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INDISPENSABLE: THE IMITATION OF CHRIST THE JESUS FACTOR: WHAT OUR WORLD WOULD BE LIKE WITHOUT CHRISTIANITY THE HIDING PLACE
THOMAS À KEMPIS
TERESA OF ÁVILA
MIROSLAV VOLF
JEREMIAH J. JOHNSON
CORRIE TEN BOOM
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RU BE NM N -I N V IGN H DO EA SD
EDITORIAL A Year of Hope
CO V E R :
2018 DESIGN: DA N I E L G O M E S
Review of Books, Books in Review
ISSUE #7 – JANUARY/MARCH 2018 Frequency: Quarterly CollaboratORS in this issue: Daniel Gomes, Susana Pires, Samuel Ascenção (apoio à Produção)
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T
he arrival of the New Year is deeply connected to new resolutions, to commitments we make for ourselves, and Biblion is no exception. We too want to embrace 2018 with the hope that our goals will be achieved. Loyal to our commitment towards Christian literature and towards our readers, we want to see our magazine reach unexpected places and audiences and motivate more people to read. To make that happen, Biblion is launching a series of measures and initiatives that will take place throughout this year. On top of the magazine’s expansion, these measures seek to maintain Biblion’s integrity and autonomy as an independent magazine whose main purpose is the promotion of literature in regard to the reader’s intellectual and spiritual maturing. Biblion also seeks to devote itself more to the magazine’s means of dissemination, placing greater emphasis on website, mobile app and social networks starting this month of January. A substantial design and layout overhaul is in progress, its goal being the refinement of our graphic content’s quality. Lastly, we want to see a larger share of guest collaboration and add more voices to each magazine’s issue. Of course, all this involves a compromise of time and resources – and this becomes a situation where, as they say, we need to take a step back in order to take two steps forward. This means going back to the magazine’s quarterly publishing format, a decision that will ensure the magazine’s quality and contribute to its constant improvement – two things that Biblion values more than the number of issues published in a year. As the reader can witness, we are committed to make 2018 a memorable year, and we want you to join us in this magnificent journey. Here are our sincere wishes of health, peace and joy, and we hope you have a great 2018! DA N I E L T. G O M E S
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INDEX
BIBLION COLLECTION
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PUBLICAÇÃO DE INSPIRAÇÃO CRISTÃ | Nº 7
INDISPENSÁVEL: A IMITAÇÃO DE CRISTO EFEITO JESUS: COMO SERIA O MUNDO SEM O CRISTIANISMO? O REFÚGIO SECRETO
THOMAS DE KEMPIS
TERESA DE ÁVILA
MIROSLAV VOLF
JEREMIAH J. JOHNSON
CORRIE TEN BOOM
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A CHRISTIAN BOOK MAGAZINE | # 7
INDISPENSABLE: THE IMITATION OF CHRIST JESUS FACTOR: WHAT OUR WORLD WOULD BE LIKE WITHOUT CHRISTIANITY THE HIDING PLACE
THOMAS À KEMPIS
TERESA OF ÁVILA
MIROSLAV VOLF
JEREMIAH J. JOHNSON
CORRIE TEN BOOM
IMAGES: BIBLION ARCHIVE, EXCEPT WHEN MENTIONED OTHERWISE. BIBLION IS VERY THANKFULL FOR ALL IMAGES AND CONTENT GRACIOUSLY SUPPLIED BY PUBLISHERS AND PARTNERS.
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BIBLION #7
INDEX
INDEX
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E D I TO R I A L
INDISPENSABLE
BIBLION
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JESUS
I N S P I R AT I O N
PERSONA
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SPIRITUALITY
ECUMENISM
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INDISPENSABLE
AN ETERNAL CLASSIC OF CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
The
Imitation of Christ Thomas H. Kempis
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nspiring and daunting at the same time, The Imitation of Christ is one of the oldest and most popular devotionals in history, as well as a classic of Christian literature. Its influence remains strong in the Church of this day – six hundred years after its publication – and with good reason, too. EVERY DAY WE are overwhelmed with messages that stimulate our pride. Mass media promote products and services that allegedly make us better and happier; social networks turn us into celebrities, whether we have a hundred followers or a million. We live in a constant hustle, trying to be successful
in our lives, believing we have control over them. The work attributed to Thomas à Kempis goes against everything that moves today’s society. With harsh but sincere language, The Imitation of Christ reminds the reader of what he really is: a fragile, mortal being.
