Psalm 19:10-11 give us reasons to immerse ourselves in the Torah of God: 10 They are of greater value than gold, than even a great amount of pure gold; they bring greater delight than honey, than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb. 11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; those who obey them receive a rich reward. As always, we are reading through John Goldingay’s commentary (Psalms 1). As he points out, the psalmist uses a word for... Read more
James Emery White’s , in his new book ( Christ Among the Dragons: Finding Our Way Through Cultural Challenges), zeroes in the issue of civility. Civility is a huge issue today. Incivility has overtaken the news media (not all of it but too much of it). We have Rush Limbaugh and we have Michael Moore. We have crossfire shows that have one goal: pit enemies, provoke emotions, and draw in an audience. It’s like the medievals watching a beheading. James Emery White... Read more
Here’s a question I have for you, and it is one that lurks in the shadows of many conversations and it comes up more directly in others: Do you think ecology and the environment are part of the concerns of the gospel? Or, do they belong somewhere else? Does preaching the gospel involve eco-care? IVP just came out with a new book, a collection of pieces around this theme, and I want to urge you to consider reading it. It... Read more
Russell Moore, at Southern Seminary, was part of drafting this statement from the Southern Baptist Convention about creation care: In a resolution, the [Southern Baptist] Convention called on the government “to act determinatively and with undeterred resolve to end this crisis … to ensure full corporate accountability for damages, clean-up and restoration … and to ensure that government and private industry are not again caught without planning for such possibilities.” And he even suggests this issue and how folks respond... Read more
Liberty University demoted Ergun Caner, the first former Muslim to become dean of a seminary, after investigating claims that he made about his religious background. In a statement issued Friday, the Lynchburg, Va.-based university said the investigative committee concluded that Caner made “factual statements that are self-contradictory.” Caner will no longer be dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary as of June 30, when his contract expires, but will stay on as a professor for the 2010-2011 academic year. “[T]he committee... Read more
Retirement has become an entitlement to many in the West, and the sooner the better many believe. Not all that long ago folks didn’t think like this, and only few could retire the way many do today. For many, to retire means to cease working and to start living for fun and relaxation with very few responsibilities. In other words, find a place in the sunny weather, play golf, take trips … do what you want. I wonder how many... Read more
Psalm 19 is cut into two themes, and the two themes are not connected at the verbal level by the author as if to say how they relate. The first part has the Creation speaking, and the second part has the Torah speaking. Both speak of God, and both speak of God’s glory. Psalm 19 is a miniature version of Psalm 119. Vv. 7-9 praise the Torah/Word of God and here are the attributes of the Torah: Perfect Preserves life... Read more
I’m in search of some help. Kindle and Nook and other e-readers now have to compete with the iPad. While the percentage of books read in e-form is still quite low, somewhere about 5%, that number will probably increase. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these devices when it comes to e-readers? Read more
Last Wednesday Science and The Sacred posted an essay by Darrel Falk entitled On Living in the Middle. The essence of the essay is a discussion of the difficulty in charting a course between extremes – in this case the extreme of young and old earth creationism and the extreme of evangelistic atheism. On one side there is a conviction that our Christian faith requires a specific kind of constrain on both our understanding of scripture and our understanding of... Read more
It struck me the other day, when walking from one room to another in my home, that James Emery White’s , in his new book ( Christ Among the Dragons: Finding Our Way Through Cultural Challenges), is addressing largely the same questions that Brian McLaren is addressing in his newest book. White’s book represents an attempt to renew a vigorous evangelicalism, and it also represents a renewed commitment to classic evangelical themes. Is the classical evangelical paradigm viable in our culture? Like... Read more
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