tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146952572008-05-07T21:00:54.153-07:00it seems to me...BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comBlogger217125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-39157907392462608522008-05-04T23:51:00.000-07:002008-05-04T23:51:01.150-07:00preaching and the wordA couple weeks ago, Eddie Arthur wrote a post questioning some of the language used in his faith tradition. The speaker had said something like, "Now X will read the passage for today and then the minister will come and bring God’s word to us," which apparently is typical language for that denomination.
But this time it struck Eddie as odd:
This isn’t a dig against the chap who said this - he BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-42383976242117552112008-04-24T00:37:00.000-07:002008-04-25T21:47:47.318-07:00on intelligent design: first thoughtsThe movie Expelled, released last week and featuring Ben Stein, is garnering a lot of attention for the intelligent design (ID) movement. At the core of ID seems to be the hypothesis known as irreducible complexity. Michael Behe -- professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University and a leading intelligent design advocate -- says that biological features such as the blood clotting cascade, the lightBruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-55829937044130710022008-04-17T23:11:00.000-07:002008-04-17T21:12:10.220-07:00evangelism in the new testamentMartin LaBar of the Sun and Shield blog has posted a chart with examples of personal evangelism in the New Testament, along with a blog post of commentary on the chart.
Among the things Martin notes are: there is no set pattern, all the conversations are with strangers, and none of the conversations begin with a warning about sin, or with talk about God's love.
One thing that he doesn't note, BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-50046953678727703902008-04-13T22:43:00.000-07:002008-04-13T23:01:44.955-07:00the church of americaIn a recent Townhall article, Michael Medved writes about the possibility (or impossibility) of an atheist president. (hat tip: Daylight Atheism)
Medved says:
Just as the Queen plays a formal role as head of the Church of England, the President functions as head of the “Church of America” – that informal, tolerant but profoundly important civic religion that dominates all our national holidays BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-10714295909738623582008-03-31T23:20:00.000-07:002008-03-31T21:22:58.038-07:00a little shameless self-promotionTake a look at Taken for a Ride, the story of my adventures in trying to get a taxi in Homer, Alaska in the spring of 2002, published today at Assocated Content.BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-12846558334779188462008-03-21T00:33:00.000-07:002008-03-20T22:34:36.396-07:00both sides do itIn response to recent post a look at uncommon descent, commenter gleaner63 said:
A few months ago an interesting exchange took place on the Neil Cavuto Show (Fox News). The debate was between a Global Warming advocate and a skeptic. The advocate, a member of Greenpeace said (paraphrased); "...look, you *are not* a climatologist so no one should take what you say seriously...". Cavuto stepped in BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-30174688902130170072008-03-16T00:51:00.000-07:002008-03-15T22:51:52.051-07:00the chick-fil-a churchA couple years ago, it made for a good joke. But how quickly life imitates satire! The North Point Community Church in Atlanta has replaced outreach with franchising. Franchisee Eddie Johnson of Cumberland Church in Nashville explains ten ways that Chick-Fil-A restaurants serve as a model for North Point and its affiliates.
Frankly, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, this is BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-91393903913348183352008-03-13T17:50:00.000-07:002008-03-13T15:50:31.671-07:00foreign aid: does it hurt more than it helps?Massive amounts of aid in the form of free food have been going to Ethiopia since famine was first reported in the Western press, and we were in Lalibela the day one of the monthly shipments arrived. People from all over the countryside came into town on their donkeys -- well, not into town, but near it. The poorer you are, the more food you get, and no one wanted to show off his possessions, so BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-78286903385963539232008-02-29T17:40:00.000-08:002008-02-29T15:40:29.151-08:00still hereI haven't been abducted by aliens, and I didn't give up blogging for Lent. My home PC is about eight years old and is on its last legs (if you'd like to buy me a new one, email me!) and I have limited access to the Internet at work. Even though I've not been online much, I've still been writing. I'll try to get something posted soon.BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-39934777684150238392008-01-30T18:19:00.000-08:002008-01-30T16:20:59.633-08:00becoming a christianRobin Russell at the UM Portal describes an article from the Baptist Standard,
explaining step-by-step instructions on how to become a Christian. (Hat tip to John Meunier) After listing them, she asks,
And I wondered if a United Methodist were asked, "How do I become a Christian?" what would be the response?
A colleague here in the newsroom only half-jokingly commented: "Perhaps that's why we BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-37900313285252500872008-01-10T00:39:00.000-08:002008-01-09T22:40:26.086-08:00a look at uncommon descentI don't often blog about creation and evolution, though several bloggers that I read do. Henry Neufeld writes frequently on the subject. Michael Westmoreland-White is currently in the middle of a comprehensive series on the topic.
These bloggers are quick to note that they are not scientists, and though they both appear to be knowledgeable about scientific matters, they focus more on the BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-4539995654462362542007-12-31T17:46:00.000-08:002007-12-31T15:46:20.012-08:00hospital chartsThe following are actual sentences found in patients' hospital charts:
She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.
Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it disappeared.
