Ideas

Classic & Contemporary Excerpts from July 18, 1994

SPIRITUALITY DEFINED

Spirituality is a slippery term but the phenomenon itself is not new. Christian spirituality is nothing other than life in Christ by the presence and power of the Spirit: being conformed to the person of Christ, and being united in communion with God and with others. Spirituality is not an aspect of Christian life, it is the Christian life.

-Michael Downed in “America” (April 2, 1994)

KEEP PUSHING ON

Never let success hide its emptiness from you, achievement its nothingness, toil its desolation. And so…keep alive the incentive to push on further, that pain in the soul which drives us beyond ourselves…. Do not look back.

And do not dream about the future, either. It will neither give you back the past, nor satisfy your other daydreams. Your duty, your reward—your destiny—are here and now.

-Dag Hammarskjold in “Markings”

GIFT EXCHANGE

If life is to have meaning, and if God’s will is to be done, all of us have to accept who we are and what we are, give it back to God, and thank Him for the way He made us. What I am is God’s gift to me; what I do with it is my gift to Him.

-Warren W. Wiersbe in his autobiography, “Be Myself”

PLURALISM IS NOT NEW

While religious pluralism may be a novel experience for us, it is putting us in touch with the world that surrounded the biblical authors…. The pluralism and the paganism of Our Time were the common experience of the prophets and apostles. In Mesopotamia, there were thousands of gods and goddesses, many of which were known to the Israelites—indeed, sometimes known too well….

Nothing, therefore, could be more remarkable than to hear the contention, even from those within the Church, that the existence of religious pluralism today makes belief in the uniqueness of Christianity quite impossible. Had this been the necessary consequence of encountering a multitude of other religions, Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, and Paul would have given up biblical faith long before it became fashionable…to do so.

-David Wells in “No Place for Truth, or, Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology?”

NO INNER MUSIC

We seem so frightened today of being alone that we never let it happen. Even if family, friends, and movies should fail, there is still the radio to fill up the void…. Now, instead of planting our solitude with our own dream blossoms, we choke the space with continuous music, chatter, and companionship to which we do not even listen. It is simply there to fill the vacuum. When the noise stops there is no inner music to take its place.

-Anne Morrow Lindbergh in “Gift from the Sea”

Copyright © 1994 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

ctjul94mrw4T80185619

Also in this issue

Selling Out the House of God? Bill Hybels answers critics of the seeker-sensitive movement

Cover Story

Selling Out the House of God?, Part 2

Cover Story

Selling Out the House of God?, Part 1

'True Love Waits' Now Worldwide Effort

Sanctions Harm Mission Work

Pope Reaffirms Ban on Women Priests

News

Bankrupty Tests RFRA Statute

Church Names Leader, 86

Health Problems Sideline General

Baptists Resist EEOC Guidelines

APA Halts Conversion Therapy Change

Problems of Joint Action Are Detailed

Conflict Divides Countercult Leaders

World Scene: Rebels Kill Top Church Leaders

SBC Refuses Funding from Moderates

Rush Limbaugh: An Ego on Loan from God

Is the Fat Lady Singing?

Philosophers on Pilgrimage

Reclaiming the Strip Mines: A Writer's Calling

The Church's New McCarthyism

Canada’s Evangelical Face

Changing from the Inside Out

The Birth of a Megachurch

News

News Briefs: July 18, 1994

Listening to the Critics

LETTERS: Clarifying a Trend

Should Catholics and Evangelicals Join Ranks?

Christian Colleges’ Urgent Mission

The Burden of Celebrity

News

The Second Calling of Art

Ending the Cold War Between Theologians and Laypeople

What Jonathan Edwards Can Teach Us About Politics

Confronting Canada's Secular Slide

Healing Our Mean Streets

RE-Imagining Labeled 'Reckless'

75-Year-Old Graham a Hit with Youth

News

Leukemia Claims Evangelist Tom Skinner

View issue

Our Latest

The Bulletin

NYC Mayoral Race, Trump Softens to Ukraine, and Can Horror Films Edify?

Mamdani leads NYC mayoral race, Trump-Putin relationship cools, and why horror movies might help you cope in a horrible world.

The Bigfoot and UFOs Podcast Introducing Listeners to Christ

“We want to make a space where people can scratch an itch about the weird stuff they’ve encountered, but our heart for this is for people to encounter God.”

News

What Would a Liberal Democracy in Lebanon Look Like?

An interfaith group created a Youth Mock Parliament to imagine a nonsectarian government.

News

Brazilian Evangelicals See God at Work Among the Working Class

Small Pentecostal churches across poor peripheral neighborhoods fuel Protestant growth nationwide.

Analysis

‘Drug Boat’ Strikes Prompt Questions about Human Dignity, Executive Power

When the president exercises lethal force without congressional authority, we all lose.

Wire Story

Top ACNA Leader Faces Sexual Harassment Allegations

Following a string of scandals, the accusations against Archbishop Steve Wood come amid plans for the denomination to overhaul its abuse response.

The Russell Moore Show

 Listener Question: Should Communion Be Open to All Believers?

Russell takes a listener’s question about church membership and the Communion table.

Anti-Fragile Faith in Chaotic Times

Slow Theology highlights how a long obedience in the same direction grows.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube