Well, the Carnival is back at DF&C and like a Ball Park Frank, it’s “girthy”. While not a chart topper like the one a few weeks ago with 50+ entries, this week’s Carnival is still quite robust at 34 entries. These Carnivals are a lot of work, but, despite my tardiness in getting this one up on time, I really enjoy both the amount of effort it requires, and the privilege of it.

Once again, I myself haven’t had much to contribute lately. The reasons for this are manifold, but it’s mostly because I’m overworked, I’m getting married soon, I recently bought a house that I’m doing some remodeling on that vengeful inspectors seems to want to make me fix every problem that every been wrong with any house, ever. In other words, I’ve got too many peas on my plate, and as such, at the end of the day after I’ve been forcefed a pile of peas, I just have nothing to say. But, things are brightening up: in spite of massive delays, I might be able to move next month into the house I bought in September, I’m getting married soon, and if God is willing, the extra hours that I’ve been working will possible translate into an improvement in my career this year. My own personal theme for 2005 is “gratitude”.

OK, that’s enough of that. We now return to our regular programming.

As is my custom, I read all the posts, and comment on them as I see fit. This is my house, after all, and while I love having guests, I also love to verbally tussle with them over dinner. Sometimes that dinner comes with a side of sarcasm, which of course is an intellectual defense mechanism used to hide my own shortcomings as a blogger. Just ignore that, as you would ignore the flatulence of an old dog lying under the dinner table.

Voil√°, et bon appetit:

Society & Culture

  • In ‚ÄúWe Are They, They Are Us‚Äù, Jeremiah at the Fringe relates some incredibly disturbing facts about the lethargy of Evangelical Christianity.

    What, Me Worry?

  • Phil of Brandywine Books assails Norman Mailer in ‚ÄúLet Them Eat TV Commercials‚Äù. Mailer writes in the latest Parade Magazine that TV commercials are ruining American students. He thinks eliminating them will better America. Phil thinks he should return to the chalk board to do some more cyphering.

    (I left this comment on Phil‚Äôs blog:) ‚ÄúIf Mailer were to advocate the elimination of TV commercials, I would be against it. Not because I disagree with him (because I actually agree that TV commercials are a waste of time, money, and energy), but because TV commercials are my livelihood. Never mess with a man’s livelihood.‚Äù Actually, I want to revise this. TV commercials are a necessary expenditure of time, money and energy, because efficient capitalism requires that the buyer be aware of a product so that he may buy it. In as much as TV commercials create brand awareness, I have no problem with this. I also don‚Äôt have any problem with a manufacturer making a case for convincing you to spend your money on their product as opposed to the other guys‚Äô products. It is manipulation, yes, but it isn‚Äôt one that we as consumers are not unwilling participants of. What is the real evil about commercial television are the egos that are invested in the creating of said commercials. Without all the personal behind-the-scenes egocentrism, TV commercials would just be another capitalist enterprise. It‚Äôs the fact that many of the people who make TV commercials take themselves VERY seriously that is the cause of a great deal of waste in time, money and energy. Actually, as a standalone item, the 30-second TV commercial is an interesting art form, requiring a great deal of skill from everyone involved in telling the story.

  • Mark over at Pseudo-Polymath writes about attitudes about the government dole in ‚ÄúOn Entitlements and Christian Charity‚Äù He states: ‚ÄúI think it would be useful to arrive at a organized consistent formulation about how we should consider the relation between government, individual, and the virtue of charity … But to get started, before getting organized I resort to the dreaded bulleted list of disconnected ideas to get some thoughts on “paper”.‚Äù

    Having no time these days to do anything but work and sleep, my note to self is that I will have to come back to Mark’s blog and take a longer look. The subject matter of his posts is interesting, revealing a febrility of mind that I appreciate. Pay visit to his blog. “Give him some hits, haaayy! He needs those hits!” (for a prize, name that song).

