John Paul 2: 1920 - 2005 (04/01/05 - 0 Comments)
The media outlets are beginning to report that the pope has died at the age of 85. His death (presuming that the reports are true) comes, of course, at the end of a very long illness that had him in and out of hospital (mostly in) for many months.
As of 1:45 PM EST, CNN is reporting that the pope's brain has ceased functioning but his heart is still beating. Drudgereport was reporting that he died, but has no backtracked to say that reports indicate he may have died.
Now I wonder...is Terri Schiavo's death going to be forgotten now that the pope has also died, or will her death overshadow the pope's, at least in the United States? I can't help but draw a comparison to when Mother Teresa's death went almost unnoticed among all the fury and media attention surrounding the death of Princess Diana.
James White: Charles Darwin Killed Terri Schiavo (04/01/05 - 0 Comments)
James White has written a short but powerful article about the tragic Terri Schiavo case. He begins by saying, "I have not addressed the Schiavo situation over the past number of months, not because I have not been watching the situation with great interest, but because everyone else has been saying almost everything you could possibly say about it." This was my reasoning as well. I simply felt I had nothing useful to say that had not already been said better by others. But White does have something to say, and it is excellent. He says:
Proud to Not Be American (03/31/05 - 0 Comments)
There are times in life where I would love to be American. I love and admire the confidence and patriotism that are such a part of what makes Americans who they are. One recent example of a day I would have been proud to be American is September 11 and the following days and weeks, as the whole nation gathered together to mourn and to rededicate itself to the pursuit of liberty. Watching as an outsider, it was an inspiring reaction to such tragedy.
Michael Schiavo's Very Strange Lawyer. (03/30/05 - 0 Comments)
National Review online has an interesting article about Michael Shiavo's lawyer, George Felos. Reading through the article it would be easy to dismiss Felos as a crackpot, but this would be hasty. Instead, we should see Felos' beliefs as being consistent with the New Spirituality (formerly known as the New Age).
In his 2002 book Litigation as Spiritual Practice, Felos expresses his belief in the "cosmic law of cause and effect," in which the human mind is not limited by the constraints of reality....
Solomon Talks Blogging... (03/29/05 - 0 Comments)
There are many who doubt or downplay the relevance of the Old Testament to our times. Those people have probably never taken the time to read the book of Proverbs. As you may have noticed, I have been working my way through that particular book this month and have been posting a few comments on it. I have been continually amazed at just how relevant this book is. It seems that wisdom is timeless. The lessons David taught Solomon speak to myself and my children as much as they did to the men and women of ancient Israel. The wisdom of God given to Solomon continues to ring loud and clear in my heart.
In the past few days I have read chapters twenty six to twenty nine and have found so many lessons that could apply specifically to people who blog, and who participate in forums, chatrooms and the like.
An Easter Reflection (03/27/05 - 0 Comments)
Sometimes I think my favorite moments of praise are ones where I do not say a thing. This morning in church, after the sermon while everyone was singing a song of response, I so badly wanted to just run somewhere quiet and be alone with God, just to bask in His presence. That was probably wrong of me, to wish that I was somewhere other than at the worship service. It is difficult to have time alone with little children who constantly need me, and even more difficult on an Easter Sunday that is pretty well booked from beginning to end with church and family celebrations.
It's A Good Friday (03/25/05 - 0 Comments)
It's a good Friday. After all, this is a day off. I don't know what these days are known as in other parts of the world but in Canada we call them statuatory holidays - days that, by law, we can (and should) have off. As someone who is self-employed I rarely know what days I am supposed to have off, but I happened to remember this one.
This morning we left the house bright and early, went for a delicious, nutritious and very large breakfast at some friends' house, and then went to a local conservation area to learn how maple syrup is made. It's quite an interesting process and one that produces one of the most delightful substances known to man. Did you know that it takes forty litres of raw Maple sap to make a single litre of maple syrup? No wonder it sells for $50 per gallon.
Can't Bear To See It Go... (03/21/05 - 0 Comments)
I am blessed to have been born into a family that has one of the greatest cottages in the world. I don't feel that I am boasting, either. Situated in Chaffey's Locks, a tiny town about 3.5 hours outside Toronto, it is close enough to be a weekend destination, but far enough away that it is a vacation. And it's certainly far enough away from the city that it promotes a rural rather than urban pace of life. The cottage is owned by my father and his two siblings. They received ownership of the cottage when their parents died, and my grandparents received it from a relative as well. My children represent the fifth generation of the family who have spent their summers at the cottage.