The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-65172277497286762232007-12-22T00:15:00.000-08:002007-12-21T22:15:43.507-08:00ten years on the webOn December 22, 1997, I uploaded my first personal web page to Southwind Internet. Back in those days, most web pages were pretty simple. E-commerce really hadn't taken off yet. Not only was "google" not yet a verb, google.com did not yet exist. Nor did Wikipedia. Most sites were personal experiments, little more than a few paragraphs of random text with a too-busy background image and an "under BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-55829378254496895212007-12-20T23:58:00.000-08:002007-12-21T10:45:57.657-08:00how do you decide?In response to my recent post the role of the bible, Robert commented:
I believe the meat of [Ebonmuse's] point can be found in these two sentences:
What are the liberal believer's criteria for deciding whether a given verse reflects God's message or human error? Since they don't credit all parts of scripture with equal truth, they must have some way to decide which verses to follow and which BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-86271419888417006552007-12-12T22:41:00.000-08:002007-12-12T20:42:37.364-08:00when santa met darwinWhat do Santa Claus and creationism have in common? The Ship of Fools has the answer.BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-80643417915676219202007-12-10T00:21:00.000-08:002007-12-09T22:22:44.971-08:00the role of the bibleI have a confession to make: I love reading atheist blogs. I enjoy them because they challenge my faith and make me think about why I believe what I believe. They expose the irrationalities of Christianity, and remind me that the reasons for my faith are experiential, not rational.
Ebonmuse at Daylight Atheism has a pair of recent posts, Making Excuses for the Bible and Instruction Manual or BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-47450161525308534362007-12-03T13:29:00.000-08:002007-12-03T10:30:05.683-08:00look over thereI haven't found much time to blg lately, but here's some good stuff you can see elsewhere.
Henry Neufeld examines whether the penal substitutionary atonement (PSA) is central to the gospel, or whether love is.
Truevyne meditates on liturgy as memorial.
HeyJules finds a metaphor for God's work in our lives when she photoshops a picture of leaves.
Lectionary haiku at Among the Hills.
And a bitBruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-1166636565676926152007-11-25T17:35:00.000-08:002007-11-25T15:35:57.633-08:00searchesThis is my 200th post on it seems to me... Here are some of the search queries that have led people to this blog:
the bible says no reproof seems good for the moment
emperor rome donkey
what does a stop sign mean
does wrestler Edge have a criminal record?
please tell me where john gibson was born
calhoun lowder wedding -county -illinois
why isn't god allowing me to get pregnant
taoist seminary
BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-73775813778289305592007-11-22T12:11:00.000-08:002007-11-22T12:16:18.560-08:00giving thanksNote: All links in this post open by default in a separate window.
Overall, I've got it pretty good. I have a roof over my head. I have enough food to eat. I have a college education and a full time job with health insurance. Many people aren't so fortunate.
I've never lived under an oppressive government where I could be beaten or sent to prison simply for speaking my mind or for practicing myBruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-30514345708941851862007-11-14T23:10:00.000-08:002007-11-14T23:22:46.286-08:00simplifying christmasIt seems Christmas season comes earlier every year. It's not even Thanksgiving, and I've already heard the first Christmas song blaring over the speakers at the grocery store.
As a Christian, I love Christmas and everything it means -- God became flesh, became one of us, entered our world to save us from ourselves and enable us to enter God's kingdom.
And yet, every year I dislike the ChristmasBruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-76226015228678931272007-11-08T23:21:00.000-08:002007-11-08T21:25:16.748-08:00stuff to readGood stuff from around the blogosphere:
Questing Parson hears about a ten-year-old's water conservation plan.
Kathy Hanson at Beyond Words reflects on what it means to make ends meet in God's economy.
John Meunier is dissatisfied with liberal and conservative as labels for Christian churches.
Andrew Thompson at Gen-X Rising is looking for a term for promoting the sanctity of all life.
Art BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-76091381071267066502007-11-06T20:31:00.000-08:002007-11-06T21:02:08.850-08:00i prefer to think of it as 'childlike'Get a Cash Advance
My blog's reading level is not quite as high as some blogs that I read and enjoy. Is it because I make a conscious effort to write clearly, or is it merely because I lack a comprehensive theological education? Or is it because I'm the parent of a four-year-old?
Whatever the reason, I seem to be in good company at the junior high level, so I'm not complaining.BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-18451310534122811102007-10-26T00:41:00.000-07:002007-10-26T20:52:25.782-07:00church and statismUpdate: When I first posted this, my concluding paragraph did not get pasted into the edit window. I've corrected the omission.
A few weeks ago, John the Methodist linked to an essay titled The Liberal Temptation. John argued that the phenomenon discussed in that essay -- using state power to advance the church's agenda -- is a temptation of conservatives as well as liberals. He more accurately BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-9909837401609288882007-10-15T01:53:00.000-07:002007-10-14T23:55:46.575-07:00for your reading pleasureSome thought-provoking posts from around the blogosphere. I may start making this a regular feature of it seems to me... since I'm not finding much time for writing myself.
Lingamish says personal devotions are unbiblical. In a followup, more nuanced post, he argues that common prayer is far too uncommon, and suggests that we might grow more in our faith if we grow with a group.
Daylight BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14695257.post-44574872796629161132007-10-10T01:52:00.000-07:002007-10-09T23:56:14.124-07:00expressing the truthCan you imagine, for example, a modern economist articulating truths about our standard of living by reciting a poem? Or by telling what happened to him during a late-night walk through East St. Louis? Or by offering a series of proverbs and parables, beginning with the saying about a rich man, a camel, and the eye of a needle? The first would be regarded as irrelevant, the second merely BruceAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16013588487417582411noreply@blogger.com