I mentioned something like this a few days ago, but let me say again: it’s really remarkable to me how Halloween has gone from the realm of the amateur to the realm of the professional and from the realm of the child to the realm of the adult. As I took my kids around the neighborhood last night, I was amazed how many adults were in costume, how many adults had decorated their homes even though they do not have kids. This is adults celebrating Halloween with other adults. Meanwhile the costumes are no longer roughly stitched together by mom, but they’re purchased in stores; they have to look good (which means to more robots made out of cardboard boxes covered in tin foil; no more ghosts that are sheets with eye holes cut in them). I think I liked it better the way it used to be, when expectations were low and there was a little bit more fun and innocence. Like everything else, it’s becoming so commercialized that it’s lost a lot of its fun. Still, it’s Halloween and we had a good time. We had 40+ of our neighbors over for dinner and enjoyed spending some time with them.

Not Me, Thanks - Speaking of Halloween, I appreciated this article (or most of it, anyway). “Halloween, once reserved for children, has followed me into adulthood, like some kind of spectre. Sometime in the 1990s, it was decided that adults should put on costumes, too -- even in the workplace. This has led to the pathetic sight of fast-food workers, busboys and receptionists going about their daily drudgery dressed up as Chewbacca or Peter Pan -- a spectacle that never fails to prick my guilty sense of class consciousness.”

The Journey to Mount Moriah - R.C. Sproul has a touching story here about Abraham’s journey to Mount Moriah. “I find it difficult, if not impossible, to get inside the head of Abraham on his journey to Mount Moriah. I have never had the experience of being called to slay my son for the glory of God. The closest thing to it in my own experience pales into insignificance by comparison. It occurred not with my son, but with my dog.”

Hymns of Faith - “Hymns of Faith was conceived as a sort of ‘flashmob’ project for a loose collection of songwriters for the church.the challenge...two weeks to write and record music to one of a collection of hymns written on the articles of the apostles creed. Hymns both arcane and beautiful in their meditation on the tenets of the Christian faith. (We thank Brian Moss for getting us started here!)” The album is available as a free download.

The New NIV - My friend Darryl Dash has an interview with Douglas Moo. “I had the privilege of interviewing Douglas Moo, Chair of The Committee on Bible Translation, when the update was first announced. The Committee is an independent body of global biblical scholars solely responsible for the translation of the NIV. Dr. Moo has been kind enough to agree to an interview once again.”

Driving Behind the Wheel - I’ve been tempted to do this before. Some books are just that good.

Sale @ Monergism - Monergism Books is having a Reformation Day sale. Simply place at least $30 worth of items in shopping cart and receive an additional 10% off until Midnight November 1st. Coupon code is “reformationday” at check out.

People Are Awesome - Or maybe they’re dumb. It could go either way.

There is not a day, nor a duty; not a day that you live, nor a duty that you do, but will need that mercy should come after to take away your iniquity. —John Bunyan