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As we look at the debates over science in the late 19^th and early 20^th century it is easy to see that many of the warring factions clung to one corner of the quadrilateral. Many of these groups were unwilling to explore how the other three points of the quadrilateral would affect their theology.

In the early 20^th century there were two extreme camps and (as usual) the majority in the middle. The first extreme was the group that believed that the end of religion was in sight. This group, inspired by the enlightenment, believed that humanity was moving out of an age of religion and into an age of reason. Inspired by Darwinian evolution, scientists such as John Wesley Powell believed that religion was a necessary step in the evolution of ethics. Humanity needed to go through the process of creating and living out religion in order to develop morality; now that this morality had developed religion would be allowed to fade away and it could be replaced by science. Powell called this “the metamorphosis wrought on religion by science.”[3]

The other extreme is exemplified by characters such as T. DeWitt Talmage (a popular preacher) and William Jennings Bryan (a lawyer and politician). Talmage spoke vehemently against evolution because he believed the Bible contradicted evolutionary theory. He said, “I do not care so much where I came from as where I am going to.”[4]

Bryan, in his written out but undelivered closing statement at the Scopes trial, spoke eloquently of the evils science has wrought upon the world. He then got to the heart of his message:

“The world needs a saviour more than it ever did before, and there is only one name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. It is this name that evolution degrades, for, carried to its logical conclusion, it robs Christ of the glory of a Virgin birth, of the majesty of His deity and mission, and of the triumph of His resurrection.”[5]

Both Talmage and Bryant felt that science was not only wrong, but was a danger to the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Many people stood between these two poles; among them James Cardinal Gibbons (a Roman Catholic Cardinal), Joseph Le Conte (a professor of geology), and James McCosh (a Presbyterian clergyman). Each of these individuals believed that science, rather than being a threat to Christianity, was in fact a blessing. Le Conte wrote, “In every case Christianity has risen from the contest stronger and purer”[6]. Cardinal Gibbons wrote:

“Science and Religion…are sisters, because they are daughters of the same Father…Now since reason and revelation aid each other in leading us to god, the Author of both, it is manifest that the Catholic Church, so far from being opposed to the cultivation of reason, encourages and fosters science of every kind.”[7]

This group was enabled to see scientific advance as a blessing because they were not trying to defend the Bible. They felt that the Bible could defend herself. Rather this middle group of people was attempting to understand the truths God was speaking to them through the Bible by first understanding a little better the world around them.

Can a conclusion for today’s young scientists be made? What are the lessons we can learn from our past? I would suggest that we need to stay rooted in the biblical revelation, our ecclesial traditions, human understanding, and the experiences which we and the spiritual community around us live out. At the same time we need to allow ourselves to explore ideas that make us uncomfortable. Evolution was a very uncomfortable idea for many in the early 20^th century because it forced a drastic shift in worldview. It changed completely the way they thought the world worked.

As we move forward into this young 21^st century we need to be prepared for the day when we realize that we are wrong. We need to prepare for a time when our worldview, our personal paradigm, is forced to shift and completely rearrange our perception of how the world works. When this happens, we can remain grounded in our faith by recognizing that God has not changed; it is only our perception that has changed.

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This single event of Passover was of such great significance that it has been commemorated for well over three thousand years. This event was both backward and forward focused. It was the beginning of the realization of God’s promise to Abraham; it was also a foreshadowing of God’s coming salvation to the rest of the world through Jesus Christ. The themes of suffering, purification, death, and salvation will play themselves out over and over until the end of time.

The prelude to the Passover meal begins in Exodus 12. There are speeches given in this chapter. The first speech (verses 1-20) is God’s commandments to Moses. It can be concluded that this speech was made at least four days before the Passover meal, because God commanded the people to select a lamb four days prior to the meal.

The second speech (verses 21-27), although written directly following, takes place on the actual day of Passover, which was a few days later. In this speech Moses addresses the elders and instructs them on the ceremonial cleansing that must take place with the lamb’s blood and hyssop.

The lambs are slaughtered, as God commanded, on the day of Passover. That evening, at the beginning of the Passover worship, the elders take the blood from the slaughtered lambs and place it on the doorframes of there houses. Everyone then stays inside the house to participate in the worship of God through the Passover meal.

At midnight, as the Israelites are either finishing their Passover worship or beginning their sleep, there is another slaughter. Throughout Egypt all those who have not worshipped God and purified themselves by the sprinkling of the lambs’ blood on the doorframes come under the judgment of God. This judgment requires the death of the first born of all the families that have not purified themselves through the worship of God. All of Egypt had come under the judgment of God and few were found innocent.

