Intellectuelle   Links

(I need a good series name for posts featuring links. Any suggestions?)

Sarah Flashing has new blog called Flash Point.

flash point � a critical point or stage at which something or someone suddenly causes or creates some significant action.

Sarah is the director of The Foundation for Women of Faith in Culture She has a deep passion for inspiring people to achieve theological excellence in whatever sphere of influence God has placed them. Sarah speaks and writes on a variety of topics including worldview, theology, bioethics, and issues that relate directly to the lives of women.

(Sarah is also a guest-blogger at Intellectuelle -- see archives)

From Dan Phillips at Pyromanics, in response to those who automatically dismiss the �slippery slope� argument:

I've never understood why a "slippery slope" argument is necessarily a bad argument. If a slope is slippery, and if my stepping on it at the top means I'll wind up at the bottom -- isn't that worth a decent warning?

Every theologian who wants to think biblically has to believe in providence...But there are some people who approach the doctrine of providence in an abstract way, and follow their abstraction out to bizarre and unacceptable results...

Some people teach about providence in a way that suggests that God chose each event and put it into play directly, such that it is a lack of faith to seek explanations anywhere outside of the will of God.

Sanders gives examples and traces this �disastrously abstract� teaching back to a �group of theologians from the sixteenth century.� He tells of someone who strongly opposed them. Who was it? (HT: Godblogcon blog)

A fantastic post at Common Grounds Online by Les Newson on what faith really is. Hint: it�s not a work, it�s an admission of an inability to work. It is a recognition of our own self-deception and our utter dependence upon God to �break the spell.�

Joe Carter tells us where he really stands in Confessions Clarifications of a Crank. Not that it�s so hard to figure out but I�ll confess to finding the cranky Joe easier to understand than the cocky cheeky one. I�ll gladly endure a little confusion, though, if it means Joe feels better.

Seriously, I appreciate Joe�s approach to the �issues.� He sorts the wheat from the chaff according to no allegiance but the creed of Christ.

Joe, I thank you and your blog for helping me better understand and articulate many of my own views. I�m indebted. And I hope you�re feeling better.

A great post at Blogotional on humility. Humility is knowing that the work one and other believers do is God�s, not their own. God gifts us but also assigns particular tasks in His own sovereignty and purposes. Our job is not to compare, covet, or judge the work of another, but to do well whatever work we�ve been given. We do this in praise and thanksgiving, as we thank Him for the work He's doing in and through others.

This gets the highest LOL rating of anything I�ve seen in 2-1/2 years of blog-reading. A must-see.

I love this from Aaron Menikoff at Common Grounds Online, writing on �intentional Christian living":

Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew the importance of Christians investing in each other�s lives. When done right, it is never a shallow exchange. It is, instead, a powerful and loving ministry wherein two people relate, always trusting that they need to be encouraged and challenged by the Word of God.

• Hopeful � transformed by the Gospel
• Honest � truthful about his or her life to others
• Gospel-centered � considerate of how the gospel might affect every part of life
• Exemplary � an example, a witness
• Loving � loves others as God loves him/her
• Creative � looks for ways to involve others in his/her life

Scot McKnight has begun a series looking at the question, �Do Calvinists Understand Arminianism?� He reviews Roger Olson�s book, Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities. (Looks like yet another one to add to my impossible pile of books � the most recent addition to which is Calvin�s Institutes!) There are three installments so far � #1, #2, and #3. I was sure I saw a statement in there about the misunderstanding and mistrust that exists between members of opposite "camps" but can�t find it now. (Certainly the reverse question can also be asked: �Do Arminians Understand Calvinism?�)

Some important points from the posts:

• Arminians are Protestants to the core; they are part of the Reformed movement.


• A major, if not the major, issue is monergism vs. synergism. (not a surprise)


• �The gospel preached and the doctrine of salvation taught in most evangelical pulpits and lecterns, and believed in most evangelical pews, is not classical Arminianism but semi-Pelagianism if not outright Pelagianism� � Olson


• Both Arminians and Calvinists are united on an emphasis on God�s glory and on covenant, or federal, theology.


• A hybrid of Calvinism and Arminianism is impossible (again, no surprise). Three areas where the two systems cannot agree: unconditional election, limited atonement, and irresistible grace.


• The dividing line between the two systems is that God is viewed �as either (1) majestic, powerful, and controlling or (2) loving, good, and merciful� -- Jerry Walls

• Calvinists and Arminians believe what they do, not simply because of exegesis, but because of perspective. What some philosophers call �blik.�

And, lastly,

• Both systems have insurmountable problems.

The comment threads on all three posts are great reading.