T H E I M I TAT I O N O F C H R I S T , B Y T H O M A S H . K E M P I S , P U B L I S H E D B Y P U B . E U R O PA - A M É R I C A , M E M M A R T I N S
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BIBLION #7
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IMAGEM: ARQUIVO
Control is an illusion. Fame is an illusion. The Voice of) Christ” and “The Disciple”, a tool sinful condition of the human being and his Kempis uses to strengthen his message. By dependence in God are quite real, however, adopting the role of “The Disciple”, the and Kempis does not flee from this reality; in reader becomes a key part of the teaching fact, he encourages the and identifies with the characreader to embrace it ter’s prayers and difficulties. with a humble and broken It should be noted that this heart, a heart that seeks “disciple” seems to based on God’s will alone. the author’s own experience, The author highlights the as the following quote indiimportance of our interior cates: “How wise was Your life in the walk with Jesus. warning to beware of men; The Christian must be absothat a man’s enemies are lutely humble and obedient, those of his own household; with a love for Christ greater that we should not believe if than the love for the self. As anyone says: ‘Behold he is human beings, we are weak here, or behold he is there.’ I and unstable; we depend on have been taught to my own cost, God’s grace and power to and I hope it has given me greater galvanize us: “How great is caution, not greater folly.” T H E I M I TAT I O N O F C H R I S T THOMAS H. KEMPIS the frailty of human nature With a striking, severe which is ever prone to evil!” Kempis does not depiction of the true follower of Jesus, The ignore the hardship ascribed to the decision of Imitation of Christ continues to test and insfollowing Jesus’ example; in fact, he raises the pire thousands upon thousands of believers bar even more: “Realize that you must lead a all around the world. This is a devotional that dying life; the more a man dies to himself, the intimidates but also educates, with a powerful more he begins to live unto God.” and lasting message to the Church of our One of the most interesting characteristics days. of this book is the dialogue between “(The www.biblion.pt
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BIBLION
GET TO KNOW US
Who We Are Biblion is a free, quarterly digital magazine that promotes Christian literature and reading habits. Created in 2016, Biblion is an initiative undertaken by Portuguese publisher Unique Creations, and enjoys the support of both resident and guest collaborators. Currently, the magazine is on its seventh issue, with Digital (Issuu) and Interactive (Joomag) versions available in Portuguese (EU) and English (US)
What We Do Reviews concerning books deemed beneficial for the reader’s intellectual and/or spiritual edification; Interviews of authors, pastors and personalities involved with the development and spreading of Christian literature; Chronicles relative to ethical and religious subjects; In-house content production; Dissemination of Christian and general literature; Endorsement of reading habits for all ages. 10 BIBLION #7
BIBLION
Our Mission Promoting Christian literature and its production in European Portuguese; Stimulate the publication of works from Portuguese authors; Encourage the practice of “fair pricing” and make literature available to everyone’s financial conditions; Promote wholesome reading habits; Host the healthy dialogue among different perspectives.
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JESUS
WHAT OUR WORLD WOULD BE LIKE WITHOUT CHRISTIANITY
Jesus Factor The
Jeremiah J. Johnston
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r. Jeremiah J. Johnston, a professor, scholar and public speaker, guides us on a journey through the history of mankind as he weighs, based on an enormous variety of perspectives, the impact that the Bible and the Christian faith have had throughout the centuries.
THE AUTHOR SHOWS us how the world was before Jesus and the Christian movement were first born, when poverty, slavery, prostitution, and women and child abuse were common. The rise of Christianity gave the world a new path, bringing a huge improvement in the society’s overall quality of life, especially in the lower social strata.
