From Lindsay Abrams: (Check out the article’s sketch of recent studies of coffee’s benefits.) “What I tell patients is, if you like coffee, go ahead and drink as much as you want and can,” says Dr. Peter Martin, director of the Institute for Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt University. He’s even developed a metric for monitoring your dosage: If you are having trouble sleeping, cut back on your last cup of the day. From there, he says, “If you drink that... Read more
The murder and suicide by Jovan Belcher leads yet again to the gun control debate. Bob Costas, siding with by citing Jason Whitlock, says it well: “Our current gun culture,” Whitlock wrote, “ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience-store confrontations over loud music coming from a car will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead.” “Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments,... Read more
A couple of weeks ago I posted from Christian Letters to a Post-Christian World, a selection of essays by Dorothy Sayers, unfortunately out of print now (but also available under the title The Whimsical Christian: 18 Essays I believe). This is a volume well worth coming back to – and I will. Sayers deserves a far broader readership than she receives. She was much more than just a writer of detective stories. Her insights (not to mention her incredible power... Read more
I came of age in faith when the charismatic movement was gaining its momentum even though “our” brand of the Christian faith made us doubly dubious of its claims of the Holy Spirit, but I had a semi-charismatic experience (no tongues) in high school and from that time I was on board — but only over time did I come to terms with the charismatic movement as not made up of a bunch of kooks. Behind all of this was... Read more
Do you know what your handwriting looks like? When was the last time you “wrote” a letter? Used stationery? The answer is less obvious than you might think. Sure, you are familiar with your own scrawled to-do lists, or the brief missives you leave on the kitchen counter for houseguests or your spouse. Perhaps you take notes by hand in meetings (though if you’re like me you consult them only sporadically after the fact). But when was the last time... Read more
My friend, Margaret Feinberg, has a new book and 7-session Bible Study called Wonderstruck: Awaken to the Nearness of God (releasing Christmas Day)—a personal invitation for you to toss back the covers, climb out of bed, and drink in the fullness of life. Wonderstruck [www.margaretfeinberg.com/wonderstruck] will help you: Recognize the presence of God in the midst of your routine Unearth extraordinary moments on ordinary days Develop a renewed passion for God Identify what’s holding you back in prayer Discover joy in... Read more
What do you believe about hell? And one more: Where did you get your belief about hell? There are a number of typical beliefs about hell by people today, and one can read about these in Edward Fudge’s new accessible study called Hell: A Final Word. Here is Ed Fudge’s list of what most seem to believe: 1. Hell is experienced now in the results of bad decisions or injustices. 2. God is good; a good God and eternal conscious punishment... Read more
In the late 80s and early 90s perhaps no Old Testament scholar had built around him a way of Bible reading more than Brevard Childs at Yale. Childs resisted two approaches to Bible and theology — the historical-critical method that all but ignored theology and the “biblical theology” approach because it was too historical-critical in approach. He proposed what is often called a “canonical approach.” Childs knew his Bible well, and not just his Old Testament — so much so... Read more
Kris and I attended Lincoln Friday (early evening, OK, matinee) and we both enjoyed it immensely. I’m wondering what you thought of the movie ... but this clip from an article about how they worked to get Lincoln’s abundant speaking sounding like what would have been said in the 1860s is a good exhibit of the work done by moviemakers… IMAGINE THAT you’re Steven Spielberg and you need a script for your new film: a meticulous re-creation of the final months in... Read more
From AP: Would you vote for these guys? “No one would dare say that Bonds, a seven-time National League MVP with 762 home runs, isn’t a Hall of Famer,” Thom Loverro, a columnist for The Washington Examiner, wrote in a column that explained his decision. “Nor would anyone say that Clemens, with 354 career victories, 4,672 strikeouts and seven Cy Young Awards, shouldn’t be enshrined in Cooperstown. The same goes for Sosa, who finished with 609 career home runs, including... Read more
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