Ethics in Conversation on Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith

The latest Ethics in Conversation (formerly Ethics in Brief), from the Kirby Laing Centre is a review by Jennifer George of John Wyatt and Stephen N. Williams (eds.), The Robot Will See You Now: Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith (London: SPCK, 2021). It’s available as a pdf here.

The Big Picture 3 (March 2022)

Issue 3 of The Big Picture, published by the Kirby Laing Centre is now available, with several articles celebrating the legacy of Hans Rookmaaker.

The issue is available to read from here, with a double-spread pdf available for download here, and a single scroll pdf here.

Journal of Biblical Theology and Worldview 2, 2 (2022)

The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Theology and Worldview, published by BJU Seminary, has just been made available online.

Contents as below are available from here, with the whole issue available for download as a pdf here.

Ken Burkett

Did Elijah Really Ascend into Heaven in a Whirlwind?

Andrew Minnick

Bringing Many Sons to Glory: The Theological Intersection of Sonship and Resurrection in Redemption and Christology – Part 3

Renton Rathbun

The Epistemological Problem of Common Ground between Believer and Unbeliever in the Search for a Biblical Method of Apologetics

Mark Sidwell

The Life of Christ As the Center of History in Jonathan Edwards’s History of the

Work of Redemption

Layton Talbert

“Greater Is He Than Man Can Know”: Divine Repentance and a Brief Inquiry into Anthropomorphism & Anthropopathism, Impassibility and Affectability

Book Reviews 

Word and World 9 (June 2021/February 2022)

Issue 9 of Word and World, published by IFES in June 2021, has been expanded with with further articles on the topic of ‘Race and Justice. The issue now contains the below pieces, which are available from here, and as a pdf here.

Paula Fuller

Left Behind: Justice and the Church after George Floyd

Paula Fuller, the Executive Vice President of People and Culture at InterVarsity USA, reflects on persistent racial divides in the American church and how students should be shaped to be agents of reconciliation.

N.T. Wright

Undermining Racism

N.T. Wright, author and theologian, also shares his perspective on the church as God’s worldwide family, and how ‘racism is a failure of vocation.’

Bethany Peevy

Let Justice Roll: Building Bridges, Pursuing Justice

We also look back at our series of Conexión articles from the past year, with stories of students across IFES regions who are choosing to confront and address injustice in their own contexts.

Jasmine Foo

Translating Vision into Reality: Normalizing the Biblical Image of Racial Relations

Jasmine Foo, former staff worker from FES Singapore and Assistant Director in Strategic Planning & Training with State Courts of Singapore, now undertaking doctoral research in Biblical Studies at King's College London, brings a perspective on ‘Translating Vision into Reality: Normalizing the Biblical Image of Racial Relations’ through an Asian lens.

Eleasah Phoenix Louis

Preservation and Liberation

Eleasah Phoenix Louis, a UK-based emerging theologian and consultant with various church and parachurch organisations, presents her perspectives on preservation and liberation in relation to race and justice issues.

Alejandra Ortiz

The Letter of James in Contexts of Inequality: A Latin American Perspective

Alejandra Ortiz, a member of IFES staff in Latin America, brings us perspective from her region on how to live out the epistle of James in contexts of inequality.

Mission Frontiers 44, 2 (March–April 2022)

The March–April 2022 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by the U.S. Center for World Mission, contains a number of articles exploring ‘The Essential Elements for Catalysing Movements’.

Here is the issue blurb, which sets the scene:

‘When it comes to movements, there is still an element of mystery and God’s timing. But experience has shown us that without the essential elements, movements will not happen. The impact of employing movement principles in our day could easily be far bigger than the impact of movements seen in the book of Acts. God has given us everything we need. The choice of obedience to His command to reach all peoples is now ours. In this issue we want to give you the foundational basics of what make movements possible so you can go and do likewise. According to the latest count… there are at least 1,491 Kingdom Movements currently taking place around the world. We would like to see a whole lot more of these. But for that to happen, we will need to change the way we have traditionally thought about doing the mission of the Church and implement the essential elements of movements. That’s what this edition of Mission Frontiers is all about.’

The issue is available here, from where individual articles can be downloaded, and the entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Zoomed Out?

Zoomed Out? is the product of a six-month research process involving over 600 worshippers from the Church of England. The report details Anglican experiences of church during Covid, and explores how lessons from the pandemic can inform the church’s practice moving forward.

The main take-away points are highlighted as follows:

• Online church did not function as a wholesale substitute for onsite church to the satisfaction of the majority

• Online communion was rarely experienced as communion

• Face-to-face contact was a lifeline for many

• Even online, it’s important to be face-to-face

• Anglican experiences of distanced church were incredibly varied

• The return to the church building threatens to exclude the many worshippers who are still shielding from Covid

• The poorest and the oldest are often the least well-equipped to engage online

Further information is available from here, and the report is available to download as a pdf here.

Theos Report on Valuing Women

A new report from Theos has been published, this one on valuing women:

Kathryn Hodges and Sarah Burch, Valuing Women: Making Women Visible (London: Theos, 2022).

Here are some paragraphs from the Theos website:

‘The experience of abuse, trauma, mental health problems, homelessness, isolation, poverty, and sexual exploitation, is a reality for many women. These experiences, and the women who live through them, commonly go unrecognised, and the support available is often limited. When women are unable to access effective, trustworthy, and reliable helping services, there can be fatal consequences.

‘This report, written on behalf of Theos by Kathryn Hodges and Sarah Burch, explores what can be learned from how Christian charities provide support to women experiencing multiple and severe disadvantage. The in-depth study, undertaken during the pandemic, showcases the distinctive approach of staff and volunteers from six Christian organisations and how they made the women they worked with truly visible.

‘Four clear themes emerged from the research: the trusting relationships needed to support women experiencing multiple and severe disadvantage; the way the faith and values of staff and volunteers informed the way they met women; the utilisation of prayer by some in their work; and the tensions and opportunities found in resourcing helping services.’

More information can be found here, and a pdf of the full report is available here.

Christian History Magazine on Divine Healing

The latest issue of Christian History Magazine is devoted to the topic of ‘Touching the Hem of His Garment: Christian Experiences of Divine Healing’.

Here’s the issue blurb:

‘Divine healing is a significant theme in the Bible and throughout Christian history, spanning time periods, theological traditions, and geographical regions. Though a challenge to some traditions, most Christians in most parts of the world through the ages have had a robustly supernatural faith that God can and does work miracles, including miracles of healing. Stories about such healings number far more than can be counted – even when eliminating the obviously fraudulent, the obviously confused, and the difficult to prove. Indeed, prayer for healing has played a major role in world evangelization, bringing many Christians globally to view healing as a central element of the Gospel. In this special double issue of Christian History, read these well-attested stories of God’s divine healing from the Scriptures up to the modern day.’

The whole magazine is available as a 13.8 MB pdf here.

Centre for Public Christianity (March 2022)

Among other items, the Centre for Public Christianity has this month posted a ‘Life and Faith’ podcast (here) on ‘Architecture and the Soul of the City’, with the team and a guest talking about how ‘buildings and public spaces tell a story about what our culture values and who belongs’.

Mike McKinley on Luke 12–24

Every month, The Good Book Company make available digital versions of one of their books at no charge. This month (March 2022) it’s Luke 12–24 for You by Mike McKinley, which is available in exchange for an email address here.