St. Jerome's Cave

statue of St Jerome in the courtyard of St. Catherine Church

 St Jerome (also known as Hieronymus, the Latin version of Jerome) spent more than 36 years in the Holy Land. He was well-known for his ascetic lifestyle and his passionate involvement in doctrinal controversies such as one with Rufinus and another with the Pelagians.

At his feet is a skull, a symbol of the transience of human existence.

In the caves below the Church of the nativity, St. Jerome spent almost 30 years translating the Scriptures into Greek and Greek into Latin. His translation is known as the Vulgate. He started in 386 AD

Jerome died in 420 and was buried in one of the caves. His body was subsequently moved to Constantinople and then to Rome, where his bones rest today in the Basilica of 
Santa Maria Maggiore.
 

chapel in St. Jerome's Cave

The Chapel of the Holy Innocents. This is said to be the burial place of infants killed by King Herod in his attempt to eliminate the newborn “King of the Jews”.

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Review of Lim's Life and Ministry of John Sung

Lim Ka-Tong, 2012, The Life and Ministry of John Sung, Singapore: Armour Publishing

This is a timely and much needed book in English on the biography of evangelist John Sung who played such an important part in the revivals in China and South East Asia in the 1930s and 1940s. Unfortunately, John Sung is not well known or even remembered among the contemporary churches in Asia except for a few. Among these are those who actually met Sung and whose lives were changed as a result of that meeting. Even now six decades later, these people can remember Sung clearly and with joy their remembrance of their encounter with God as a result of this meeting.

The last significant biography of John Sung was by Leslie Lyall which was written 50 years ago! Lim Ka-Tong’s biography is a distinctive improvement with more new information from Sung’s diaries and letters. Lim, presently a pastor in Texas, is a graduate of Singapore Bible College, Dallas Theological Seminary and Asbury Theological Seminary. In this book which covers Sung’s early formative years, the short 12 years of ministry and his dying years. Significantly it covers the five phases of his life; water (reimmersion, 1927-1930), door (opening, 1931-1933), dove (time to soar, 1934-1936), blood (wartime spiritual warfare, 1937-1939) and tomb (pastoral years, 1940-1944).

Lim’s book explores the impact of Sung’s ministry in the context of prewar and wartime China and South-East Asia, the Chinese worldviews and Sung’s own personal spiritual development. He does this by answering five questions:

(1)   What shaped John Sung? How did John Sung become John Sung?

(2)   In what ways did contextual elements contribute to the prominence of John Sung’s ministry and his lasting influence?

(3)   How did John Sung’s ministry contribute to the growth and indigenization of Chinese Christianity?

(4)   How did John Sung make such a great impact in so brief a time?

(5)   Why has John Sung been slighted by historical scholarship, despite his pivotal influence on Chinese Christianity?

In this book, Lim has succeeded in helping us to understand this complex and driven servant of God. He shows us the constant struggles Sung had in his spiritual life and his ‘unconditional’ surrender of everything to God. It is a hard lived life of seeking God and seeking his will in making choices. These choices including a life of comfort in the United States or poverty in China, ministerial ‘success’ or itinerary wanderings, theological conservatism (fundamentalist) or liberalism, being a ‘Chinese’ Chinese or a Western educated Chinese, and living a kataphatic or apophatic Christian spirituality. It is a result of these struggles that Sung was able to have such an impact in his ministry.

This is a highly readable and interesting book and a must for all Christians especially for those who want to appreciate the Asian and Chinese Christian heritage.

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Online Lectures on Augustine

Here is a good collection of online lectures on Augustine compiled by Marc Cortez, Theology Prof at Western Seminary posted on the blog Scientia Et Sapientia

• David Calhoun, Augustine’s Confessions
• David Calhoun, Augustine & the Pelagian Controversy
• David Calhoun, Augustine’s Theology of History
• Steven J. Lawson, The Church Fathers: From Clement of Rome to Augustine of Hippo
• Thomas Lizo, The Mystical Theology of St. Augustine
• Thomas Lizo, St. Augustine’s Theology of History
• Nick Needham, Augustine and the City of God
• John Piper, The Swan Is Not Silent: Sovereign Joy in the Life and Thought of St. Augustine
• Philosophy Talk, John Perry, Ken Taylor and James O’Donnell – Saint Augustine
• Mike Reeves, Introducing Augustine, Pt. 1
• Mike Reeves, Introducing Augustine, Pt. 2
• Cornelius Van Til, St. Augustine

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Healthcare and Hospitals in Christian History

The wonderful announcement appeared in Chris Armstrong's blog Grateful to the Dead.
Enjoy reading this free issue! I have download it to read on my iPad.



