Antipas Harris introduces his new book, the serious challenge behind it, and his invitation to join him in proclaiming anew that Jesus is Good News for everyone.

Without doubt, we are living through troubled times. The world is engulfed in noxious uncertainties: contentious politics, racial unrest, hate groups and global warming, to name a few. Now, amidst the devastation of coronavirus, or COVID-19, many people are turning to – or back to – faith. Amid the constant resurgence of blatant racism, as exemplified in the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, reminds us that we are really battling two pandemics, simultaneously. People are looking for answers, seeking the “peace that passes all understanding,” and a new and better normal. As president of a divinity school, my primary aim is ensuring that current and future ministers are prepared to bear witness more effectively for such a time as this. To that end, seminarians and faith leaders alike will discover refreshing new strategies for overcoming obstacles and deepening faith in my forthcoming book, Is Christianity the White Man’s Religion?

Americans searched for God with renewed interest in the last decade, and it seems that COVID-19 has only intensified this quest. Spiritual fulfillment, after all, is an important dimension of the human psyche. While many people will continue to look to the Bible and their Christian faith for guidance, others question the relevance of the Bible for contemporary times. In any case, people in general are scouring America’s spiritual landscape, hoping to find a faith that is real, one that heals and unifies. I explore this faith anew in Is Christianity the White Man’s Religion?

Let me share an experience I had a few years ago while teaching a graduate course on leadership. A 22-year-old student interrupted my lecture with a question: “What do you say to people who are leaving the church and arguing that Christianity is the white man’s religion?” I was taken aback by the question. First, it was unrelated to the topic. Second, I wondered who in the world would argue such a thing. I knew that this had been a common question back during the Jim Crow era, and I almost brushed it off. However, the discussion that ensued opened a world of discovery. Apparently, my ethnically diverse class of millennials was more attuned to the relevance of the question than I.

Unable to shake the discussion from my thoughts, I embarked on a journey of research and found that many Christians are unaware that much pondering about faith exists outside the church. How relevant is the Bible for understanding today’s complex issues? What does the Bible offer to a nation of multi-ethnic, multicultural, multi-generational individuals? The answers to these and similar questions led me to write Is Christianity the White Man’s Religion?

Harris will be honored along with 55 other FBI honorees from across the country at the FBI Director’s Award Ceremony to be held at the FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC, May 3, 2019.

[click on the photo below to read the statement from the FBI]

Antipas Harris, a regular contributor at PneumaReview.com, writes: “I am surprised, humbled, and truly grateful for this honor. To God be the glory!”

For more information and to watch shows that have aired, see the Dr. Antipas L. Harris Public Page on Facebook.

What can Christians do to bring racial unity in their communities?

Added October 3, 2016: “Here is a clip from my interview about the recent race related community factions concerning police killings in America with Andrew Knox on the 700 Club Interactive. The interview aired last Thursday on the Free Form Network (formerly ABC Family Channel).”
 

 
“Regent professor and pastor Antipas Harris shares what Christians can do in the midst of the current social climate of racial tension in America.”

To see more from Antipas Harris, click on his name in the About the Author section below to see his author page where you will find a full listing of PneumaReview.com articles.

In Antipas Harris’ book, Holy Spirit, Holy Living: Toward a Practical Theology of Holiness for Twenty-First Century Churches, the author aims to broach the topic of holiness by writing an academically informed work that is accessible and beneficial to the everyday Christian (xv). Although this work is academic in nature, non-academic readers will be able to enjoy the author’s work due to the book’s readability. The book is divided into two parts each containing four chapters. Part one explores and addresses the meaning of and need for biblical holiness, and the part two is largely a proposal on how to walk out holiness from day-to-day. This book is located within a Wesleyan Pentecostal perspective on holiness, although it refreshingly explores both the strengths and weaknesses of the overall tradition.

Antipas Harris

Chapter one lays a foundation for the whole of the book by showing the need for a practical theology of holiness for the twenty first century. The author does this by showing how this call to a holy life lies within the pages of scripture and touches on the fact that there is a middle way between lawlessness and legalism. Chapter two further develops this middle ground by giving further definition to how to live “in the world but not [be] of the world”. According to Harris, holiness at its core is forsaking the world and identifying with Christ (p. 25), yet responding to the call to be missional in the world (p. 33). In this chapter, it becomes more apparent that for Harris, holiness is a lifestyle and a “distinctive way of living in the world” (p. 37).

Chapter three serves as an overview of the scriptural content that speaks to the issue of holiness and sanctification specifically. Here the author looks at various elements that speak to holiness in the Old Testament including the Torah (pp. 43-44), the Sabbath (pp. 45-48), the Old Testament Holiness code (pp. 48-50), and the Psalms (pp. 52-55). Then he shifts to cover the New Testament by looking at what Paul (pp. 57-58) and Peter (pp. 58-59) had to say about it. Although the author clearly desires a balance between heart and action, it is worth noting that this concise yet thorough treatment of the scriptural content on holiness focuses more on the OT view of holiness than the NT, which lends itself to being more performance based. Nonetheless, it is evident the author attempts to strike the difficult balance between an inward heart condition and an outward lifestyle. Chapter Four touches on the connectedness yet dissimilarities between salvation and sanctification (pp. 62-67), and then the rest of the chapter focuses on how to live out that sanctification. Harris makes an important distinction, though, by connecting living the “sanctified life” through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment (pp. 85-86).

Part II begins in chapter five where the author gives his “four Ds” on how to live out the holy life: “devoted life of prayer, a disciplined lifestyle with determination to live God’s ways despite the odds, and commitment to developing a life of service to and on behalf of others” (p. 92). This chapter is filled with good, practical advice on how to begin to put holiness to practice. Further, chapter seven gives “Four Cs” (confusion about the definition of holiness, culture might get in the way, church might get in the way, cravings [lust] get in the way) that serve as hindrances to holiness and chapter eight gives “Four Rs” (repentance, recommitment, recovery, and renewal). Chapter seven gives a helpful picture of common hindrances many have to living out holiness and chapter eight serves as a strong appeal to the church on her situation of “urgency in society” (p. 134). Harris’ conclusions in chapter eight might cause debate among readers as whole, but is nothing new in light of the controversy surrounding the relationship between the church and greater society (particularly in the political arena). All in all, I commend the author for discussing how this issue speaks to the issue of holiness.

Reviewed by Andrew Ray Williams

Publisher’s page: http://wipfandstock.com/holy-spirit-holy-living.html