Because of their trust in and worship of God, the Israelite people received a form of salvation. They were allowed to leave the land of Egypt and were delivered from their enslavers. The Israelite people had made God known to their community, Egypt. In fact, the presence of God has been made so painfully clear that Pharaoh, after giving the Moses permission to leave with the Israelites, asks for a blessing. It is a tremendous act of worship that makes God’s enemy long for his presence.

It is important to note that no one expected Pharaoh to release the Israelites. Nobody really expected Pharaoh to suddenly change his mind regarding their captivity. It came as a complete surprise that Pharaoh was letting the Hebrew slaves go free. This is made evident by the fact that the dough for their bread did not have time to rise, so they had to make cakes of unleavened bread.

It is amazing that these people were willing to follow God’s instruction and worship as God commanded with no incentive known before hand, other than the general belief that God would eventually free them. The Israelites have just suffered through many of the plagues along with the Egyptians. The Egyptians have been making them work harder and harder and life is getting worse all the time. However, they are still willing to follow God’s commands. The Israelites were truly tested in their worship before God freed them.

The biblical passage then concludes by laying out how Passover is to be commemorated in the future. There are three main parts to the Passover remembrance: the reenactment of the Passover (verses 43-49), keeping the feast of unleavened bread (verses 13:3-10), and the consecration of every firstborn male (verse 11-16). In these three ways the holy people of God, Israel, are to continue worshipping God.

Within the Passover celebration there is much ritualized worship of God that foreshadows future acts of worship. The blood of the lambs is smeared with hyssop. Hyssop will be used as a means of applying ritual purification for many centuries to come. The Passover meal closely parallels accounts of the consecration of the Aaronic priests in Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8. The slaughtering of the lamb, the sprinkling of the blood, and the eating of the flesh form basic elements of consecration rituals, and will share a great similarity to the death of Christ and the institution of the sacrament of communion.

T.D. Alexander writes of the consecration this way, “The sacrifice of the animal atones for the sin of the people, the blood smeared on the doorposts purifies those within, and the eating of the sacrificial meat consecrates those who consume it. By participating in the Passover ritual the people sanctify themselves as a nation holy to God.” (p. 173)

Over the course of my life I have had the honor to sit in on several Passover celebrations with various Christian and Jewish organizations. I am always amazed by how fresh and new it feels to worship God by remembering the great things he has done for my spiritual forefathers who lived over three thousand years ago. I am honored that I have the opportunity to be sanctified by Christ, and my faith is deepened by remembering those who went before me and followed God just because God made a promise to their forefather. I often suspect that those early Israelites had far more faith than I have. They listened to God and worshiped God, not because God had done anything for them, but because God promised to care for them.

Works Cited and Consulted

Alexander, T.D. From Paradise to the Promised Land. Baker Academic. Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Barker, Kenneth L. & John Kohlenberger III,eds. Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary. Zondervan Publishing House. Grand Rapids, Michigan

Dillard, Raymond B., & Tremper Longman III. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Zondervan Publishing House. Grand Rapids, Michigan

Richards, Lawrence O. New International Encyclopedia of Bible words. Zondervan Publishing House. Grand Rapids, Michigan

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The Holy Spirit is the person of God who is the active agent in this world through whom all of mankind is directed toward God. Even this basic statement creates a number of questions by which my reader may be distracted; questions regarding the nature of the trinity, God’s involvement in this world, and God’s interaction with non-Christian persons. I cannot begin to explore these questions in this paper, but I do acknowledge that these are reasonable lines of inquiry.

As an active agent, the Holy Spirit works in at least four distinct ways. First the Holy Spirit works to draw the pre-repentant individual toward God. The Holy Spirit works to diversify the kingdom of God through individual giftings. The Holy Spirit works to bond the Church together through baptism and communion with God. Finally, the Holy Spirit works to reveal the will of God to the seeking post-repentant individual and community.

Drawing man toward God

There is debate as to whether God the Holy Spirit can interact with a pre-repentant individual. I would argue that it is impossible for the pre-repentant individual to find salvation in Christ without the urging of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works to draw the pre-repentant individual toward God. I would further argue that God does not give up on anyone and the Holy Spirit will continue to knock on the door of the hearts of all those who have not turned toward God until their hearts cease beating.

