Why should we read Charles Strohmer's writing? Step-by-step, a mindset based largely on occult philosophy and occult mystical experience is taking the place of liberal humanism as the dominant philoso
Mike Taylor
Date posted: 1 Aug 1996
Book Review
Many Christians find it hard to show compassion for people who embrace this new outlook. Maybe they think that people must be stupid to adopt such a view. Yet most leading New Agers are highly intelligent people.
It goes without saying that Christians have a responsibility to get to grips with this new worldview and to show as much love to New Agers as they would to any other person whom they desire to come to a knowledge of the truth. Charles Strohmer's books can help us all.
Charles himself was involved in the New Age world for nearly eight years (1969-1976) and demonstrates a great empathy with his ultimate target audience. One of the outstanding features of his writings is warmth of tone. Indeed, his books are unusually strong on two fronts: understanding of the subject matter, and compassion for those trapped in the occult minefield.
What Your Horoscope Doesn't Tell You
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Seek the Welfare of the City
Mr Peter Head
Date posted: 1 Jul 1996
Book Review
Seek the Welfare of the City: Christians as benefactors and citizens
(First-century Christians in the Greco-Roman world)
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Have a successful holiday club
Dr Lindsay Easson
Date posted: 1 Jul 1996
In some ways it is easy to have a holiday club. You can just run it the same way as last year.
Just rope in some leaders from the youth organisations, arrange a few games, sing 'Jesus' love is very wonderful' and hit them with a few 'old-faithful' Bible stories.
Reconsidering the Promise Keepers
Peter Glover
Date posted: 1 Jul 1996
In a decade of controversial movements rumours have been rife for over a year now of the next big thing about to hit the British church scene: Promise Keepers. EN carried news of this last September. Now Peter Glover reports . . .
Born in the USA (God's apparent spawning ground for new movements) five years ago, Promise Keepers has seen enormous growth especially among evangelicals.
Why the African church is so important
John Benton
Date posted: 1 May 1996
University students in Africa are responding to the gospel. David Zac Niringiye is a regional secretary for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students and is responsible for 27 English and Portuguese-speaking countries. John Benton caught up with Zac at Word Alive, and interviewed him for EN.
EN: When and how did you become a Christian?
DZN: Both my parents were committed Christians - my father was also a lay evangelist. So I grew up within the church, but when I was 15 I strayed and became heavily influenced by drink. I tried to deceive my parents and bought some Scripture Union Bible reading notes, to pretend that things were not so bad with me. Through the notes I read the Bible seriously and was struck by its impact. One Sunday in June 1972, when I was suffering from a hangover, I went to a small-group discussion run for Christians on the subject of doubts in the Christian faith. I realised then that the only reason I doubted the reality of my faith was because I wasn't there yet, and so I turned to the Lord.
A strategic time in East Asia
Malcolm Jones
Date posted: 1 May 1996
60% of the world's population live there, but less than 5% are Christian. East Asian economies are growing rapidly, promising to make an ever-increasing impact on the rest of the world. It is a strategic time to be in Asia.
We asked Malcolm Jones to interview David Ellis, National Director of Overseas Missionary Fellowship UK (OMF) , to explore the life of the Church in East Asia, and discover the part being played by OMF in that part of the world.
Is this your first time?
Mr Martin Browning
Date posted: 1 May 1996
I have usually been the one up front; Sundays, that is, morning and evening. But for a rare few weeks I have been able to visit a variety of churches and chapels; not as a visiting preacher, nor as a sermon-tester, nor even to find where to settle down . . .
It is good to get the feel of several congregations in a different area, and incidentally to appreciate better the feel of the pew - its hardness or comfort is one factor, but not the chief!
From Miyah'deen to Jesus
Mr Amin Abbasi
Date posted: 1 Jun 1996
Iranian student Amin Abbasi saw no reason to live. Abused as a child, crushed by poverty, he was ready to kill.
But he was given the Scriptures in his own language and was fascinated by Jesus. He surrendered his life to Christ. He is now being trained at Elam Ministries which operates the only residential Bible Training Centre in the world for Iranians. This is his testimony.
A family tree
Mr Malcolm Moffatt
Date posted: 1 Jun 1996
Following the article on Robert Moffat in the January issue of EN, Dr. Malcolm Moffat, the grandson of Robert Moffat's grandson (see footnote) has kindly supplied us with details of how the Moffats' descendants have contributed and still contribute to Africa today.
Dr. Malcolm Moffat worked as a paediatrician in Zambia and Uganda in a variety of roles including Makerere Medical School, before coming back to the UK National Health Service.
How I stopped being silly
Peter Woodcock
Date posted: 1 Apr 1996
Peer group pressure! It is a big factor in a youngster's life. this proved to be especially true when I was 12 years old. I had just started at a senior school in my home town of Windsor and I was eager to make an impression on new friends.
One of those friends, Alan, invited me over to his house for some fun. When I told him I was hungry, he suggested we went to the shops and got some sweets, but neither of us had any money. But that was no problem. 'We'll just steal them', Alan said. I had some qualms about this, my parents being good, church-going people, and being aware of what God thought of stealing. But my protest soon ended when I realised that Alan's estimate of me was plummeting rapidly, and that if I was not careful, I would quickly be labelled a coward at school. Quite soon we were coming out of the shop with pockets bulging with sweets and books we had stolen.
Pioneer spirit
Mr John Coffey
Date posted: 1 Jan 1996
The end of 1995 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of Scotland's greatest missionaries, Robert Moffat. Although less famous than his son-in-law, David Livingstone, Moffat was also a remarkable man.
His story has all the ingredients of the classic Victorian missionary saga: wild animals and even wilder tribes, exotic customs and bizarre costumes, daring expeditions into the interior, and above all, an indomitable missionary sustained by his trust in an Almighty God.
The little liberator
Mr John Pollock
Date posted: 1 Mar 1996
One evening in 1787 a young MP pored over papers by candlelight in his home beside the Houses of Parliament. William Wilberforce had been asked to propose the Abolition of the Slave Trade, although almost all Englishmen thought the Trade necessary, if nasty, and that economic ruin would follow if it stopped.
He studied first the state of Negro slaves in the West Indies. He found it bad. Then, the harm to Africa. This disturbed him. Then he examined the conditions for the wretched men, women and children as they were shipped across the Atlantic and he was appalled. The death rate on this 'middle passage' was dreadful. Every dead slave meant loss to a slave ship's owner, yet hundreds died every year.
Chinese whispers
John Marsh
Date posted: 1 Feb 1996
During the week, St. Peter's Vere Street in London's West End is home to Christian Impact, but on Sundays it is fully used by Emmanuel Evangelical Church. This is a young, vibrant and growing international congregation. To find out more about it, John Marsh visited their pastoral leader, the Rev. Chua Wee-Hian.
EN: How did the church begin?
CW-H: Towards the end of 1988, a group of primarily Chinese Christians believed that the time had come to launch a new church that would reach out to students and professionals from ethnic minority backgrounds. This would also be in line with the Lord's mandate to 'make disciples of all nations'. So on January 1 1989, Emmanuel Evangelical Church (EEC) was born. Our dream and vision is to grow into an international church.
Knowing Christianity
John Nicholls
Date posted: 1 Jan 1996
Book Review
By J.I. Packer Eagle. 197 pages. £5.99 A new book from Jim Packer is always an event. But when it is entitled Knowing Christianity it is bound to raise the expectations of the multitudes who have benefited from Knowing God over the years. They will not be disappointed. Packer has not lost his touch. He remains one of the best writers of popular but thoughtful theology.
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