Do we need a Christian university?
A lengthy and very well-informed paper by Nigel Paterson is posted at Christian Today:
“The concept of a university was substantially a Christian innovation, yet most modern universities are secular institutions. This paper surveys briefly the historical background which shows how this came about and the institutional landscape of higher education today. Next, biblical perspectives applicable to all Christians involved in higher education are explored. At the heart of the paper, there lies a discussion of the arguments for and against a Christian university, and the characteristics of such a new Christian university, as envisaged, are presented. The paper is intended to provoke readers across the world to thought, discussion and a more informed response to the many possibilities for Christian service within higher education.”
Read the entire thing here.
Journaling: who needs it?
“I just don’t get it. Writing every day about me - my day, my “high” or “low” - who cares?”
Some refreshingly frank words about this pastime from Jan at The View from Her.
On productivity
Scot Longyear offers some very practical advice at the worship.com blog:
The Ten Commandments . . . of blogging
Brought to you by the Evangelical Alliance, as detailed in a recent article in Christian Today. Here are the first three:
- You shall not put your blog before your integrity.
- You shall not make an idol of your blog.
- You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin.
Read them all here.
(HT: Colin Adams)
Suicide in Scripture
Ted Butler exposits the issue at Hip and Thigh.
Pulpit or no pulpit?
Brian Lowery opens the discussion at the Preaching Today blog.
Young people bored by the classics
. . . according to a 2007 report by the National Endowment for the Arts entitled To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence. At First Things, Eleanor Bourg Donlon reflects on its findings, citing television and classroom teachers themselves as part of the problem. Her diagnosis includes the following advice:
“With all of this said, there are three basic rules that must be established before one encounters Dickens. First, one ought not to read a three-volume novel expecting it to be short. Second, one should not expect the deep, dark secret of a Victorian thriller to be anything less than utterly predictable (this caution is reiterated, in particular, to a group of young students of my acquaintance who seriously expected the deep, dark secret of Wilkie Collins’ Woman in White to be that the villain was really a werewolf). And third, one should not read Dickens hoping he will not introduce a cast of thousands.”
Read her entire post, “Hard Times for Great Books“.
Is Christian perfection possible?
Greek scholar Bill Mounce weighs in at koinonia. (He thinks not.)
Herman Bavinck’s writings online
Thanks to Tony Reinke:
“In my opinion, the writings of Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck (1854-1921) are some of the most valuable in the long tradition of reformed theology. . . . For me personally, Bavinck has joined Jonathan Edwards in becoming my life-long theologians of choice—two men I’ve committed an especially large sum of time and money with the goal of garnering all the divine truths their writings offer . . .”
The site is at www.hermanbavinck.org.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
Mohler on the New Birth
Al Mohler comments on a Buddhist Temple in Thailand which offers (for a fee), “an opportunity to die, rise up again newborn and make a fresh start in life”, as a recent New York Times story related. Mohler remarks:
There is a universal human sense that something horrible is wrong with us. This problem is one that is so fundamental that we sense the need to have a new start — a new birth, so to speak.
Read his post here.
Catalyst Conference 2008, Oct. 8-10 in Atlanta
From the conference website:
The Catalyst Conference is the largest gathering of young leaders in the country, but
it pains us to call it just a conference. Catalyst is more than just a three-day event –
it’s a movement, a convergence, an experience where you find yourself fully
immersed in learning, worship, and creativity. Catalyst brings people together – the
influencers, the do-ers, the cultural architects, and the change agents who will
reclaim our communities and culture for good.
Speakers include
- Andy Stanley, Andy Stanley, Pastor of North Point Community Church
- Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and co-author of Built to Last
- Franklin Graham, President and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse
- Billy Graham
- Seth Godin, blogger, marketing expert, and author of The Dip and Purple Cow
The case of Clay Aiken, a gay Southern Baptist
Kris Rasmussen reflects on the way that evangelicals have treated the issue of homosexuality:
As a whole, the modern church has done a terrible job of attempting to tackle this issue. We have spat out a scant few Bible verses to prove we are right and then dismissed the subject entirely–either out of fear or discomfort or both.
Read his post at Idol Chatter.
Women leading or teaching in the church not a new or Western-only practice
That is one of a handful of points that Dallas Theological Seminary adjunct professor of Christian Education and Pastoral Ministries Sandra Glahn makes while commenting on the issue of women in ministry, at the Tapestry website.
Telling others about the narrow gate
I’ve been a Christian for about 10 years, and last week I witnessed to a stranger, unsolicited, for the first time,” writes blogger La Shawn Barber: “The first time. I’ve explained to people what I believe and why I believe it when they’ve asked, but I’ve never initiated such a conversation . . .”
Barber describes the encounter and commends the teaching of Ray Comfort in her post on Gates and Grace.
Culture 11 post-debate debrief
Conor Friedersdorf, Peter Suderman, and James Poulos discuss the Friday debate between Obama and McCain:
“McCain’s debate performance was far better than a skeptical conservative might have feared . . .”
“Next to McCain, Obama seemed not only more presidential but more accessible . . .”
“The main question now . . . is whether an already restless and jittery populace that’s short on patience will latch onto McCain’s slightly whiny zingers . . . or Obama’s more liberal ones — liberal in both meanings.”