Suffering, fear and inequality ran rampant back then. The people were hostages of pain and disease, desperate for a cure, fearful of death and hell in a society fractured between freemen and slaves, rich and poor, men and women. Even racism faded while Christianity swept through Europe and the Roman Empire. In
U N I M AG I N A B L E , B Y J e r emia h J . J o h n s o n . P U B L I S H E D B Y B e t h an y H o u s e , A DA , M I - E UA
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the following millennium, no major philosophers or Christian theologians argued about racism and slavery. But, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the racist ideal rekindled, as well as that of racial supremacy, which the author shows as examples of how modernism, by setting Christian principles aside, opened the way for the emergence of depraved movements, such as the communist and the nazi regimes, inspired in anti-Christian systems, and that ended up being responsible for the death of almost 150 million lives. The 19th century was particularly prolific in the rise of ideologies that proved detrimental for mankind. Johnston lists the “Big Five,” those who contributed severely to move the world away from the Judeo-Christian worldview – Feuerbach, Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche and Freud. And without God, something has to fill up the void. With the 20th century, the world watched mankind’s dehumanization and the arrival of Nietzsche’s Übermensch – Hitler, madly determined to exterminate millions in order to elevate a race. The origins of Mein Kampf and the “science” of racial purity go back to the proliferation of noxious ideas from the 19th century, which were also embraced by some of the most Machiavellian despots, such as Stalin, Mussolini, Mao Zedong and the three Kim dictators from North Korea. 14 BIBLION #7
THE AUTHOR
J E R E M I A H J . J O H N S TO N
B I B L I O N - ENGLISH VERSION
In antithesis, the great opponent to Hitler’s imperial conquest, Winston Churchill, always acted in defense of the Christian civilization. The British statesman’s own life is proof that history is made by energetic people that strive for the impossible. Jeremiah Johnston answers to the great questions about how the world would be, with and without Christianity. What was it that Romans didn’t like about Christianity? What is the value of life and human dignity? What made Christianity irresistible? What this book shows to us and to the skeptics is that nothing would be the same without the existence of Jesus and the Christian movement that grew around Him. Yes, because up to the first twenty years of the first century, there wasn’t any of this Christianity
thing going on. It was His miracles and healing power, but above all the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, that everything changed. The Jesus factor. This Jesus factor contributed to the abolition of slavery, thanks to men like William Wilberforce and John Wesley, to the resolving of international conflicts, to the end of discrimination and inequality concerning sex, ethnicity and religion, and to the establishment of public education systems, including for those with disabilities. In the ancient world there was no “humanitarian help,” but the first Christians learned with the Jesus factor how to take in the outcasts and the sojourners, building the communal shelters of medical care – the hospitals of our days.
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I N S P I R AT I O N
Remembering Rightly in a Violent World
M
Miroslav Volf
iroslav Volf, one of the most renowned theologians of our time, brings us a message of forgiveness and reconciliation extremely relevant to these days. Based on his experiences in ex-Yugoslavia, Volf debates people’s attachment to their memories, especially the most painful ones, and suggests a way of finding peace and put an “end to memory,” so to speak. THERE IS AN EXPRESSION closely associated with the events of September 11th: “(We Will) Never Forget.” The tragedy that hit
the United States on that fateful day was such that the American citizens, and the whole world in a way, refuse to let go of that memory,
THE END OF MEMORY, BY MIROSLAV VOLF. PUBLISHED BY Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, GRAND RAPIDS, MI - USA
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CREDITS: ARCHIVE
even though it is such a painful one. After that Irish that have not forgotten the violent conday memorials were built, and measures were frontations between Catholics and Protestants, taken so that an act of terrorism such as that Jews that have not forgotten the terror of the one would never take place again. The day Holocaust, and so one. No one dares to forget. itself became an official day of mourning Miroslav Volf is not a stranger to tragedy. and remembrance – the Patriot Day. I doubt He too went through very rough times in his anyone could forget what happened with all life, and this book is partly based on one of this, even if that person wanted to forget. his worst years. In the communist regime of Nonetheless, there is one Yu g o s l av i a , t h e t h e o question that goes almost logian was called to unnoticed with all this emser ve in the militar y at phasis in not forgetting: Why Mostar, where he spent a not forget? Why continue to year being constantly interremember such a bitter and rogated. It was one of the harsh event to us? What