The Christian History editorial team is celebrating the printing of Issue #101: Healthcare and Hospitals in the Mission of the Church. Full access to this full-color issue here.

The issue tells the fascinating story of how early and medieval Christians pioneered the healthcare institutions on which we now rely, including the modern hospital.


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Michael Moorthy and Boys' Brigade in Asia

Well done Michael Moorthy. This article is reproduced from the City Harvest website citynews. An oversight in this article is that it fails to mention that the 1st JB Company is sponsored by the Holy Light Church (English) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and Michael Moorthy's involvement since 1966 is fully sponsored and supported by the church even after he has chosen to worship with City Harvest Church in 1997.

A “Sure And Steadfast” Man

Posted on 05 April 2011

Business owner Michael Moorthy serves three posts in the Boys’ Brigade in Asia. He shares his passion for his mission.
Contributed By Nicolette Ng

Moorthy (right) with Singapore’s President S.R. Nathan. PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL MOORTHY

Michael Moorthy, 59, is not quite your average business owner.

Moorthy, the director of Anjung Segar Sdn Bhd, a frozen foods company, is “on call” for the Boys’ Brigade, which he serves as the president of Boys’ Brigade Malaysia, the president of Boys Brigade Asia, as well as the honorary captain of the 1st Johor Bahru Boys’ Brigade company.

The oldest uniformed group in the world, the BB is an interdenominational Christian youth organization, conceived by William Alexander Smith in Glasgow in 1883, which combines drill and fun activities with Christian values.

What sets the BB apart is that its activities not only cater to the physical and mental development of the youth, but also their spiritual development through Christian education classes and activities. This is also where the “graduated” pool of officers who are all volunteers comes in to train the next generation after being blessed by the BB. These people are role models and impact the lives of the young people entrusted in their hands. Their motto: “Sure and Steadfast.”

Having many youths in his care, Moorthy shares that as captain of the 1st JB Company, he is responsible for the overall direction and vision of where the Company is headed in terms of growth and planning their calendar for the year, whilst also ensuring that the weekly operations and meetings run smoothly.

Through a holistic program, the BB instils discipline and the development of three key areas: body, soul and spirit. While updating their programs regularly to mold the character and leadership skills of the youths is effective, Moorthy shares that it is important not to lose sight of sharing Christ with them in the process. The BB’s objective is “The advancement of Christ’s kingdom among Boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-respect and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness.”

It was in 1966 when Moorthy, impressed by the uniforms, badges and the marching band and caving in to the persistent encouragement of his classmates, joined the BB. There has been no turning back since. It was also through the BB that Moorthy got to know Christ as his Savior. It is no surprise that Moorthy’s greatest satisfaction from the ministry is to know that through the BB, they are changing lives and reaching out to young people who are transformed to become better members of the society.

The Moorthy family. PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL MOORTHY

Moorthy acknowledges that the success the Companies have had come about because of a group effort. “I’m only as effective and efficient as the team of fellow volunteer officers I’ve had around me over the years, and I have been blessed to have their support.”

To date, the 1st JB Boys’ Brigade Company has grown to become one of the largest Companies in Malaysia. One milestone for them was when their marching band played overseas in Thailand and China, and was featured in the Malaysian Book of Records for being the First Youth Marching Band to play at the Great Wall of China.

The City Harvest Church member and his family from JB first encountered the church in 1997. “We just fell in love with CHC, the praise and worship, the inspiring messages by Pastor Kong. The love and care from our friends over the years made us realize that CHC is not just a mega-church but a mega-caring church,” says Moorthy. Since those days of the church at Hollywood Theatre, Moorthy and his wife, Janet, and their four children have commuted across the Causeway every single weekend to attend service. It comes as no surprise that his eldest and second son were also BB members.

His is a life and a family that is dedicated to the cause of Christ. “It is my belief for my family and me, that we are all about tending God’s business, and will do our best to the measure He has entrusted to us.”

The Martyrs of our Modern Church

From Thinking Faith
18 March 2011



Photo by rosaamarilla at flickr.com

Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ

Next week, the 31^st anniversary of the death of Archbishop Oscar Romero will be marked by people around the world to whom he remains an inspiration – in his life and death – as they strive for justice. His country of El Salvador saw many other lives lost as members of the Church were targeted by the authorities as a result of their protestations against an oppressive regime. Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ, who worked with many of these martyrs, tells their stories and gives an insight into the Church teaching that lay behind their deep commitment to justice.

