“The Potter stories, far from being ‘wicked’ or ‘Satanic,’ ... are in fact narratives of robust faith and morality ... “What Ms. Rowling has furnished us, besides what the Brits call ‘a good read,’ and a whopping good one, ... is a modern interpretation of the gospel, the wonderful news that ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself’ and making sure that the goodness of creation would never be obliterated by the forces of darkness and evil.” Since their first publication, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels have brought joy to children and adults alike. Many conservative Christians in the United States, however, have decried the books as wicked, as preaching witchcraft and the occult, and as glamorizing dishonesty. A minister in New Mexico held a “holy bonfire” on the Sunday after Christmas 2001, at which he publicly torched the Potter books, declaring them “an abomination to God and to me.” John Killinger, a Congregationalist minister and an academic in the field of contemporary literature, beautifully demolishes the objections of right-wing Christians to this bestselling children’s series. He compellingly argues that, far from corrupting children’s morals, the Potter stories actually influence young readers to follow the teachings of Jesus. He cites passage after passage to illustrate how the world of Harry Potter would be inconceivable apart from the strictures of Judeo-Christian theology and the way human existence should be approached by every follower of Jesus. Additionally, he reflects on the possibility that Harry Potter, like Dostoevsky’s Prince Myshkin and others, is a witting or unwitting Christ figure who actually battles the forces of darkness for the souls of the faithful. All through this extraordinarily well-written, compelling, and very entertaining little book, the author points out that stories like this are worth more than any sermon toward producing people who truly follow the lessons of Jesus.

God, the Devil, and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister's Defense of the Beloved Novels

Literature & Fiction

KILLINGER, John

History & Criticism

Thomas Dunne Books

Religion & Spirituality

St. Martin's: Griffin

After teaching for a number of years, John Killinger, eager to be a pastor, was offered a church in Lynchburg, Virginia. It was in the 1980s when Jerry Falwell had a congregation there. Falwell had just started the Moral Majority movement and had helped to get Ronald Reagan elected president. In 1983, a Good Housekeeping national poll rated Jerry Falwell the second most respected man in America after Reagan.
John Killinger’s new book is in part a picture of Falwell and an exploration of his influence from the unique standpoint of a “rival” minister who says that his experience of his Lynchburg years is what soon turned him into one of Fundamentalism’s most trenchant and outspoken critics.
This is a fascinating story told with great grace and style about two very different men of faith, both struggling to capture hearts, minds, and souls.

The Other Preacher in Lynchburg: My Life Across Town from Jerry Falwell

History

Americas

Leave it to the Spirit: Handbook of Experimental Worship

SCM Press

Sea Breezes: Thoughts of God from a Summer Beach

Worship & Devotion

Abingdon Pr

The second coming of the church

Abingdon

Tender Shepherd

The title of John Killinger's newest book, Preaching To A Church In Crisis, is meant to underline the uniqueness of the present situation in mainline Protestantism, and perhaps the urgency of it, but not to sensationalize it. He makes the point that inasmuch as the mainline churches for so many years established the social and political norms in our country, as well as the spiritual norms, any crisis in their existence becomes a major crisis in modern Christendom, and, by extension, in American life as a whole. In the opening chapters of the book Killinger creates a general understanding of the malaise now affecting our churches. He then extrapolates from that understanding a sense of the moods and feelings affecting the people in America's congregations. Answering the question of what influence the disintegration of the mainline church has on the psyche of the persons attending these congregations, he places the preacher in a better position for thinking about preaching and what its hallmarks must be in order to speak truly and effectively for the gospel in our time. I don't think I'm tipping my hand to say that preachers have not faced such challenges, or lived in such a tumultuous era, since the days of the Reformation itself when a similar series of shocks and stresses occurred in the history and culture of the world. Then, a revolution of far-reaching and deeply flit consequences produced radical changes in the II ft of the church and in the way many preachers came to understand their calling and their craft.... The fundamentalist and traditionalist voices attempting to reinforce the dogmas and emphases of an earlier age, sincere and faithful as they may be, do no service to the church or the world at this point in what is transpiring. (from author introduction) Though anguish fills these pages at times, the profound and hope-filled review of the themes and factors Killinger feels necessary to turn the tide will inspire and motivate the modern preacher. This is one of the most forceful and insightful books on preaching and the modern day church to appear in years. John Killinger, one of the best known preachers and teachers of preachers in America, has pastored churches In Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, and California. He has taught preaching, worship and literature at Vanderbilt Divinity School, Princeton Theological Seminary, The University of Chicago and the School of Theology at Claremont. His book The Fundamentals Of Preaching is widely used as a textbook in preaching.

Preaching to a Church in Crisi

Davies, Deborah

CSS Publishing Company

The Fragile Presence;: Transcendence in Modern Literature

Fortress Press

Originally published in 1983, Fundamentals of Preaching has been a leading comprehensive textbook on preaching, guiding in the novice from the first steps of conceiving the sermon through the actual construction and delivery of it. In this new, revised form, it continues its outstanding qualities, with much input from recent homiletical studies and from the preaching of women.

Fundamentals of Preaching

Christian Books & Bibles

Fortress Pr

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Books by KILLINGER, John