is the most scarring experiences in final purpose of keeping this the life of the Croatian theowretched memory alive? Is logian, whose connections it simply to remember those to religion and to capitalist who perished? Is it to forgive America made him a suspect this uncanny offense? Or is it of espionage and subversion, to perpetuate the fear and the and subsequently a target to violence? While most people extensive and dehumanizing agree we shouldn’t forget “talks” with one of the such a dire atrocity, public ex-Yugoslav officials. Volf THE END OF MEMORY opinion is not as unanimous talks about the way the capWm. B. Eerdmans Publishing as to why we shouldn’t forget. tain made that year a living This is one of the reasons why several parts hell to him on this book, and how he unof world face a political and/or social crisis to- dermined Volf ’s trust in his comrades as he day: ex-Yugoslavs that have not forgotten the sought evidence to incriminate the theologian. brutalities of the 90’s, African-Americans that Nevertheless, The End of Memory is not have not forgotten the times of segregation, just a recounting of the torment Volf went www.biblion.pt
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BIBLION - R Review E V I S TAof DE Books, L I V R OBooks S , L I V Rin OS Review E M R E V I S TA
through in Mostar; it is the full stop to that torment. Even though the experience lasted only a year, its remembrance persists in the theologian’s heart ever since, and he recognizes it has changed him forever. Volf acknowledges how difficult it is for him to move on, to forgive and to be reconciled with the memory of that captain who scarred him in an indelible way – but he recognizes that as an inevitable step to his happiness and his walk with Christ, and shares with the reader everything he knows about how to remember in this book. Aware that our memory can as easily be a sword as it is a shield, the theologian states that abandoning the recollections of the injustices we suffer is sometimes beneficial
and essential to the process of redemption. He highlights the role of voluntarily not recalling these memories – the remembrance is not erased, but remains ignored by our consciousness – as a vital tool of reconciliation and a very similar method to that of God’s judgment, which knows the sins of His people yet will remember them no more (Jer. 31:34). The End of Memory is not exactly easy to understand; the theme’s interpretation can be somewhat wearisome, yet its message of forgiveness and love when it comes to knowing how to remember injustice knows no peer. This is a book that the whole world needs to read and let its content teach us to treasure the power of grace and reconciliation.
PUBLIC FAITH IN ACTION How to Engage with Commitment, Conviction, and Courage
MIROSLAV VOLF national scene. But even
To do so, they need to
of their countries. Public
in countries where Chris-
identify the key commit-
Faith in Action focuses
tians are free to engage in
ments of their faith that
on enduring C hri sti an
public life, it can be difficult
connect with contempo-
commitments that should
to discern who to vote for,
rary public issues, unders-
guide readers in their
which policies to support,
tand the roots of those
judgments--not only for
and how to respond to the
commitments, and learn
the next election, but
social and cultural trends
what sorts of questions to
beyond--and encourages
of our time.
ask when applying those
legitimate debate among
In this nonpartisan han-
values to the concrete
Christians over how to
Christian citizens have
dbook, world-renowned
realities of their contexts.
live out core values. The
a responsibility to make
theologian Miroslav Volf
Following Volf’s successful
book also includes lists
political and ethical judg-
and Ryan McAnnally-Linz
A Public Faith, this book
of resources for further
ments in light of their
explain that Christians
offers Christians practical
reflection in each chapter
faith and to participate
need to develop habits of
g u i d a n c e fo r t h i n k i n g
and “room for debate”
in the public lives of their
wise reflection if they are
through complicated pu-
questions to consider.
communities--from their
to engage faithfully with
blic issues and faithfully
source: bakerpublishinggroup.com
local neighborhoods to the
their political communities.
following Jesus as citizens
18 BIBLION #7
THE AUTHOR
VOLF AND... “ON THE FREEDOM OF A CHRISTIAN” One of Volf’s inspirations in the execution of this work was the treatise by Martin Luther that Biblion translated to Portuguese in celebration of the 500 years of Protestant Reformation. Volf covers “On the Freedom of a Christian” in the final chapters of the book, praising how Luther understood redemption and the Christian status in Christ and to his neighbor. The Croatian theologian reflects on the importance of the Christian to live by faith in Christ, not to himself but to others, in love.
MIROSLAV VOLF Miroslav Volf (DrTheol, University of Tübingen) is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and founding director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture in New Haven, Connecticut. He has written more than twenty books, including A Public Faith, Public Faith in Action, The End of Memory, and Exclusion and Embrace (winner of the Grawemeyer Award in Religion and selected among the one hundred best religious books of the twentieth century by Christianity Today).