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Rebirthing the Christian History magazine

1611 King James Version - title page

Here it is! You can now go here, put in your address and email info, and get a free copy of the forthcoming issue #100 of (the reborn) Christian History magazine, on the history of the King James Bible. 

To keep mailing costs reasonable, this offer is restricted to USA mailing addresses.

Review on McDermott's The Great Theologians

Gerald R. McDermott, (2010), The Great Theologians (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press)

Gerald McDermott is professor of religion and philosophy at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia and a teaching pastor at St. John Lutheran Church.  In this brief survey he introduces eleven theologians which he considers to have contributed significantly to the development of theology. These theologians are Origen, Athanasius, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Friedrich Schleiermacher, John Henry Newman, Karl Barth and Hans Urs von Balthasar.

His approach is very useful. He first introduces them by giving a short theological biography about them, then highlights several main features of their theological contributions and then focuses on their main contribution. I find this very useful as a primer for non theologians and for people who wants to know more about theology but are afraid to ask.

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Christianity Today on Al Mohler

From Christianity Today, a writeup about Al Mohler.

Photo by Tamara Reynolds

COVER STORY The Reformer How Al Mohler transformed a seminary, helped change a denomination, and challenges a secular culture. By Molly Worthen INSIDE CT Honest Appraisal Learning from reformers, past and present. By David Neff

Redeemed by Fire: Christianity in China

Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular Christianity in Modern China
Xi Lian
Yale University Press, 2010

An excellent review and article is written by David Lyle Jeffrey (Distinguished Professor of Literature and the Humanities at Baylor University) published by Books and Culture (web version)

Numbering the flock is a concern of Lian Xi's Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular Christianity in Modern China. More prominent is his detailed taxonomy of its variegated strakes and spots over the last century. This book will be an important source for Sinologists, church historians, and China-watchers among the Christian laity, even though it is limited in its scope to those movements which derive from or can be loosely associated with more or less indigenous Protestant popular movements of the last century.

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Biographies of Theologians

From Christianity Today online - My Top 5 Biographies of Theologians

Picks from Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School, posted 8/02/2010 09:23AM

Luther Man between God and the Devil by Heiko A. Oberman (Yale)

A master historian, Oberman places Luther in the context of late medieval culture and presents him not as the forerunner of modernity but as a prophetic figure who saw his life's work as a harbinger of the last days. This is a book I enjoy reading and rereading.

Augustine the Theologian by Eugene TeSelle (Wipf & Stock)

A good primer for every theological student, this book should be read alongside Peter Brown's Augustine of Hippo, the definitive biography of the most prolific and consequential theologian of the early church. TeSelle traces with clarity the development of Augustine's mind through the major controversies and themes of his work.

Karl Barth His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts by Eberhard Busch (Wipf & Stock)

Drawing on Barth's letters and memoranda as well as his published writings, Busch tells the story of a person who lived through the great turning points of the 20th century and whose work as seen in Church Dogmatics demands attention from every serious student of theology.

Spurgeon Prince of Preachers by Lewis A. Drummond (Kregel)

We still await a definitive biography of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Baptist preacher and self-taught theologian, but Drummond's lengthy study is the best to date. He presents Spurgeon as a latter-day disciple of another Baptist saint, John Bunyan, and shows how his pastoral work encompassed "an all-round ministry."

Saint Thomas Aquinas The "Dumb Ox" by G. K. Chesterton (Sheed & Ward)

There are longer and better biographies of the doctor angelicus, but this is my favorite. Chesterton is at his brilliant best in writing this vivid portrait of the great Dominican saint, whose work continues to edify evangelicals as well as Catholics despite his student reputation as a dull, "dumb ox."

I will like to add to the list three excellent books on theologians I have read recently;



An excellent book by Geoffrey Wainwright (2000, Oxford University Press) detailing the development of Lesslie Newbigin's theological thoughts. Wainwright has masterfully shown how Newbigin's early years, his work in India and exposure to Eastern thoughts has significantly influenced this theologican's thinking.



Ever the rebel and counter-revolutionary, this autobiographical memoirs (2010, Eerdmans) makes for interesting reading.



This book of brief summaries of great theologians (2010, IVP Academics) serves as an appetizer to reading deeper studies on the individual biographies of these theologians.

Are there any other good biographies of theologians you want to share?

