While I'm on a roll tonight, I figured I would bring up another sore point that has been on my mind recently. I think that most Christians have this view of law and society that doesn't really work. A very notable case to me is the idea of pornography being legal.
This was brought up to me by a friend--he said that he was in church, and the pastor said he wished that pornography was illegal. My friend does not use pornography, but he told me that he is glad pornography is not illegal because it reflects the citizens having rights to free speech.
Where does a Christian realistically draw the line between trying to make laws that fit their desired moral structure and trying to make laws that really represent the opinion and the desires of the populace? It's easy to argue that fornication is not the best idea ever. However, is it right to stop members of society from fornicating if they don't prescribe to the same world view as I do?
Let's move into two larger issues here. Abortion is a huge topic today. Most Christians I know would agree with me: I hate it. It diminishes the value of birth, the value of the human construction, the sacred protection of a baby within the womb, and a lot of other things. But as we know, not enough people in this country have a problem with it for us to make it illegal. I have a huge issue with abortion because it also involves murder, so that makes this particular topic a little bit more straightforward for me.
Here's the second larger issue: gay marriage. I don't think it's right, but I am also, for the sake of society, willing to accept the possibility of it becoming legal. I have a couple of gay friends, and I love them--but I would never wish that they would get married. I feel that strongly about it. However, if I were in the position to pass law regarding it, I would probably end up making it legal because that is what represents the desires of the populace best.
It seems like as Christians, we have a couple of hard things to remember when it comes to our country. First off, it's not my country, nor is it your country, nor is it the gay couple's country, nor is it anyone else's country. It is, collectively, OUR country. That means that our own impressions of morality and ethics (which, through the Word, are often correct) cannot be forced upon members of society just because we think it's better for them. That sort of law only creates division, hatred, and more lawbreakers.
In addition, it means that if we want to actually do something about the country we share, we can't simply go around trying to get laws passed. It's worthless. You have to change the minds of the people using love and truth, hand-in-hand. It's a lot less simple, but it's the only way I could see going about it.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Christian Ethics vs. Marijuana
This post is prompted by some recent experiences I've had around marijuana. I whole-heartedly believe that the body is the temple of God and that it needs to be taken care of and respected. I also believe whole-heartedly in the enjoyment of alcohol. And on a third note, I believe whole-heartedly in the call to be sober. So, then, we know how alcohol falls into this place: don't have too much, but enjoy yourself. Too much is throwing up, losing your train of thought, headaches, all that jazz. Where does weed fall into this category?
I have heard some people argue that "there is no way to smoke weed and stay in moderation," but I have found that statement to be entirely untrue. So it is possible to stay within that parameter. In addition, it is possible to ingest the plant without any health risks associated (except maybe for the high-fructose corn syrup that the brownies are made of). So we are able to stay within the parameter of keeping your body healthy. Why is this such a hot topic?
I am not writing this post to provide a solution, but only to bring up the question. I think that for myself, abstention from marijuana makes sense because there are commands in the Word to obey your civil authorities. But what if I'm in Amsterdam? I have a feeling that if I were to go and peruse weed in Amsterdam, Christian friends would not be happy--even though it isn't illegal, isn't necessarily unhealthy depending on how you do it, and I wasn't necessarily high out of my mind. So what gives? Why is this different than alcohol? Thoughts are appreciated.
I have heard some people argue that "there is no way to smoke weed and stay in moderation," but I have found that statement to be entirely untrue. So it is possible to stay within that parameter. In addition, it is possible to ingest the plant without any health risks associated (except maybe for the high-fructose corn syrup that the brownies are made of). So we are able to stay within the parameter of keeping your body healthy. Why is this such a hot topic?
I am not writing this post to provide a solution, but only to bring up the question. I think that for myself, abstention from marijuana makes sense because there are commands in the Word to obey your civil authorities. But what if I'm in Amsterdam? I have a feeling that if I were to go and peruse weed in Amsterdam, Christian friends would not be happy--even though it isn't illegal, isn't necessarily unhealthy depending on how you do it, and I wasn't necessarily high out of my mind. So what gives? Why is this different than alcohol? Thoughts are appreciated.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Worrying or Not Worrying
When I was a Free Methodist I did have a fairly constant worry along the lines of "what if the Calvinists are right about XYZ in Scripture?"
Now that I'm a Catholic it seems most of those worries are done away with with the simple reply, "Well, I guess I'll be a Thomist, then, not a Molinist."