  • Diane, my fellow churchgoer, of the Crossroads blog explores the book The Progress Paradox by Gregg Easterbrook. A lot of discussion is going these days, especially in the Christian community, about how much is too much, materially speaking. The book The Progress Paradox seeks to give us insight as to why we are so much better off today than in past years, but unhappier.

  • Over at The Rooftop Blog Jim Jewell roof-tests Dobson‚Äôs startling claim that SpongeBob SquarePants is a Trojan horse for promoting homosexuality in his post ‚ÄúSpongeBob Phobia‚Äù. ‚ÄúAfter a quick look at the materials, I’ve decided (provisionally) that while I‚Äôd rather my kids would spend the time working on their reading comprehension, I haven‚Äôt seen anything yet that would make me worry about SpongeBob and his cohorts.‚Äù

    I think we should start calling Dobson “The Prime Rib Roast Minister”, but that’s just me. I have a lot of respect for the guy, but he seems to be getting wackier by the minute.

  • Jeremy Pierce, a.k.a. Parableman also weighs in on SpongBobGate in his post ‚ÄúSpongeBob the Patsy‚Äù. ‚ÄúJames Dobson is making Christians look like jerks by criticizing a video proclaiming love of neighbor, based tenuously on the views of an organization whose statement of tolerance one of the sponsors of the video adopts.‚Äù

    The White House Reception Committee greeted the Prime Rib Roast Minister, and Dobson does the Cha-Cha like a sissy girl. He like-ah…do…da Cha-Cha…

  • Elle, (that‚Äôs IntolerantElle to you) laughs her way straight to hell in ‚ÄúThe Gospel According to Jerry Lewis”. Jerry Lewis seems to think making “an awful lot of people happy” gets one to Heaven. So if good people go to Heaven, how good is good enough? Take the test to see if you’re good enough and post your score!

    I scored “1” because I have never once believed that God is a merciful God who won’t send anyone to hell. I’m Reformed, I can’t possibly believe that!

  • Sherry Early of Semicolon asks ‚ÄúWhat‚Äôs Next At Baylor?‚Äù ‚ÄúRobert Sloan, President of Baylor University, resigned today, effective at the end of May. Judging from the statistics in an article from Waco TV station KWTX, almost everything at Baylor had improved under Sloan‚Äôs leadership. So why did he resign? And what’s next at Baylor, a Baptist university with a vision for combining first class scholarship and a distinctively Christian worldview?‚Äù

    My goodness, Sherry is the mother of 8 children and she still has time to blog! I have no excuses anymore.

Politics & Legislation

Current Events

Philosophy & Theology

  • Jon Trainer at A Personal Trainer gives us a primer on Just War Theory in “A Just War?‚Äù He is a chaplain in the United States Air Force (OH ANG) and is often queried on how he can justify wearing the uniform of a soldier and a cross at the same time.

    Nice post. My only problem with wearing the uniform and the cross at the same time (a vocation which I seriously considered pursuing for a time) is that you are one of the rare breeds in the military that aren’t allowed to defend yourself. That used to include docs, but even they carry heat nowadays. I have absolutely no desire to shoot at anyone, but I want the option to make some meaningful noise if I need to, know what I mean?

  • An ordinary Bloke‚Ķstanding…in the outer…a misfit among misfits, thinks that ‚ÄúFundamentalism and Fanaticism in Any Religion is Dangerous‚Äù. His post is a response to what he senses is a growing trend among Christians to fall into the trap of equating America with God’s favored nation, and any Islamic nation as Enemy #1. Following the alarmist anti-Islamic rhetoric might unnecessary distract the church from its core mission: that of the ministry of reconciliation.

