Thursday July 2, 2009
Church: Love It, Don't Leave It
Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck are guest voices in the Washington Post, talking about the church. "Here's what Bono, Oprah, and the guru speakers on PBS won't tell you: Jesus believed in organized religion and he founded an institution. Of course, Jesus had no patience for religious hacks and self-righteous wannabes, but he was still Jewish. And as Jew, he read the Holy Book, worshiped in the synagogue, and kept Torah. He did not start a movement of latte-drinking disciples who excelled in spiritual conversations. He founded the church (Matt. 16:18) and commissioned the apostles to proclaim the good news that Israel's Messiah had come and the sins of the world could be forgiven through his death on the cross (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:14-36)."
Free Christian Audio
This month's free download from Christian Audio is Francis Chan's Crazy Love, a book that is well worth reading and/or listening to.
My Canada Includes Canada
An opinion column from the Ottawa Citizen that may interest my fellow Canucks. "I will not, and vow I will never, call it "Canada Day" without inverted commas. It would not matter to me if every other living Canadian called it that without further thought. It continues to be Dominion Day, in my view: the patriotic anniversary of my own country. God Himself cannot rewrite history; I recognize no Act of Parliament that attempts to do so."
The Worst First Page Ever
This may well be the worst opening page of a novel in all of human history. I think we can blame self-publishing for this monstrosity!
Death by Show Business
Jim Spiegel: "The death of Michael Jackson last week is in some ways a distinctively American tragedy. While there is nothing new under the sun about the soul-crushing effects of fame and fortune, the dynamics involved in the demise of the greatest pop icon of his generation are eerily familiar."
Top Commentaries
Keith Mathison has completed his look at the top five commentaries on every book of the Bible. You can see a series roundup here.
Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck are guest voices in the Washington Post, talking about the church. "Here's what Bono, Oprah, and the guru speakers on PBS won't tell you: Jesus believed in organized religion and he founded an institution. Of course, Jesus had no patience for religious hacks and self-righteous wannabes, but he was still Jewish. And as Jew, he read the Holy Book, worshiped in the synagogue, and kept Torah. He did not start a movement of latte-drinking disciples who excelled in spiritual conversations. He founded the church (Matt. 16:18) and commissioned the apostles to proclaim the good news that Israel's Messiah had come and the sins of the world could be forgiven through his death on the cross (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:14-36)."
Free Christian Audio
This month's free download from Christian Audio is Francis Chan's Crazy Love, a book that is well worth reading and/or listening to.
My Canada Includes Canada
An opinion column from the Ottawa Citizen that may interest my fellow Canucks. "I will not, and vow I will never, call it "Canada Day" without inverted commas. It would not matter to me if every other living Canadian called it that without further thought. It continues to be Dominion Day, in my view: the patriotic anniversary of my own country. God Himself cannot rewrite history; I recognize no Act of Parliament that attempts to do so."
The Worst First Page Ever
This may well be the worst opening page of a novel in all of human history. I think we can blame self-publishing for this monstrosity!
Death by Show Business
Jim Spiegel: "The death of Michael Jackson last week is in some ways a distinctively American tragedy. While there is nothing new under the sun about the soul-crushing effects of fame and fortune, the dynamics involved in the demise of the greatest pop icon of his generation are eerily familiar."
Top Commentaries
Keith Mathison has completed his look at the top five commentaries on every book of the Bible. You can see a series roundup here.
Comments (26) »
1. Steve
July 2, 2009
8:47 AM
For the worst first page ever link - What is the name of the book? I simply have to see more of this. I hate to be one that rubber-necks at an accident, but I have to read more of this. Can you reveal the title?
2. Joanna
July 2, 2009
8:54 AM
Surely you are kidding us that you found that page in an actual printed book? That is unbelievably terrible writing. You’d probably get a fail mark for that even in 8th grade!
3. Todd
July 2, 2009
9:41 AM
Tim, is that from your next book? :-)
4. Alfie
July 2, 2009
9:49 AM
That first page is getting all the comments, of course, but I’d like to express my delight in the Post article by DeYoung and Kluck. I love the fact that tens of thousands of regular Americans will have access to such a great apologetic for the Church.
5. Kathy
July 2, 2009
9:51 AM
It is Moon People by Dale M. Courtney. You must read the customer reviews at Amazon. You will be sorry if you don’t! :-)
6. Steve
July 2, 2009
9:55 AM
Thanks Kathy! Looking forward to reading the review.
7. Andy
July 2, 2009
10:00 AM
I found the Canada Day post very interesting and sad. I especially like the old motto. Very interesting history lesson for a yankee like myself.
8. pentamom
July 2, 2009
10:13 AM
That “worst first page” reads like a TV writer narrating his plot idea to his producer. There may be a decent storyline in there, but it is not readable. It’s arguable that the guy might have some talent in story-telling, but not in book form, unless he’s able to learn how to actually write.
