Michael Spencer is excited about the new ESV Literary Study Bible. [amazon] My thinline has even fewer frills, dispensing with the book and chapter introductions.

Here's a challenging red letters quiz at Kingdom People. Head on over and see how you do.

Taking "realism" to a whole new level.

A new blog, or "online journal", as they're calling it, from the C. S. Lewis foundation. Looks pretty good so far. (HT: The Wardrobe Door)

Trevin Wax shares his past experience with and present feelings about eschatology. Some days I think Trevin and I were separated at birth, except that he's about 6 years older than I am. In any case, I'm in a very similar place on this topic.

What I do know, though, about Revelation is that the focus of the book is not ultimately a “theology of the end times” designed to fascinate us with details we can chart on a map. The focus of the book is on the unveiling of Christ and his bride. Read Revelation to find out about the end of the world and you might miss Christ - the center and focus of all Bible prophecy.

Maybe one day I will better understand Revelation. Until then, I’m satisfied to leave the eschatological speculation to the pro’s. Better yet, I’m going to keep my eyes on Jesus - the One who is coming soon.

Here's an excellent post from Michael Spencer about his personal perspective on Catholicism. It defies excerpting, so if the issue interests you, read the whole thing.

Interviewing Thomas Woods at LVMI. (Wikipedia bio)

An awesome post on Rich Mullins at Kamp Krusty:

I confess to wondering sometimes, "Why am I doing this...?" and then I hear the first few notes of "Peace", and I remember. Oh -- yeah. Of course.

Jesus.

My good friend Jonathan Marshall just rolled out a new blog. He's a pretty fired-up guy and I'm sure he'll be bringing up some good stuff. Don't miss it.

Another one of those "ouch-that's-me" posts from Cerulean Sanctum. Thanks Dan.

Here's a pretty good roundup on "Being a Missional Church" from Said@Southern. As usual, I'm the little snotty-nosed kid tagging along behind.

From WORLD: USA Today is reporting that most Americans believe the nation's founders wrote Christianity into the Constitution. I think that indicates a flawed view of both historic Christianity and the historical climate surrounding the writing of the Constitution.

UPDATE: AU weighs in.

VOM, Eritrea:

On September 5, Eritrean authorities tortured to death 33-year-old Nigsti Haile for refusing to recant her Christian faith while being held at the Wi'a Military Training Center. Haile is the fourth Christian killed in Eritrea in less than a year. Compass Direct News reported, "She was one of 10 single Christian women arrested at a church gathering in Keren. They have spent 18 months under severe pressure. Haile was killed for refusing to sign a letter recanting her faith." In May 2002, government officials called in the leaders of all evangelical churches in Eritrea and told them they would not be permitted to hold further public services. Only the "historic religions" of Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Islam have been allowed to hold public worship since that time. Compass Direct says that more than 2,000 Eritrean Christians are imprisoned. Not a single one of them has been formally charged or had a public trial, and all have been denied legal representation. Amnesty International released a report yesterday that said most of the more than 2,000 imprisoned Christians have been held for more than two years in harsh conditions, with little or no medical care. Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the family of Nigsti Haile. Ask God to protect and encourage Christians in Eritrea, especially believers imprisoned because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

Another ace in the hole from Greg Boyd on whether or not there is an obvious Christian answer to the Iraq debacle:

While the New Testament calls on followers of Jesus to love, bless and serve our enemies rather than use violence against them, it also acknowledges that God uses the sword-wielding capacity of governments to keep sin in check. For example, four verses after Paul tells disciples to love and serve enemies and to leave all vengeance to God (Rom. 12:17-21), he goes on to say that God orchestrates governments to exact vengeance on wrongdoers (Rom. 13:4). In other words, he’s saying that God will use governments to do things God explicitly forbids disciples of Jesus to do.

In this light, it seems to me there is in principle no inconsistency in a Christian being personally committed to non-violence and yet embracing the opinion that a particular government should in some tragic instances go to war or use violence in other contexts. (I’m not saying I personally believe this, only that there’s no inconsistency in believing this way).

Read the whole thing.

A TIME Magazine article about the spiritual struggles of Mother Theresa has sparked some discussion in the blogosphere about what it means to "practice the presence of God." Here's some thoughtful, honest posts from Michael Spencer and Dan Edelen - both definitely worth reading. Also see MercatorNet.

Andrew Osenga responds to an article branding Caedmon's Call as determinist. Good job, Andy, and extra points for invoking Chesterton.

The chorus of the song you referenced contains that Scripture “He makes all things good.” Either we believe that’s true, because He said it, or we believe it’s not. If it’s not, not only is God not powerful, but He’s a liar, and He’s not that good.

It’s just like believing that God became a man, woke up after death and somehow freed me from the consequences of my sin. The Church is built on believing in things that don’t always make a lot of sense.

A new podcast series from Michael Spencer examining Lewis's approach to apologetics in Mere Christianity.

Posting has been light lately, for three reasons:

1. I'm busy and tired.
2. Internet at the house has been a royal pain.
3. I'm busy and tired.

Thank you for your understanding.

CNN recently aired a documentary series entitled God's Warriors, in which they explored the agendas of fundamentalist/militant factions within Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. I didn't see it, but it looks like it was fascinating - and more than a little controversial. Here's some commentary from the evangelical outpost, some blustery indignation from The Northern Gleaner, and some good thoughts from Greg Boyd here and here. (Greg Boyd actually made it into the documentary. To see his segment, go to this page, click on "Christianity," and then click "Video Diary: Politics and Faith." Go Greg!)

This post by Joe Carter on the history of atheistic philosophy is pretty good, mainly because he manages to quote Chesterton twice.

Where do the New Atheists get this silly notion that they are heirs of the Enlightenment? ... The rationalists of the Enlightenment era were able to trust in reason precisely because they were theists or deists and believed in a transcendent, rational God. To think otherwise was considered, as the philosophers often noted, the height of absurdity.

Here's an intriguing - if somewhat abrasive - piece from LVMI about David Gelernter's book, Americanism: The Fourth Great Western Religion.

Gelernter would profit from reflecting about a remark often attributed to Voltaire: if you want to found a new religion, you should arrange to be crucified and rise from the dead on the third day.

You won't want to miss this recent highlight from Kamp Krusty: The Tyranny of Mattering.

Two things I know about the world:

1) Everything matters.

2) This can be a real problem.

Here's an excellent interview with the one-and-only Derek Webb: Part 1 and Part 2.

Thanks to the guys at Said at Southern for making this happen.

VOM, India:

KASHMIR – On July 29, five men from the Molvis Al-Hadis Mosque in Baramulla threatened Pastor Bashir Masih, and other believers preparing for Sunday worship. According to The Voice of the Martyrs' contacts in India, "The five men threatened the believers and instructed them to vacate the house, which is also used as a house church, within a month since it is located near a mosque." In the past, Muslim extremists have assaulted Pastor Masih's disabled son and Muslim village authorities have allowed extremists to block drinking water to Pastor Masih's home. Pastor Masih was a Muslim who converted to Christianity in 2005. His house church, Shalom Prayer House, was started in 2005. Pray for Pastor Masih's family and Christians in India who remain steadfast in their faith, despite persecution.