1.  First the funnies.  I would not have posted this yesterday, but by way of giving a strange nod toward 9/11, and remembering the silliness of the ‘truthers,’ I thought I’d bring out this from The Onion: 2.  Second the inspiration.  In doing research for evangelical perspectives on the environment–and what evangelicals tend to call “creation care,” I came across these videos on “God of Wonders.”  These are beautiful videos — rather like those you see in Planet Earth, or... Read more

I included this in my Morning Report this morning, but I think it deserves special attention.  Plus, I did not actually put the audio on the site.  So here is Jeremy Begbie, Cambridge theologian and musician, reflecting on how music instructs us in the order and beauty of Creation. Anything from Jeremy Begbie is wonderful.  So check it out this small selection: Jeremy Begbie on Mars Hill Audio Read more

1.  I love ChristianHistory.net, a division of Christianity Today, and today they have a biographical sketch of Martin Luther’s wife Katherine von Bora.  The opening lines: “Her name was Katherine von Bora. She was 26, an escaped nun who had left the convent along with 10 of her sisters when she became convinced of the truth of Lutheran theology. After two years as a guest in the home of German artist Lucas Cranach and his family, who made various attempts... Read more

1.  THE DAY THE TOWERS FELL. Always remember the people who died that day, and who died in responding to the most deadly act of war ever perpetrated against the United States homeland. 2.  INHERITING HELL.  Speaking of 9/11, Fouad Ajami has a thought-provoking piece in the Wall Street Journal on the war in Afghanistan and the choices Obama faces.  He’s surely right that Obama, like LBJ, inherited a war he has no desire to fight, and yet feels compelled... Read more

At the Evangelical Portal at Patheos we are continuing our series on orphans and adoption. A new author for us, Benjamin DeVan, reminds us that the fantasy and the reality of orphans and their plight are often quite different.  We like to think of orphans like those of Charles Dickens, or little orphan Annie, or even Harry Potter, plucky boys and girls, unspoiled by the riches of the world, who learn to overcome adversity, who struggle and succeed. It’s a... Read more

1.  IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED…Count me profoundly disappointed in last night’s speech.  All along I have believed in the ability of the President and his coterie to learn from their mistakes and course-correct.  But this was not a course-correction.  It was a retrenchment.  It was–and I don’t think I’m exaggerating–a slender and elegant middle finger to everyone who has had concerns about Obama’s proposed health care reform. The most disappointing moment was not Joe Wilson’s outburst, “You lie!” ... Read more

1.  Happy birthday to my little girl, and happy anniversary to my beloved wife. 2.  Bill McGurn has an excellent article on two “Christian Girls, Interrupted.”  The first girl, Amanda Kurowski, was ordered by a judge to attend public school because, essentially, the judge determined that the girl should be exposed to ways of thinking other than those of her religious parents.  Amanda’s parents are divorced; her mother has primary custody, but her father has been concerned about the effect... Read more

1.  THE CON OF CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICS.  “The Big Con” explains the money and organization behind efforts to shift Catholic voters’ support away from those who oppose abortion to those who propose social welfare programs that would ostensibly reduce the need for (and thus the number of) abortions.  The article is written in the kind of suggestive, ominous language that I typically find bothersome, because I don’t think the activists who encouraged Catholics to vote for pro-choice Democrats thought they were... Read more

Tending to birthdays and beloveds over the long weekend.  We’ll be back in action on Tuesday.  God bless! Read more