9. Meagan
July 2, 2009
10:16 AM
Thank you for the Crazy Love link! I have been wanting to read this book for awhile and I’ve been on the waiting list too long from the library.
10. pentamom
July 2, 2009
10:16 AM
It’s ranked #616 in sales! LOL! People must be buying it for a laugh.
11. Brad Shockley
July 2, 2009
10:32 AM
This book and the comments on Amazon are bizarre! This has got to be a joke or something. Somebody uncover the truth… it’s killing me.
Everybody knows Tim’s book are much more better than Dale’s Moon People anyway. First, it’s a book and he wrote about stuff, like God and things.
12. David
July 2, 2009
11:18 AM
Please, continue: http://www2.xlibris.com/book_excerpt.asp?bookid=49194&page=2
13. Daniel Jansson
July 2, 2009
11:53 AM
My guess is that somewhere there is a real life 12th grad astronomy teacher with a little crush on a restaurant owner. Just a hunch…
14. Reed Kerr
July 2, 2009
11:56 AM
For those of you wondering about the comments that “Moon People” has been getting on Amazon.com, they are indeed sarcastic. There have been a series of these overly sarcastic recommendations of certain products. Search for the three wolf moon tshirt, and tuscan whole milk to find similar scenarios. It really is quite amusing.
15. Julie Park
July 2, 2009
2:31 PM
Oh my! That’s just too funny! I bet his sales rank just made a huge leap! We all want to have it on our shelves! However did you find it? LOL
16. Julie Park
July 2, 2009
2:32 PM
And there’s a Moon People Part 2!! hahaha!
17. Paula
July 2, 2009
4:03 PM
Resist……urge….to……take…….homeschool mom’s red pen to that wretched page……..painful…..!!!
18. Alex Costa
July 2, 2009
4:06 PM
It may help to know that Dale Courtney is only 12 years old.
19. Paula
July 2, 2009
4:18 PM
Apparently, Moon People is a (wincing) TRILOGY! The author says so on his Organizing for America Obama blog. It would be interesting to read his profile, but no way I’m signing up for a “MyBO” account (irony in the acronym aside).
20. Paula
July 2, 2009
4:23 PM
@Alex - his blog pic looks more like he’s 50-ish. Maybe we can all pitch in and send him a good writing mechanics handbook?
21. KD
July 2, 2009
5:53 PM
Now I think you are kind have cruel to this awther. I think that he wrote real good. What You looking For anyways? Stineback? Now you Should retreat Your comment’s and says that your sorry.
;)
22. Christina
July 2, 2009
6:24 PM
With all due respect, you all sound like a bunch of snitty intellectuals.
DL Moody was a semi-literate preacher. His poor grammar skills were known to offend lots of people too. One day someone boldly criticized Moody to his face. He said, “I know I make mistakes and I lack many things, but I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got.” He then gave the man a searching gaze and asked, “Look, here, friend, you’ve got grammar enough — what are you doing with it for the Master?”
Just something to think about…
23. Paula
July 2, 2009
7:13 PM
Christina,
As Andrew Jackson said, “It is a d*** poor mind indeed which can’t think of at least two ways to spell any word.”
We could all use a dose of that “humility.” : )
24. Randy
July 3, 2009
12:21 AM
I’ read the reviews for “Moon People” at Amazon. Are we sure they’re satirical. I’ve seen a lot of posts at
Facebook, Youtube, etc, and so on. It’s the new argot. And frankly, it makes me a little unsettled about the future of Western Culture
There’s a sci fi writer named Cyril Michael Kornbluth. He died ‘way back in 1958. His signature book was “The Marching Morons” I quote from Wikipedia.
” ‘The Marching Morons’ was one of Kornbluth’s most famous short stories; it is a satirical look at a far future in which the world’s population consists of five billion idiots and a few million geniuses — the precarious minority of the “elite” working desperately to keep things running behind the scenes.”
on the other hand—maybe i can turn my hobby of writing fanfiction into a lucrative career.
25. Randy
July 3, 2009
12:36 AM
Oh, dear. I should proofread my own entry. Missed punctuation. Words capitalized wrongly. Maybe I can be the boy’s press agent.
26. Dale M. Courtney
September 12, 2009
12:06 PM
Hello my name is D.M.Courtney, author of Moon People Trilogy. I want to apologize for my books Moon People. You are correct the book does need an edit. It was rushed through publishing and was a buy one get one free offer. I have been trying to work with my publisher. XLIBRIS.com with no luck. I guess they are making more money on their negitive promo thats killing me. I have all three books fully edited and ready to go. I hope some day you can see the edited MoonPeople 1 & 2, thank you for your time and God bless.
D.M.Courtney
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