He also examines how God is a key part of the Christian identity, a subject deeply connected with our article on the book All Together Different (see p. #26) A Liberdade Cristã, our translation of Martin Luther’s treatise, can be purchased in print, PDF or eBook format at www. biblion.pt
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PERSONA
THE HIDING PLACE
Corrie
Ten Boom with Elizabeth & John Sherril
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he echoes of an imminent war between allied forces and Nazi Germany were coming to the nether lands of polders and tulips. One night, with the Dutch people glued to their radios, the prime minister assured the country that he had guaranteed the Netherlands’ neutrality in the conflict and that the war’s dark clouds did not cover the nation. Five hours later, the Luftwaffe bombers charged and the sound of sirens was heard across Amsterdam’s canals. And so were the first bombs.
AMONG THE MILLIONS who couldn’t believe what was happening were two sisters in a typical house of the Haarlem, Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom, the daughters of an expert watchmaker, whose lives were deeply affected by these events.
Barteljoris Street was an example of ethnic and religious plurality of cosmopolitan Amsterdam. Christians, Baptists or Lutherans, Jews and Anti-Semitists lived in a healthy neighborhood where friendship and mutual support were evident. Until that day!
T H E H I D I N G P L AC E , B Y CO R R I E T E N B OO M . P U B L I S H E D B Y B a k er p u bli s hing , G R A N D R A P I D S , M I - U S A
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The Hiding Place tells us a real story, filled still served as a spiritual guide to her fellow with episodes that demonstrate the compas- prisoners. sion and love reigning at the core of the Ten In this work, we get to know how the archiBoom family while they used their home to tect of that Haarlem house modified Corrie’s host hundreds of people persecuted by the room, taking advantage of the existing dip on occupying German forces – mostly Jews. the back of the building, in order to make a The book also depicts the fake wall. This adaptation alterror of the Nazi Holocaust lowed the temporary hiding of that this family experienced. hundreds of Jews who sought The father was buried anonyrefuge with the Ten Boom’s. Every experience mously, and Betsie succumbed Corrie became a farsighted God gives us, every to the inhuman treatment, pe“operational,” even being preperson He puts rishing in captivity at Ravenssented as the head of a great in our lives is the bruck’s concentration camp. organization – an exaggeraBut Cornelia survived. She tion, according to the author, perfect preparation survived to tell the world of but in truth it was not just for a future that the miracles that God has done about concealing a hideout. only He can see. there. Even the emission of her Corrie obtained ration cards, own certificate of release may essential to those without idenT H E H I D I N G P L AC E have been the product of an tification authorized by the CO R R I E T E N B OO M administrative error, since on Germans, and spoke in “watthe week following her release, chmaker” code in a clandestine all the women at the camp who shared her telephone. To her, “every experience God gives age were exterminated. While she was there, us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect subject to inhuman and shameful conditions, preparation for a future that only He can see.” Corrie kept her hope and faith in God, and
“
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SPIRITUALITY
CREDITS: AVE MARIA PRESS
HER LIFE IN LETTERS
Teresa of Jesus Teresa de Ávila
T
o Teresa, who is called “of Jesus,” writing was always a part of her instruction, just as reading and culture were, thanks to her parents’ influence; thus she dedicated herself to the vital task of writing. Her works, The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection, are recognized today as fundamental among the medieval classics. IN A COMPILATION of personal letters mostly directed to different recipients, it is tough to maintain a coherent reading with all the variety of themes and subjects. This book is no exception, but those who don’t know Teresa of Ávila can hereby still contemplate her dependence on the Lord to beat the obsta-
cles that came across her path. This is rather blatant throughout this work. Split in chapters corresponding to chronological decades in the author’s life, Teresa’s ever deteriorating physical frailty becomes evident, and it often made her ask for help in writing the letters.
S T. T E R E S A O F AV I L A , B Y T E R E S A D ’ ÁV I L A . P U B L I S H E D B Y AV E M A R I A P R E S S , N O T R E DA M E , I N - E UA
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Among the recorded documents are missives for Philip II of Spain, interceding for John of the Cross (with whom she founded the Order of Discalced Carmelites) concerning the Inquisition; Dominican author Louis of Granada; or D. Teotónio of Bragança, Archbishop of Évora, to whom she manifests deep concern for the eventual military conflict between Spain and Portugal. She even states, “I would rather die than see it.” Though there is not one moment where she seems afraid of writing, her care for not giving the inquisitors any excuses that may endanger her is noticeable. Teresa, who came to be accused of being “alumbrada” (i.e. “enlightened,” pertaining to the Spanish heretic movement from the sixteenth century), saw the need to use a “cyphered” writing to pass through the Inquisition’s sifter, as she knew she lived under the constant surveillance from her religious inspectors, who filtered her mail and sought to apprehend her literary manuscripts.
