Gene Editing and Planned Personhood; A Virtuous Society Involves You: Faith and Work in Perspective; Healing and Word of Knowledge and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
— 1 Chronicles 16:34
Two Skeptics' Journey to Christ
From YouTube
Renowned apologists Dr. Vince Vitale and Abdu Murray share their spiritual and intellectual journeys to Christ. Dr. Vitale and Abdu Murray speak about their skepticism, rigorous examination of, and later conversion to Christianity, and engage students in an open Q&A session.Watch Now >
The Bible Makes a Fashion Statement
By Robert Covolo and Whitney BauckFrom Christianity Today
At first glance, the worlds of fashion and theology might appear to have little to do with one another. A shallow survey of each might even frame them as opposites, equating fashion with frivolity and ephemerality while painting theology as concerned with matters more eternal and profound. But the truth is that there are more Christians quietly shaping the fashion industry than one might suppose. And major Christian thinkers, from Augustine of Hippo to John Calvin, have had plenty to say about sartorial matters.
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Pursuing God, Pursuing Truth
By Luke BrownFrom Christian Union
In his Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas said, “There is no greater act of charity than to lead a neighbor to truth.” Jonathan Tanaka, Columbia ’23, is passionately seeking this greatest act of charity in a bold and wholehearted way.Read Now >
Gene Editing and Planned Personhood
By Devorah GoldmanFrom Public Discourse
The specter of “planned personhood” crops up again and again throughout science fiction, from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Star Trek’s “Eugenics Wars.” Genetic engineers in such stories are morally compromised at best, depraved at worst; their experiments bump up against human mysteries better left untouched. The 2012 discovery of the CRISPR/Cas-9 genetic scissors has brought us closer to realizing some of the best and worst of these imaginary worlds, and the scientific community has struggled to answer questions that may never be properly settled.
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A Virtuous Society Involves You: Faith and Work in Perspective
By Charlie SelfFrom Made To Flourish
A bakery owner, Mary, is excited about her new business and is ready to find the locale and serve tasty bread and pastries in a community beginning to thrive after years of neglect. As she begins, she is surrounded by amplified voices concerned that she is fair to workers, maximizes profits, and uses her wealth for good, ensuring she practices neighborly love. In addition to business mentors, her pastor, and local officials, where can she turn to make sure she is honoring Christ and loving her neighbor well? Church history might be a surprising answer, but it is where we find thoughtful women and men strove to balance economic wisdom and liberty with the common good, private enterprise with public ethics, while rooting practical wisdom in Christian virtues.
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Healing and Word of Knowledge
By Jack DeereFrom Bridgeway Church
Pastor and theologian Jack Deere preaches on healing and words of knowledge at Bridgeway Church's Convergence Conference, The God Who Heals. As a faculty member at Dallas Theological Seminary, Deere started questioning his theological position regarding the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. Soon after, he left his job at DTS and began pastoring the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church in California. Deere has written multiple books on healing, prophetic gifts, and hearing the voice of God.
Watch Now >
Prayer Requests
UNIVERSITY MINISTRIES
Join us in praying that the students to whom Christian Union minsters will find contentment in Christ during the holiday season and that they will desire to grow in righteousness and seeking the Lord at all times. Pray for our faculty who minister so faithfully. Pray for peace and rest this week as the semester begins to wind down and for wisdom regarding how to end the semester well.
CITY MINISTRIES
After some harrowing months being shut down over the summer, please pray that New Yorkers don’t re-enter high numbers of COVID or face another shut down. Pray for our 10 person fasting and prayer retreat in early December. Pray that we can meet safely and that the attendees are met powerfully by God’s Spirit and equipped for the spiritual battle ahead.
DAY & NIGHT
Join us in praising God in this season of Thanksgiving. Even though we face trying times and stand in desperate need of revival, we still “abound in thanksgiving” (Col 2:7) and always rejoice, for our names are written in the book of life (Lk 10:20). Hallelujah!
Talk Back
Thank God for the way that his Church throughout the nation embraced repentance and prayer through CU Day and Night’s "Seeking God in September" and "The Return" and "Prayer March" in Washington D.C. Pray for the Lord to work these ideals into American Christians even more until we are fully alive for Christ.
