By Dwight Swanson

For evangelical Christians, sharing one’s faith with non-Christians (i.e., ‘witnessing’, or ‘evangelism’) is among the basics of belief. However, most find this very difficult to do. There are many reasons for this, chiefly, I imagine, is that when something is made an obligation it becomes awkward to implement. The word ‘evangel’, from which evangelical and evangel derive, is a simple transliteration of the Greek work which appears in the Bible for ‘bring good news’. It referred to any sort of good news, but usually something grand, like in the Priam Inscription of ca 6 BC which celebrated the birthday of Caesar Augustus. It was applied by the New Testament writers to the event of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. ‘Evangelism’, then, is simply relating this good news. But, it has come in evangelical terms to mean speaking to non-Christians with the specific purpose of encouraging them to make an on-the-spot commitment to become a Christian.

Thus, in evange-speak, sharing good news requires a programme, a plan, and a strategy. The effort creates fear in the committed believer who wishes to be true to his faith by witnessing. The results are often awkward—an indication that such methods are not normal.

This past week I have read two separate accounts by non-Christians of ways in which such witnessing suffers the results of the ‘law of unintended consequences’. The first was found in a most surprising place—the sports supplement of the newspaper. You can read it here link (more)

By Dwight Swanson

Yes, I have been to Kazakhstan; but that is like saying I’ve been to America after flying into Denver and spending a week in the mountains. I have seen a bit of this country on the borders of Europe and Asia. The only flight from Moscow leaves at midnight and arrives (with a two-hour time difference) in Astana at 6:00 a.m. The traveller’s interests are obviously placed first by the authorities! Astana, the new capital city of Kazakhstan, is a city bustling with construction, and government buildings meant to impress—monumental in almost Soviet style. I stayed in a flat in a new high-rise complex in the new part of the city. From my 17th storey vantage point I could see the cranes of new construction in every direction. This is a city in a hurry. (more)

By Dwight Swanson

On the fifth anniversary of the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the Daily Gazelle publishes correspondence from the Occasional #85, following that event. The following article begins with the Editor's first personal reaction to 9/11. Then, email correspondence follows. Names have been omitted, and personal identifying remarks are excised; otherwise, the comments remain as received. The final section is the Occasional #86.

The purpose in publishing these is to offer initial responses, close to the original event and free of influence from the years of commentary and revisionism that have followed. They help to remember the questions raised from the beginning--and so, hopefully, help to evaluate the intervening years of events and opinion.

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By Dwight Swanson

The current sense of outrage being expressed by Muslims around the world who are demonstrating against a speech they have never heard or read is not too different in kind to that of conservative Christians whenever a reported blasphemy against Christ is reported. I have recently received a forwarded email urging me to put my name to a petition against a movie purported to be in production in which Jesus is portrayed as gay. The person who sent it to me did not check to discern whether the allegation was true or not, she simply forwarded the forward. The main difference between the two reactions, I suppose, is Western evangelical access to the internet.

What are the actual facts in this situation? What did the Pope actually say? Did he insult Mohammed? Well—I have actually read the English translation of his speech (you can, too, herelink), and my evaluation is mixed. (more)

By Dwight Swanson

In May of 1994 I travelled to Moscow to teach a Survey of the New Testament course. This was just two years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Church of which I am a part was among the Western Christian churches and groups who rushed to send missionaries to Russia and other former communist states. Within those two years there was a significant group of young people who had come to faith in Jesus Christ and who were eager to learn more of the meaning of this faith. I was there as a part of the response to this desire, and as part of the Church’s desire to provide access to quality education for the sake of an informed and mature Church capable of taking responsibility for its own life as soon as possible.

Many people I met on that visit described Moscow as the ‘wild West'-- (more)

By Dwight Swanson

It was August of 1946. He was on leave from basic training and that was the only time they had—one week to get married and have a honeymoon. He got home on Saturday, they got the license on Monday, and were married on Tuesday night. Tuesday is an unusual time for a wedding, but, as she says, “We needed time for a honeymoon”. Even so, there was a good crowd for the wedding; except for one thing—it was at a time of polio epidemic and some people were afraid to get in crowds. But most relatives and friends were there.

That is how married life began for my parents 60 years ago. (more)