Rick Richardson does an excellent job of presenting several theologies of evangelism in his book Evangelism Outside the Box. In one section, Richardson focuses on John Wesley’s four steps into the Kingdom of God. The first step and the step that is the focus of this section is the awakening of the soul. After the soul has been awakened to the concept of and desire for God, the individual can move on to experiencing Wesley’s final three steps: community, conversion and transformation (pp. 54-55).

In his book, The Supremacy of God in Preaching, John Piper argues that the soul is awakened through the human act of preaching (p 62). Piper seems to imply that the Holy Spirit may work through the preacher, but the Holy Spirit does not work directly on the pre-repentant individual; there must be an intermediary step.

On the contrary, I would argue that the Holy Spirit is perfectly capable of working on a pre-repentant individual’s heart in order to awaken them to a desire to search out God. There seem to be many cases of this presented throughout history and two mammoth cases presented in the Bible, one in each testament. In the Old Testament, there is the case of God hardening pharaoh’s heart in regards to the release of the Israelites from Egyptian captivity (Exodus 7-14). The second obvious case is Saul on the road to Damascus when God worked directly in awakening Saul to the Gospel of Christ (Acts 9).

The Holy Spirit seems to be at work in awakening the pre-repentant individual and drawing them toward God. The Holy Spirit is free to do this in any way that God (the trinity) deems appropriate. Often times the Holy Spirit will gift a post-repentant Christian ahead of time to be ready to play a role in the awakening of a pre-repentant individual’s soul. This gifting is the role of the Holy Spirit which is the next topic for our discussion.

Diversifying the Kingdom on earth

In The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, Vladimir Lossky writes: “The work of Christ concerns human nature…[t]he work of the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, concerns persons, being applied to each one differently.” Lossky goes on to say, “the work of Christ unifies; the work of the Holy Spirit diversifies. Yet the one is impossible without the other.” (pp 166-167)

The Holy Spirit diversifies the Kingdom of God on earth through the bestowment of spiritual gifts. I believe that God gifts every Christian to best minister to the community that God has placed him or her in. We do not get to choose our gifting, nor do we get to limit God in what he is able to gift. God gifts to meet His needs. It is our responsibility to be in constant communion with God, searching out how we can best use these giftings to minister to our small slice of the world.

In the modern culture that has existed for the last two hundred years, with its emphasis on science and logic, there has not been as much need for God to gift his children with the gift of tongues or healing or exorcism. To a modern culture, these are not effective means of ministry. Therefore, it does not surprise me at all that we see a limited gifting in these areas. I suspect that as we move into a post-enlightenment society, a society that focuses more on spirituality and dichotomous truths, God will begin to gift people more and more with the gift of tongues, healing or exorcism, as these giftings will once again become useful for ministry.

Karkkainen, in his work on Pneumatology, suggests that the Eastern Church (and Lossky in particular) put too much emphasis on the idea of a twofold divine economy: the work of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit (pp 17, 109). I agree to the extent that the ultimate power residing in these two economies comes from the same place. I would suggest that viewing the works of Christ and of the Holy Spirit separately is merely a tool that fallible human beings can use to begin to understand the infinite infallibility of God.

Bonding the Church together

The Holy Spirit bonds the church together through baptism and through both individual and corporate communion with God. It is at this point that we, as Quakers, differentiate ourselves from other Christian denominations. The other denominations will agree that there is a spiritual aspect to both baptism and communion, but they will not place such an emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s work in both baptism and communion as to reject all physical ceremony that goes these works.

The thirteenth proposition in Robert Barclay’s Apology For the True Christian Divinity reads:

“The communion of the body and blood of Christ is inward and spiritual, which is the participation of his flesh and blood, by which the inward man is daily nourished in the hearts of those in whom Christ dwells; of which things the breaking of bread by Christ with his disciples was a figure, which they even used in the church for a time, who had received the substance, for the cause of the weak; even as “abstaining from things strangled, and from blood;” the washing one another’s feet, and the anointing of the sick with oil; all which are commanded with no less authority and solemnity than the former; yet seeing they are but the shadows of better things, they cease in such as have obtained the substance.”

Communion is fellowship with God. This can and should occur at both an individual and a corporate level. Centering upon the Holy Spirit is the means by which we have this fellowship with God.

Baptism is also an inward and spiritual event performed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:5-6) It is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that Christ left us after his ascension to heaven, that births us into a new life.

