Welcome to the online home of Tim Challies, blogger, author, and book reviewer.
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I always feel like a bit of a poser when I say this, but I absolutely love Handel’s Messiah. Though I appreciate small amounts of classical music (to use the term in a broad sense) I am largely a rock ‘n’ roll type. Yet there is something about Messiah that grips me. I find myself listening to it throughout the year, again and again, year after year. I’ve listened to recordings hundreds of times and make it a habit to …
It’s Tuesday, and Tuesdays are a strangely busy day for me. So without further ado, let’s get to today’s A La Carte links: T4G via Hip Hop – I don’t know that anyone could have predicted the Calvinist resurgence we’ve seen in recent years. And even if someone could have predicted it, I don’t know that he would have foreseen the accompanying movement within the world of Christian hip hop. Erik Raymond writes about a recent show he took in …
Daniel Doriani’s commentary on James is one of the relatively few commentaries I’ve read cover-to-cover. It’s one I enjoyed a lot. In his discussion of the final portion of James 5, I found an interesting story that I thought I’d share with you. As I read it, I though of my continuationist (charismatic) friends. It is my experience that these people often typify cessationists like myself as those who do not believe in supernatural or miraculous healings. But this just …
Yesterday was the closest I’ve come to not being allowed into the US of A. The trouble I have is that the rules keep changing, and when I attempt to find out what the new rules are, I am regarded with suspicion as if I’m trying to game the system. So I try to come prepared, but every now and again they throw me for a loop. Probably just for their own amusement. This time I had to give up …
My children are going to French Immersion school, which means that they spend half a day learning in English and half a day learning in French. Generally we are really glad to have them learning a second language. Where I don’t like it so much is where they are now starting to realize that the French folk songs I sing them don’t actually make any sense. They are unmasking my ignorance (and, already, their accents are way better than mine …
Mercy on the Baseball Diamond – Irish Calvinist has some good things to say about the Jim Joyce/Armando Galarraga situation. “Every once in awhile a news story comes along that really helps us to understand how we as a culture think. These are stories that blend in a bunch of social themes which represent our heartbeat. Today the baseball world brings such a story.” No Compromise Radio – Recently I did an interview with Mike Abendroth for his program No …
Classic Petra – I’m not sure what to do with this information. “The latest band to join the ranks of the re-united is the original line-up of the classic rock band, Petra! That’s right, before John Schlitt was the band’s signature frontman, diehard fans will remember that Greg X. Volz was the band’s original singer. Now, the rock band is back together again – Greg, Louie Weaver (Drums), John Lawry (Keys, Vocals), Bob Hartman (Guitar, Vocals), and Mark Kelly (Bass, …
The correlation between this post and the interview I posted earlier is entirely coincidental. This is another brief excerpt from Why We’re Not Emergent and one that I’m posting primarily because it made me laugh. My father, a hard-working landscaper, has often wondered aloud why Christians are so apologetic when it comes to artists. Why do Christians give latitude to artists that they wouldn’t give to anyone who works a simple trade? Well, it seems that Ted Kluck has wondered …
I am a little bit late to the party with this book. Released in hardcover in 2001 and paperback in 2002, John Adams is regarded as one of David McCullough’s greatest achievements. This is no little praise for a man who had previously won a Pulitzer prize (for his biography of Harry Truman)—a reward he was to receive again for John Adams. The precursor to 2005’s 1776, this is a stirring biography and one of the best I’ve ever read. …
Monday December 17, 2007 Christmas Procrastinators If you’re a Christmas procrastinator, you may want to keep in mind that today is the last day to qualify for Amazon’s free shipping. I’m almost ashamed to admit that I did nearly all of my Christmas shopping at Amazon this year! Mohammed and Jack The Telegraph reports that this year Mohammed is likely to surpass Jack as the most popular boys name in the U.K. Remember Hanson? Remember the band Hanson (of “MMMBop” …