Book Review A Bible for Presbyterian believers who feel like exiles in their times By Walter Taylor, The Layman, the Geneva Bible was first published in 1560 in Geneva, Switzerland, by British exiles living there to escape persecution during the reign of Queen Mary Tudor (“Bloody Mary”). It was the first “study Bible” in English,…
The spotlight turns to New Wineskins The Layman August 2005 Volume 38, Number 3, another group has stepped forth as a herald for Biblical faith. They call themselves the New Wineskins Initiative. They produced a proposed constitution that includes “theological essentials” and “ethical imperatives.” They called for a wholesale transformation that would make higher governing…
A fascinating foray into Barth’s thought and the bewildering field of hermeneutics By David Guretzki, Special to The Layman, derived as they were from the 19th and 20th liberal hermeneutics of Schleiermacher and Dilthey (page 49). An essential and unique feature of Burnett’s book is his careful examination of six unpublished drafts of Barth’s preface…
The sad, silent evil of ‘religious’ freedom The Layman August 2005 Volume 38, Number 3, however, having done away with the standard for discerning good and evil, there is no such thing as heresy. Thus, the institutionally religious continue to go about their business, presuming that it is God’s business. And that’s the sad, silent…
The Disciples’ Prayer: An Intimate Phrase by Phrase Journey through the Lord’s Prayer Reviewed by Robert P. Mills, and, uh, forgive me for all my sins, Lord, and help me to get that job, Lord, if it’s Your will. And please help John’s cold to get better, Lord, and help me not to catch it….
Task Force should seek harmony with God’s Word The Layman September 2003 Volume 36, Number 5, notwithstanding Jesus’ commitment to the moral law of God. In another study, led by Sara Sanderson Doughty, a pastor in Lowville, N.Y., the task force considered the “inclusiveness” of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) in which church leaders accepted…
Jesus with Dirty Feet: A Down-to-Earth Look at Christianity for the Curious & Skeptical Reviewed by Paula R. Kincaid, we’ll be able to see him for ourselves.” Intriguing title I ordered this small, 125 page book just because the title intrigued me. When it arrived, my curiosity was further piqued. The text is formatted in…
To the greater glory of God or the pursuit of mammon? The Layman April/May 2007 Volume 40, Number 1, members of the Protestant mainline denominations are waking up to discover that bureaucrats are seeking to stifle their growing theological dissent by coercing their ministers and lay leadership and by confiscating the property of their congregations….
Book Review Christabel Pankhurst: Fundamentalism and Feminism in Coalition Jeffrey McDonald, The Layman Online, many feminists invoke Christabel Pankhurst’s (1880-1958) name without realizing, or perhaps ignoring, the fact that she became a committed fundamentalist teacher and preacher. Early in the book, author Timothy Larsen establishes Pankhurst’s feminist credentials – she was a founding member and…
With Kirkpatrick and Ivory gone, what is the future of the PCUSA? The Layman October-November 2007 Volume 40, Number 3, the Presbyterian Church (USA) stands at a crossroads: Will the denomination’s decades-long slide into theological pluralism continue its ongoing dilution of the Gospel in the world, the hemorrhaging of its members and churches, the reduction…