Heroes |

Heroes

William Wilberforce – (1759-1833) British Member of Parliament who gave his life to the abolition of the slave trade in England. He was succesful in 1807 against the trade, finally seeing the abolition slavery itself in all English colonies in 1833. Wikipedia says he died three days after the passage of the act.

Also from Wikipedia:

Wilberforce also championed many other causes and campaigns, including the Reformation of manners and the Society for the Suppression of Vice, Charity schools, the introduction of Christianity to India, the foundation of the Church Mission Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilberforce. Note: Christianity had been in India since the time of Thomas the apostle.]

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The Rt Revd NT Wright, Bishop of Durham – What can I say? Christianity Today named him one of the top five living theologians in the world. His massive tome, The Resurrection of the Son of God, an 800 page exploration into the historical question of the meaning of the early Christian belief in Jesus’ resurrection, has widely been commended as the definitive work on the resurrection. My seminary professors said about it: regardless of whether you agree with Wright’s theology in general, DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK, it is arguably the most important work on the subject EVER WRITTEN!

Wright has been the face of orthodoxy in the scholastic debate of the Jesus Seminar.

Wright was the primary author of the Windsor Report.

One of my favorite books ever written is Wright’s The Meal Jesus Gave Us.

Much has been said negatively about Wright’s theology, due mainly to the fact that many don’t actually understand what Wright has said – they are merely repeating hearsay. He does not believe AT ALL in salvation by works, or entrance to salvation by works. These 100% false statements stem from his prominent discussion of the fact that, while confessions may use “justification” as a technical term that has only one definition in the systematic theology of that confession, the bible uses the word “justification” in multiple different ways. One of the ways the bible uses “justification” is to talk about discerning who is already said to be IN COVENANT with God, which can be discerned (proven) by works (see Jas 2.24).

Read many of his works online at: www.ntwrightpage.com

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Jamie Soles – A musician unlike any I have heard before. So overwhelming with truth that I feel certain that he is destined to have changed my and my family’s life. We got the CD (The Way My Story Goes) two days before I am writing this. I had never heard of this Canadian fellow before. The CD is a children’s album (not the only style he does), but I can’t stop repeating the songs in my head. And weeping. He glosses nothing.

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Eduardo Verástegui – Currently in the movie; Bella. Verástigui is a former telenovella [1] actor from Mexico. He was also in one of the most successful boy bands from Mexico (“Kairo”).

Significant to me are (1) his “conversion” (or revival) to Christianity, while in Hollywood, and (2) the extremely high standards he puts on making films today. If you listen to his interviews on Family Life Today [2], you (I hope) will be as excited by his passion for Jesus as he is.

Footnotes:

[1] telenovelas are serial soap-operas (9 months long usually)

[2] Family Life Today -

Part 1 – “The Making of Bella.”

Part 2- “Turning From the World, Turning to Christ“

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Dr. Jack Collins - Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Covenant Theological Seminary. He affected me and my theology in a few short weeks my first semester of seminary that has altered my life drastically.