I’ve been talking to some people involved with marketing this book about arranging for an interview with James Hunter to post here. I think it will happen.
Rather than the usual “why did you write this book?” marketing fluff, I thought I’d open the floor to the readers. What questions do you have of the author?
Now, I’m not nearly finished with the series. I’ve got two more of his essays to cover, plus adding my two-cents worth. Therefore, I’m keeping this post at the top of the screen for a few days to remind you to post your questions as they come to you.
Thanks for the great book review – it has charged a lot of talk with my wife – to educate our kids in our 'home school' or not; to keep them in our life and educate them in excellence to be able to face the world in adult life, or to be part of the world growing up- this is in context of you saying that certain cultures ie Jews, have influenced in a big way- what does James Hunter think of the education system, and if we need to be a part of that? Or prepare our kids to be world changers in the College system and workplace?
I'd be interested in his understandig of
. separation (from this wold)
. isolation
. assimilation
Where and how he draws the line between them in order to meet Christ's vision of His church.
If Christians could have a "faithful presence" in the realm of politics, what would it look like?
How does this book encourage cultivating a relationship with Jesus, rather than just advancing a moralism, clothed in Christianity, that really just asks me to slide around Jesus' cross without taking him seriously?
Jay,
You might be better qualified to address this question than to put it to Hunter.
What does this book suggest to Churches of Christ in our engagement with other Christian denominations? Our isolationist stance is not an effective means of engaging them today – nor was our confrontational, debate centered approach effective in the past century. What should be our stance with regard to other Christian groups to engage them without compromising our convictions?
Jerry,
Hunter argues strongly for the necessity of unity among ALL Christians.
Good question that might be at least partially answered by asking what made Alexander Campbell so successful in the early years of his ministry? (entire congregations of the denominations, the other "Christian groups" to which you presumably refer). Read the first few chapters of Campbell's CHRISTIAN BAPTIST, to see what distinguished him from the denominations then, and specifically WHAT he criticized.. Note his change of thinking in the later chapters as he gradually changed in his later lifebecoming more akin to those he had criticized earlier. Becoming protagonist instead of antagonist. As he did, today we have similarly become more like them, as he did in his later years. Also, read the writings of his son in law, Dr. Robert Richardson on the Holy Spirit. Again those in the church, from whom Richardson differed most in his writings then, generally characterize our thinking today about the H.S. and what He does. Cultures have changed! And with it so has our thinking.
Glenn Ellis
[email protected] .
I would echo Terry's question. If you have more than two people, you have politics. How does the authentic Christian properly engage the political part of the society we are to engage?
I guess I would ask for a bit of hypothesizing. If time could be rewritten, what would the church have done over the last 50 years if it had lived as Hunter suggests?
That is, how should the church have reacted differently to the challenges presented since 1960? How should we have lived out the Civil Rights era, Vietnam, etc.?
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer