Craig's Cogitations: An Oversight On My Part

I have been visiting Craig's site for some time now and he has gone through some face changes on the site, but he keeps his content current and it really causes one to think about the items on which he posts. (Can one sentence really be a whole paragraph?)

I thought I had his blog on my blog list, but just now realized I did not. I don't know how this oversight happened but it did. I would recommend you take a look at his site and interact with the subject matter posted there. Currently he is blogging on Congress giving themselves a raise.

You can visit his site here.

Triskelos: A Blog Upon Which To Think

I have added to my list of blogs on the sidebar a blog that is indeed a blog upon which to think. There are varying viewpoints and differences of opinion when it comes to God, the infallibiltiy of scripture, the discussion concerning creation/evolution, politics, philosphy and other issues. The interaction there is respectful and they attempt to lay out the issues as balanced as possible hence the differing of opinions and choice of authors.

I would recommend that you take a look and see how discussions are handled and what topics are covered as they will indeed cause you to think. On the other hand, if you are easily swayed in your thinking and not rooted firmly in what you believe, you may want to proceed with caution as some views are not necessarily orthodox when it comes to issues concerning Christianity and the God of the Bible.

Here is what they have in their profile:
Triskelion (or Triskelos, from Greek τρισκελής‚ meaning "three-legged") is a symbol consisting of three interlocked spirals, or any similar symbol with three protrusions. To us, the Triskelos represents the equal and balanced approach of looking at any issue aesthetically, morally, and empirically. Herein, our contributors discuss whatever they find inspiring, or iritating, and seek to uncover the secret behind it.

You can check out Triskelos here.

Newest Member To Blogged Down World

Misawa of Misawa's Musings has joined the team in what will be unofficially (yet officially) Monday's with Misawa.

Misawa has a distinct writing style that capitalizes off the usage of descriptive adjectives that just make you laugh. So welcome him to the team and look forward to more from him on Mondays and whenever else he feels like posting. If you want an example, see the post below this one.

William & Glenna

I have made a new addition to my blog list. The same lady who keeps up "please don't call me for advice" keeps this one: William & Glenna.

I add this blog because I think it is a great picture of someone who is willing to share their struggles and make themselves vunerable (plus I hold them in high regards and they are good friends of ours ministering close to where I grew up). They have been struggling with the issue of having children and with God's guidance they have moved on to adoption (of course it was not that easy or quick). Currently they are in a place where they have held a child right after birth and was told the father may decide to keep his rights to the child. I cannot give anymore detail than that, but I would urge you to pray that God does as He sees fit to bring honor and glory to Himself. I would also ask that you pray that He gives William and Glenna the desire of their hearts as He is a good father who knows how to give good gifts. I would also ask that you pray for whatever the outcome that they trust in the sovereignty of God and that they find their joy and contentment in Him and Him alone.

It is a great blog and she has a great talent in writing. I would encourage you to check back there often.

Macro Evolutionists Has Evolved Right In Vatican City

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While apes evolved naturally into pre-human creatures, it was the will and desire of God that turned them into humans, an article in the Vatican newspaper said.

...at some point God willed a spark of intelligence to light up in the mind of a nonhuman hominid and thus came into existence the human as a being, as a subject capable of thought and the ability to decide freely...

You may have noticed that I added a new link to my sidebar for Sola Dei Gloria; P.J. Miller has blogged on the story there.

You can read more here.

You can read the source here.

Some questions:
-Do you agree?
-Does this bring "science" and "religion" closer together?
-Is there any proof (real proof) for macro-evolution?
-Is there any proof (real proof) for the biblical account that God made Adam & Eve?

Shared Items On The Right

Be sure to check the shared items located on the right hand side often as I update them often. Just a reminder.

Welcome Aboard Riley: Blog Ceases Stagnation!

In case you haven't noticed, there is a post two posts down concerning March Madness. I did not post that. I now have a blog partner who has agreed to take over while I am away. Hopefully he will stick around after the fact and bring his genius sport knowledge to blogged down world.

After all, he is the inspiration for Jackie Moon's Semi-Pro movie (although, I don't think he ever wrestled a bear).

The Parallel Between Creation & The Cross

The below is an excerpt from a recent post on BJ's blog: Blind Man's Fancy. I am going to add his blog to my sidebar and I would encourage you to visit his site and interact with him. He is a pastor who is seeking to "do" church in a way that lines up with scriptural mandates such as a plurality of leadership, church discipline and he seeks to preach in such a way as to exposit scripture. Spend some time looking around and interact where you feel led.

When Jesus announced his finished work in Jn 19.30 I wonder if he was echoing God's creative work. Was he providing the substance/fulfillment of God's sacramental creation? Was Jesus giving us the hermeneutic by which we interpret Genesis 1-2? Was God's goal in creation more than just biology, ecology and sociology? Might it be that the created order in nature foreshadowed his re-created order in Christ? If so, then Genesis 1-2 are not merely about creationism, but re-creationism. And what Genesis 1-2 are to creation, John's Gospel is to re-creation.