One of the weird side-effects I didn't totally expect from going Catholic, is that while I'm still interested in what the proper formulation of the intersection of predestination, foreknowledge, sovereignty, universal salvific intent and free will is, it is also the case that in a good way, I no longer care. I no longer have to worry about the weight of Biblical evidence about whether some grace intrinsically justifies or doesn't, or whether election is conditional or unconditional. I have boundaries that shouldn't be transgressed; truths that must be respected, and perhaps held in tension, but as long as they are held I needn't worry about the details.
Now that I'm a Catholic it seems most of those worries are done away with with the simple reply, "Well, I guess I'll be a Thomist, then, not a Molinist."
One of the weird side-effects I didn't totally expect from going Catholic, is that while I'm still interested in what the proper formulation of the intersection of predestination, foreknowledge, sovereignty, universal salvific intent and free will is, it is also the case that in a good way, I no longer care. I no longer have to worry about the weight of Biblical evidence about whether some grace intrinsically justifies or doesn't, or whether election is conditional or unconditional. I have boundaries that shouldn't be transgressed; truths that must be respected, and perhaps held in tension, but as long as they are held I needn't worry about the details.
Dignified
I think many of us in the Christian tradition have some working idea of what human dignity is. All of creation, humanity in a sense qualitatively different from the rest, is stamped with the imago dei, or the image of God. Thus each creature of God has intrinsic worth, and, because humanity bears the image of God in a unique way (perhaps more special for the Incarnation) each individual human life is treated as having that same human dignity. This is a fine notion of what dignity means.
But there is another notion of dignity that needs to die.
I mean this strange dignity that means people looking dignified, or looking proper. Somehow we wound up on this planet with two things: Very physical and animal characteristics, and souls that yearn for God. We are spiritual beings, but also material beings, and so we will, at some point, do some material things. And there's this weird idea that we can look dignified while we do it. Think about when people are told to be proper.
Take eating. Who really looks dignified eating? We can chew our food with our mouths closed, but we are chewing. We are still material things devouring other material things. And don't even try to think about how that food gets processed. I was no biology major, but it's not really a dignified process, for the food or for our bodies, wonderful machines they are.
Following that, is there really a dignified way to use the bathroom? I'm certain some people have tried using the bathroom in a dignified way, and I'm nearly as certain that all of those people failed. And-—even in the context of fully Christian marriage—-is there really anything dignified about sex? It's a union, sure, but it's an animal union as well as a God-ordered one. It can't possibly look dignified to anyone. What about death? Sure, we see pristine looking and well-preserved loved ones at casket viewings. But, to quote a one-time character from an episode of Samurai Champloo, "Death leaves no beautiful corpses." Death of course can leave corpses that have some beauty, but the same corpses serve as reminders, the nearly certain fact that we will all die, and that the person who was there has passed on. Neither the act of dying, nor the earthly remains it leaves behind, are dignified-looking things.
The pattern seems to be that all we're really doing is covering up the 'undignified' part. But by design or due to the intrusion of sin, any mere attempt at looking dignified is ultimately just an attempt to dress up us soulful animals so that we look less ridiculous than we are.
Peter Kreeft, in his Fundamentals of the Faith (1988 edition, p.67) and on this webpage, states that:
So if even God gave up looking dignified (and sometime during the Passion, this definitely happened) to help rescue and redeem us from Death, it seems like the societal notion of looking dignified, as a general principle, has no real hold on us. But what does?
Returning to what I said before:
But there is another notion of dignity that needs to die.
I mean this strange dignity that means people looking dignified, or looking proper. Somehow we wound up on this planet with two things: Very physical and animal characteristics, and souls that yearn for God. We are spiritual beings, but also material beings, and so we will, at some point, do some material things. And there's this weird idea that we can look dignified while we do it. Think about when people are told to be proper.
Take eating. Who really looks dignified eating? We can chew our food with our mouths closed, but we are chewing. We are still material things devouring other material things. And don't even try to think about how that food gets processed. I was no biology major, but it's not really a dignified process, for the food or for our bodies, wonderful machines they are.