There's a brief discussion in the comments to "Do Calvinists Understand Arminianism", 2, mentioned in the previous post, as to whether there can be Christian unity among Calvinists and Arminians. Or whether they can work together. Brad from Broken Messenger says they can but on the whole don't. Jerry says they can and do, and encouraged me to "jump in, the water's great! " I appreciate his encouragement very much, however, I would also like to see such efforts happen on a much larger scale than I believe they do now.

Jerry also says that in his experience, most U.S. Churchgoers wouldn't know or care about the Calvinist-Armininan issue. Nor could they identify one group's theology from another's simply by their label if they had to. I agree with him, and count myself as one who didn't know, up until about a year and a half ago. I never came across it in any of my church experiences, reading, or other travels until learning of it in the blogosphere.

On unity and working together, Douglas Wilson writes at BLOG and MABLOG on whether or not Calvinists and Arminians really can work together. The money quote:

Believing the doctrine of justification by faith alone as a way of being justified is a fine way of actually denying the doctrine of justification by faith alone. We are not saved by works -- ethical or theological...we are saved through the perfections of Jesus Christ. Plus nothing.

Are they perfect? Of course not, and neither are we. Fortunately, our perfection, together or apart, is not the ground of our fellowship. And I need to be more concerned over my possible denial of sola fide than theirs.

On a different note, Paul Walker at Common Grounds Online sums up a view of sex that I hold as well. But he does so better and more articulately than I ever could. Thank you, Paul! The basis is this:

When you "hook up" with someone, you become part of them - physically and symbolically...from God�s point of view, the people you've had sex with are your husbands and wives. With them you have become "one flesh" as the scripture says.

This is a sobering thought. As C.S. Lewis says, "the truth is that wherever a man lies with a woman, there, whether they like it or not, a transcendental relation is set up between them which must be eternally enjoyed or eternally endured." (The Screwtape Letters)

And on yet another (very high) note, last night I had the pleasure of playing a gig with a really great big band. (I play trumpet professionally in my spare time). The highlight for me was a tribute to Maynard Ferguson, recently deceased. It came as a mysterious "request" (from somewhere in the trumpet section) for "Gonna Fly Now" , the theme from Rocky that Maynard immortalized on his album, Conquistador. I've gotta say, the lead player did an awesome job -- he's got a big, fat sound way up there in the ultra-high register, just like Maynard. What a gas!

Maynard was the first trumpet player I "got into" as a kid. I still have all my old LP's. He was, and remains, a legend and inspiration.

There's a nice tribute at YouTube.

From Ben Witherington:

* for you history buffs, the pluralistic faith practices of the Emperor Constantine.

* commentary on the nature of divine sovereignty showing the influence of Origen as well as Augustine

* on scholarship and Justification by Doubt:

There is of course no purely objective value free scholarship out there. It is just that some do a better job of admitting this, and owning up to their presuppositions and inclinations than others do, and some do a better job of being objective than others. And I would say that it is those who are aware of their own commitments and take them into account and even correct for them that are the persons who really ought to be called critical scholars whether they are persons of no apparent faith, agnostic, or persons of one or another sort of ardent faith. A critical scholar is one who is capable of being self-critical and self-corrective, as well as being able to cast a discerning eye on this or that Biblical text.

From the Thinklings:

* You Can Never Go Down the Drain, by Jared:

The strongest Christians are the ones who are hurting and have been hurting and keep trusting Jesus and will keep trusting Jesus even if their hurt never goes away. That doesn't sell books, I know, but it's the truth. God is omnipresent, right? So while he's perfectly capable of delivering you from your pain and suffering, he's also capable of redeeming you in and through your pain and suffering.

* Shrode links to the best underground rag yet, the Nazarene Nooz. Watch out for the Eternal Security Guard.

* De addresses the “alleged wussification of men in our society”:

The problem is a lack of maturity, not a lack of masculinity.

Read the whole post.

From Joe Carter at the evangelical outpost:

* Whom do we carry, and who bears what weight? If there's such a thing as guilt by association, then every one of us is guilty – or not.

* “The 'marriage and fertility' gap may be the most useful predictor of the mid-term elections.”

From LaShawn Barber: Are Women Leaders Against Nature?

Her answer is “Yes.”

Here's why:

• Nurturing, much more so than risk-taking, is in the DNA of woman.


• It's just plain difficult, practically-speaking, if not impossible, for a woman to do both a career and a family justice at the same time.


• “The appeal of a leader has a strong physical component.”

When the failure of women in general to have attained equal pay or equal leadership in the workplace is publicly discussed, it is still put down to constructs such as “the glass ceiling”, or the way in which girls are “socially conditioned” not to aspire to top pay or high leadership.

The evident fact that most women are, by definition, not driven by testosterone-fueled competitive ambition is seldom suggested. Far from females being “conditioned” by society, it is Nature doing the programming.

I said something similar awhile back regarding women pastors – there are certain qualities in a pastor that command my respect and admiration and they are overwhelmingly...male. (Sorry, ladies :-) ).