Let's note some interesting elements of John's Gospel. John began "in the beginning" where Christ (the Logos) existed as God and through whom God created the world (1.1-3). Where did God begin his creative activity in Genesis 1.3? With light shining in darkness. Where did John go from his beginning? With Light shining in darkness (1.4-5).

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Do you think this parallel is stretching it or does it fit?
-Have you heard this parallel drawn before?
-What are some other ways in which Christ has been made manifest in the Old Testament unbeknownst to the people of the OT?
-Is it to a Christian's detriment not to spend much time in the Old Testament?
-Can you really understand Christ if you don't understand the Old Testament?

Stuff White People Like: New Blog Addition

# 62. Knowing what's best for poor people.

White people spend a lot of time of worrying about poor people. It takes up a pretty significant portion of their day.

They feel guilty and sad that poor people shop at Wal*Mart instead of Whole Foods, that they vote Republican instead of Democratic, that they go to Community College/get a job instead of studying art at a University.

It is a poorly guarded secret that, deep down, white people believe if given money and education that all poor people would be EXACTLY like them. In fact, the only reason that poor people make the choices they do is because they have not been given the means to make the right choices and care about the right things.

A great way to make white people feel good is to tell them about situations where poor people changed how they were doing things because they were given the ‘whiter’ option.

I just added this blog to my sidebar. It lists out things that are predominantly "white" and seeks to give an explanation as to why. I find it humorous and very explanatory :) Enjoy the addition.

You can read the blog here.

Wedgewords

I ran across this blog this evening and I think I will be frequenting it often. I would encourage you to take a look as well. (By the way, if you see his post on Douglas Wilson but don't know who Douglas Wilson is, I would encourage you to pick up one of his books: Reforming Marriage and Future Men would be good places to start).

You can visit the site here (or on my side bar).

Sword & Trowel Discuss Worldviews, A Snake And The Gospel

Here is an excerpt:

The Christian worldview alone makes sense out of reality. And at the center of the Christian worldview is the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we think about the gospel in the context of this story we understand that a more deadly snake was present than the one that bit Paul. The people of Malta were held hostage to a worldview whose author was the serpent who deceived our first parents. Every false worldview is a Satanic lie that fastens itself like a snake to the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor 4:3-4). Nothing short of the gospel of Jesus Christ can break the hold of this snake.

If you have not already visited Sword & Trowel, I would encourage you to do so as there are many theological gems there.

You can read more here.

Another Day In The Neighborhood

1. Challies has been labeled a Fundamentalist and found solice in Psalm 19.
2. Coffee Refills is going with a snow them over the past couple posts (at least she is updating).
3. Denny Burk is looking at the connection between Obama's church and Louis Farrakhan.
4. GalationsC4V16 is clearing up misunderstandings concerning Christianity.
5. Last Row is dealing with the claims of UK atheists who say they are "Cultural Christians".
6. Misawa has posted a riveting video detailing a 911 call and questions the Brady campaign.
7. Not Your Typical Negro is discussing gay rights (but has not updated since November).
8. Oversight Of Souls will be out of pocket for a while as he is training over 60 pastors in Nepal.
9. Physics Ramblings is discussing Newtonian Perihelions, whatever those are.
10. Please Don't Call Me For Advice is doing some self reflection (no pun intended).
11. Sword & Trowel has added a new contributor to their ranks.
12. The Bench Stone (formerly The Mind Of A Young Pastor) is discussing salvation.
13. The Silent Holocron is preparing for his next sermon.
14. This Life has given a name to her absence from her blog.
15. Tim Ellsworth is branching out to the air waves (you can listen to him this evening live).
16. Time 2 Change Churches! is witnessing electronically to those of his former fold: Mormons.

And that my friends is what is going on in the neighborhood.

Physics Ramblings Added To The Sidebar

Bill Nettles is a Christian who happens to be a nuclear physicist, an avid musician, a motorcycle enthusiast and he knows a lot about almost everything I have ever asked him (or he just makes up convincing answers, one of the two :). I say that to say this, he has chosen to keep up his blog and post regularly. I would encourage you to check it out.

You can visit his blog here.

The Modern Christmas Story On The Mind Of A Young Pastor

Tim over at The Mind of a Young Pastor has posted the Christmas story as it could have been had the pressures of the politically correct been predominant in their day. A very interesting read.

Here is a snippet from the post:

"There's a problem with the angel," said a Pharisee who happened to bestrolling by the stable. As he explained to Joseph, angels are widelyregarded as religious symbols, and the stable was on public propertywhere such symbols were not allowed to land or even hover.
"Besides," said a Sadducee who was with him, "there are no such thingsas angels, and telling a child that they're real will only hinder the child's emotional development."
"And I have to tell you," said the Pharisee, "this whole thing looks very much like a Nativity scene. That's a no-no, too.
"Joseph had a bright idea. "What if I put a couple of reindeer over there near the ox and ass?" he said, eager to avoid sectarian strife.

