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DECEMBER 2008: ESSAY by Michael Andres We all want God in our life. We are hard-wired that way. We want God to make something of our life, to do something important with us, to make a difference in our lost, dark, and empty world. So, we may ask, with what kind of people does God choose to dwell? What are the characteristics of the people God favors to carry out his plan to heal, redeem, and rescue? The epicenter of…

DECEMBER 2008: ESSAY by Todd Steen and Steve VanderVeen Introduction "Born to shop." This is the credo of our consumer culture. According to the world, shopping is all about making ourselves feel good, and fulfilling ourselves through obtaining possessions. By default, without thinking about it, we take a humanistic perspective and try to satisfy our ultimate need for meaning by focusing on ourselves. Instead of remembering how scripture defines us, we let the marketing world define us. In a world…

DECEMBER 2008: REVIEW Misquoting Jesus by David Timmer The title of this book is misleadingly provocative, conjuring up images of ecclesiastical skullduggery á la Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. But Ehrman, who in fact wrote one of the better books debunking Brown, actually has a much more modest and conventional aim in this book: to introduce the textual criticism of the New Testament--that is, the scholarly endeavor to determine the original text of the New Testament writings. This involves…

DECEMBER 2008: REVIEW by J. Todd Billings What does it mean to be Reformed in our current American context? In a land where the needs of consumers make the market run, what would it mean to base our faith around God as the central actor in salvation? How should Reformed pastors minister to congregations that have little orientation to the Reformed tradition? These are key questions for the Reformed tradition in America today. Christian messages pulsate on the airwaves and…

DECEMBER 2008: INSIDE OUT by Scott Hoezee In the desert prepare the way for the LORD. Isaiah 40:3a My neighbor did it again. The weekend after Thanksgiving I saw my neighbor across the street scurrying around his yard, using a large ladder to access also the upper reaches of the three trees in his front yard. Once the sun set that evening, the reason behind his busy work was revealed as the trees in his yard were lit up by…