HT: GodBlogCon blog

John L. Drury reviews Roger Olson's Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities at drulogian. Wow. Most of this discussion is over my head, but immensely interesting. (HT to a commenter at Broken Messenger.)

part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4

You'd think I wouldn't need to be reminded over and over, but this review showed me once again that there is so much variance, so much nuance, so much historicity, etc. etc. behind both Calvinistic and Arminian theologies, that to claim to understand “the” theology is ignorance at best and presumption (or arrogance) at worst. All along the way we have interpretations and attempts to understand what various important figures in both traditions were (and are) really saying, and in what context they were saying it, which may or may not do them justice. We're all human, after all. And there are endless variations of thought, as there are endless variations of individuals and experiences and contexts.

Do I think it's folly to attempt to sort out all this theological hay? Yes and no. To seek to understand God so as to fully serve and worship Him in spirit and in truth is a necessary undertaking for every Christian. But as far as all the championing and bickering go, they do the body of Christ, not to mention the “gentiles,” a grave disservice. Let us all exhort one another to a better understanding of the gospel and the way of faith. But where misunderstandings and disagreements come in, may we thank one another, tip our hats, and go on – not our separate ways, but working together, side by side.

Need a little help remembering that wedding anniversary? Never fear, the Ring of Fire is here.

Mark Daniels has a wonderful post titled, How Can the Amish Forgive? The bullet points:

Mark also lists three things that forgiveness is not:

Check out the entire post.

From John Schroeder at Blogotional on The Church and Trends:

The whole idea of "trends" in institutions definitionally devoted to the eternal and unchangable causes cognitive dissonance in me.

...Somehow, I cannot help but be struck by the fact that if the church spent less time worrying about trends and more time dealing with God, we'd all be much better off.

If by trends we’re talking capitulation to the world (the flesh), I am in full agreement. We need to “come to terms” with God rather than try to present Him on our own or someone else’s terms.

However, there’s a post by Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed on Women in Ministry: Biblical Examples that makes a case for legitimate trend. In the comments section is an incredible discussion that caused me to look upon the issue in a way I’d never considered before: Could certain trends be part of the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing about redemption in the here and now? Are we on a God-led course that is progressing (rather than processing) toward this redemption? Can a case for this be made strictly from the Bible, or is it an entirely false notion based upon extra-biblical philosophy?

I encourage anyone reading this to go read the post and comments section and tell me what you think. This is a huge area in which I have little background and the gaining of such would take more research than I have anywhere near the time to do. I would appreciate insight into the matter of a “redemptive hermeneutic” and the theological or philosophical history and basis of this as well as other “progressive” thought. Is it a philosophy based in the early Church, or one brought in later by Enlightenment thinkers?

(Thanks!)

Oh, btw, this relates to women in ministry by the suggestion that we are progressing toward a redeemed (if not egalitarian) practice regarding what women may do in the church and in society.

For some time I’ve wanted to blog about grief and the grieving process. I need to write about it, for my own sake as well as others, hopefully. From what I’ve observed it’s a topic that goes way under-addressed and under-handled both in the Christian community and our culture in general. But until I’m ready to write about it, I will post links to others:

Justin Taylor encourages Grieving with Those Who Grieve and provides some great links including Miscarriage: A Death in the Family (pdf)*. I found Doriani’s piece exquisite. It is honest and grace-ful.

(BTW, Justin's blog, Between Two Worlds, is a must-read.)

Sheena at The Pastor’s Wife (and brand-new member of Intellectuelle!) has also written about grief:

Why then aren’t we jubilant and triumphalistic about the death of a loved one? Part of the answer is that death isn’t natural, it’s an intrusion. It’s not the way things were intended to be.

She mentions a view held by some that Christians oughtn’t grieve, or have need to grieve. (As if becoming a believer in Jesus Christ somehow removes our humanity!) I suspect there are several reasons for this, including:

1) Many see Christianity as a “quick-fix.” Sure, coming to faith in God through Christ effects one pretty big fix that also happens to be instantaneous. But some of the other “fixes” take time, perhaps a lifetime, and may never be fixed this side of heaven.

2) Many believe falsely that the Christian should be “happy” all the time (as opposed to joyful, in the assured-in-Christ sense – more on this at RebeccaWrites)

3) Who, in their natural state, doesn’t want to avoid going through grief if at all possible?

Sheena (and Rebecca) point out that, for the Christian, there is still hope in grief, rather than despair.

*(I just gotta share: We got broadband service and I can’t believe how fast a pdf document flies up on the screen – whooomph! Wow! I used to avoid pdf downloads like the plague because they took forever and locked up the computer. But now, life – with pdf -- is beautiful!)

