Great Is Thy Faithfulness? An Interview with Heath Thomas
One character trait that I admire in a biblical scholar is his/her willingness to tackle tough subjects. They focus on aspects of biblical literature that others avoid, and then seek to draw their students and readers into new horizons of Scripture’s spiritual landscape. Dr. Heath Thomas is one such scholar. He serves as professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina....
What Is Directing Our Worship?
When asked to serve as the Music Minister at his church, Steven gladly accepted. He led the congregation in the great hymns from the church’s history—such as “All Creatures of Our God and King,” “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” “Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty,” and “Near the Cross.” An elderly gentleman, strictly accustomed to southern gospel music, approached Steven one morning: “These new songs are nice and all, but I really prefer...
When Theology Gets Practical
One of the bestselling books of the 1990s was Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. In it, author John Gray attempted to help couples better understand their differences so that their relationships might improve. But by no means was this project original to Dr. Gray. We often gain understanding by comparison and contrast: men and women, darkness and light, the objective and the subjective, and countless other relationships. There...
Art Actually
I sometimes ask myself how in the world I ended up with a degree in music performance. But really the answer is quite simple: I love music. I always have. However, what sold me was a music appreciation class during my freshmen year at the local state university. The entire class was deeply fascinating. What was most curious about this course was that it actually began inside the church. The first two or three weeks were given wholly...
Why the Book Is Almost Always Better Than the Movie
Originality is not a virtue often found in Hollywood. This claim is counter-intuitive, of course. Yearly we are ushered into a cinematic world of 3-D creatures, romances with unlikely characters, and thrillers with unexpected killers. The annual profits are staggering when one considers the billions invested in production and earned in ticket sales. Surely the film industry is a place where we can encounter cultural and aesthetic...
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