These acts of communion and baptism bond the church together into unity under the banner of God. Lossky drives this point home when he writes, “the spirit is present with everyone who receives Him as if there were but one receiver, but bestows sufficient and complete grace on all” (p. 166). Few Christians would disagree with this statement or the idea that the Holy Spirit is actively involved in each of these events. The only disagreement that our heritage brings to the table, is the question of the necessity of physical elements. Even this disagreement can be viewed as minor. Leonard J. Vander Zee, the reformed author of Christ, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper wrote, “[t]he sacraments have no capacity to affect us in any way apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in awakening and assuring our faith through them.” (p. 55)

Revealing the will of God

Finally, the Holy Spirit works to reveal the will of God to the seeking post-repentant believer and to the seeking Church. In Acts 6, a dispute came up over how to distribute food to the widows. The Apostles needed to do other ministries so they appointed others to oversee the distribution of food. When these men were selected, the Apostles prayed and laid their hands on them. A problem came up that needed to be dealt with carefully. The church prayed and the Holy Spirit provided a solution. The best way to deal with the controversy was given to the Apostles because they kept their focus on God and his will.

The post-repentant believer can ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit just as easily as the pre-repentant individual. When we ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit, we attempt to accomplish what we believe is best for God. When we keep our focus on the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can accomplish what God thinks is best.

The root of most sin is the attempt to supplant God’s will with our own. When the believer stays centered on the leading of the Holy Spirit we lessen the frequency of our sinfulness. The less sinful we are, the more God is able to accomplish through us. This does not limit what God is capable of accomplishing, it just limits how useful we can be to accomplishing God’s will.

The individual or community that is not actively seeking the will of God can never be a success for God. The only way we can measure our success is against the ruler of what God wanted us to accomplish. God communicates this standard to us via the Holy Spirit. When we seek out guidance from the Holy Spirit, we are able to understand where we are trying to go, how we can get there, and whether or not we eventually arrive.

This brief position paper cannot begin to touch on the other roles the person of the Holy Spirit has played over the centuries or will possibly play in the future. It is important to consider the roles the Holy Spirit played in creation, the various covenants, Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection, the early church, and church history up to modern times.

I would argue that the Holy Spirit has played many roles over the course of human existence. The four roles I have touched on here are the roles that I believe the Holy Spirit plays most prominently in our contemporary age. How the Holy Spirit fulfills these roles, and even the roles themselves, may change over time. I believe that at any time and/or place, the Holy Spirit functions in the way that will best allow God’s children to minister to the communities around them.

In our contemporary society, the Holy Spirit draws, diversifies, bonds and reveals in ways that are very specific to our culture. As we go out and share the Gospel of Christ with the world, I would suggest that we pay particular attention to how the Holy Spirit wishes us to engage with different cultures. Different cultures have different needs, but the Holy Spirit is big enough to meet all of our divergent needs.

Works Cited and Consulted

Barclay, Robert. Apology for the True Christian Divinity. Public Domain: 1675.

Copeland, Mark A. “The Leading of the Holy Spirit”. Sermon series. http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/hs/hs_09.htm.

Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. Pneumatology. Baker Academy, MI: 2002

Lossky, Vladimir. The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, NY: 1976.

Piper, John. The Supremacy of God in Preaching. BakerBooks, MI: 1990

Richardson, Rick. Evangelism Outside the Box. InterVarsity, IL: 2000

Vander Zee. Christ, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. InterVarsity, IL: 2004.

Wright, J. Robert. “Holy Spirit in Holy Church: From Experience to Doctrine”. Angelican Theological Review. Summer 01, Vol. 83 Issue 3, p443, 12p.

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In an attempt to find the answer to this question the pilgrim goes to many great preachers and theologians hoping that they will be able to explain it to him.

First the pilgrim goes to the cathedral church on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. The bishop preaching that day says that it is first necessary to acquire a solid faith before you can pray. This does not satisfy the pilgrim, “how do I acquire it, when faith is not from us. For it is God’s gift.”

Next the pilgrim visits the church of the Theological Academy on the Sunday of the Adoration of the Cross. The preacher at this church spoke forcefully against prolonged prayers and suggested that short but ardent prayers are what is required. The pilgrim disagreed and writes, “The Lord commanded not only prolonged prayer, but also prayer at all times, and he illustrated this in the parable – that it is always fitting to pray and not grow weary.”

On another Sunday in another town the pilgrim heard the archpriest speak. The archpriest taught that there is no use praying constantly if you are not doing acts of piety. Prayer, according to the archpriest will not be heard without works of faith, works of charity and frequent attendance at church. After reading Isaiah the pilgrim concluded that this was incorrect: “First of all, you must seek the Lord and call upon him in prayer. Then, when on account of this he draws near to your soul, you must endeavor to leave behind to works of sin.”