Following that, is there really a dignified way to use the bathroom? I'm certain some people have tried using the bathroom in a dignified way, and I'm nearly as certain that all of those people failed. And-—even in the context of fully Christian marriage—-is there really anything dignified about sex? It's a union, sure, but it's an animal union as well as a God-ordered one. It can't possibly look dignified to anyone. What about death? Sure, we see pristine looking and well-preserved loved ones at casket viewings. But, to quote a one-time character from an episode of Samurai Champloo, "Death leaves no beautiful corpses." Death of course can leave corpses that have some beauty, but the same corpses serve as reminders, the nearly certain fact that we will all die, and that the person who was there has passed on. Neither the act of dying, nor the earthly remains it leaves behind, are dignified-looking things.
The pattern seems to be that all we're really doing is covering up the 'undignified' part. But by design or due to the intrusion of sin, any mere attempt at looking dignified is ultimately just an attempt to dress up us soulful animals so that we look less ridiculous than we are.
Peter Kreeft, in his Fundamentals of the Faith (1988 edition, p.67) and on this webpage, states that:
Death is a crass, crude, vulgar, and materialistic problem. It needs a crass, crude, vulgar, and materialistic solution, like the resurrection of the body. What set the ancient world on fire was not faith in faith, a psychology, a philosophy, or an ethic, but the astonishing news that God became man, died, and rose from death to save us from sin and death.The Word of God stepped down to the level of the strange combination of soul and animal. He embraced all the indignities that come with being human. Historically Biblical Christian tradition teaches that this did not include sex, but the fact of eating and using a bathroom should be enough, to say nothing of the Crucifixion. There's nothing that looks dignified about Crucifixion. Actually, forget the Crucifixion--what's so dignified about the Resurrection? Even if the Risen Christ was literally aglow, Christ still had the holes in his hands. Would that really be an appropriate visual at the dinner table? I doubt it.
So if even God gave up looking dignified (and sometime during the Passion, this definitely happened) to help rescue and redeem us from Death, it seems like the societal notion of looking dignified, as a general principle, has no real hold on us. But what does?
Returning to what I said before:
Because humanity bears the image of God in a unique way (perhaps made even more special by the Incarnation?) each individual human life is treated as having that same human dignity.What if we tried on the basis of our worth as creatures of God to set our standards for what actions should be hidden and which would not? Certainly this might make things a little messier, introduce a little bit more context, and force us to judge on more than mere appearances. On the other hand, if we start with the notion of each individual human life--that strange unique mixture of soul and animal, and consider the implications of its dignity and worth for how it ought to live, and how it ought to be treated, we might just start to get a picture of how to put to rest all unnecessary stifling of laughter, put in proportion all table manners, and excercise reverence for God and not sanctimony. If all we do is try to hide our indignities, we'll never be dignified. If we start by realizing our status as creatures of God, we actually have a shot.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Recommended Reading (Dan's Take)
Recently we at KBT (mostly me, but not without any input) have revamped the links. They're now categorized as recommended reading and fun links. Austin and I both read Buttersafe and play DF, so both of those are in fun links. Recommended reading is an amalgamation of our old links. I must confess I didn't feel comfortable as a Catholic linking to CARM or Monergism.com, which is why those were removed. I suppose I could also have linked to Catholic Answers, but that would have struck me as obnoxious on my part to do, perhaps more-so than the removal of the other two. However we did reach mutual agreement on linking to specific thinkers within sub-traditions rather than websites that more explicitly promote some sub-tradition or another. The new recommendations list is pretty balanced in terms of where exactly in Christendom the thinkers hail from, and after some conversation with Austin I've added John Piper's 'Desiring God' blog. I haven't actually bugged Mike yet to see if he's got stuff to add.
My linking to these sites doesn't constitute any necessary endorsement of the specific ideas contained or preached therein. It definitely doesn't mean that I endorse as Catholic everything said on any of these websites, even the ones labeled "Catholic." What it does constitute is my general endorsement of those who do the main writing on those sites, as thinkers, and my good faith that they all endeavor to seek the Truth.
If anyone who runs these sites happens to see this list, and I've got their tradition wrong, they should tell me so I can correct it.
So here's the list, as I've currently got it composed (Austin or Mike might add stuff later):
* A Minor Friar (Catholic) - Fransiscan Brother Charles reflects on lots of things.
* Alexander Pruss (Catholic) - Thomistic philosopher who writes about just about everything, it seems.
* Amateur Theological Musings (Catholic, really Theological Musings from an Amateur) - Interesting musings on theology and philosophy; this kid could be huge in the future.
* Catholic and Enjoying it (Catholic) - Mark Shea, an interesting fellow.
* Dangerous Idea (Arminian Evangelical) - Victor Reppert, who asks lots of interesting questions about everything and is a big proponent of Lewis's Argument from Reason.