In a past “links” post I mentioned Dory Zinkand’s excellent series on Controlling Personalities in the Church. More on the subject of manipulation, contrasted with love, can be found at Jim Martin’s A Place for the God-Hungry. Jim speaks of self-examination in One Last Look in the Mirror and says about those who manipulate:

1. "The big elephant in the middle of the room" is often ignored and after a while not even seen.

2. Self-centered, immature people have a way of draining the life and energy from people around them.

3. Some people say they want to be loved but in fact they seem to only want to be with friends who agree with whatever they might be doing.

4. Manipulators do not love others. They use others for their benefit. They use others to draw attention to themselves.

About those who truly love:

1. People who love can be trusted. Even when they are mistaken or do not handle something well in the relationship. It was just that — a mistake.

2. People who love are in some way imitating God.

3. People who love are "safe" people. They do not intend to use, manipulate or hurt in any way.

4. People who love do not need a lot of attention.

(HT: Jesus Creed)

While we often like to tell ourselves that we are in control of our lives, we are the arbiters of what we think and do, there are many intersecting areas of influence on our lives, which affect every aspect of our decision making process, from the physical to the intellectual. Without mitigating our responsibility for the decisions we make, the positions we take, or the things we believe, all of those important choices are impacted by the gestalt in which we think.

...While many of us pride ourselves in being truthful, going to great lengths to maintain our honesty, there is one area where that breaks down for all of us: ourselves. The first lie is always told to ourselves and it is the most difficult to detect. That said, the area where most of us end up lying to ourselves is when we address the integrity of our thought process, the honesty of our conclusions. God was brutally honest when he directed the prophet Jeremiah to state:

The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17:9

We should always remember that God and God alone understands the human heart, He alone sees through all of the deception and self-serving arguments we make with ourselves.

Amy Hall asks A Sincere Question. She wants to know why conspiracy theories seem so prevalent these days. Justin Taylor tips his hat to her question and links to Philosopher Edward Feser who “has written the most thoughtful analysis I've seen on this issue: We the Sheeple? Why Conspiracy Theories Persist.”

William Meisheid writes about The Inclusivity of Hell and quotes a Touchstone editorial by James Hitchcock & David Mills: Without Conscience: When Pluralism Means Disobedience & Rancor

It is no exaggeration to say that the incidents listed above (the list could be much longer, and not only for the Catholic Church) manifest nothing short of chaos…The justification for this chaos is the claim about “conscience”…The dissenters appeal to “conscience” because it offers them a way to eat their cake and keep it too…

People who use this kind of “conscience” to advocate this kind of “pluralism” are not rising above petty theological quarrels to achieve a higher unity. They are exacerbating disunity in a radical way, introducing into the deck, as it were, a wild card to be played any way people choose.

The justification of “pluralism” by “conscience” is a formula for endless rancor, like a dysfunctional family whose members gather regularly for Sunday dinner and always go away even more alienated than they were when they arrived.

Can we Save the “E” Word?

From the editorial at ChristianityToday online:

Let's agree that the word evangelical still works, but not like it did when the pioneers of the neo-evangelical movement adopted it...If it works today, it must be as a set of ideals and commitments around which to rally rather than as a partisan label.

...It is far more important to keep this movement focused than to rehabilitate a label. We can dream of a day when every evangelical is biblically literate, evangelistic, and engaged in mission. That won't happen until we own the word evangelical with truer commitment and lasting passion to the core purpose of the saving gospel.

I agree with the author’s sentiments but hold slim hope that the “truer commitment and lasting passion” will actually come about. I hope I’m wrong, though.

I wrote about the “e” word this past August, and so did others including John Schroeder and Michael Spencer, a.k.a. the Internet monk, who explained why he is a post-evangelical. Apparently, dissatisfaction with the “e” word has been expressed earlier as well -- the CT editorial links to a NY times article published in mid-April: Big Tent Religion:
Evangelicals Debate the Meaning of 'Evangelical' (free registration required)

...said Roger E. Olson, a theology professor at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary. "It will be harder for anyone to talk about evangelicalism as a movement with any unity."

Evangelical leaders have clashed recently over a range of issues, including whether the movement should get involved in the debates over global warming and immigration. A tug of war is also unfolding behind the scenes over theology — should evangelicalism be a big tent, open to more divergent views, or a smaller, purer theology?

Also linked is an article from the “British equivalent” to CT, Christianity, on The “E” Word that inspired the CT editorial.

The question about “big tent” evangelicalism vs. a “smaller, purer theology” is a good one, and relevant to what I’ve observed in the blogosphere. This difference in approach appears to be another component of the Calvinist-Arminian divide. Might it be true that Calvinists tend to support a smaller, purer theology, while Arminians support the “big tent?” I’d be interested in hearing opinions on this.

But is it art?

