com/7h4hd57
"Exxon Valdez Runs Aground Off Alaska"
http://tinyurl.com/c3kf4w
"US Withdraws From Vietnam"
http://tinyurl.com/7pgd6y6
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT- Søren Kierkegaard:
The earthly minded person thinks and imagines
that when he prays, the important thing, the thing
he must concentrate upon, is that God should hear
what he is praying for. And yet in the true, eternal
sense it is just the reverse: the true relation in
prayer is not when God hears what is prayed for,
but when the person praying continues to pray
until he is the one who hears, who hears what
God is asking for.
(end)
*********************
CHURCH AND UNIVERSITY TEACHING
Contact Wayne Holst
403-286-2416
waholst@telus.net
WINTER CLASSES
At St. David's:
LINK TO OUR CURRENT MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
50 Book Sets Sold; 35 Course Registrants
NEAR DEATH AND LIFE AFTER LIFE - Course Design
http://tinyurl.com/kvmu8o5
Study Books:
"The Light Beyond" by Raymond Moody and
"Eternal Life" by Bishop John Shelby Spong
Audio and Video Links Added as Class Develops
Moody Series:
http://tinyurl.com/kq6ukpd
http://tinyurl.com/n6vpgy6Contact Wayne Holst
403-286-2416
waholst@telus.net
WINTER CLASSES
At St. David's:
LINK TO OUR CURRENT MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
50 Book Sets Sold; 35 Course Registrants
NEAR DEATH AND LIFE AFTER LIFE - Course Design
http://tinyurl.com/kvmu8o5
Study Books:
"The Light Beyond" by Raymond Moody and
"Eternal Life" by Bishop John Shelby Spong
Audio and Video Links Added as Class Develops
Moody Series:
http://tinyurl.com/kq6ukpd
http://tinyurl.com/kjkltd2
http://tinyurl.com/kdxchff
Spong Series:
http://tinyurl.com/kyfuqo8
---
At the University:
LENTEN FRIDAY NOON FACULTY,
STAFF AND STUDENT STUDY
"In Search of Deep Faith" -
A Pilgrimage Among People and Places of Europe
by Jim Belcher, IVP, paperback. 2013.
February 27th - April 3rd, 2014
Six Fridays, 12-1PM. Native Centre Board Room,
Mac Hall.
Co-sponsored by St. David's United and the
U. of C. Faith and Spirituality Centre.
At the University:
LENTEN FRIDAY NOON FACULTY,
STAFF AND STUDENT STUDY
"In Search of Deep Faith" -
A Pilgrimage Among People and Places of Europe
by Jim Belcher, IVP, paperback. 2013.
February 27th - April 3rd, 2014
Six Fridays, 12-1PM. Native Centre Board Room,
Mac Hall.
Co-sponsored by St. David's United and the
U. of C. Faith and Spirituality Centre.
THIS CLASS HAS NOW BEGUN
*****
ST. DAVIDS BOOK STUDY ARCHIVE
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