Discontinued

In case anyone is wondering, this blog is going to be indefinitely discontinued. I have found I can accomplish the same thing quicker and rather more effectively on my Facebook page, so I have begun using that for sharing links and providing quick updates. Sojourner's Song and What Susan Said are still live, and this blog will remain up for archival purposes.

That's all, folks!

Some good reviews on The Dark Knight, from MercatorNet and Greg Boyd.

More thoughts on the continuing degeneration of culture:

• Stoooopid .... why the Google generation isn’t as smart as it thinks
• 'The Dumbest Generation' by Mark Bauerlein

HT: Arts & Letters Daily

How we read online.

(HT: evangelical outpost)

VOM, India:

On April 25, Pastor Mohan Babu and two other believers were severely beaten by 35 Hindu extremists for holding a Vacation Bible School (VBS) near Bangalore City, in Karnataka State. According to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts in India, the three-day VBS was organized by Ragigudda Baptist Church. VOM sources said, "Around 60 children from different backgrounds were attending the VBS. As they were worshiping, about 35 people belonging to a Hindu extremist group forcefully entered the hut chanting slogans and demolished the hut. The extremists mercilessly beat Mohan, Samuel and Krishna, alleging forceful conversion. The perpetrators chased the children without any courtesy and tore the Bibles. Mohan was severely injured on his lips and was profusely bleeding. The believers are living in fear and did not lodge complaint with the police." Pray for healing for all those injured in this attack. Pray they forgive their attackers and for the children who were attending VBS to continue growing in their faith despite the attack.

Michael Spencer on rethinking God, and Brant Hansen on being/feeling spiritually bankrupt. Honesty: check. Edifying: check. Politically correct: heck!

Saturday book sale finds:

• True Spirituality - Francis Schaeffer
• The House Of The Dead and Poor Folk - Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Colorful Desert Wildflowers - Grace B Ward & Onas M. Ward
• The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve - G. Edward Griffin
• An Anthology of Czechoslovak Literature
• Albert Schweitzer: The Man and His Mind - George Seaver
  
• The Bourne Identity & The Bourne Supremacy - both by Robert Ludlum

Grand total: $1.50. I was feeling generous and paid two dollars.

This is the best review on Caspian I've seen. HT: Trevin Wax

Make sure and bookmark Michael Spencer's new writing headquarters: Jesus Shaped Spirituality.

Jesus Shaped Spirituality stands on the corner between the study of Jesus- especially the historical Jesus- and the formation of discipleship on every level.

Greg Boyd on the Nephilim:

If we take the narratives seriously, we can't deny there were some incredibly large people (and grapes!) in the land of Canaan.

Michael Spencer asks What Was Jesus Like?

Do you like grape Kool-Aid? I’ve always loved the taste of grape Kool-Aid on a hot day.

Have you ever tasted grapes? Do grapes taste grape Kool-Aid?

No, they don’t. But you could easily imagine a child who loves grape Kool-Aid eating a grape and saying “Yuck!! This doesn’t taste like grapes at all!”

The real thing has been replaced by the advertised replacement so long that there’s genuine confusion and disappointment at the taste of a real grape.

So it is with Jesus. The version of Jesus that dominates so much contemporary Christianity is the grape Kool-Aid version of a real grape. And many, many Christians have no “taste” for Jesus as we find him in scripture, especially the Gospels.

VOM, Sri Lanka:

The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) reports the wife of martyred Pastor Edirisinghe is recovering from severe injuries sustained during an attack that killed her husband. "The NCEASL chairman visited Shiromi yesterday. She is experiencing a great recovery, she speaks, breathes well and has been transferred to Kandy General for surgery to remove [the] bullet," NCEASL reported. Mrs. Edirisinghe was critically injured on February 17 when two assailants gunned down her husband outside their home in Ampara, Sri Lanka. She sustained critical injuries to her stomach and their two-year-old son was also injured in the attack. Pray for her quick recovery from the remaining surgeries. Ask God to heal her emotions and to touch their son with the love of Christ. Pray God will give them supernatural ability to forgive the assailants and for their testimony to draw nonbelievers into fellowship with Christ.

Michael Spencer on Art, Industry, and the Evangelical Resistance:

Evangelicalism is industrial. Technological. A culture of consumption, getting more, winning the game, having the best. One need not buy into the “prosperity gospel” to be part of a movement that advertises itself as young, hip, relevant, edgy, successful, hot and trend-setting.

Christian spirituality, however, is art. Creation. It is poetry, not the work of an assembly line. It is spiritual, not industrial. It is not produced by methodology purchased in a kit or acquired by subscription service. It is not the result of surveys or research. It is God’s Kingdom work, now as always.

