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A La Carte (9/2)
- 09/02/10
- 14
It was interesting to watch the big Apple event yesterday (where they unveiled new iPods, a new AppleTV and a new iTunes). It seemed to me that if you didn’t know the context of the event, it would be very difficult to distinguish it from religion. Steve Jobs has done an amazing job of building a brand that inspires religious fervor. It’s a little bit creepy, to be honest. And this coming from a guy who is typing these words on an iMac…
East Toronto Church Plant - My church is in the midst of planting a new one. In this post Julian describes what he is up to and looks to enlist your help (if you are in the Toronto area).
The Key to Growth - Dane Ortlund asked a bunch of people “What’s the key to healthy Christian growth in godliness?” The answers vary a little bit, but all are interesting in their own way.
The Weight of Smut - “The term sexual obesity comes from Mary Ann Layden, a psychiatrist who runs the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania. She sees the victims of Internet-pornography consumption in her practice, day in and day out. She also knows what most do not: Quietly, patiently, and irrefutably, an empirical record of the harms of sexual obesity is being assembled piecemeal via the combined efforts of psychologists, sociologists, addiction specialists, psychiatrists, and other authorities.”
Too Much Saving! - All the saving Americans are doing today is hurting the economy. “‘Consumers are deleveraging (reducing debt) … and rebuilding saving faster than expected,’ writes economist Richard Berner of Morgan Stanley. In 2007, the personal savings rate (the share of after-tax income devoted to saving) was 2 percent. Now it’s about 6 percent. Temporarily, this hurts buying.” In any other context this would be a good thing, I suppose.
Design/Evolve - This was just too good not to share. Be sure to watch until the end.
Just as there are no ultimate tragedies for the believer, so for the impenitent unbeliever there are no ultimate blessings. Every good gift God bestows upon the wicked, for which the wicked do not glorify God or acknowledge His goodness with gratitude and worship, becomes a tragedy. The more gifts God gives that are despised by the recipient, the more guilt is incurred, so that, to the wicked, on Judgment Day the gifts of God’s kindness become tragedies. —R.C. Sproul
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
Releasing on April 1, The Next
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This review of the bestselling
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Comments (14)
I’m working on a sociology paper at the moment arguing that Mac has become a religion. It has it all- notions of good (mac) and evil (windows), a messiah, an evangelistic impulse ect. The devotion some people have to Apple is fascinating but also somewhat disturbing.
This article counters the “Americans are saving” hypothesis http://www.lewrockwell.com/quinn/quinn36.1.html
Too much saving. LOL! Next thing you know they’ll say we aren’t sinning enough because drug, alcohol and porn sales are dropping too much and this is hurting the economy!
Tim,
Two comments:First, I watched the Apple event yesterday as well, the first time for me to watch one live. The thing that I found so interesting was that Steve wasn’t that good of a presenter. He wasn’t that dynamic, he stumbled a bit as he spoke, it was just an ‘ok’ presentation. Yet the crowd was still compeled to applaud and ooh and aah. While some of what he was showing is pretty cool I thought the reaction was too often too much.
Second, thanks for sharing the video of the NG guys confessing truth, a la Romans 1. We have several of the guys from the Institute for Creation Research at our church and it is always fun to watch and see science get it right!
“All the saving Americans are doing today is hurting the economy.” FALSE. It’s keeping the economy from springing back instantly, but it will be much more beneficial long-term than if Americans went right back to their debt.
It’s like lamenting, “I’m eating so many vegetables that I don’t have enough room for fast food!”
Tim,
Gotta say, I really like the new touch on the A La Carte, putting a thought-provoking, Christ-centered quote at the bottom to chew on. Keep ‘em up.
Always great to hear about another great church starting up in T.O. I have the privelege of being part of the new Harvest in Durham!
Praise God for your church’s desire to plant more churches!
Re: the NG ‘design’ oops…
Found a great Intelligent article on Intelligent Design that was a blessing. God is Creator in all things and in many ways - that constantly surprises us.
http://bit.ly/bvEURl
from Thinking Christian
Oh, that video was just too good! The scientist guy’s sheepish grin when he said “design” made my day. Thanks Tim.
“Too much saving” hurts the economy in the short term because it prevents us from getting back to the debt-based, spending-based boom status we had three years ago.
But that’s a stupid goal anyway — “Hey! Let’s pursue unsustainability!” What’s really happening is that people who pay a professional or political price for bad economic numbers want the numbers to stay up at all costs in the short term, so they want us to spend our savings and maintain our debt levels. What we really need is the ability to endure some more collective pain (and the willingness to help out our neighbors who are experiencing it acutely) until we reach the point where the numbers actually line up with real wealth, rather than endless, fruitless attempts to prop up something that cannot stand on its own, and eventually, will not be able to stand no matter what.
Awesome video - guess he felt the pressure to toe the party line on this one. Creation is just too deep for mere humans to grasp fully. Though it’s awesome to muse on… what kind of Mind does our God have?
Every time we watch Planet Earth or Life we’re staggered by the intricacy of it all. God is great!
Good job with the church plant also. We’ve started one in Brampton recently. It’s been a tough go, but God has been good to us.
That’s a pretty comical clip.
Here’s a thought. Maybe creation vs. evolution is a false dichotomy and God creates giraffes like he creates babies in the womb or snow flakes: through ordinary providence. Just a thought.
While I agree that the Apple brand DOES elicit a fervent following and the rationale for the loyalty of its followers is not strictly logical, I am wondering if maybe the similarity goes the other way: Certain cultural forms of church are imitating major brands and selling themselves using the same techniques rather than giving the gospel away for free.
Wow, congrats to GFC Toronto on your new church plant! Awesome.