* Desiring God (Reformed Evangelical) - Headed by John Piper, a bigger reformed blog. I must admit I didn't pay much attention to Piper, but having read a little of his blog and watched some videos, I'm pretty impressed.
* John Meunier (United Methodist) - If you read only one UMC small minister's blog a day, make it this one. John waxes awesome on everything from whether Wesleyans are Wesleyan, to the internal politics of the church, to Rob Bell.
* Mere Orthodoxy (??? Evangelical) - How can you not love a blog that takes its name from a combination of Lewis's Mere Christianity and Chesterton's Orthodoxy? Theologizing on everything over here.
* Mouw's Musings (Reformed Evangelical) - Richard Mouw of Fuller Theological Seminary doesn't update ultra-often, but I find he is almost always worth the read.
* Parableman (Reformed Evangelical) - Jeremy Pierce is a philosophical grad student who asks interesting questions about lots and lots of things, from how we read texts (including Biblical texts) to philosophy of race.
* Sola Nobilitas Virtus (Catholic) - Kev Johnston often posts videos of Milton Friedman or people falling hilariously, but when he gets thinking, he gets thinking. He and I certainly disagree as to whether he gets it right from a Catholic or Christian standpoint, but he gets a lot of it right.
One last thing. I do not make this promise for Austin or Mike, but everything in the recommended reading list also goes in my RSS Feed Reader, with the intent that I read all of it, pretty much post-for-post.
My linking to these sites doesn't constitute any necessary endorsement of the specific ideas contained or preached therein. It definitely doesn't mean that I endorse as Catholic everything said on any of these websites, even the ones labeled "Catholic." What it does constitute is my general endorsement of those who do the main writing on those sites, as thinkers, and my good faith that they all endeavor to seek the Truth.
If anyone who runs these sites happens to see this list, and I've got their tradition wrong, they should tell me so I can correct it.
So here's the list, as I've currently got it composed (Austin or Mike might add stuff later):
* A Minor Friar (Catholic) - Fransiscan Brother Charles reflects on lots of things.
* Alexander Pruss (Catholic) - Thomistic philosopher who writes about just about everything, it seems.
* Amateur Theological Musings (Catholic, really Theological Musings from an Amateur) - Interesting musings on theology and philosophy; this kid could be huge in the future.
* Catholic and Enjoying it (Catholic) - Mark Shea, an interesting fellow.
* Dangerous Idea (Arminian Evangelical) - Victor Reppert, who asks lots of interesting questions about everything and is a big proponent of Lewis's Argument from Reason.
* Desiring God (Reformed Evangelical) - Headed by John Piper, a bigger reformed blog. I must admit I didn't pay much attention to Piper, but having read a little of his blog and watched some videos, I'm pretty impressed.
* John Meunier (United Methodist) - If you read only one UMC small minister's blog a day, make it this one. John waxes awesome on everything from whether Wesleyans are Wesleyan, to the internal politics of the church, to Rob Bell.
* Mere Orthodoxy (??? Evangelical) - How can you not love a blog that takes its name from a combination of Lewis's Mere Christianity and Chesterton's Orthodoxy? Theologizing on everything over here.
* Mouw's Musings (Reformed Evangelical) - Richard Mouw of Fuller Theological Seminary doesn't update ultra-often, but I find he is almost always worth the read.
* Parableman (Reformed Evangelical) - Jeremy Pierce is a philosophical grad student who asks interesting questions about lots and lots of things, from how we read texts (including Biblical texts) to philosophy of race.
* Sola Nobilitas Virtus (Catholic) - Kev Johnston often posts videos of Milton Friedman or people falling hilariously, but when he gets thinking, he gets thinking. He and I certainly disagree as to whether he gets it right from a Catholic or Christian standpoint, but he gets a lot of it right.
One last thing. I do not make this promise for Austin or Mike, but everything in the recommended reading list also goes in my RSS Feed Reader, with the intent that I read all of it, pretty much post-for-post.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A Response to this Gulley Fellow
I got a tip on this from John Meunier. It's rewarding reading, because it's so wrong that the words I want to use are words a theology blog shouldn't use. It's forcing me to try and articulate why it's so wrong.
Readings of Scripture aside, I don't think I can square all the false implications he's made about the doctrine of original sin.