    With his first point, I wholeheartedly agree. America, I don’t believe is the Christians’ “Land of Israel” like we want to think it is. However, with his second point, I disagree (and I know there are some very good thinkers in the Christian blogosphere who disagree with me, and I disagree!) I’m all for living and let living, but from what I can see, and from people I read who know alot about it (q.v. JihadWatch and DhimmiWatch for example), Islam generally is not. I also think the history of Islam makes this pretty clarion. The religion itself, as a creation of man, is therefore necessarily flawed in quintessentially human ways. As such, I think we, as Christians, need to be on guard about it. Not just in a nationalistic sense, because Islam isn’t just currently on a rampage against America. America is just the latest addition of a long-standing rampage against Christians and Jews. If we are willing to believe that Muslims need to be saved, or they will spend eternity in hell, then we should be willing to believe that Islam won’t take too kindly to that or anything else that threatens its existence, including democracy, and will strike back like a cornered wolverine.

  • In “Systematic Theology For 13-year-olds Department‚Äù Roy Jacobson, the proprietor of Dispatches from Outland answers his middle daughter‚Äôs question about the ‚ÄúUnforgivable Sin‚Äù in terms she can relate to.

    I liked your “in other words”. Very clearly reduced!

  • In his post “Jesus is Lord” Robert at Mr. Standfast is just trying to get to a simple and yet fresh restatement of the Gospel.

    And I think you do a great job of it.

  • Taking a look at II Sam. 7, Phil Dillon of Another Man‚Äôs Meat examines how David responds to God‚Äôs promises for him, in his post “I Will Build”. ‚ÄúI read God‚Äôs words to David and see that God is looking for men and women who would be willing, like the great king, to allow Him to be the Mover and Shaker, the Power Broker, the One who hold the strategies and paradigms in the palm of His hand.‚Äù

    Very nicely done. I personally have always envisioned God’s tone of voice in that exchange with David to be a little more Jewish than is commonly rendered: “Feh! What do I need from a temple? But it’s a nice thought.”

  • Dick Cleary of Viewpoint puts the linguistically cockeyed naturalistic cosmos-worshipping religion “Universism” under the looking glass, only to find that like all religions which exclude a personal creator, it fails.

    Ah, idealism at its finest. It sounds like an ad for mortgage company: What if there was a place where you could get a home loan with lousy credit? What if that home loan were free? What if you never had to pay that loan back? Only one phone call separates you from the home you “deserve”…

  • Jeff at Proverbs Daily examines Proverbs 1:33 today in “The Promise of Peace”. ‚ÄúPeace,‚Äù he writes, ‚Äúalong with freedom, may be the most sought after goal in the world. Just ask the women in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who live in constant fear of violence, rape, and murder.‚Äù

    Thank you for the encouragement!

  • Responding to a question in the comments section of another post, Nick Queen of the Patriot Paradox takes ‚ÄúA Look at the Confession of Sin‚Äù.

    And I might add, very thoughtfully so, as always. Great post.

  • Kathy Myatt of Imago Veritatis (that’s the ‚ÄúImage of Truth‚Äù to you and me) queries whether or not we are ‚ÄúInstruments of Righteousness‚Äù. ‚ÄúIt seems that Christians are often as negative in their speech as those in the secular world around us. There is grumbling and complaining. Negativity, pessimism and catastrophizing are par for the course. I believe Christians can and should become instruments of righteousness in their speech.‚Äù

    Well, I’m not sure I would say that optimistic speech is the only expression of making our bodies an “instrument of righteousness”, since I believe that both pessimism and optimism are based upon expectations about circumstances. Personally, I think gratitude is the most redeeming thing that can come out of our mouth, because it isn’t circumstantially contingent.

  • In his post ‚ÄúYour God Is Wise”, Mark at 3:17 writes: ‚ÄúUnless you become familiar with the wisdom of God, you cannot make much real progress in the Christian life.” What are the implications of God’s wisdom, and are we prepared to accept them and live by them?‚Äù

    I’ve always like this definition of wisdom: “Wisdom is knowledge applied.”

