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William Countryman
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Amazon Reader
Review: If nothing else, I will always be grateful to Countryman for
making the Judaic purity laws make sense AS A WHOLE. I could always find
explanations/rationalizations for an individual law, but the system seemed
so arbitrary. Countryman -- almost in passing -- makes it all make sense.
That aside, his
scholarship and theology are excellent. He looks at Mosaic law in context,
and at the New Testament teachings on it. He goes into depth, often taking
us back to original texts and holding our hand through the tribulations of
translation. He never makes a statement without showing you why (and
citing his sources). I can't stress enough: Whether or not you're
Christian, Read This Book!
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Although the first
half of this book takes some plodding through, by the end I was completely
captivated and found this to be a wonderful explanation of priesthood. Dr.
Countryman has articulated what I have felt for 41 years but could not
quite as beautifully explain. I will read and re-read this book. It has
affirmed for me why I am considering the ordained priesthood and lays
before me a picture of the kind of priest I hope I am and will become.
This book is a gift of faith and grace to all religions. God Bless Dr.
Countryman for sharing this gift with us.
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Biblical Authority
or Biblical Tyranny?: Scripture and the Christian Pilgrimage
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Amazon Reader Review: If you want to
read a book probing the meaning of "authority" (a concept far too
frequently taken for granted in most Christian circles), please read
William Countryman's "Biblical Authority or Biblical Tyranny?" The
real question that must be decided in dealing with most of the great
controversial issues in contemporary Christianity all relate to the
following question: "What does the authority of the Bible entail in
this conversation? That is to say, how do we interpret what the Bible
has to say about what we interpret to be references to the particular
subject at hand?" Without answering that question, any discussion
between the two opposing sides will just be a shouting match without
any initial understanding of the
terms of the discourse or the admission (or barring) of any evidence
from either the Bible or Church history or any other source for that
matter.
This book is a refreshing, if
somewhat bracing at first, approach to some fundamental questions of
what it means to be authoritative in the first place. Countryman then
follows up his discussion of authority with explorations on the nature
of inspiration and authority, biblical inerrancy versus biblical
authority, hermeneutical methodologies over the history of the Church
[rabbinical, allegorical, historical-grammatical, and
historical-critical] the relationship's] between the Church and the
Bible, and their place as co-authorities in the life of the believer.
While deflating much of the overwrought fundamentalist ratings about
the "perfection/Godhood" of the Bible, he also charts a course away
from the Bible-negating tendencies of Christian liberalism and builds
a bridge over which a coherent dialogue can cross for those willing to
take a step of faith and act on God's authoritative word, rightly
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Good
News of Jesus: Reintroducing the Gospel
New Testament professor and Episcopal
priest Countryman writes a marvelous book for theologically
unsophisticated lay readers on the meaning of Christian Gospel, or
"good news, " about the radically unconditional love of God. In ten
chapters told in simple but profound language, he retells biblical
stories and develops a theology, from "how God proposes to love
you--without the least regard for what you deserve," to God's
delight in seeing "you taking care of yourself," to the implications
of this good news for Christians' relationships with their
neighbors, the world, the Bible, and the Church.
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Gifted by Otherness:
Gay and Lesbian Christians in the Church
Without apology and with an honest
chutzpah, Countryman, a New Testament professor, and Ritley, an
Episcopal priest, explore the vocation and journey gay Christians
have in the church. The writers see themselves as ministering to the
church; they clarify that their task is not to justify the presence
of gays there. That presence is simply a fact. But they also note
that it is normal and healthy for the church to struggle with
homosexuality, since the church is not a monolithic entity of
likeminded people but a richly textured community of contradictory
and diverse individuals.
The authors declare that gay Christians
have specific gifts to offer the church; they can serve the
priesthood of believers as "icons," which the authors describe as
windows that show a facet of God. In particular, gays who have
experienced "wilderness times" in coming out and living as
homosexual Christians can teach others about God's sustaining grace.
And while the church is often afraid to face death, the AIDS
epidemic has taught the gay community to deal with it as a part of
life. On a lighter note, the authors say that the church needs the campiness of gay humor, since Christians forget too often that humor
is a gift from God. Ritley and Countryman have written a thoughtful
and provocative book for anyone who has struggled with what it means
when gays are a part of the church.
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