Next the pilgrim visits a learned nobleman but the pilgrim does not understand the nobleman’s words. The pilgrim then visits a kindly monastery supervisor who teaches him out of a book by Bishop Dimitry called Spiritual Training of the Inner Person. This book tells the pilgrim that it is customary to call an act that is performed often unceasing. This did not satisfy the Pilgrim’s quest.

Finally the pilgrim met “a monk of the great habit from the hermitage” on the road. This monk taught the Pilgrim that, “It is not by the wisdom of this world nor by superficial inquisitiveness that the celestial light of unceasing interior prayer is reached, but, on the contrary, by poverty of spirit and practical experience it is found in mysterious simplicity.” The monk goes on to tell the pilgrim that perfection and righteousness are things that we are not capable of. “Consequently, only frequency and regularity are left to the portion of our ability as means to acquire prayerful purity, which is the mother of every spiritual blessing.”

The monk then teaches the pilgrim to pray the Jesus prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Through the ever increasing repetition of this prayer and a constant concentration on Jesus through the prayer the pilgrim is able to nearly find what he has been seeking. “Even though I have not attained unceasing, self-activating spiritual prayer in the heart, still, glory be to God, I now clearly understand what the expression means that I heard in the Epistle: Pray unceasingly.”

There are two important aspects to the Pilgrim’s Tale. First is the journey itself, which itself allowed the pilgrim to find what he was looking for. Second is the use of a book called the Philokalia, which the pilgrim was able to us to better see what the Bible taught.

The pilgrim’s journey is important because without the journey the pilgrim would not have been ready when he found the answer to his question. The journey taught the pilgrim perseverance, and humility. The pilgrim had to persevere in order to find his answer. At any point the pilgrim could have turned away from his journey and gone on to live a perfectly fine Christian life. But the pilgrim wanted more. He wanted to find how he could have the best possible relationship with God, and because he persevered he was eventually led to that place.

It is important to chronicle all of the dead ends that the pilgrim went down before he eventually found the monk who instructed him. Even after the pilgrim found the monk he still had to persevere through the struggle of beginning the discipline of prayer he was pursuing.

The second important aspect of the Pilgrim’s Tale is how the Philokalia is used. The Philokalia, a book filled with the writings of great religious fathers, is not viewed as being the all important book. Rather the Philokalia is used as a means of interpreting the Bible. The monk tells the pilgrim, “No, it is not more sublime nor is it holier than the Bible, but it does contain lucid explanations of what the Bible holds mystically and what cannot be easily grasped by our shortsighted mind.” The monk goes on to explain that just as you use a piece of glass to study the sun, in the same way, you can use the Philokalia to study the Bible.

In today’s world it is important to be reminded that truths are often only revealed to us after periods of perseverance. In fact, we are often not ready to accept the truth until we have gone through the period of perseverance. If the pilgrim had met the monk at the beginning he would have just rejected him as crazy; but because the pilgrim had persevered, God had brought him to place where he was ready to hear what the monk was saying. Only after he had persevered was he humble enough to accept the monk’s guidance. In our Christian walk, in our ministry, in our relationships, the discovery of God and his will is often only revealed to us after we have persevered and been made humble.

Often times in our ministry we elevate tradition to a height that it does not deserve. Tradition is not Jesus, tradition is not God, and tradition is not the Bible. Rather tradition is a means of exploring God, Jesus and the Bible. Just as the Philokalia was only a means of exploring the Bible, so also church tradition is a means of exploring God; it is not an end in itself. It is important to be reminded that books, traditions and other Christian practices, while held in a high esteem, should not be held in a place higher than they deserve.

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Seeing him always in ragged clothing, his face and hands black with coal, many scorned him; even children made fun of Alexander the coalman. Indeed, this was the only name by which he was known there m the city. In fact, however, Alexander had received an advanced education; his wisdom and learning could have gained him great respect among the people if he had desired to reveal his talents. But out of love for God he had chosen a poor and humble life. He bore patiently everyone’s scorn, and only the Lord knew his good deeds and superior wisdom. Alexander served Him in deep humility, but it pleased the Lord to raise up his servant for the benefit of many.