For starters, any Churches--the RCC I know for sure but I'd be willing to bet more than a few Protestant denominations--teach a kind of co-creation and co-operation of God and man that they see as being in perfect harmony with the notion of original sin. They might be wrong (I guess the Monergists might be right), but even if that be the case, they're still more biblically and historically Christian than this guy.
Apparently Gulley's never heard of all those joyous saints and philosophers whose belief in original sin combined with beautiful views of creation and God and humanity. Gulley's never read John or me, in our honest struggles to work out salvation in fear and trembling. If so, he should know better than this. But he doesn't know better. Most of this piece was crap, and most of the good advice can and has been acted on by persons who vehemently disagree with him. Maybe we're just too trapped in the unreasonable dogma of yesteryear to be enlightened like Gulley is. Maybe we're not the only dogmatists.
Readings of Scripture aside, I don't think I can square all the false implications he's made about the doctrine of original sin.
For starters, any Churches--the RCC I know for sure but I'd be willing to bet more than a few Protestant denominations--teach a kind of co-creation and co-operation of God and man that they see as being in perfect harmony with the notion of original sin. They might be wrong (I guess the Monergists might be right), but even if that be the case, they're still more biblically and historically Christian than this guy.
Apparently Gulley's never heard of all those joyous saints and philosophers whose belief in original sin combined with beautiful views of creation and God and humanity. Gulley's never read John or me, in our honest struggles to work out salvation in fear and trembling. If so, he should know better than this. But he doesn't know better. Most of this piece was crap, and most of the good advice can and has been acted on by persons who vehemently disagree with him. Maybe we're just too trapped in the unreasonable dogma of yesteryear to be enlightened like Gulley is. Maybe we're not the only dogmatists.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Looking at Grad Schools
This is a serious question for anyone reading this post:
Any ideas about places I might go to grad school?
I'm looking to study historical theology at least for the master's level. I'm pretty sure if I ever break into academia my research interests will include theology of sexuality and the Christian concept of human dignity (I'm particularly interested in the ways in which 20th century authors, especially but probably not only Catholics, have used the world's concept of dignity as a negative definition of the Christian concept.)
So if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I kind of already know what Catholic places I sort of want to apply to (for instance, CUA and Notre Dame are on my list, still thinking on the Catholic GTU schools in Berkeley because I think I might choke on the little-l liberalism down there.)
If anyone knows of good Protestant schools especially for historical theology I'd like to know. I know a couple of other Carnival people either are or have been grad students in the past, so if you'd have anything about those to offer, let me know.
Any ideas about places I might go to grad school?
I'm looking to study historical theology at least for the master's level. I'm pretty sure if I ever break into academia my research interests will include theology of sexuality and the Christian concept of human dignity (I'm particularly interested in the ways in which 20th century authors, especially but probably not only Catholics, have used the world's concept of dignity as a negative definition of the Christian concept.)
So if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I kind of already know what Catholic places I sort of want to apply to (for instance, CUA and Notre Dame are on my list, still thinking on the Catholic GTU schools in Berkeley because I think I might choke on the little-l liberalism down there.)
If anyone knows of good Protestant schools especially for historical theology I'd like to know. I know a couple of other Carnival people either are or have been grad students in the past, so if you'd have anything about those to offer, let me know.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Christian Carnival CCCXXV
Hey all! It's time once again for the Christian Carnival! I'm excited that KBT has the honor of hosting this week. The Carnival, for anyone who doesn't know, is a hosting-rotated blog carnival open to Christians of Protestant, Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox persuasions. If you want to learn more about the Carnival you can go here. If you want to submit an article you can do so here.
Also, dude, this edition of the Christian Carnival also holds the distinction of being KBT's 100th post ever. Rock on. I was going to try and organize this week's posts into overly broad categories but most posts didn't fit so neatly in my neat little boxes, so I gave up on that. (There are three money-related posts this week, which makes me wonder if maybe God's trying to tell me something.)
There's lots of awesome stuff this week. I don't necessarily endorse every word of the posts below, but I found it to be all edifying overall, and challenging in those few places I disagreed. (However, I really hated that jerk Dan Lower. He never knows what he's talking about.) Twenty-five submissions in all this week! Special thanks to Jeremy Pierce of Parableman for being patient with my questions about hosting.
The Banditts
kilama gives us "The Death of a Nation," a piece on abortion in America with some interesting facts.
The Bible Archive
Rey Reynoso presents "Ethics Beyond Duty (1 of 4)" which is "guestblogger Xulon writ[ing] about ethics beyond duty." Lots of fun Scriptural-ethical connections here.
