A Ram In The Thicket

"The Ram in a Thicket focuses on the interface between Christian Science and medicine, and the ethical issues therein. Other topics which have received less attention than needed in our church discussion include: the law and children, the role of free speech and secrecy (the "dumbing down" of teaching will be included in this chapter), the value of community, self-knowledge, religious self-regulation, listening to prophetic voices, reconciliation of differing points of view and dealing with controversy, Biblical literacy, perfectionism, and distinguishing between dogma and doctrine. Input for this book has come from church archives, various research and histories, numerous interviews, and the observations of many long-time Christian Scientists. The book is intended to provoke thought among church members and others with a connection to Christian Science. Its goal is not to establish any new set of doctrinal positions, but to encourage a continual revival of Spirit and a fresh look at our church practices"--

'The Ram In The Thicket' narrates in humanistic, non-pious terms and in sensual blank verse the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac. A suspenseful adventure story concerned with the extreme demands a religion can impose, the poem raises social and philosophical issues relevant to the world today.

Abraham was the same as we are today. He never dreamed of being called by God. Suddenly, while he and his relatives were in Chaldea worshipping other gods, the God of glory appeared to him. This appearing was a great attraction, enabling him to come out of his fallen background and accept God's calling. Although Abraham answered God's call, he did not do so immediately nor absolutely. Although he learned to live by faith, he had serious failures along the way. He followed God in a way not unlike us all. Eventually, he was brought to know grace for the fulfillment of God's purpose. In a remarkable commentary on the life of Abraham from the book of Genesis, Witness Lee presents Abraham as a genuine man, not unlike us all, fallen, but called by God. Like him, we have seen "the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" and have been attracted to follow Him. Like him, we must learn the lessons of faith through trials, testing, and failure, in order to enter into the promises and blessings of God. Abraham--Called by God, taken from the Life-study of Genesis, presents a unique and vital view of the father of our faith.

Made on the sixth day of the Creation, a white ram waits patiently in the Garden of Eden. The other animals leave one by one, but the ram waits and waits until he is needed to fulfill God's will by sacrificing himself to save a boy's life. Full color.