  • Marla, the Proverbial Wife reflects upon her experience with the Charismatic experience in ‚ÄúSpirit-Filled or Overflowing?‚Äù

    Great post. There’s so much I could talk about on this subject. I grew up in a non-denominational Reformed, Charismatic, and Pentecostal church, and all the abuses that many people have experienced, I experienced also, which have led me to all but reject it for myself. However, I just can’t bring myself to take a John MacArthur view on the subject, as I think his reasoning is just too weak, and I am always suspicious of easy, black and white answers to complex theological problems. Besides that, I’ve seen people in third world countries speak in tongues instantaneously after “receiving” the Holy Spirit with complex syntax and a vocabulary far beyond the “buyahonda” and “tieabowtie” stuff that you see here in this country. So, I consider myself a non-practicing Pentecostal that will go to the mat to defend it, but you won’t find me trying to buy a Honda anytime soon. It’s a tension I’m comfortable with for the time being, but I know will have to be resolved someday.

  • The unnamed webmaster at the Biblearchive writes about the differences between Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology in ‚ÄúDispensation Defense‚Äù. ‚ÄúI’m not picking a fight with anyone whether Dispensationalism is better or worse than Covenant Theology, all I’m doing is trying to clear up some misconceptions which are evidenced in a pretty famous comparison chart.‚Äù

    You do that while I get the brass knuckles. Seriously, check out the link to the Chart that webmaster talks about in his post. It’s worth a read.

  • John Rich, the BlogCornerPreacher inquires whether we can ‚ÄúForgive and Forget?‚Äù If we have not forgotten sins against us, we have not truly forgiven them.

    Thank God I’ve got a short memory. Even when I should remember what bad thingssomebody did to me, I have a hard time remembering any of it. I guess it comes from coming from a family of strong-willed people where everyone yelled all the time, and then forgot the whole mess 5 minutes later.

  • Eric, The majordomo of Ales Rarus (more affectionately known by the unforgettable moniker ‚ÄúFunkyDung‚Äù) wonders aloud if the ‚ÄúCatholic Church (is) Teaching Universalism?” He‚Äôs discovering more and more that the Catholic Church has some serious PR problems. In this post he responds to gross misunderstandings of Catholic teachings and teaching authority. They are fairly representative of the kinds of misconceptions and misinterpretations I have seen on many Protestant (mostly Evangelical) sites.

    Apparently, FunkyDung is trying to cut down on blogging and spend more time with his wife. You wouldn’t know it by the length and quality of this post. The man is a machine. I could only get through a part of before I looked up at the clock and saw it was past midnight, and I still hadn’t finished the Carnival!

Church Life & Polity

  • A Penitent Blogger asks aloud “Snakes. Why‚Äôd it have to be snakes?”, reflecting on the last part of the Gospel according to Mark and where our focus should be.

    I’ve always been amused by how the “they shall take up serpents” scripture has been viewed as a command, not as an observation. What would have happened if God had written “They shall jump off cliffs…” Nice post.

  • Dory at the Wittenberg Gate ponders mistakes in leadership in ‚ÄúBroken Leaders and Second Chances‚Äù. When leaders fall into sin, when is it right to call them again to a position of leadership? This post explores the issues of sincere repentance and a record of victory over sin.

    I think the contrast between the Army and the Marine Corps illustrates clearly different styles of leadership (the latter being demonstrably much more effective). The Army (as well as the Navy and the Air Force) usually relieves a top commander after a mistake, even minor, which ultimate makes commanders unwilling to take risks,. The Marine Corps, on the other hand, will more often chastise a commander who makes a mistake (and most mistakes in the military result in the deaths of those who shouldn’t have otherwise died), but will not relieve him, unless he is willfully negligent. In this way, they keep the talent they’ve invested in by giving second chances, and thus it creates leaders who are more willing to take risks to achieve victory, and this is why the Marine Corps is so successful as an military organization. Churches who expect perfection from a pastor will not find one, and will constantly be disappointed in their performance. Churches that chastise fallen leaders and are willing to consider restoring them to leadership, I believe will get a better leader in the long run.