Jan Lynn and Mark Daniels address the subject of art, Christianity, and how the two might relate, or, more specifically, inform one another.
Mark says,

Any artistic expression that acknowledges the realities of life is far more likely to be Christian or to have Christian implications than some of the bland banalities that pass for "Christian art" these days.

This, I think, is the crux of the matter. (no pun intended) As Jan says so wonderfully, realities = truth. Christian art portrays truth. Ostensibly “non-Christian” art can portray truth too. But Christian art must portray truth, or else it cannot be called “Christian.”

Mark also makes the point that Christians, including Christian artists, are sinners, albeit saved ones. Which means that Christian art, like Christians in general, ought not draw attention to itself (or themselves) as any sort of model, but point to the reality that is truth (that is reality).

Post title of the...month

Systematic Theology and Menstruation. I’m not making this up. Alan at Thinklings quotes Peter Leithart in Against Christianity:

Theology is a “Victorian” enterprise, neoclassically bright and neat and clean, nothing out of place.

Whereas the Bible talks about hair, blood, sweat, entrails, menstruation and genital emissions.

(More at the post.) I’ve got nothing to add except to say thanks to Alan for this post. Yes, I do like my Christianity, uh, real.

Sign me up!

Bloggers Anonymous. Repeat after me: I can stop anytime I want...I can stop anytime I want...

HT: Why Blog Post Frequency Does Not Matter Anymore at Marketing Profs: Daily Fix via Joe Carter (now that’s linking!)

(More on Internet addiction in general can be found here.) Thank me later :-)

An interesting post at MOG – Miscellanies of the Gospel on the macabre.

I appreciate this post very much. Though he speaks mainly of horror movies and doesn’t mention Halloween customs, what Rob Wilkerson says is part of the reason I can’t bring myself to participate in Halloween traditions. There’s something about playing on a fascination with the “dark side,” death, and horror, and celebrating “scary” stuff that sends off the warning bells.

Christians must flee from the blood and guts genre and stop allowing themselves to be duped toward empty, fleeting and in reality just plain messed-up pleasures in such depraved nastiness. Any boyish fascination that still rests within a Christian adult is nothing more than a reflection of depraved curiosity which will do more than kill the cat. It will murder our souls as well, eating away like a gangrenous cancer at our spirits until either our consciences are seared, or else we become the murderers we have filled our eyes, ears, and minds with.

I’ve heard the arguments about being hospitable to the neighbors on Halloween and realize that gobs of children participate in Halloween in all innocence, for the pure fun of it. But, you know, I “did” Halloween too as a kid, and can’t say it had a very good influence on me. Even though the neighbors were all wonderful and no one put a razor-blade-embedded apple in my treat bag. I can’t be the only one in the whole world who can say that. I just don't wish be party to a custom that has potential to cultivate seeds of evil influence in anyone's life.

HT: Adrian Warnock

A great post at Flashpoint on wife-swapping. What???? Just go read the post.

Oh all right, Karen is talking about reality-TV shows "where one family gives up their mom for a week or two and gets some other family’s mom for a week or two.” The swap generally occurs between two “polar opposite”-type families, who are extreme examples.

...you realize that each family can and should learn something from the other. Because they are polar opposites and extremists (read weirder than my family or yours) they can both afford to come towards the middle ground. And most of the time they do – which is where we as Christians can learn something.

It isn’t about compromise – it’s about growth - being mature enough to realize that sometimes we can actually learn something from someone who lives his/her life a little differently than us.

LOL! Funny post at the Thinklings. What am I doing posting about Halloween, anyway?

Some recent posts I’ve seen that deserve note:

Mr. Dawn Treader on What Does The Phrase "Spiritual Warfare" Conjure Up? This is a topic that deserves serious attention. If not to deal with questions of demon possession (which do need to be dealt with), at least to keep Ephesians 6:11-15 in mind when dealing with conflict of any kind. Jeff will let us know his thoughts in his next post!

At Between Two Worlds: When People are Big and God is Small. Seven steps toward fearing God rather than man that I need to read and heed every day.

Internet monk links to a funeral sermon for a Presbyterian pastor who committed suicide. The message, given by Bryan Chapell, President of Covenant Theological Seminary, is titled, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

I found this message troubling yet comforting and rather riveting, as my father committed suicide when I was a young girl, and I have never really come to terms with it. Though I still have questions, this message has helped like nothing else I've ever read. Many good points are made about the sovereignty and sufficiency of God as well as the powerlessness of man to save himself.

When Petros stands before the throne of judgment, he will have nothing of his own that he can claim as his ticket to heaven. All he has preached, and lived, and shared will not make up for the wrong of what he has done. But someone else can make it up; the One who promises the kingdom to those who are too poor in spirit to make any claim for themselves.

I absolutely, absolutely, loved this: “Some Thoughts on Writing” by Thomas Sowell.

HT: Between Two Worlds.