Boston Bible Geeks
danny presents "What Happened to Onesimus?" Some thoughts about the fate of the New Testament runaway slave. danny comments: "Philemon is an often overlooked book, could that be because we don't know how the story ends? This post looks for clues to tell us what happened to Onesimus."
A Christian Mommy
Siobhan McGirr gives us "Sleep Well, Christian Moms!" Siobhan reflects on the value of sleep.
Church Bible
Chad Maslak presents "Christian Praise and Worship," which contains some good thoughts on worship and praise.
Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet
Diane R writes "Working with Generations in the Church," noting "here is a primer on what is really going on generationally." Diane definitely made a connection I had not been so aware of before.
The Dating Divas
Tara presents "Let's Grow Old Together....", saying "I think that the sacredness of marriage is getting thrown out the window! I think that our journey though life should #1 - be focused on the Lord and #2 - be WITH our best friend! My friends and I started up a blog on which we post (weekly) creative and fun dates that we have taken our husbands on. This is to encourage us (...and to help out with the 'What Should We Do?' part...) to continue dating our spouses even AFTER we are married. My husband and I have been having SO much fun dating each other lately that it really bothered me lately when I heard some co-workers complaining about their husbands. I decided to write a post about my thoughts...thus the article: 'Let's Grow Old Together...' Enjoy!"
Doug Boude (rhymes with 'loud')
Doug Boude gives his "Top 20 Life Lessons for Husbands and Fathers." Doug's summary: "In this post, I've compiled what I consider to be the top 20 things that I believe, when implemented and adopted, maximize the success of a husband and/or father in his role in his household. Being a father of 8 children, 4 step children, and 2 grand children, I kinda feel like I'm speaking from experience here :)" Doug is also asking for ideas in comments if you've got them.
Free Money Finance
Free Money Finance's "The Bible on Money" offering this week is "The Bible on Debt". FMF's summary: "The Bible doesn't have a positive perspective on debt." No it does not.
Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength
Weekend Fisher presents "Silencing Iago," which is "about politics, people who sow discord among brothers, and becoming peacemakers." WF makes some interesting connections.
IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING
NCSue presents "Mom and the doctor giveth, then mom and the doctor take away." The story Sue tells here is truly heartbreaking and raises lots of moral questions.
Journey Across the Sky
Allen Scott gives us "Gov. Regulation Fails to Regulate Bad Behavior." Allen's summary: "The sound of the word REGULATION gives a sense of safety. It makes people think there are people paid to keep an eye on certain industries and practices to make sure they operate within the law. But it turns out that those who are paid to keep watch are watching something else.These are hired hands, employees paid to be there, they have no vested interest in the people nor the families they are supposed to be looking out for. They are merely getting paid to do a job and when something bad happens they are quick to push the blame elsewhere. They have no concern over the well being of someone living hundreds or perhaps thousands of miles away. The halls of the government are cold and hollow." If Allen's right about regulation, something has gone seriously wrong.
keyboard theologians
I (Dan Lower) humbly offer "In the Meantime," a brief reflection on single-hood and discernment.
Mike Austin's Blog
Michael W. Austin reviews J.P. Moreland's The Recalcitrant Imago Dei: Human Persons and the Failure of Naturalism. Mike also gives some samples of ideas from Moreland's book.
Old Testament and Ecology
Justin Allison presents "God who brings rain in Zechariah | Old Testament Creation Theology," which he calls "part of my study on Creation theology in Zechariah."
Open My Ears, Lord
Janis Van Keuren writes "A Fragrant Praise to the Creator", noting, "the fragrant orange blossoms and the bee buzzing between flowers lift praise to God simply by existing." Wonderful reflection.
Other Food: daily devo's
Violet N. presents "Erecting memorials on our knees." Violet gives a touching reflection here. She remarks that "it’s comforting to think of petitions uttered on behalf of friends, kids, family members, communities, countries, leaders, even the world as little crosses beside the streets of heaven..."
Personal Finance By The Book
Joe Plemon writes about "Why to Build Wealth…Five Wrong Reasons and One Right One," with the teaser: "Is the phrase "wealthy Christian" an oxymoron? It all depends on the motives for building wealth."
Pillar on the Rock
Chris Krycho reflects on how God uses bad things that happen in life for the Good in "How Dirt Makes Us Clean."
