The Church and Technology: Holy or Unholy Alliance?

Just as educational institutions are dealing with a changing student body so also  is the Church dealing with a changing membership.  The picture below is the face of the Church, or at least part of the Church.  How is the Church to respond to its mission in a technologically savvy world?  What is the role of technology?  These are the types of questions  explored in an upcoming series of lectures and workshops at Central Seminary.

On April 11 and 12 at Second Baptist Church in Liberty, MO, Central Seminary is sponsoring “The Church in the Virtual Age:  A Conference on Technology and Ministry.”  The keynote speaker is Dr. Ryan Bolger, Associate Professor in Contemporary Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary.  Several interesting workshops are scheduled with individuals well versed in the potential of technology for the Church.

For information on registration, times, and workshops, click on this link:  The Church in the Virtual Age.

The Ides of March: Caesar and Christ

Today is the Ides of March.  On this day Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE) was assassinated by a group of conspirators, lead by Marcus Junius Brutus  (85-42 BCE), who felt as if the old Republic of Roman was crumbling and a new entity, a kingdom, was arising in its place with Julius Caesar as King/Tyrant.

Nowhere explicitly is Julius Caesar mentioned in the NT; however, the future Roman domination of Judea that characterizes the social context of the NT is a ripple effect from Caesar.  (One might also note the influence, perhaps, on the name of one centurion of the Augustan Cohort who is named Julius [Acts 27:1, 3]).

An exhibit at the British Museum is displaying the only known gold coin which commemorates this event. The coin was pierced in antiquity and perhaps worn as a talisman in order to celebration “liberation.”  Numerous silver coins commemorating this event are extant.  This coinage was minted by the conspirators who felt they were liberating Rome from a tyrant.  (Of course, Octavian [the future Caesar Augustus] and Marc Antony felt differently).  For the next several years Rome was involved in civil war.  This link to the Guardian details this particular gold coin and its background.

A Plog: Greece and Turkey Study Tour

This is plug-blog today, that is, a plog.  It’s a new term (neologism) for a blog that specifically plugs or advertises.  Actually plog has several meanings according to Wikipedia, but none of these are specifically when a blog’s main point is a promotion or an announcement.  So, I will claim a new definition.

Over the last few years, several individuals have asked when Central Seminary was planning on a study tour of Greece and Turkey.  It has been several years since we sponsored one of these study trips.  The photograph below is from one of these previous trips.  You can see several participants enjoying a relaxing rest in an ancient restroom.

A Popular Social Gathering Spot in Ancient Ephesus

The good news is that Central has scheduled a study tour to Greece and Turkey for this fall on October 6-19, 2010. The fully itinerary can be accessed via this link:  Central Sem Turkey 10 bro.  Specific information about enrollment can be found at this link:  Greece and Turkey:  Central Sem Turkey 10 enr.  This study tour is open for all interested individuals.

The archaeological remains and the geographical contexts of the various cities provide very different points of reference for reading the New Testament.  Reading Revelation becomes more intimate having walked the beaches of the island of Patmos.