Fall 1996

Volume XI, Number 3

In This Issue

• A Night with the King and Queen by Elder M. Lindahl

  The Donald E. Benson Great Hall of Bethel College was the scene of a Minnesota Musical Salute to Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia on September 12, 1996. This special jubilee occasion, presented by the American Swedish Institute, marked the 150th anniversary of the coming of some ragtag, hungry, cold, frightened Swedes to North America.

• Strength Through Weakness: Matthew 25:31-40 by Paul Sonnack

  By imprinting on humankind the image of his own likeness, God gave us some faint resemblance of that self-determining power by which he creates the world. It is precisely this that is heavenly in us, and it is this that is satanic.

• On the Aisle by Max Carlson

  Well, I've seen a lot over the past months. Some ups and some downs. First I saw A Doll's House at the Guthrie Theatre. The story is about a Norwegian family (a husband and a wife) who seem so happy until the wife realizes she hardly knows her husband.

• Sport Prophecy Marcus Harris Wins Football's Waldenström Trophy by Eric

  After careful consideration of all candidates, the inaugural Pietisten Waldenström Trophy for the nation's top college football player is awarded to Marcus Harris, Wide Receiver from the University of Wyoming Cowboys.

• Waldenstrom's Commentary Romans 16:25-27 and Waldenström's Commentary by Paul Peter Waldenström and translated by Tommy Carlson
• The Divine Embrace by Susan Harvey

  Our modern cult of the body with its emphasis on youthfulness and beauty, and our analgesic culture where even the slightest discomfort is regarded as an affront to our control of our own destinies, contrasts sharply with the 17th-century attitude toward the body.

• The Power of Ritual by Elder M. Lindahl

  Making light of ritual was common among some of the old pietists. Rituals, they said, were empty, and the liturgies containing them dry, formal, and dead. Pastors who observed set forms of worship were sometimes regarded as unspiritual — they had, in the words of II Timothy 3:15, the form of religion but denied the power thereof.

• Poetry Chapel Hero by C. Reuben Anderson
• The Tales Tree Trunks Tell by Warren W. Lindstrom

  Each time I stroll down Long Hill Road past our New Hampshire home of years gone by, something new reveals itself — usually something about trees.

• "The Word Is Near You..." and Vice Versa! by Paul Bengtson

  From June 19 to July 6, 1995, my wife, Cheryl, and I lived a dream we had planned for a long time. We flew to the land of our ancestral roots — Sweden. It was, indeed, a dream come true!

• Practical, Therapeutic, Theological Thought by Penrod

  These are confusing times for husbands. A powerful train of thinking reduces us to spouses only, a neutral vision lacking gender and sexuality. Against this mind-set, can we fulfill our responsibilities?

• The Idea of a University by Bruce Carlson

  At the Homecoming weekend alumni banquet in the old gym — where the floor serves as the ceiling to the ancient swimming pool down below — a group of the faithful recently heard about the future of North Park University. President David Horner has been guiding North Park for ten years now. His witty talk was filled with facts and news.

• Swedish Life in the Twin Cities by Phil Johnson

  Swedish life is alive and well in the Twin Cities today. About 250 people attended the recent conference, "Swedish Me in the Twin Cities," which took place at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul. Just being in this modern classical building is a treat.

• The Cart Man Cometh by George Costas

  I'm at the bridge tonight and I must go out into the snowy night to feed the ducks. It will not be daylight for a couple hours, their usual feeding time, but their insistent quacking is already bothersome.

• Taking God to the Mat by Arthur W. Anderson

  A few years ago, I was listening to the car radio and happened on a show at Moody Bible Institute. The interviewer was asking questions of the author of the book Christians Don't Dance with the "Don't" crossed out. The author said, "The book really isn't about dancing at all. In the book I want to say that we Christians have sometimes lied too much.

• Fred Bach: A Common Man Who Did It God's Way by Bob Bach

  I write these lines on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Fred Bach in the Ukraine, Russia, on December 20, 1895. Fred's parents were of hard-working German stock who had the dream of following friends to the promised land of the United States.

• Poetry thoughts on the day we took in the sailboat by Vernoy Johnson
• Tributes Henri Nouwen by David Hawkinson

  One afternoon this fall, I was driving home, listening to National Public Radio's All things Considered and catching up with the events of the day. That's how I heard about the death of Henri Nouwen.

• Tributes Raymond Anderson by John Carlson and Phil Johnson

  Ray Anderson was my balcony companion at Bethlehem Covenant Church, Minneapolis. He sat by the aisle and passed the offering plate to the balcony dwellers, During football season, we often talked about the Vikings on the way out, conversations usually limited by our desire to get home to see the game.

• Out and About by Phil Johnson

  Theologians Wed; United Theological Seminary Installs Wilson Yates; "Making Sense of Life and Learning" - The First Annual Holmer Lecture

• Post: Readers Respond