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The Call to Be

Jeremiah - The Call to Be

Text: Jer. 1:1-19

Sermon Statement

Jeremiah is called to be a prophet to the nations and God empowers him to be one in the face of oppositions and suffering. We are called to be the people of God and we are empowered to be that people in the face of oppositions and suffering.

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Bob on Passion, Purpose and Pleasure

Kansas Bob's post on Passion, Purpose and Pleasure based on the movie Chariots of Fire reminds me of two great quotes from the movie. These two quotes are the inspiration for me as I struggle to find time to do ministry in the midst of a busy medical practice.

I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast.
And when I run I feel His pleasure.

You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape - especially if you've got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe you're dinner's burnt. Maybe you haven't got a job.

So who am I to say, "Believe, have faith," in the face of life's realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.

Eric Liddel went on to be a missionary in China. When Japan invaded China in 1941, all missionaries were asked to leave. Eric chose to stay and was interned with other missionaries in a concentration camp in 1943. He died in 1945, five months before liberation.


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Thomas Aquinas on the Five Ways

An interesting clip of Thomas Aquinas. I also found a fascinating website Thomistic Philosophy, Great stuff here.

Expanded text of 'The Five Ways in Context'

BosMutusCatholic — July 12, 2009 — The historical and literary context for the Five Ways of proving the existence of God found in the Summa Theologiae of Saint Thomas Aquinas. The video describes his life, his joining the Dominican Order of Preachers and the discovery of Aristotle in 12 th century Europe after the crusades, along with Islamic philosophers' commentaries. It outlines Aquinas' resolution of the tension between faith and reason, and explains why he offers proofs for God's existence in a work of theology.

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Matteo Ricci"s Legacy

The latest from Thinking Faith...


Matteo Ricci’s legacy: a loving patience
400 years ago today, Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci died in Beijing. One of the pioneers of the Jesuit mission to China, he remains a greatly respected figure for the Church and for the Chinese people. As Thinking Faith marks his anniversary this month, Yves Camus SJ introduces us to the man who has been called ‘the most outstanding cultural mediator between China and the West of all time’.

Read >>

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Anthony Egan on South Africa

In 2-11 February 1990, a ‘long week’ that shook the world, beginning with the unbanning of the African National Congress and other political movements and culminating with Nelson Mandela’s release from Pollsmoor Prison. This is akin to the tearing down of the Berlin wall, events that we never imagine will happen. Here Jesuit Anthony Egan SJ reflects on the event.

iWitness: South Africa: Twenty years on
Memories of the seminal events that took place in South Africa twenty years ago this week, which ended with Nelson Mandela’s release from prison on 11 February 1990, will live long in the minds of those who experienced the atmosphere in the country at the time. Anthony Egan SJ describes the reaction to this crucial chapter in the struggle against apartheid. How did people of faith see these events as a sign of the coming of God’s kingdom?

Read >>

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Fall of the Berlin Wall

The latest from Thinking Faith...


‘We are the people’
As we prepare to mark the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, German Jesuit Bernd Hagenkord recalls his memories of November 1989 and describes the momentous events that led to the reunification of Germany. To what extent did the Churches create a platform for the people of East Germany to find their voice, and how has the fall of the wall changed the way that Germans see themselves and their country? Read >>

http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20091106_1.htm

Billy Graham's America

From ChristianHistory.net

Billy Graham's America
Southern sensibilities, media savvy, denominational openness, and an expanding social vision helped turn a country boy evangelist into a cultural icon.
By Grant Wacker

In slightly more than two decades—roughly from 1949 to 1971—Billy Graham moved from leader to celebrity to icon, and he retained that iconic status into the new millennium. For millions of Heartland Americans, he functioned very much as a Protestant saint. By the time he retired in 2005, reportedly he had preached to nearly 215 million people in person in more than 185 countries and territories, and to additional hundreds of millions through electronic media.


Finish this article from ChristianHistory.net.
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Martin Luther and his theses

Luther Posts the 95 Theses
An obscure monk invited debate on a pressing church issue—and touched off a history-shattering reform movement.
By Dr. Eric W. Gritsch

Sometime during October 31, 1517, the day before the Feast of All Saints, the 33-year-old Martin Luther posted theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.


Finish this article from ChristianHistory.net.

The Lost History of Christianity

Seaver College W. David Baird Distinguished Lecture Series presents Dr. Phillip Jenkins, lecturing on "The Lost History of Christianity".

Jenkins is the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Humanities at Pennsylvania State University. His specialty is Christianity in the southern hemisphere, and he will explore the myths surrounding the history of the religion.