July 1999 New Horizons

Christian Patriot: Contradiction or Compliment?

by Bradley Winsted

A few months ago, I visited, for the first time, the Prisoner of War (POW) National Memorial at Andersonville, Georgia, about 150 miles south of Atlanta. Having served in the Navy as a pilot for almost twenty-five years, and having known some POWs from the Vietnam War, I was quite moved by the museum, video interviews of living POWs, and the overall setting. Andersonville was the location of one of the Confederacy's largest prison camps during the Civil War. Just outside the POW exhibit is a large open area, where tens of thousands of Union soldiers were confined outdoors during the mid-1860s, and where thousands died of exposure, malnutrition, and disease. During my tour of the park, I was brought to tears several times by the testimonies and written records of these POWs, which documented their sacrifice. They languished for years in stockades, waiting for the war to end, hoping they had not been forgotten, praying that they would survive, and in most cases emerging with their dignity intact, proud that ... Read more

The Not-So-Secret Rapture

by W. Fred Rice

Evangelical book catalogs promote books such as Planet Earth: The Final Chapter , The Great Escape , and Left Behind. Bumper stickers warn us that the vehicle's occupants may disappear at any moment. There is clearly a preoccupation with the idea of a secret Rapture. Perhaps this has become more pronounced recently due to the approach of a new millennium and the fears regarding potential Y2K problems. Perhaps, psychologically, people are especially receptive to the idea of an imminent, secret Rapture at the present time. Additionally, many Christians are not aware that there is any other understanding of the events that will surround the second coming of Christ. Even in Reformed circles, there are numerous people reading these books. Many of these people are unaware that the viewpoint propounded in them conflicts with Scripture and Reformed theology. What exactly is the "secret Rapture" teaching? It is the teaching that the Christian church will be secretly removed from the world (to meet Jesus ... Read more

Confronting Modernity

by John R. Muether

American consumers today face a dazzling and dizzying array of choices. Companies are constantly creating new products. Giant chains are building huge stores all across the landscape. Video stores provide thousands of movies for home viewing, competing with the 500-station cable networks. Is anything wrong with all of this? The promised land into which we have crossed, flowing with rapid technological progress and endless consumer goods, seems like a splendid world, indeed. But is there an underside to the bewildering options before us? Does too much choice become unhealthy? Does choice ever become dangerous? One theologian who thinks so is David Wells. "The stunning inventions of our time have come with a hidden cost," writes the professor of theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. "All this bounty means that we must pay a toll to enter the highway of modernity." In a recent trilogy of books, Wells explores the impact of modernity upon the church. In No Place for Truth (1993), he examines ... Read more