HT: Ben Witherington

Greg Boyd is writing a series on violence in the Old Testament. Here's the first two posts.

Greg also recently read and reviewed Chuck Colson's God & Government, and later added a follow-up post to provide some additional clarification.

Some brilliant writing from Victor Davis Hanson (scroll down to "Ode to an Orchard").

VOM, Jordan:

The government in Jordan has admitted it expelled missionaries for "illegal" activities. According to Compass Direct News, "On February 20, Acting Foreign Minister, Nasser Judeh, told the Jordanian parliament that authorities had expelled missionaries operating 'under the cover of doing illegal charitable work.'"

The expulsions violated Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Jordan adopted in 2006. According to Compass, recent expulsions included two Egyptian pastors married to Jordanian women. "On February 10, authorities expelled an Egyptian pastor with the Assemblies of God church in Madaba, one of five evangelical denominations registered with the government. Married to a Jordanian citizen, and the father of two children, Sadeq Abdel Nour, was handcuffed and blindfolded and taken to the port city of Aqaba. There he was placed on a ferry to Egypt. The previous week an Egyptian pastor from a Baptist church in Zarqa was also arrested, held for three days and also returned to Egypt by ship from the port city of Aqba," the Compass report added.

Pray for believers in Jordan who are experiencing increased persecution. Ask God to encourage and minister to the pastors and their families. Pray God will use their testimonies to draw non- believers into fellowship with Him.

My friend Brian has recently launched a new blog about books, authors, and literature. He's widely read and has superb literary taste, so check it out when you can.

VOM, Sri Lanka:

On February 17, Pastor Neil Edirisinghe, of the House Church Foundation, was gunned down by two assailants outside his home in Ampara, Sri Lanka.

According to a report by the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), "Pastor Edirisinghe was engaged in the Lord's ministry in Ampara for many years. The attackers also shot his wife in the stomach. At last report, she was in the hospital in critical condition. Their 2-year-old son who received a minor injury in the attack is also suffering from trauma."

NCEASL added that the motive for the attacks was believed to be in response to Pastor Edirisinghe's ministry. The Voice of the Martyrs is assisting the family during this difficult time. Pray for peace and comfort for Pastor Edirisinghe's family. Pray for a speedy recovery for his wife and child and for them to rely on the great Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

The Tolkien family is suing New Line Cinema over unpaid royalties from Lord of the Rings, which has grossed over 6 billion dollars worldwide. Ben Witherington has more details, along with some witty commentary:

Stay tuned for future episodes when we will no doubt hear about Gandalf the wizard lawyer who unties the gordian knot of the problem and returns the ring to its rightful owner, to thoroughly mix my metaphors.

VOM, Egypt:

An Egyptian court has recognized the faith of 12 converts to Christianity. The decision overturns a lower court ruling which said the state need not recognize conversions from Islam because it constituted "apostasy," an act often treated as a capital crime in the Muslim world. A lawyer for the 12 Coptic Christians described the case as a victory for human rights and freedom of religion that will open the door for hundreds of other Copts who want to return to their original faith from Islam. There is concern, however, over the ruling's mandate that the converts' former religion must be noted in their official documents, as this could leave them vulnerable to discrimination. Thank the Lord for this victory. Pray that these individuals will not be subject to further discrimination. Pray that those who were born into Muslim families and convert to Christianity will also have their conversions recognized by the Egyptian government.

Derek and Sandra just announced the pre-release of their first collaborative project: Ampersand EP. It's short, but it can't help but be good with this kind of talent behind it. These two know what they're doing when it comes to music.

N. T. Wright on heaven:

Our culture is very interested in life after death, but the New Testament is much more interested in what I've called the life after life after death — in the ultimate resurrection into the new heavens and the new Earth. Jesus' resurrection marks the beginning of a restoration that he will complete upon his return. Part of this will be the resurrection of all the dead, who will "awake," be embodied and participate in the renewal. John Polkinghorne, a physicist and a priest, has put it this way: "God will download our software onto his hardware until the time he gives us new hardware to run the software again for ourselves." That gets to two things nicely: that the period after death is a period when we are in God's presence but not active in our own bodies, and also that the more important transformation will be when we are again embodied and administering Christ's kingdom.

Read the whole thing.

(HT: evangelical outpost)

VOM, Philippines:

On January 15, Father Jesus Reynaldo Roda, a Catholic missionary with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, was murdered by a suspected Al-Qaeda related group of Islamic extremists in the chapel at Notre Dame in Mindanao, Philippines. The armed group forced its way into the chapel where Father Roda was praying. When he resisted their attempt to kidnap him, he was shot and killed. Pray Father Roda's colleagues will be strengthened by the courage and peace in Jesus Christ. Pray God raises others to continue Father Roda's work.