stuff to read

Good 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 Ruch tells the fascinating story of the presidential election of 1872.

And for right-brainers: it's a poetry party at Abbey of the Arts.

for your reading pleasure

Some 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 Atheism looks at the principles upon which the United States was founded -- and contrasts them with biblical teaching -- to answer the question, Is America a Christian nation?

Michael Westmoreland-White gives some historical background on the Nobel Peace Prize, and how the Nobel committee understands "peacemaker."

And food for the right side of the brain: Christine at Quiet Paths offers haiku and glimpses of fall.

I've got a couple of posts in the works, but I'm having trouble finding time to pull them together. In the meantime, here's some interesting reading:

• Barry Dundas, my former pastor, thinks about Fred Phelps and biblical interpretation


• Jacob at Twenty Feet considers hell and justice


• Andy at Sinning Boldly writes about Richard Dawkins and a personal God

I hope to have some content here within a few days.

international blog day

Today is the 3rd International Blog Day (hat tip: Richard at connexions), the purpose of which is to encourage bloggers to "post recommendations of 5 new Blogs, preferably Blogs that are different from their own culture, point of view and attitude."

As was the case with the "thinking blogger" meme, I had a hard time limiting myself to five blogs. I enjoy reading different points of view, and I read more blogs than I should. In keeping with the spirit of the event, I've excluded all bloggers living in my home country.

• Notes from Underground is the blog of Steve Hayes, an Orthodox deacon living in South Africa. For some good examples of how his perspective differs from a protestant in the United States, see Christianity North and South and Christianity: Inclusive or Exclusive? (this one is the first of a three-part series).


• A Load of Bright is written by "Tobe38", an atheist from Britain. In recent posts he has questioned the sincerity of the phrase Let's Just Agree to Disagree and issued the Tobe Challenge to creationists.


• Never Give Up is the blog of Sami Awad, a Palestinian Christian. His recent post ...then they fight you, then you win... attests to the power of nonviolent resistance in a violence world, from someone with direct experience.


• Today at the Mission is the blog of [rhymes with kerouac], a chef working in a Canadian homeless shelter. Recent posts like Take Me to the River and Staring into the Abyss... give a glimpse into the lives and struggles of homeless people.


• Kouya Chronicle is the blog of Eddie and Sue Arthur, Bible translators and missionaries who have worked in Ivory Coast and Madagascar, and are now back in the UK where they continue work on their Kouya Bible translation. Recent posts include Are All Christians Called to be Misionaries? which examines the meaning of mission, and two entries in the I Pray for the World series: Madagascar and Francophone Africa.

it's a major award

Henry Neufeld of Threads from Henry's Web has randomly tagged me with Thinking Blogger award.



The hardest part for me is narrowing it down to just five blogs. Fortunately, a number of my favorites have already been nominated by others: Monk-in-Training's Monastic Mumblings (also tagged by Henry), Questing Parson, and [rhymes with kerouac]'s Today at the Mission (both tagged by Lorna at see-through faith). I'm glad to see these blogs get the recognition they deserve.

Here are my five picks, in no particular order:

• PamBG describes her theology as "liberal in process and orthodox in doctrine". She sees details that I would have overlooked, and is able to explain why they matter.


• I suspect John the Methodist at Locusts and Honey has already been tagged, but I didn't see mention of it in his archives. I don't always agree with his assumptions, but he often forces me to re-examine my own assumptions.


• I would probably tag truevyne even if she didn't have a blog. Her comments, both here and on other blogs I read, are thought-provoking enough to earn her this award. And her writing style breathes life into even the most routine details of everyday life.


• Wes Magruder is a missionary in Cameroon. He provides a fascinating window on life in a vastly different part of the world. His blog, Preach Peace, is a welcome antidote to the self-centeredness and materialism of much of Western Christianity.


• eddie{F} at Edge of Faith is, quite simply, one of the most open and honest bloggers I've found. He has wrestled with questions and issues many of us will never face, and he's not afraid to share his struggles. As an ex-Christian, he challenges my faith by asking questions I may not be able to answer.

I'll say, along with Art Ruch: "If any of you have already been nominated, let me know - I’ve already thought of 5 more."

I've not included any of the fine blogs I have discovered since the beginning of this year, mostly through the growing Moderate Christians Blogroll and the Christian Peace Bloggers. I've also not included any of several high-quality blogs that are updated infrequently.

The rules are:

Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging. I thought it would be appropriate to include them with the meme.

The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

down the chimney

Sometimes the best way to explain things is through narrative. Jesus understood this, so he taught in parables.

In my post last week I suggested that the same Bible passage may have several possible interpretations. Shortly after writing it I found this post containing two parables that illustrates what I was trying to say.

An excerpt:

So the Rabbi, in exasperation, said, ‘OK, answer me this. Two men go down a chimney. At the bottom one of the men has a face covered in soot. Which man turns to wash his face?’

Immediately the young man replied, ‘Why the man with the dirty face.’

At this the Rabbi began to turn around saying, ‘No, no the man with the clean face washed for he saw that his friend had a dirty face and so thought that he must also by covered in dirt and thus washed.’

‘Please, test me again,’ replied the young man.

‘OK’ said the Rabbi, ‘Two men go down a chimney, at the bottom one of the men has a face covered in soot. Which man turns to wash his face?’

The young man is confused but replies, ‘Why, the man with the clean face.’

But the Rabbi simply roles his eyes and says ‘No, no. It is the man with the dirty face. He sees the reaction of his friend and realises that he must be covered in soot.’

‘Please test me once more’ replied the young man ‘for now I know.’

Once more the Rabbi said ‘Two men go down a chimney, at the bottom one of the men has a face covered in soot, which man turns to wash his face.’

‘The answer I said first, but for a different reason’ said the young man.

‘No’ replied the rabbi, ‘ they both washed their face, for how could either of them think that they could have descended a chimney without getting dirty. Now go home and come back when you understand.’

The other parable is good, too.

a simple way to support a missionary in africa

Lingamish is in need of links to his blog.

where to spend your money

At his blog Today at the Mission, [rhymes with kerouac] offers us a glimpse of daily life in a homeless shelter. Nearly every day brings new challenges and adventures with truly unique individuals. Now [rhymes with kerouac] has collected the best stories of his first year into a book, also called Today at the Mission. It's well worth the price, and 100% of the book's profits will go to support the mission.

christian carnival

My recent post God and the Astronomers has been included in the Christian Carnival, hosted this week by Daddypundit. Click on the link above to check out the rest of the carnival.

methodist blogger profile

John the Methodist at Locusts and Honey is doing a series of profiles of members of the Methodist Blogroll, and today it's my turn. See my profile at Locusts and Honey.