Redeeming Riches
Jason asks the question of "How Much Should a Christian Give?" Jason summarizes: "Why is tithing such a polarizing topic!? Find out how much a Christian should be giving!" This is the first in a three-part series, and raises lots of questions--not all money related.
Rely on God in your personal development.
bewisest.com presents "Do your work with faith." The post has some good thoughts on faith in God and getting work done.
Taste{Full}
Tiffany DeLangie presents "Need a Little Inspiration?" Tiffany looks at some recent CCM CDs.
Thinking in Christ
Russ White gives us "Und Now, You Vill Be Healthy." Russ's comments: "The government is moving to regulate our salt intake with the explicit goal of 'changing our taste,' over time. What will be declared 'unhealthy' next?" This is a disturbing trend.
who am i?
Barry Wallace gives us "John Piper and Rick Warren." Barry's description: "Here are a few links to articles addressing the recent John Piper / Rick Warren controversy." It's well worth checking these links out. I'd heard a little about this controversy but they served as a good introduction to the issues at hand.
You Can't Mean That!
Steven Demmler presents "Karl Barth on Openness and Growth." Steven notes, "I let Karl Barth speak for himself on the topic of theological openness and growth."
I was glad for the opportunity to host this week. It was really interesting to read all the different submissions and immerse myself in the issues they raised. I should note that a guy named Dan presented "Jewish Chat and Israel Chat," but Dan and his blog are Jewish, so I couldn't include it in the Christian Carnival proper, but I figured I'd throw out the link in case anyone wanted to see it.
If you want to submit a post to next week's carnival, please follow this link. Again, the Carnival is open to the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics and Protestants. Posts submitted need not be directly about faith or theology (e.g., they could be, among other things, about politics, homemaking, teaching, or underwater basket-weaving) but posts should proceed from a Christian world-view.
Also, dude, this edition of the Christian Carnival also holds the distinction of being KBT's 100th post ever. Rock on. I was going to try and organize this week's posts into overly broad categories but most posts didn't fit so neatly in my neat little boxes, so I gave up on that. (There are three money-related posts this week, which makes me wonder if maybe God's trying to tell me something.)
There's lots of awesome stuff this week. I don't necessarily endorse every word of the posts below, but I found it to be all edifying overall, and challenging in those few places I disagreed. (However, I really hated that jerk Dan Lower. He never knows what he's talking about.) Twenty-five submissions in all this week! Special thanks to Jeremy Pierce of Parableman for being patient with my questions about hosting.
The Banditts
kilama gives us "The Death of a Nation," a piece on abortion in America with some interesting facts.
The Bible Archive
Rey Reynoso presents "Ethics Beyond Duty (1 of 4)" which is "guestblogger Xulon writ[ing] about ethics beyond duty." Lots of fun Scriptural-ethical connections here.
Boston Bible Geeks
danny presents "What Happened to Onesimus?" Some thoughts about the fate of the New Testament runaway slave. danny comments: "Philemon is an often overlooked book, could that be because we don't know how the story ends? This post looks for clues to tell us what happened to Onesimus."
A Christian Mommy
Siobhan McGirr gives us "Sleep Well, Christian Moms!" Siobhan reflects on the value of sleep.
Church Bible
Chad Maslak presents "Christian Praise and Worship," which contains some good thoughts on worship and praise.
Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet
Diane R writes "Working with Generations in the Church," noting "here is a primer on what is really going on generationally." Diane definitely made a connection I had not been so aware of before.
The Dating Divas
Tara presents "Let's Grow Old Together....", saying "I think that the sacredness of marriage is getting thrown out the window! I think that our journey though life should #1 - be focused on the Lord and #2 - be WITH our best friend! My friends and I started up a blog on which we post (weekly) creative and fun dates that we have taken our husbands on. This is to encourage us (...and to help out with the 'What Should We Do?' part...) to continue dating our spouses even AFTER we are married. My husband and I have been having SO much fun dating each other lately that it really bothered me lately when I heard some co-workers complaining about their husbands. I decided to write a post about my thoughts...thus the article: 'Let's Grow Old Together...' Enjoy!"
Doug Boude (rhymes with 'loud')
Doug Boude gives his "Top 20 Life Lessons for Husbands and Fathers." Doug's summary: "In this post, I've compiled what I consider to be the top 20 things that I believe, when implemented and adopted, maximize the success of a husband and/or father in his role in his household. Being a father of 8 children, 4 step children, and 2 grand children, I kinda feel like I'm speaking from experience here :)" Doug is also asking for ideas in comments if you've got them.