Also linked by Justin: Some great advice for single women and married women in “When You Don’t Have a Better Half: Encouraging Biblical Roles as a Single Woman” by Carolyn McCully as published in The Journal For Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

How to Have an Emotionally Healthy Church at Faith at Work Blog.

"The sad reality is that too many people in our churches are fixated at a stage of spiritual immaturity that current models of discipleship have not addressed. Many are supposedly "spiritually mature" but remain infants, children, or teenagers emotionally. They demonstrate little ability to process anger, sadness, or hurt. They whine, complain, distance themselves, blame, and use sarcasm—like little children when they don't get their way. Highly defensive to criticism or differences of opinion, they expect to be taken care of and often treat people as objects to meet their needs. Why? – from The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero

McLoughlin also paraphrases C. S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain, calling pain God’s megaphone for getting our attention so we can address some serious personal and community issues. It is not something to be moved away from but rather toward in order to find edifying resolution to problems. His hope for his church

is for us to be a community that does not continue to re-offend and re-experience relational pain but that we learn to love one another deeply, so deeply that no amount of pain or disappointment or anger will ever again come between us.

Amen. This is my prayer for both myself and my church as well.

Oh, this makes me happy!

Wow! I indentify with this big-time. Though I can’t say I feel spiritually homeless. Emotionally homeless, maybe. I do feel pervasively homeless in a human sense, yet partially-to-mostly at home in many, many places.

But enough about what I feel. I think that a certain transience is part of the Christian life. Our home, of course, is with God.

Yes! -- my answer to the Jollyblogger, David Wayne’s, question. But I agree with him that some things never change, nor should they. Like God. And the truth about Him and Christ and humanity. But for heaven’s sake, we must always be breathing the living (and therefore changing) air, or we will clamp up and die...

An excellent discussion on forgiveness at Between Two Worlds: Is Forgiveness Always Right and Required? Excellent comments as well.

For those of you trying to stick to your New Year’s resolutions, notes on self-control, also at BTW.

The heart of any plan, of course, must be Jesus Christ. Self-control is like any other feature of wisdom in that it is learned by contemplating a person. Strategically, this is unprecedented. We would expect God to yell at us and tell us, again, to shape up, but God’s ways, being much better than our own, are rarely predictable. Rather than give us twelve steps on which to rely, he gives us a Person to know. As Jesus is known and exalted among us, you will notice that self-control becomes more obvious. The double cure for sin is the foundation for all change. That is, in the gospel, we have been released from both the condemnation and the power of sin.

Mark at Pseudo-polymath is looking for bloggers willing to examine cultural issues in a more nuanced (and truthful?) way than those who seem sure of the "answers."

A very funny post on linking at Linkamish I mean Lingamish.

HT: Christian Carnival CLVI by way of Parableman

Don’t miss Comet McNaught tonight, visible just past sunset just above the western horizon, for the last time this week! (in the Northern Hemisphere; it will become visible in southern latitudes after the middle of the month)

HT: Sun and Shield. (Martin links to lots of interesting science-related things that one might like to know about but would otherwise miss!)

Have a great weekend!

From Out of Ur, The Ten Deadly Sins of Preaching. These could equally apply to Christian blogging, or, Christian living. Every Christian should read this.

A ChristianityToday article on the future of Calvary Chapel discusses the apparent “lax moral standards among some key leaders.” On the issue of accountability as it applies to Calvary Chapel, Bill Ritchie, pastor of Crossroads Community Church in Vancouver, Washington, says that

the accountability system has limits. It is voluntary for both the overseer and the pastors. Then again, he says, there is no foolproof system of accountability. "I've seen travesty in every form of governance that exists."

There simply is no final accountability here on earth. We will all answer to God one day.

Jared at Thinklings links to a post about people who ask, “When Are You Having Another One?” He considers the appropriateness of such a question. Many good issues raised in the comments, about levels of formality and involvement during interpersonal communication and how one might determine what’s appropriate.

It’s amazing what people say about one’s family size, even if well-meaning. After I gave birth to my daughter, the anesthesiologist said, “Now you’ve got a nice family,” or something like that. As if now that we’d had a girl after two boys, we were “done.” (Whether we actually are or not is beside the point.) When I conceived my daughter after a miscarriage, my OB (whom otherwise I liked) commented, “You must really like it (having kids).” Sheesh.

De at Thinklings links to a post by Scot McKnight and this quote about Rhythm-less Lives:

We are breaking down rhythms — night isn’t night anymore; we have lights that make “day” last longer. The agricultural calendar no longer obtains: we expect all foods to be in season all year long.

What happens to rhythmless lives? Our question for the day.

