After John Piper posted on the Minnesota bridge collapse, Greg Boyd posted some thoughts of his own and raised some concerns about how we interpret and explain a catastrophe like this. Coincidentally, both pastors happen to be from The North Star State - Piper resides in Minneapolis, Boyd in St. Paul.

Brant Hansen's side-splitting blog, Letters from Kamp Krusty, combines fearless criticism of the Evangelical establishment with a wonderful (if warped) sense of humor and a very precise level of corny-ness. Not to be missed.

A bleak picture indeed: Trevin Wax looks at Social Security and abortion.

Here's Owen Strachan echoing Victor Davis Hanson on why military history is necessary. I think it's a useful topic, but it appears that my harmless views on violence have now earned me the distinguished title of "culture-throttling pacifist." Is that kind of like being a peace-mongerer? If so, I rather like it. Maybe I should get some T-shirts made.

Owen Strachan on Christian education:

Our Christian institutions must push pupils to take intellectual dominion of their world, to develop a hunger for learning, to mold students into tenacious devotees of biblical faith who use their powers of reason in pursuit of God's glory. We ought not to be known for being schools where tests are easy and A's come readily. We should turn out students of the highest caliber, students who love learning not the sake of success, or even for the sake of learning itself, but for the sake of God's glory. We are to take dominion of the earth, right? This mandate was not given only to gardeners. It was given to us all, and it applies to every corner, every intricacy, of life. Let us fulfill it, and learn the truth, and ask good questions, and pursue knowledge until the day our own understanding is perfected.

VOM, Pakistan:

Pakistani officials have stopped all Bible classes for Christian prisoners in a Punjab jail, isolating an inmate who taught the classes and barring a local pastor from his weekly visits. Compass Direct News reports, "Protestant Pastor Munir Phool has been refused entry to Kasur city's district jail for his weekly visits since June 25, when Catholic prisoner Dil Awaiz was put in a high-security cell and tortured. Awaiz told Phool that Muslim inmates became angry when a Christian prisoner drank from one of their water glasses. The authorities retaliated by forcing the Christian prisoner to drink out of a glass used for cleaning toilets. Later, the authorities had Awaiz beaten and thrown in a high-security cell and deprived contact with other Christian prisoners." Pray for a speedy recovery for Awaiz and for Christians in Pakistan.

A visual journey through John 1:1-14:



Learn how to draw cartoons, comics, and anime at Sketchfu!



(HT: Garrett)

More about how stuff is made than you'd ever want to know.

(HT: the evangelical outpost)

Dan Edelen on the Church's complacency in providing for the needs of even her own people:

If I don’t instill in my son that we go without certain things we want so we can use the money to help others in need, then it doesn’t matter how many Bible verses he’s memorized, he’s been deprived of the heart of God. I fear that too many Christian parents brainwash themselves and their kids into a sense of entitlement that stomps on the Gospel. God help us should the next generation be even more stingy than we’ve become.

Here's a profoundly challenging post at consumed from Matthew Crawford: Will you walk in the darkness, or make a fire?

The exposition defies excerpting. Read it.

VOM, Iraq:

Christians in Iraq are experiencing a rise in persecution from Islamic extremists. According to a Christian Broadcasting Network News (CBNNews.com) report, Reverend Canon Andrew White, an Anglican minister from Baghdad, told a committee on religious freedom that Christians have been kidnapped, tortured and killed. Rev. White said in the last three to four months conditions in Iraq had deteriorated considerably. He added that he was given disturbing news at a congregational meeting this month. "Things are bad for everybody in Iraq. I said to them (church members), 'tell me what has happened over the past week.' And the people went through what had happened, and I realized that 36 of my congregation in that past week and been kidnapped. None of them have been returned," Reverend White said. Pray God protects and encourages Christians in Iraq. Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to refresh believers who face hardships everyday.

While I'm not ready to read Harry Potter for myself or recommend it to others, I'm not ready to condemn it either. It seems I'm slower to judgment than I used to be, and not as quick to lash out in angry dogmatism and call it discernment. Two thoughtful articles - Of Boggarts and What Would Jonathan Edwards Say About Harry Potter? - have further checked my initial inclination to dismiss the series out of hand. (Thanks to Aaron at The Wardrobe Door for the second link.)

Dan Edelen has drawn an interesting distinction between what he terms "NT" and "OT" Christians. I'm not sure I've heard it put exactly like this, but I know what he's getting at. Unlike him, I'm not sure it is Spiritually necessary - or even logically possible - to reconcile the two Covenants, as the one was designed to fulfill and replace the other.

What's the best argument against religion? Yep, you guessed it: religion.

(WORLD)

VOM, Kazakhstan:

On June 22, a mother and her young child were barred from their home as court executors sealed the Baptist church premises in Shymkent where they live to prevent the church from meeting. According to Forum 18 News Service, the move followed the church's refusal to abide by a court order halting its activity merely because it does not wish to undergo state registration. In Semey, Baptist Pastor Viktor Kandyba, his wife and their 12 children were threatened with the seizure of half their home after the pastor refused to pay a fine for leading unregistered worship. Pray for Christians in Kazakhstan.

An interview with Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

(A&LD)

How many U.S. Presidents can you name in 10 minutes? Give it a shot and see if you can beat my 31.

(HT: evangelical outpost)

Technology is now bringing the joys of digital reading to the offline world. This morning, I saw this portable reader from Sony, - basically a PocketPC optimized for reading - which holds 80 books and also plays music. It's an interesting concept, though for some reason I think I would miss the two page spread, not to mention the plain "bookishness" of books - their weight, binding, cover art - and don't forget that county library smell.

Still, something like this may have it's uses. I can see substantial advantages for both travel and study. Maybe I'll get one after they come down in price and feature a bit more functionality.

Greg Boyd on William Wilberforce:

In light of the recent movie on Wilberforce’s life (“Amazing Grace”) I’ve received several communications from people wondering how Wilberforce’s achievement fits into my radical distinction between the kingdom of God and politics. Some apparently think my perspective stands in conflict with the example of Wilberforce – as though I’d possibly be against what he did. This is not at all the case.

C. S. Lewis on Gender Language in the Bible:

When you turn from the New Testament to modern scholars, remember that you go among them as a sheep among wolves. Naturalistic assumptions, beggings of the question . . . will meet you on every side—even from the pens of clergymen.

Here's a very, very good post on imagination in Christian perspective. (HT: Dan Edelen) This one is worth reading - slowly - all the way through - twice.

If we are going to talk about the ‘primacy’ of anything in man’s grasping of his world, let us speak of the primacy of the imagination. The very act of perceiving our world necessarily involves the imagination. There is no such thing as mere perception.

It so happens that Peter Kreeft also has an excellent lecture on this.

Screwtape's First Letter to the Blogosphere. The phraseology is pretty faithful to the original, but it still doesn't sound quite like Lewis.

Thomas Woods has taken on an interesting question over at LVMI: Were American Indians Really Environmentalists?

The Indians often succeeded in being good stewards of the environment — but not in the way people generally suppose.

Joe at The Evangelical Outpost lists what are in his opinion the Top 100 Christian Blogs.