Chasing the Wind, Defending The Faith (03/21/05 - 0 Comments)
Tim Irvin (of The Irvins) posted some thoughts on Saturday that caught my attention. I have tremendous respect for the elder Tim and value all that he says (except, perhaps, his thoughts on horror movies). Because of my respect for him, and because I felt his comments applied to myself and my site, I wanted to respond to them. I am attempting to do so in a spirit of humility, acknowleding Tim as my elder and one who undoubtedly has wisdom far surpassing my own.
In his article Tim writes "I lost most of my vanity many years ago, about the time my chest fell into my drawers, and the thought that I could write something on a regular basis that would appeal to anybody never really crossed my mind. I'm continually amazed by the amount information some writers post on a daily basis. I'm equally amazed by some of the topics." The topics he is amazed people write about are "Rick Warren, Saddleback, The Purpose Driven Life, The Emerging Church, and Joel Osteen." He then confesses that he gets "tickled" at the amount of time, energy and space that are dedicated to these people. "I don’t find them the least bit interesting or worthy of our time and attention..."
The Value of a Link from Hugh Hewitt (03/21/05 - 0 Comments)
Hugh Hewitt is the biggest of the God-bloggers, which is to say he drives the most traffic. According to the notoriously-low SiteMeter statistics that he makes public, he has a daily average of 26,694 visitors. A visit, according to SiteMeter, is a series of page views by one person with no more than 30 minutes in between page views. SiteMeter defines a visit much more narrowly than many similar programs, and I find that I need to add 40 to 60 percent to the visits registered by SiteMeter (As an aside, it's also important to note that SiteMeter does not track RSS visitors and they comprise a very major number of visitors to many sites these days, though for some strange reason Hewitt does not offer RSS). The point is, Hewitt gets a lot of traffic.
Dear Paul, Love Demas (03/20/05 - 0 Comments)
I found the following letter at David Cloud's site and it tickled my funny bone. It is a fictional (obviously) letter from Demas to Paul and was written by Pastor Buddy Smith of Grace Baptist Church in Malanda, Queensland, Australia. Before you register offense, please note that it is merely satire, and hence is deliberately exaggerated in order to make a point.
Dear Paul,
As Convener of the Greater Corinth Ministers Fraternal, I have been asked to write you regarding your coming visit to our fair city. Since you were here last we have made impressive gains in many vital areas. The greatest advances are in our Ministerial Training Programme. Ten years ago the Corinth Bible Institute was upgraded to Bible College status.
Gratuitous Shout-outs (03/19/05 - 0 Comments)
There is lots of talk about Hugh Hewitt's Blog. I wrote a review, and Jolly blogger decided to affirm that blogging is not the new Reformation. There is some disagreement as to whether Hewitt meant to say that blogging is the new Reformation or whether it will just be the medium that carries it. Blogotional and SmartChristian are talking about the book too.
Shane at 2Twenty8 is giving away three good books. But you have to work for them by writing an article about "A Case For Conviction." It sounds like a challenging but rewarding task.
Your Plans This Weekend (03/18/05 - 0 Comments)
Here are my plans for this weekend:
Hmm. Come to think of it, I have no plans for this weekend, other than going to church on Sunday morning. I see before me the makings of a great weekend! I suppose this means I will spend plenty of time reading, though admittedly I haven't felt much like reading the past few days. I've been struggling my way through a book about the authority of Scripture, but have generally preferred doing other things.
Apart from what I have to do this weekend (which, as we have seen, is nothing) here are some things I hope to do this weekend:
- Write at least the first of a two-part article about The Emergent Church for a magazine. I told the editor I would try to have the first submitted by March 25, so the clock is ticking.
- Watch "The Incredibles." That shouldn't be hard to difficult to force myself into doing.
- Play with the kids.
Now you know my plans. What are you up to this weekend?
March Book Giveaway Wrap-Up (03/17/05 - 0 Comments)
Thanks to all who participated in the giveaway of 20 Controversies That Almost Killed A Church by Richard Ganz and Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem.
