My son and I performed Ottorino Respighi’s Berceuse (No.1 from his Six Pieces for Violin and Piano). He played the violin, and I accompanied him on the piano. This has long been one of my favorite pieces of music for violin and piano. I hope you enjoy the video! Read more

If you haven’t seen it already, Gabriel McKee has written a review, entitled “Wrong on Religion; Wrong on Science Fiction”, for Internet Review of Science Fiction. It is a review of a book by James Herrick that I’ve also reviewed (my review gets mentioned in McKee’s). Read more

Thanks to April DeConick for drawing attention to a news piece on WFCR about the situation of the Mandaeans both in Iraq and in the United States. You can listen to the whole thing there. Read more

A commenter named Jason asked some thoughtful questions in the comments section of my previous post. I’ve decided to reproduce the comment here, and then reply at length: I haven’t actually watched this video yet (my daughter won the battle this morning to play myepets.com) but I have seen quite a few like it and enjoy watching them. But it is not hard to notice that most of these videos are produced by atheists (indeed, DonExodus2 is the only one... Read more

Thanks to AIG Busted for sharing this excellent YouTube video pointing out some major (i.e. glaringly obvious to anyone who looks at the evidence) problems with “flood geology”. There’s also some sarcastic humor to it too, making it all the more enjoyable. Read more

For those trying to make sense of LOST, or who have just about given up on it, as well as die-hard fans, the new LOST Untangled video guide is not just helpful but funny. Read more

“Paul’s refusal to deploy the arts of persuasion (1 Thess. 2.4; Gal. 1.10) is itself a topos from the world of rhetoric, evincing a common awareness of the dangers involved in being too adaptable to one’s audience.” — F. Gerald Downing, Doing Things With Words In The First Christian Century (JSNTS 200, Sheffield Academic Press, 2000) p.84. Read more

Tonight’s episode of LOST continues to explore the time-hopping experience of those who remained on the island, as well as the gathering (at ever-increasing pace) of the Oceanic 6. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, spoilers follow. The fast pace presumably is not only because they only have 70 hours to accomplish it, but also because we all have presumed from the beginning that they will go back. There are some really wonderful moments, but Jin’s rescue by the... Read more

I’m honored that Pastor Bob Cornwall would single out my blog from among so many as one that he particularly finds inspiring. Thank you! It is my duty to pass on the honor to others. As I try to do so, I find it incredibly difficult to narrow down the extensive list of blogs I sometimes read, or even the long list of blogs I read daily/regularly, and pick a few that have inspired me more than others. Many have... Read more

“Those who challenge our beliefs or push our emotional buttons are in our lives to teach us how to go deeper into ourselves and defuse our emotional hot buttons. Opposition is a gift to LGBT believers because it forces us to consider our beliefs and why we believe them. We can’t complacently or blithely give our assent to beliefs like heterosexual Christians can. We have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. In doing so, we build... Read more