Author: ppadmin

reviewed by Vern Ratzlaff

The biblical book of Samuel is a book of political thought; it does not paint a flattering portrait of any of the work’s principle characters (eg Samuel, Saul, David, Absalom and a handful of others); no one party or individual is endorsed.  In the pre-Samuel period no standing army was established and no unity of purpose or centralization of political-military power was achieved. No standing army was established and no enduring unity of purpose or centralization of political-military power was achieved.

No single stable ruler capable of asserting his supreme authority over tribes and clans often embroiled in blood feuds could emerge.  But a supreme authority is the underpinnings of any human political order.  This is why all political entities aim to organize a smooth transfer of power one leader to the next.  Dynastic-monarchy offers one possible solution to the problem of regional continuity; the bloodlines of the king’s family provide a possible nonviolent transfer of power.  Dynastic succession is the experience of the Samuel-era Israeli state as dynastic succession seeks to provide unity and continuity. The price paid by the people for this is the imposition of taxes and military drafts.

reviewed by Vern Ratzlaff

Our beliefs provide a familiar structure to our life; they give answers to our big questions:  does G-d exist?  Is there a right religion?  Why are we here?  Church is too often the most risky place to be spiritually honest.  For Enns, true faith and correct thinking were two sides of the same cover, and his religious structure no longer constituted an unshakeable persuasion.  He came to see that ‘knowing’ as his church held, has its place but not at the centre of faith, and he realized that he could choose to trust G-d regardless of how certain he felt (p 15), when we too often confuse G-d   with our thoughts about G-d (p 19). This results in the problem of trusting our beliefs rather than trusting G-d (p 21). The problem is that knowledge based faith is a largely unquestioned part of our western culture.

Faith in the biblical sense is rooted deeply in trust in G-d.  A life of faith that accepts this biblical challenge is much more demanding than being preoccupied with correct thinking.  ‘Trust is not marked by unflappable dogmatic certainty but by embracing as a normal part of faith the steady line of mysteries and uncertainties, seeing them as opportunities to trust more deeply’ (p 205)  ‘Trust in G-d, not in correct thinking about G-d, is the beginning and end of faith’ (p 211), a faith rooted in trust, not in certainty.  ‘The life of Christian faith is more than agreeing with a set of beliefs about Christ, morality or how to read the bible.  It means being so intimately connected to Christ that his crucifixion is ours’ (p 162).

reviewed by Vern Ratzlaff

The Israeli occupation of the territories won in the Six day War of 1967 entered a new phase in 1987 with the beginnings of the Palestinian uprising (intifada).  Beyond Occupation explores frameworks for peace in the Middle East in this development.  The American Jewish contributors look at the meanings that the intifada holds for the theology of Judaism; Christian contributors articulate an ethical framework for a peace settlement, seeking to distinguish between anti-semitism and a critique of Jewish policies; Palestinian contributors offer a perspective on the long history of events leading up to the intifada, arguing for an awareness of the Palestinian experience as the necessary basis for reconciliation in the Middle East.

Beyond Occupation is arranged in four sections.  The first contains Jewish responses to the uprising, showing the diversity of opinions and perspectives within that community; common themes by the six essayists are the role of ethics and the shocking policy of lethal force ad bone breaking beatings.  The second section has four Christian contributors seeking a just balance between concern for national security and for Israeli and Palestinian rights, seeking to distinguish between anti-Semitism and a critique of Israeli policies.  The third section consists of five essays dealing with the Palestinian story from the perspective of the British mandate and the Balfour Declaration.  The final three essays attempt to identify common ground for discussion among the three groups.

reviewed by Vern Ratzlaff

It is an old book, but still relevant in the attempt to equip lay people minister to others.  Peel not only helps lay people to minister to others, but stimulates us to identify the areas where the congregation can be strengthened and helped.

While hospital visitation is probably the readers’ first identification of an area of visitation, Peel identifies a basic technique of creative listening to help the congregation strengthen its membership: Hospital visitation, visiting the elderly, housebound young mothers, stressed workplace individuals, neighbours across the back fence, parents of Sunday School students, newcomers to the congregation.  Peel sketches the shape of creative listening to include not only hospital patients but also their relatives and friends.  And the hospital staff!  What he attempts is to see the shape of caring from a pastoral orientation that sees the need for better training of congregational membership to the sustained exercise of pastoral care by an articulate membership.