joel's thoughts

Just came across a list of ground rules some guy came up with (I’m guessing the result of direct experience) for anyone on either side of a debate on Christianity. This should be required reading for anyone considering stepping in the ring…

(H/T: ThinkChristian)

Greg Kouki of Stand to Reason writes a pretty compelling response both to James Cameron’s Discovery Channel piece about the “Lost Tomb of Jesus” and to believers who immediately got their teeth a-gnashing at the very suggestion:

Look, if the Bible says it and you believe it, that might settle it for you, but it doesn’t settle it for millions who might be interested in your ideas and are waiting to hear a thoughtful response to what appears on the surface to be a fair challenge. […] There are good reasons to doubt the conclusions of this documentary, but no one will ever know them if Christians pull up the drawbridge and bellow from the parapet.

Greg goes on to list several critical responses to the show’s thesis (if you can call it that). Well worth a read.

(H/T The Point)

Fascinating review over at Implications (from the Trinity Forum) of a book suggesting that before the influences of Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam, ancient China had an understanding of (and respect for) a monotheistic, sustaining creator God with moral attributes strikingly similar to Israel’s Yahweh, in direct contradiction to the general assumption that Christianity is solely a western religion. Check it out.

If you’ve been wondering what’s been happening with Vedat, the Serbian boy we brought over for surgery on his back, check here for the latest. God is faithful, and there is no doubt in my mind he has plans for this boy!

For disappearing acts, it’s hard to beat what happens to the eight hours
supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work.
-Doug Larson,
Olympic Gold Medalist (1902-1981)

You’ve probably seen the web ads around Christmas time from orgs like World Vision asking you to “buy a goat” or some such for your loved ones. Of course it’s in name only, as you’re donating the appropriate amount in your loved one’s name to enable the organization to provide a goat for a poor family for whom it would mean a great deal more than a book or something for your family. It’s by no means a new idea — charities have been accepting “in honor of” donations for years. But I just came across an organization that applies the charity-minded giving concept and weds it (ahem) with a life occasion that frequently involves non-trivial amounts of money — your wedding:

The I Do Foundation provides engaged couples with the opportunity to add a charitable component to their weddings through innovative giving options. The Foundation is dedicated to providing engaged couples with all of the tools necessary to raise donations for their selected charity.

Basically you set up your registry/ies through them at a selection of retail partners, and a small percentage of any gifts purchased go toward the charity of your choice. Retailers include Amazon, Target, and Home Depot, and the charities include the usual list of suspects — American Red Cross, Save The Children, Oxfam, and others, as well as a number of faith-based groups like World Vision, Compassion, and Church World Service (though you won’t find these on the main information list, you can search the charity database and turn up quite a few more). You can also create a direct charity registry, for guests to give a more straightforward “in honor of”-type gift.

On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Diana Butler Bass takes a look at where the politics of abortion stand today (hint: not very far from where they stood thirty years ago), why the church bears some responsibility for that, and what in her view needs to change. A thought-provoking, challenging piece, and well worth pondering.

Ever since Lawrence v. Texas, in which the Supreme Court essentially told the government to stay out of the bedroom, there has been speculation that other…shall we say, “non-mainstream” lifestyles would start lining up at the “Be Accepted Now!” window.

As the Washington Post reports this morning, polygamists are piping up right on cue. And while I don’t agree with them, I can’t say I blame them for speaking up given the current social, legal, and political climate. It’s worth noting, as the Post does, that a distinction is being made not only in the movement itself but more significantly in the Utah attorney general’s office between “regular” polygamous practices (one adult man marrying multiple openly consenting adult women) and those of Tom Green, Warren Jeffs, and others involving things like rape, incest, and forcing underage girls into marriage. This distinction is based on the flipside of the premise of Lawrence, opting to focus on behaviors with real harm to minors which are addressed by non-polygamy laws rather than private actions between consenting adults.

One has to wonder, though, given the potential slippery slope provided by Lawrence, how soon we’ll have men trying to marry their dogs…

The UK Telegraph has Part 2 of Christopher Monckton’s take on global warming, in which he addresses proposed and potential responses (i.e., “so what do we do now?”).

George Monbiot over at The Guardian has provided an attempted debunking. “Debunking” because he raises several valid points and provides enough information to bring the certainty in Monckton’s piece down a peg or two; “attempted” because it doesn’t seem to provide quite enough to swing one’s certainty the other way, and smacks a bit of the “you unwashed masses couldn’t be expected to understand” bearing which rarely elevate’s one’s cause in the eyes of the intended audience.

I know this is two posts in one day (am I allowed?), but I just came across this site and I had to pass it on. Family Life, Focus on the Family, Shaohannah’s Hope, and some fifty other organizations are partnering together this month to launch the Voice of the Orphan campaign to raise awareness in the church and encourage and equip the body of Christ to get involved in orphan ministry in one way or another.

Go check it out and get involved!