Free Money Finance
Free Money Finance's "The Bible on Money" offering this week is "The Bible on Debt". FMF's summary: "The Bible doesn't have a positive perspective on debt." No it does not.
Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength
Weekend Fisher presents "Silencing Iago," which is "about politics, people who sow discord among brothers, and becoming peacemakers." WF makes some interesting connections.
IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING
NCSue presents "Mom and the doctor giveth, then mom and the doctor take away." The story Sue tells here is truly heartbreaking and raises lots of moral questions.
Journey Across the Sky
Allen Scott gives us "Gov. Regulation Fails to Regulate Bad Behavior." Allen's summary: "The sound of the word REGULATION gives a sense of safety. It makes people think there are people paid to keep an eye on certain industries and practices to make sure they operate within the law. But it turns out that those who are paid to keep watch are watching something else.These are hired hands, employees paid to be there, they have no vested interest in the people nor the families they are supposed to be looking out for. They are merely getting paid to do a job and when something bad happens they are quick to push the blame elsewhere. They have no concern over the well being of someone living hundreds or perhaps thousands of miles away. The halls of the government are cold and hollow." If Allen's right about regulation, something has gone seriously wrong.
keyboard theologians
I (Dan Lower) humbly offer "In the Meantime," a brief reflection on single-hood and discernment.
Mike Austin's Blog
Michael W. Austin reviews J.P. Moreland's The Recalcitrant Imago Dei: Human Persons and the Failure of Naturalism. Mike also gives some samples of ideas from Moreland's book.
Old Testament and Ecology
Justin Allison presents "God who brings rain in Zechariah | Old Testament Creation Theology," which he calls "part of my study on Creation theology in Zechariah."
Open My Ears, Lord
Janis Van Keuren writes "A Fragrant Praise to the Creator", noting, "the fragrant orange blossoms and the bee buzzing between flowers lift praise to God simply by existing." Wonderful reflection.
Other Food: daily devo's
Violet N. presents "Erecting memorials on our knees." Violet gives a touching reflection here. She remarks that "it’s comforting to think of petitions uttered on behalf of friends, kids, family members, communities, countries, leaders, even the world as little crosses beside the streets of heaven..."
Personal Finance By The Book
Joe Plemon writes about "Why to Build Wealth…Five Wrong Reasons and One Right One," with the teaser: "Is the phrase "wealthy Christian" an oxymoron? It all depends on the motives for building wealth."
Pillar on the Rock
Chris Krycho reflects on how God uses bad things that happen in life for the Good in "How Dirt Makes Us Clean."
Redeeming Riches
Jason asks the question of "How Much Should a Christian Give?" Jason summarizes: "Why is tithing such a polarizing topic!? Find out how much a Christian should be giving!" This is the first in a three-part series, and raises lots of questions--not all money related.
Rely on God in your personal development.
bewisest.com presents "Do your work with faith." The post has some good thoughts on faith in God and getting work done.
Taste{Full}
Tiffany DeLangie presents "Need a Little Inspiration?" Tiffany looks at some recent CCM CDs.
Thinking in Christ
Russ White gives us "Und Now, You Vill Be Healthy." Russ's comments: "The government is moving to regulate our salt intake with the explicit goal of 'changing our taste,' over time. What will be declared 'unhealthy' next?" This is a disturbing trend.
who am i?
Barry Wallace gives us "John Piper and Rick Warren." Barry's description: "Here are a few links to articles addressing the recent John Piper / Rick Warren controversy." It's well worth checking these links out. I'd heard a little about this controversy but they served as a good introduction to the issues at hand.
You Can't Mean That!
Steven Demmler presents "Karl Barth on Openness and Growth." Steven notes, "I let Karl Barth speak for himself on the topic of theological openness and growth."
I was glad for the opportunity to host this week. It was really interesting to read all the different submissions and immerse myself in the issues they raised. I should note that a guy named Dan presented "Jewish Chat and Israel Chat," but Dan and his blog are Jewish, so I couldn't include it in the Christian Carnival proper, but I figured I'd throw out the link in case anyone wanted to see it.
If you want to submit a post to next week's carnival, please follow this link. Again, the Carnival is open to the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics and Protestants. Posts submitted need not be directly about faith or theology (e.g., they could be, among other things, about politics, homemaking, teaching, or underwater basket-weaving) but posts should proceed from a Christian world-view.
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