You can read more here.

If you haven't already noticed, The Mind of a Young Pastor is on my side bar. Tim usually has some really good thought provoking posts. Feel free to peruse his posts regularly.

Misawa Graduates!

Since Misawa has graduated maybe his posting will pick up :) If you have yet to visit his blog, it is usually filled with great posts and he always finds a clever way of putting things. Go through and look at some of his past posts. Just to give an example, here is part of one for your perusing.

You've been there before. We all have. You're in a theater enjoying a movie or a play. You've already seen and heeded the polite request to silence your cell phones. Sure, inevitably one goes off, things are mumbled about the person's mother or something about bamboo reeds and fingernails, but if the movie is truly good enough, you soon have your attention redirected and no longer care about the Oblivion that can't find the off mode of their electronic ball and chain.
Then, below and to the side, a large firefly appears. Then another. Then another. Soon, what was once darkness only lit by the flicker on the screen is awash in a pale blue glow of cell displays. Thinking it is simply the death screen as they are being switched off, you ignore it... til you realize they're not going away. They're texting. Everybody.
You've just encountered an Obliviot. This is a special kind of oblivion - a person who walks through their daily life with no idea whatsoever...

You can finish the post here.

Laz On Lewis, Pullman & Mohler

The below is taken from Laz's blog post concerning the book The Northern Lights (and now movie: The Golden Compass). It is a quote of C. S. Lewis that Laz uses to buttress his arugment that follows in his post titled CS Lewis Posthumously Corrects Philip Pullman.

There is no need to be worried by facetious people who try to make the Christian hope of “Heaven” ridiculous by saying they do not want “to spend eternity playing harps.” The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them…
A child saying a child’s prayer looks simple. And if you are content to stop there, well and good. But if you are not–and the modern world usually is not–if you want to go on and ask what is really happening–then you must be prepared for something difficult. If we ask for something more than simplicity, it is silly then to complain that the something more is not simple.
Very often, however, this silly procedure is adopted by people who are not silly, but who, consciously or unconsciously, want to destroy Christianity. Such people put up a version of Christianity suitable for a child of six and make that the object of their attack. — C.S. Lewis

If you haven't visited Lastrow, Laz's blog, you definitely want to check it out. He updates frequently and his writtings are well thought out and are about great issues upon which to ponder.

You can read more here.

Neighborhood News

If you have ever looked at my links on the right hand side you would have seen these two: Amend ETS and Oversight of Souls (Ray Van Neste) as included in that list. I am adding another one today: DennyBurk.com. Denny Burk and Ray Van Neste are the backbone behind the ETS amendment and I would encourage you to visit there sites and take a good look at Amend ETS.

As for Burk, he tends to have some pretty lively discussion on his blog; several in the past two weeks have received over 50 comments and the conversations are meaningful and usually thought out. There are multiple viewpoints expressed and a variety of beliefs when it comes to scripture or cultural issues. If you haven’t visited, please do. By the way, he is the only Christian Studies professor who I have ever met who has pictures of himself on his blog header doing jumps on a skateboard.

Here is a recent post by him on college football (his topics can vary widely) the video of Trinity University's football team is included above.

First For Fridays

Post what you want.

If during this past week you went to any of the folk's blogs that I listed in the neighborhood, what stood out to you? Would you visit them again?

Another Day In The Neighborhood

Tim Ellsworth has this thing about College Football ratings, Doofus Dads and a still active topic discussing what started out as abortion and has grown to include a parallel of IVF.

Oversight of Souls (Ray VanNeste) recently posted on how the public sharing of testimonies builds up the community of believers and encourages fellowship.

This Life (Susan Hunt) is finding joy with the children at church and has found a new found joy in The Office.

Coffee Refills (Kellye Rachel) has, is having, and probably will have for a long time (until she updates her blog) a stupid pc and is in a perpetual state of failing eye exams.

Sword & Trowel (Klay Aspenwall) is having identity issues: help him to decide if he should have a beard or not.

Last Row is dealing with the problem of pain and immigration issues as they relate to Mexico (seeing how their president recently had something to say about the US’s immigration issues)

Challies is currently taking God at his word

Misawa’s Musings last post contained laser beam wielding ants, a moat around his house and triceratops poo.

Please Don’t Call Me For Advice (Glenna Marshall) is reminiscing about her school days and reflecting on the children she is teaching.

Not Your Typical Negro talks of Marion Jones and her recent admission of guilt for steroid use as well as pulling the race card.

And that my friends is what is going on in the blogs I visit regularly. Take a look and enjoy.