Breakfast Links for 12/03/12: Wonder; 50 Shades of Gray and Evangelical Sexuality; St. Nicholas Was a Beast

BREAKFAST LINKS 12/03/12:

Christine Jeske, Patheos/This Ordinary Adventure: “Wonder, above all, is not having to ask if it’s by chance.  Wonder is believing that none of this is ever by chance.”

Albert R. Hunt, Bloomberg View: Swing Counties Tell Tale of Republican Defeat

Tim Dalrymple, Patheos/Philosophical Fragments: “ Christians should always seek to shape the culture and impact the marketplace of ideas.  But I don’t think there’s anything inherently contradictory in Christians professing their convictions but understanding that we live in an increasingly secular society representing multiple moral and religious philosophies and accepting that our laws on marriage will reflect that diversity.”

Michael Goodwin, New York Post: Obama 2: Even More Reckless

John Mark Reynolds, Patheos/Eidos: “I am a misfit and am sorry for it. I ask Jesus to make me a fit for his Kingdom. May I become less a fit for this age and more a fit for the age to come!”

Judy Sokolow, Jewish Ideas Daily: Lincoln’s “Limp”

Nancy French, Patheos/The French Revolution: “Whatever the action or intention of an unfaithful spouse, God has a life-changing agenda for you, a positive, redemptive purpose in this situation.”

Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service: Fifty Shades of Gray, Evangelicals and Sexuality

Peter Enns, Patheos/Peter Enns: “Nicholas was a beast. Mother Teresa, Oskar Schindler, and Samuel L. Jackson all rolled into one. What an absolute crushing beast.”

Christopher Howse, The Telegraph: The Pope’s Nativity Mythos

Roger E. Olson, Patheos/Roger E. Olson: “Unfortunately, I fear, some contemporary Christians (and probably Christians of the past as well) tend to assume that worship is our doing. We create it and practice it and hope that God will show up.”

Michael Martinez, CNN: We’re All Hypocritical Little Half-Men

Bill Blankschaen, Patheos/Bill In the Blank: “The FaithWalker’s Daily is a quick review of key news stories of the day from the perspective of a conservative Christ-follower living in, but not of, the world.”

Gary Younge, The Guardian: Republicans, Welcome to Reality