The literary legacy of Teresa of Jesus (or “of Ávila,” Spanish town where she first started her Discalced Carmelite ministry) blends with the terror of living under the Inquisition’s censorship. It was a time when persecutions and sentences without impartial judgment could come to anyone, even the most faithful among the Catholic religion. Even though she was integrated in the Church of Rome, Teresa was not free from continuous scrutiny for the spiritual practices uncommon at the time – despite her only seeking a contemplative life, but which transcended the Church’s standards and spawned suspicion around the aura of mysticism enveloping her. An entrepreneurial nun, she established a remarkable network of cloisters, hosting young women from noble families drawn to the cloistered cause, dedicated to a life of prayer and intimacy with God. As such, the Carmelite nun always depended on God to meet all her financial needs.
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ECUMENISM
C R E D I T S : m oo d y p u b l is h ers . co m
UPHOLDING THE CHURCH’S UNITY WHILE HONORING OUR INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES
All Together Different John Koessler & J. Brian Tucker
O
ne of the Christian faith’s greatest virtues is its inclusion of peoples and cultures; all are welcome to believe in the power of faith and accept Jesus as Lord of their hearts. But does the Church, with all its history of internal strife and its multitude of denominations, reflect that inclusion of diversity? THE TRUTH IS THAT the Church seems to be a fragmented body. The panoply of semi-contradicting doctrines, the variety of ceremonies and the tension among members of different denominations spark suspicion in those outside of the Church and discomfort in those in it. Aren’t all believers supposed to be united? Shouldn’t they all think as one?
To John Koessler and J. Brian Tucker, Christian should be united indeed – but they cannot and should not all think as one. In a clear and methodical way, both authors reflect in the intrinsic individuality of each believer – his personal identity – and how it manifests in the collective of the Church.
A L L TOG E T H E R D I F F E R E N T , B Y J O H N KO E S S L E R & J . B R I A N T U C K E R . P U B L I S H E D B Y M OO D Y P U B L I S H E R S , C H I C AG O , I L - E UA
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This is how All Together Different stands apart from the vast majority of Christian literature. Rather than try to subvert our identity and image with dogma in an attempt to create a sense of forcible and artificial union, this book stirs us to embrace our individuality as part of God’s plan for each and every believer. According to Koessler and Tucker, three things form the individual identity of a person: divine image, human culture and sinful disposition. The person is created in God’s image, but due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience, that divine image is corrupted by an inherent inclination towards sin. This same person is born, lives and dies inserted in human culture and society. These are three things that determine the way an individual sees himself and the world. The authors explain how identity is not defined in a single instance of our lives, but it gradually develops throughout our lives. Identity is also characterized by things such as the person’s physical and mental attributes, relationships and commitments. Since individual identity is as important to God as it is to the human being, congregation should integrate that identity instead of suppressing it. Nevertheless, Koessler and Tucker alert to the existence of a second identity – a collective identity, shared by believers and established “in Christ”. By recognizing that connection to the rest of the body of Christ, the Christian is called to reprioritize his identities, being “in Christ” but remaining
true to himself. The book goes over some of the main characteristics in the individual identity that may trigger division within the Church such as gender, ethnicity and age, and how these things work positively in the believers’ collective identity. The authors reflect on Paul’s experiences with the church of Corinth and with Philemon and Onesimus, observing in particular how Paul used diversity – the Roman influence in Corinth’s society and the master/slave type of relationship between Philemon and Onesimus – to unite all parties involved. Lastly, this work talks about the believer as living in the world without being of this world – a “sojourner”, as the authors put it. By living in this world as a sojourner, the Christian identifies with the predominant human culture, but reckons that his citizenship – his way of being as a believer in God – shape his view and his actions. Even though his individual identity may relate to this imperfect world, the believer does not conform to earthly culture and society alone, ever seeking the Kingdom of God through his faith in Jesus. All Together Different is an excellent work in ecumenism and awareness, with biblical and scientific advice that allows us to understand the relation between individual diversity and the collective union of the Church. This is a book that teaches us how much “this Christian identity […] binds us together, even with those Christians who are unlike us.” www.biblion.pt
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