Well, never mind strawberries in March and miracles of tungsten (or halogen); consider the new birth-control pill, Seasonique:

SEASONIQUE™ works with your body just like a traditional monthly pill. You can feel comfortable with SEASONIQUE™ (emphasis added) because it offers:

The same 99% effectiveness, when taken as directed

The same hormones

The same once-daily routine

And quarterly periods. Yep, four per year! Wouldn't that be great?!

Ack!!

Comfort here pertains to: effectiveness against pregnancy, familiarity with the hormones used in the monthly Pill, and routine. Seasonique “works with your body”...sure, as does just about every other chemical you might put into it, for good or ill. “Good” or “ill” being defined by what you want from it, I guess.

Monthly menstruation may not be a woman’s favorite thing, but good grief. Why not slow the orbit of the moon, or the rotation of the earth? (If they keep pushing Daylight Savings Time back, they just might.) When does fact become fiction, or fiction fact, and how far can we alter certain rhythms before the music stops? (see C. S. Lewis in The Abolition of Man)

‘K, I’m off to eat my fake blueberry-particle bagel with a glass of quasi-orange juice after downing my meal-in-a-pill (daily vitamin) while I visit with my friend who’s bottle-feeding the baby she conceived via artificial insemination and delivered via scheduled C-section...

*sigh*

(note: I am not so earthy-veggie or crunchy or whatever that I have a problem with invention, intervention, or alteration of every "natural" thing. I think there is proper use and place for most every one of these. But proper use is determined by the rhythm you're dancing to...)

...and oneself:

John at Blogotional explains what unconditional love really is. (as distinguished from unconditional approval)

...and others:

A beautiful story related by Martha Anderson at The Point about a woman who forgives her torturer. She goes to him with a cat rescued from children who were abusing it and evokes from him an apology. When asked why she forgives him, she answers (paraphrase):

Because when I saw what those boys did to this cat, I knew that we all are capable of doing what you did to me. Because I don't want to be what you were, I don't want to do to you or others what you did to me or what those children did to this cat. (emphasis in the original)

Many of us may not realize the destruction we are capable of, not just because we have developed self-control and a pur(er) heart, but because we have never been pushed to a certain point, by circumstances. Which is why we must never assume that any person is beyond repentance: you never know what a measure of compassion and forgiveness might accomplish.

From Mark Earley of Prison Fellowship:

Most prisoners understand the mistakes they have made. But rarely do they know how to change. Worse, they don't think anyone cares enough to HELP them change.

The sad part is, they're nearly right. In a society that scoffs at Christ's power to transform and reconcile, few people are willing to help these broken men and women.

Visit Prison Fellowship's website to learn ways you can help.

I’m not a predictor of new waves. Who knows what the future may hold, as far as I'm concerned. (shy of the 2nd coming) But, if a New Reformation* should occur, here’s what I think it will look like:

From CT magazine, Disorderly Conduct by Jenell Williams Paris.

Becoming a mother...ruined my ability to be disciplined about spirituality.

...Many of the spiritual disciplines were developed by monastics who valued regularity and solitude; words like "order" and "rule" describe them. Family life, while no less holy than monastic life, makes consistent order impossible.

I leapt in gratitude at this:

Motherhood requires a daily denial of good things I once considered essential: adequate sleep, uninterrupted reading time, and leisurely meals, to name just a few. Desert fathers spoke of crushing sin through rigorous self-denial. But for women raised to be caretakers, self-denial can be all too easy and even harmful. Social and family expectations often result in women negating the self before they've even formed a self. Over time, such warped self-denial leads to jealousy, anger, and manipulation as women assert their squished selves in any which way.

She goes on to speak against spirit-body dualism...read the whole thing.

We all need it- something to stimulate our thinking, something that instigates us to grapple with the hard questions and sometimes the BIG questions.

Bonnie has been talking about decorum, eroticism, and feminism, which is one way of thinking about a number of important issues. Yesterday, I came across some highly relevant links that I'd like to add into the discussion.

First Maggies Farm had a post, "Why the Art World is a Disaster" which pointed to the article of that name by Roger Kimball. Bird Dog quoted Orwell:

(The artist) is to be exempt from the moral laws that are binding on ordinary people. Just pronounce the magic word “Art,” and everything is O.K. Rotting corpses with snails crawling over them are O.K.; kicking little girls in the head is O.K.; even a film like L’Age d’Or [which shows among other things detailed shots of a woman defecating] is O.K.

and advised we read Kimball's essay @ 'The New Criterion' ,Why the art world is a disaster which good advice I pass on to you.

And in the stream of feminism and gender dialog, I wrote something inspired by Michele's discussion of Women in the Church at "Life Under the Sun".

A great editorial at Christianity Today suggests that, When Tragedy Happens, we forget the agendas, abandon temptation toward opportunism, and just be there for those who are suffering. Forget the blame, forget haggling over the "whys," just...be there. Be open. Share grief, offer comfort, offer support.