The bishop of Comana died and a new bishop had to be chosen. The citizens of the city invited the holy St. Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neocaesarea, and asked his help in choosing a pastor. Having gathered for this important business, the clergy and people began to vote for those who seemed to be worthy to be bishop. The names set forth were primarily well known people, learned, eloquent speakers, etc. But the hierarch did not voice his approval, as if he were waiting for a sign from above. He reminded those present how the Lord chose David to rule as king, looking not at external merits but at the heart. “Man looks at the face,” he said, “but the Lord looks at the heart, judging not by a man’s outwards merits, but by what is hidden in his heart. Let us likewise try not to pay attention to externals but to seek what God has prepared.”

Among those present, some didn’t care for this advice. They laughingly said to one another, “If one disregards outward appearances, why not elect Alexander the coalman to be bishop?!”

Many found this idea amusing, but Bishop Gregory thought to himself, Is this not perhaps a sign from God that this name has been brought up? “Who is this Alexander?” he asked. “I’d like to see him.” Alexander was found to be standing there in the crowd, and he was brought to the bishop. As usual, he was dressed in a tattered shirt, and covered from head to toe with coal dust. The sight of him provoked a gale of laughter, but Alexander stood before the bishop, calm and quiet, paying no attention to the reaction of the crowd. The Holy Spirit revealed to St. Gregory that God’s grace rested upon this humble man. Motioning Alexander to follow him outside, the bishop had a private talk with him in which he learned the truth–that Alexander was in reality a wise and learned man who, out of love for the Lord and for the sake of Christian humility, had chosen for himself a life of labor and poverty. The bishop told him to wash and put on a clean garment. Meanwhile, he returned to the assembly and began a discussion on the Holy Scriptures.

Soon Alexander appeared. The people barely recognized him: he was wearing clean clothes, and his face, washed of soot, was handsome and intelligent When the hierarch turned to him with some questions concerning the Scriptures, Alexander astonished the people with his wise answers. Many felt ashamed that for so long they had considered him to be an ignoramus and had treated him so badly. With one accord they asked that Alexander be consecrated bishop. He was raised up through the ecclesiastical ranks and very soon was made a bishop by St. Gregory. His first homily profoundly moved everyone’s heart, and all the citizens of Comana, filled with joy, thanked God for having granted them such a pastor.

Bishop Gregory returned to Neocaesarea and Alexander began to guide the Church of Comana, teaching his flock by word and good deeds. His sermons were simple, yet filled with divine wisdom. He wasn’t concerned with delivering beautiful orations, but tried to set forth the rules of the Christian faith in words which everyone could understand. In all his teachings one could sense the grace of the Holy Spirit It was said that once a certain learned man laughed at the simplicity of the bishops words, but afterwards he saw in a vision a flock of white doves, shining with unearthly light, and heard a voice which said to him, “Such are the words of the bishop Alexander at whom you laugh’ The learned man repented and asked the holy bishop’s forgiveness.

During Diocletian’s persecution of Christians, Bishop Alexander was brought before a tribunal. By admonishments and tortures they tried to make him denounce Christ. But their attempts were in vain. Seeing the bishop’s steadfastness, they sentenced him to death and cast him into a furnace.

***As told by “Orthodox America” at http://www.roca.org/OA/100/100g.htm

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The ethnocentric phase is made up of 3 stages. First a cognitive stage of denial in which the individual through isolation and separation denies the existence or validity of other cultures. Second an affective stage of defense in which the individual may denigrate a foreign culture or claim cultural superiority in an effort to defend his or her own culture from a perceived threat. Third a behavioral stage of minimization in which the individual attempts to prove that all people all ultimately the same; we are all born, die, created by the same creator, etc.

An individual can then move to an ethnorelative phase made up of 3 stages. First a cognitive stage of acceptance in which the individual through respect for behavioral and value differences can appreciate another culture. Second an affective stage of adaptation in which the individual chooses to empathize with the foreign culture and recognizes that there is more than one correct way of interacting with the world. Third a behavioral stage of integration in which the individual is able become a part of and apart from a given cultural context through contextual evaluation and constructive marginality.

I have difficulty fully grasping the complexities of the integration stage. I believe that I am still working on empathizing with cultures I am not a part of. As I look around me it seems that many of the people I most respect are those that are able to become a part of and part from the cultural contexts they interact with.

I would be interested to discuss where most Christians in the average church tend to stay in this developmental model. It appears to me that there are many (if not a majority) who function in the ethnocentric phase. What are the ways that we can develop our congregations toward the ethnorelative phase. Bennet gives a few suggestions, but I will not go into those thoughts at this time. How do we move people beyond defending their cultural and minimizing differences, and toward acceptance of cultural differences and the value inherent to those differences? It is a difficult task I think the church would benefit from pursuing.

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