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Christianity and Culture Christians live as citizens of two kingdoms . . . They owe first loyalty to God, but God instructs them to live as good citizens of their earthly kingdoms as well. What are some of the tensions in this dual citizenship? How can Christians best handle the tensions of election-time disagreement? Some suggestions for helping people realize that Jesus is not a Republican or a Democrat. A New Testament Scholar Reflects on The DaVinci Code This runaway bestseller has sold more than 10 million copies and has been translated into nearly 40 languages. A movie produced by Ron Howard is set to be released in 2005. What are Christians to make of the historical insinuations of Dan Brown’s novel? Is there any truth to the suggestion that the Emperor Constantine re-invented Christianity in the 4th century and that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has been keeping the true origins of the church a secret? This illustrated lecture/seminar takes a critical look at the controversial claims of this book. How should Christians view war and peace? Some Christians choose pacificism; others support the idea of a “just war theory.” How can two groups who believe the Bible think so differently about war? How have these groups developed their positions? How do they support these divergent perspectives? The seminar explores the following kinds of questions. A time of discussion will apply this information to recent military conflicts. As Christians, how can we be faithful to Jesus' commands to be peacemakers in a “world of war,” whether or not we call ourselves “pacifists” in the traditional sense? From Old Testament times down through the history of Christianity, art, music, drama, dance, architecture, and literature have served both the worshiping community and the spread of the Gospel in the world. God has given us the arts to enrich our lives, to enhance our appreciation of Him, to aid us in understanding His truth, and to assist us in our sharing the Good News with others. This seminar seeks to provide an overview of the way in which the Gospel has transformed and used the arts in the service of Christ and his world mission and the implications of this history for the church today. The focus is upon God’s creation of man and woman in His image, His creation ordinances, the gift of creativities, art in the Bible, attitudes toward the arts down through history, powerful illustrations of visual arts in Christian history and around the world today, the role of music in the church and in society, church architecture and its influence on worship, the arts and evangelism, and art and biblical exegesis. The seminar includes videos, color slides, audio, group interaction, and a hands-on exercise in grass roots artistic expression. The assumption is that the arts are for everyone and everyone is at heart an artist. May be offered as a 6 hour (Saturday) seminar or as an adult Bible class over a series of from 3 to 6 weeks. The fee is $500 for the all-day seminar or $200/session for each adult class of from 1 to 2 hours. Hollywood Films and Spirituality: A Christian
Critique Can Jesus Save Islam? Issues in Cultural Apologetics |
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