  • Brad Hightower, the 21st Century Reformation man, thinks we need a “Radical Change in Our Christian Practice”. From his description: ‚ÄúIn this post, Brad maps out three areas where significant if not radical change is necessary in our Christian practice: the missional nature of our church communities, our ability to articulate a method of sanctification that is effective and our method of discipleship. Having written extensively on the first two areas, this post is the first in a series in which Brad will begin to map a new method and approach to discipleship. Another great post from an evangelical and yet revolutionary blogger.‚Äù

    Obviously a confident fellow! ;-) I particularly like the part in your profile about “whatever it is I do now.” I feel exactly the same way about my own career.

  • Andrew, the new guy on the block over at Weapons of Warfare calls us to ‚ÄúPassionate Humility‚Äù.

    A curious, but interesting title. Even though he’s only been in the ‘sphere for a couple of weeks, the rest of his blog is worth reading.

Arts & Creativity

  • Joe Missionary wonders “Is Jesus your boyfriend?” One would certainly think so, with the Hillsong lyrics you just sang in church last week. Just where do we draw the line between loving Jesus and loooooooooooooving Jesus? Join Joe (and his band of commentors and protestors) as he opens up this can of mushy worms.

    I like Joe Missionary. Day by unending day, I find myself more and more uncomfortable with the CCM projection human love onto Jesus (and creeped out by the strange homoerotic overtones of songs like Joe mentioned). I mean, he’s is the King of Kings, not the Boyfriend of Boyfriends! I am supposed to revere him in complete and total AWE. If there is any love I should feel, it should be how I loved my father. And even though I can be secure in his presence, it’s completely inappropriate to stare at his ding-dong, metaphorically speaking, of course. Ladies, take note of this. Jesus is God, and men are not, even though they think they are. Therefore, Jesus isn’t your boyfriend, and your boyfriend isn’t Jesus, not matter how much you try to turn him into Him. Jesus is the Almighty Creator of the Universe! Your boyfriend is a putz who you are going to marry in spite of himself. Deal with it.

  • Leo Wong brings us a Java applet entitled “Letter”. Type mindfully, and sign.

Personal Reflections

  • Dawn at Randomness elucidates why she felt like she was ‚ÄúTreading Water‚Äù.

    Part of me has been treading water for years.

  • In ‚ÄúEllie and the Animals‚Äù Sam at [rough draft] writes about how God must feel about us (in light of Genesis 2) after spending a sick day with his little daughter.

    I always thought it was an amazing thing that ‚Äúwhatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.” Then again, we have words like ‚Äúdirt‚Äù, ‚Äúbird‚Äù, ‚Äúworm‚Äù and they sound like the names a two-year old would call them. And that reminds me how much bigger God is in every way than I am.

  • Catez, author of AllThings2All, who was the last to submit her post to me, and by categorizational misfortune, the last Carnival post listed on this page, writes in ‚ÄúNot Many Noble‚Äù: ‚ÄúWhat do C.S. Lewis, Barbara Walters, Donald Trump and the Apostle Paul have in common? Come to Narnia and find out who the false Aslan is, and what the real Aslan would have you to do.‚Äù

    Her reflections are a great way to conclude this Christian Carnival. ‚ÄúIn the first of the Chronicles of Narnia the entrance to Narnia is discovered through the back of a wardrobe (closet). Wardrobes are often full of clothes that we never wear and don’t need. It’s time to give away the trappings so we can see our way clear to a different and truly fascinating place, where quality of heart is more important than bank account size. It’s time for a new allegiance. The real Aslan is on the move.‚Äù

Well, that’s it. Thanks for visiting DF&C, especially to those of you who still stop by only to find “State of the Blog” posts about why I haven’t been blogging lately.