So simple, anyone can do it...

Does origin theory interest you? Someone is "Falsifying Touchstone"

....falsification is not some “magic” thing that suddenly gives a theory credibility. Indeed, it is not the case that all theories must be falsifiable to be scientific.

What of Christian Environmentalism? What should that look like?

Always interesting, and I love their graphic art sense is Pyromaniacs; read what Phil writes on Boundaries, Diversity, and the Emergents

Adrian writes on one of the temptations of Reformed Charismatics..

Devotional thought: "Possess, Not Only Profess"

How’s that for an original title? (sorry, not feeling very creative today)

The 52nd Lutheran Carnival can be found at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength.

At RevGalBlogPals, a discussion about hair...

John at Blogotional on calling and potential and their essence for the Christian.

While we’re talking about definitions, here’s modesty as caution, restraint, and admission of the unknown at Mere Orthodoxy. Though applied here to situations in ethics, of course ethics apply to every facet of life as do these excellent points, which need to be made more often.

This kind of modesty isn't popular. The bold swashbuckler with guts and gumption is more like it, whether among heroes secular or Christian -- the person with the pushy charismatic, magnetic personality. (As my husband says, the leaders are the ones with the biggest mouths, whether they say -- or do -- anything worthwhile or not.)

Makes the truly modest person appear a lily-livered wallflower...

Anyway, a post worth reading.

HT: Joe Carter

New Covenant shares tips for a 'take your pet to work' day:

" Keep the dog quiet, especially during conference calls."

Yeah, a few "bow-wows" from Fido, during a project progress meeting, can be a bit distracting.

He was listed in Joe Carter's top 100 Christian blogs, deservedly so, as Rusty has written one of the most insightful and grounded Christian blogs around. He also was honored to have one of his artistic photos featured, at WeeklyShot for the category, Light & Architecture. I enjoy his eye for capturing wonderful pictures- check his photos out.

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Over at Pyro they are talking cats ( really! and warning for the sensitive, there is a picture of a dead cat) and Frank is still beating the dead horse of cessationism. I know that sounds snide to some of you, but I made my own rounds on that topic and I think at some point you have said all there is to say on the matter.... but I have great respect for Turk.

It seems to be an animal theme week of some sort;)

The Christian Thinker takes on counterarguments to Dawkins of late, and he, too, was honored with a place in Carter's top 20.... it got him hoping that Joe "hasn't been drinking". I thought that was kind of funny. Don't miss the quote from Plantinga on "the dreaded f-word " . You're scared to go there now, aren't you? Don't be- it is all very edifying, trust me.

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Internet Monk has a sobering view of feeling inflated on the basis of smarts,"For Smart Guys Like Me" which expounds on thoughts from the scripture “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”.

"I love the passage in First Corinthians where Paul says God is out to destroy the “wisdom of the wise.” -me, too. Brings everything into perspective, don't you think?

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The English Muffin says some things about cessationism and thoughts on being filled with the Spirit.

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Sometimes when surfing the internet and reading blogs,news etc. it is easy to become flippant and a bit jaded. Sometmes I feel pulled by those voices that Jesus spoke of, those ones in the marketplace: Dance! We are playing dance music for you... Cry! We are playing a dirge now... wait, Dance! again. But life has an ebb and flow and we have a center in Christ that keeps us balanced, so it is a joy to rejoice with those who have been honored and and it is sobering to remember to not think too highly of ourselves... and somehow the message that gets through is that there are seasons, to each time a purpose, sometimes for laughter and sometimes for weeping. I hope you enjoy the links and the posts you read here, I hope you find something that edifies you, makes you think or sometimes just gives a chuckle. It is all a wonderful part of the gift of life that God gives us.

A couple weeks ago I asked whether there could be any good use for online "virtual worlds, where people can spend hours as fictional personas interacting with other fictional personas and situations, perhaps essentially escaping (or neglecting) their "real" lives.

Macht (the guy with the Prosthesis) links to Techne, an online journal of research in philosophy and technology, which offers several in-depth answers to my question. (Thanks, Macht)

She's not just "a woman," she's the personification of wisdom. Lady Wisdom, if you will. And her wisdom is not just for women: at Brain Cramps for God,

...Proverbs 31:10-31 is a hymn to Lady Wisdom, written in the heroic mode. Using this arrangement allows the sage to make all the lessons of wisdom in the book concrete and practical, it provides a polemic against the culture that saw women as merely decorative, and it depicts the greater heroism as moral and domestic rather than only exploits on the battlefield. The poem certainly presents a pattern for women to follow. But it also presents a pattern for men to follow as well, for this is the message of the book of Proverbs in summary.

If you are interested in the idea of and controversy surrounding "complementarian" and "egalitarian" views... there is a new blog for you!
http://complegalitarian.blogspot.com/, "Complegalitarian".