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Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14194/2895
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Item The Secret, R. Byrne : Book Review Conspectus : The Journal of the South African Theological Seminary, Volume 6, Issue 09, Sep 2008, p. 133 - 135(South African Theological Seminary Press Johannesburg, South Africa) Pretorius, MarkAt the writing of this review, it is even reported to have outsold the latest Harry Potter book by JK Rowling's. Clearly, this book is attracting much attention, and people are prepared to spend money to read it.Item The Language of God : A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief Conspectus : The Journal of the South African Theological Seminary, Volume 12, Issue 09, Sep 2011, p. 269 - 274(South African Theological Seminary Press Johannesburg, South Africa) Pretorius, MarkUndoubtedly, the credentials of Francis Collins are impressive. As the former head of the Human Genome Project, he is one of the world's leading geneticists. He is also a Christian with strong a convictions that theistic evolution is the best explanation of the creation aspects of the Bible. Notwithstanding my critique of a number of Collins' claims The Language of God will certainly challenge the intellectually honest reader.Item Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction, T. Dixon : Book Review Conspectus : The Journal of the South African Theological Seminary, Volume 13, Issue 03, Mar 2012, p. 215 - 228(South African Theological Seminary Press Johannesburg, South Africa) Pretorius, MarkI have read many books on the theme of the science and religion debate. Some have enthralled, while others have disappointed. This book, however, is one of the more delightful and informative introductory books I have read and reviewed on the subject. This particular book is part of the Very short introduction (VSI) series printed by Oxford University Press. All the subjects in the series (which number a few hundred) are written by experts in various fields, with the purpose of giving a brief, but fairly concise introductory synopsis of a particular subject. It seems that the authors endeavor to make the information accessible to lay people, helping them grasp the basics content of the particular subject.Item Human Freedom and God's Providence : Is There Conflict? Conspectus : The Journal of the South African Theological Seminary, Volume 8, Issue 09, Sep 2009, p. 62 - 76(South African Theological Seminary Press Johannesburg, South Africa) Pretorius, MarkHow can we reconcile human freedom with God's providence? The key, in my view, is bottom-up and top-down causality. These particular terms state that all events in the world are the result of some previous event, or events. Accordingly, all of reality is already in a sense predetermined or pre-existent and, therefore, nothing new can come into existence. But how does this impact on our actions? Are we predetermined to walk a specific path and, if so, how is this accomplished by God without violating our human freedom?Item A Review of Marcus Borg, The Heart of Christianity : "Rediscovering a Life of Faith" Conspectus : The Journal of the South African Theological Seminary, Volume 8, Issue 09, Sep 2009, p. 89 - 91(South African Theological Seminary Press Johannesburg, South Africa) Pretorius, MarkMarcus Borg, Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture, an endowed chair at Oregon State University, is considered by many to be one of the most influential voices in what is referred to as Progressive Christianity, a movement founded in 1996 by a retired Episcopalian priest, James Adams, in Cambridge, MA. It currently represents the most liberal established Christian group within Christianity. Borg's philosophy is simply that one does not have to take the Bible literally to take it seriously. He teaches that a historical-metaphorical approach to the Bible has more meaning for today's world than is the historical-grammatical approach or that of biblical literalism. Borg summarizes his description of the historical-metaphorical approach by stating that the Bible is the Word of God metaphorically.Item Justification as it Relates to Adam and Christ Within the New Covenant Conspectus : The Journal of the South African Theological Seminary, Volume 1, Issue 03, Mar 2006, p. 43 - 64(South African Theological Seminary Press Johannesburg, South Africa) Pretorius, MarkHow does one grasp the ramifications of sin without first understanding its source and how it was transmitted to all mankind? How does one understand the depth of Christ's redemptive act without first understanding the depth of sin within man? The significance of this concept in explaining the work of Christ should not be underestimated in any way. Therefore Paul teaches that all people stand in relationship to one of two men, whose actions determine the eternal destiny of all who belong to them. By the one man's disobedience many were made sinners, and by the obedience of the other, many shall be made righteous.God's plan for man's redemption can be seen through the eyes of two covenants. The one, made with Adam and broken by him, resulted in man's death. The second covenant, through Jesus Christ, resulted in man's redemption.