The episode begins with Sayid as a boy in Iraq, killing a chicken when his brother cannot. Then it moves to Ben in the time of the Dharma initiative, bringing Sayid a sandwich and a book. Ben asks Sayid if Richard sent him. He says that Richard told him to be patient, and he says that if Sayid is patient, he thinks he can help him. Then we see Sayid as one of the Oceanic Six, working for Ben and... Read more
I listened to Carl Nielsen’s Violin Concerto again recently, and I realized that I had forgotten how wonderful it is. It deserves to be heard far more often than it is, and so enjoy this recording with Baiba Skride as soloist. Read more
I laughed out loud when I saw the picture above, to which someone on Facebook had added a comment that this church clearly doesn’t think very highly of its worship musicians! Read more
This chart is based on an article in the Huffington Post by Rev. Emily Heath of the United Church of Christ. That article deserves to be circulated again in response to the recent laws purporting to defend “religious liberty” but in fact in at least some instances defending the right of people to justify infringing on the liberties of others in the name of religion. Read more
I was proud when I read the statement by Butler University’s president Jim Danko about the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” When I then saw that the president of IU Michael McRobbie had alsod issued a statement, I found myself wondering about it in relation to the law. The statement says, “we will not tolerate discrimination on the basis of any of these same factors. “ Butler is a private institution, with a religious heritage even if not a religious affiliation.... Read more
The episode begins by returning to Ajira flight 316. We get the perspective of Frank and his co-pilot. Frank manages to land the plane on the runway that in an earlier episode, the Others had made Kate and Sawyer work on. Ben seems to be OK, although the co-pilot is dead and some others are hurt. When Cesar mentions having seen buildings and animal cages, he realizes where he is and heads off. Sun follows him, but soon he is... Read more
Scot McKnight shared the above infographic. American Baptists ought to have been at the forefront in the fight for marriage equality, given our history. Can we at least be next? Or, in keeping with Baptist principles, can we at least explicitly give each believer and each congregation the freedom to follow the dictates of their conscience on this subject? Read more
Phil Long shared a call for contributions to the next Biblical Studies Carnival, which will be on the blog Pursuing Veritas, which is new to me. Click through for more details about how to submit a post for this carnival, and where upcoming carnivals are scheduled to me. Read more
The above cartoon from Pictorial Theology raises interesting questions (even if I disagree with what it says, especially with regard to Ewoks). On the one hand, the message of cheap grace that is popular in much contemporary Christianity is profoundly unbiblical. Paul, supposedly the greatest proponent of this message, asked the Corinthians Christians, “You know that wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God, don’t you? Stop deceiving yourselves!” On the other hand, to the extent that redemption – genuine change, turning... Read more
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