Philip Friesen

Why I Wrote the Book- OT Roots of Nonviolence

My story and testimony: My paternal grandparents came to Minnesota as children of German-speaking Mennonite immigrants from the Ukraine. They left land, wealth, and comfort in Russia for the sake of conscience, and the issue was military conscription. What they did not fully understand was the reality that they were buying stolen property when they came to Minnesota. They bought land taken violently from...

Philip Friesen

Introduction to OT Roots of Nonviolence

On a sunny day in 2001, the World Trade Center in New York was completely demolished. Those who flew the planes and those who sent them did so, as they claimed, in the name of God. More than three thousand years ago, the city of Jericho was similarly destroyed and devoted in destruction to God. What was the difference between these two events? Four thousand years ago Abraham devoted his son to God and...

Philip Friesen

NATURE, GENDER, AND THE IMAGE OF GOD

The invisible things of Him from the Creation of the World are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made- Romans 1:18 The natural world exists by reason of an imbalance that keeps the world going. Imbalance of nature creates wind and weather and the movement of continents. It keeps the stars and planets in motion. Perfect equilibrium would be death.From physics we understand the...

Philip Friesen

Homosexual “Identity” and Biblical Ethics

Hello Pastor J Thanks for tossing out a ball at our last cluster meeting by sharing chapter 7 of Anne Krabill Hershberger’s book.1 I’d like to keep the ball in the air for a while. There is really little in the chapter I could disagree with, but one statement seems problematic as follows: “We can agree that we should not define gay persons by their sexual orientation, Joe is a pastor, Jane is a...

Philip Friesen

The Homosexual Identity?

Dear Pastor J Thanks for tossing out a ball at our last cluster meeting by sharing chapter 7 of Anne Krabill Hershberger’s book.1 I’d like to keep the ball in the air for a while. There is really little in the chapter I could disagree with, but one statement seems problematic as follows: “We can agree that we should not define gay persons by their sexual orientation, Joe is a pastor, Jane is a...