Unfortunately, as with the previous giveaways, there can be only two winners. Before I announce their names, I would like to let you know that Grace & Truth Books, which co-sponsored this giveaway, has offered a great discount to all contest participants who purchase one of the two books we gave away this month. They are also offering several bonus items. You'll have to visit the site to read about it! The deal will not last long, so don't dawdle!
Purpose Driven Life on CNN (03/17/05 - 0 Comments)
Last night on "Newsnight" CNN featured The Purpose Driven Life, giving the book perhaps thirty or forty minutes of coverage. The book has enjoyed a resurgence of interest in the past few days because of the Brian Nichols case. Ashley Smith, the woman Nichols held hostage while he was a fugitive, read to him from The Purpose Driven Life. Since the press heard of that, the book has enjoyed plenty of press coverage.
As I mentioned previously, CNN contacted me about this story and I could sense that they were looking for miracle stories to share with their audience.
CNN on The Purpose Driven Life (It's On Tonight) (03/16/05 - 0 Comments)
According to CNN.com, there will be a one hour special edition of "Newsnight" tonight that will focus on The Purpose Driven Life. "It may have saved one woman and inspired an alleged killer to give up. What is the message in "The Purpose Driven Life"? Paula Zahn hosts a special edition of "NewsNight" at 10 p.m. ET." I'm sure it will be interesting. Because this of the combination of the subject matter and the network, you may want to take some anti-nausea medication before it begins.
Peace, Purpose & Murderers (03/14/05 - 0 Comments)
Just as I was finishing up work for the day, I got an email from a producer at CNN wondering if I would be interested in contributing to a story they are working on. Intruiged, I said that I might just be. She called me a few minutes later and it turns out that CNN is working on a one-hour special on life's purpose. I could not tell if it was a special only on The Purpose Driven Life or on purpose in general. Either way, they were interested in knowing my views on the book, and in particular, if it had changed my life. I felt like I was letting the producer down when I told her that it did not. She asked how many people I knew who had read the book and how many had had their lives change by it. I answered hundreds and none, letting her down even further. She asked whether I agreed with the book and I told her that while the book had some valuable things to say, I had some pretty clear disagreements with many of the book's main points.
I Don't Get Sick (03/12/05 - 0 Comments)
I don't get sick. That's why it's such a surprise that I have been on my back almost the entire week. I literally don't think I did a single work-related activity this entire week. It's pathetic (and a bit scary because I am self-employed and my ability to pay the bills is directly tied to my ability to work!)
Actually, I lied. This morning I did a work-related activity. Yesterday a very important client called and asked to meet with me at 9 AM this morning. Though I didn't sleep at all last night, and was so dizzy I could barely walk, I didn't think I could cancel this meeting because I had no way of letting them know I wouldn't be able to make it.
Gratuitous Shout-outs (03/07/05 - 0 Comments)
Some people call these Digests, others Blog-Abouts, Round-The-Sphere, etc. I'll just cut right to the chase and call this them gratuitous shout-outs.
First up, Reformation Art has just opened its virtual doors. It offers prints that will surely bring great pleasure to the theological geek in your life. If you have been frustrated in your inability to find a print of A.A. Hodge, Charles Hodge or any other great Reformed theologian, you will be frustrated no more! This store offers reasonably-priced prints of all your favorites.
March Book Giveaway (03/07/05 - 0 Comments)
March is upon us and it is once more time to have another giveaway. I am excited about this month's giveaway, which consists of two excellent books.
As always, two equal prizes will be awarded in March. Each winner will receive an autographed copy of 20 Controversies That Almost Killed A Church by Richard Ganz as well as a hardcover copy of Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. Do not be scared away by the name - Grudem's book is readable, and worthy of a spot in any Christian's library. It has become the standard systematic theology text in many seminaries and Bible colleges, yet is written on a lay person's level. Each chapter explains an important aspect of Christian doctrine and closes with questions of personal application, a Scripture passage to memorize and even a hymn relevant to that chapter's topic. Richard Ganz's book breaks down 1 Corinthians into twenty topics addressed by the apostle Paul almost 2,000 years ago, and advises contemporary believers on ways to avoid those same traps. It is commended by Christian leaders such as James White, J.I. Packer and Jay Adams.
