Cream of blog 1.25.12
January 25, 2012
Here are some links worth reading and thoughts worth thinking…
- Sobering words from John Piper: 15 things to consider about abortion.
- From Reformed Theological Seminary: Tinker, tailor, soldier…pastor: how two Cold War foes became pastoral friends.
- Two hundred million girls are “missing.” A new documentary, It’s a Girl! The Three Deadliest Words in the World, explores the systematic gendercide taking place in India, China, and other areas of South Asia. Watch the trailer.
- Tim Challies releases the second in a series of helpful, visual graphics explaining basic frameworks of systematic theology. This is one is a visual graphic of the attributes of God. The first in the series was on the ordo salutis.
- Chris Koelle, artist and member of Downtown PCA in Greenville, South Carolina (pastored by my friend Brian Habig), has been creating a graphic novel adaptation of the Revelation. It is delivered through an app called “The Book of Revelation App” for iPad and iPhone. Here is Tim Challies’ interview with Chris.
Cream of blog 12.15.11
December 15, 2011
Scotty Smith, with “An Advent Prayer for Our Children and Grandchildren”
Gene Edward Veith shares a brother’s sharp view on whose job it is to “keep Christ in Christmas.”
The Resurgence tempts you to consider the lesson we can learn about God’s law from kids and forbidden marshmallows.
Cream of blog 12.5.11
December 5, 2011
5th commandment…with Chinese law behind it?
February 8, 2011
We know the 5th Commandment: Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. Last night I helped 9-year-old Rachel learn her catechism question for this week: “Q.92. What does the fifth commandment tell us to do? A. To love and obey our parents and everyone in authority over us.” Then today I learned from last week’s New York Times the Chinese government recognizes a 5th-commandment-related problem, and China’s Civil Affairs Ministry has a solution: a new law requiring adult children to visit their parents regularly. Failing to meet the visitation requirements could make it possible for the parents to sue the children.
Concerns about how to care for China’s older people are growing as the nation’s population rapidly gets older, wealthier and more urbanized. China has the world’s third highest elderly suicide rate, trailing only South Korea and Taiwan, according to Mr. Jing, who compiled figures from the World Health Organization and Taiwan. The figures show a disturbing increase in suicides among the urban elderly in the past decade, a trend Mr. Jing blames partly on Read the rest of this entry »
One space or two?
January 17, 2011
It’s time to go public with this, thanks to a recent piece on Slate.com by Farhad Manjoo on why you should never, I repeat, never put two spaces between a period and the beginning of the next sentence. I was taught to do the two-space thing in high-school typing class in the early 1980′s. I learned sometime in the last decade that two spaces were unnecessary because of the way that word processors and printers devote space to small or thin lettering. What Manjoo’s article taught me is that the two-space rule was an aberration in the history of typography. It was the advent of the manual typewriters and its letter-spacing limitations that brought the two-space rule into the picture. Prior to that, standard typography was one-space. I should have known that with all the old books and reprints of old books on my library shelves.
Redeeming Santa
December 14, 2010
Hey, I’ve been blogless for a while. If you’re still interested in following and considering, I’m back in business…
Mark Driscoll has a good piece in The Washington Post about “redeeming” Santa from the “You’d better watch out and behave or Santa won’t visit you” crowd and the “No Santa has ever crossed the threshold of our home because we’re real Christians” crowd.
Ave atque vale, Michael Been
August 24, 2010
Michael Been, circa 1990
Last night I learned the sad news of the death of Michael Been, bassist and lead singer of The Call. He died of a heart attack at the age of 60 in Hasselt, Belgium while assisting his son’s band on their tour. Jim Kerr, lead singer of Simple Minds, wrote a touching tribute to Been, remembering their brief time touring and recording together in the 1980′s:
A preacher and a teacher no doubt, he was always much more than your usual “ten a penny” careerist ‘80’s rock star. That said as driven as he was with his beliefs, the very ones that infused his music; Michael far from sanctimonious, was always a hoot to be around. To my mind, he had a similar soul that one perceives in true American greats such as Robbie Robertson and even Dylan himself. But even more wonderfully he also had the wickedly spirited comedy of John Belushi draped all around him. For that reason I easily recall the difficulty in picking myself up off the floor numerously after he had acted out one of his genuinely hilarious anecdotes. As I say, it was a pleasure and an honour to have hung around with Michael Been, and for that reason it is with sadness and with feelings of extreme fondness that I recall this warm and friendly man only hours after his sudden death.
That the Call were denied the kind of commercial success that their music merited, is an obvious understatement. Too American for the Europeans perhaps, and too English sounding for the American mainstream, Michael’s face was more suited to Biblical epics than the once ubiquitous MTV. (Beards and bellies were not associated with authenticity back then in MTV land. And Michael to be frank was way too authentic to take seriously the falsities needed to play the success game.)
Four years ago this month I wrote a short blog entry remembering the Santa Cruz-based band. Here’s what I wrote then:
Through the wonder of internet music technology, I have been reacquainting myself with one of the best, though least-remembered, bands of the 1980′s–The Call. They came on the scene in northern California in the early ’80s with a sound and ethos influenced by U2 and Simple Minds–emotion-laden lyrics, post-punk/anti-war angst, and an out-front spirituality shaped by Christian themes. Lead vocalist and bass player Michael Been describes himself as a Christian, although he is quick to add that he does not subscribe to the way he sees Christianity being practiced by many of its adherents–and, sadly, he has a point there. Few singers convey as much emotion and sincerity in their craft as Been does.
Their best work was their 1986 release Reconciled. However, the 1997 (and re-released in 2005) ’The Best of the Call’ compilation is a must-listen. The single ‘Let the Day Begin’ may strike a chord of remembrance in you political junkies out there. In 2000 the Al Gore presidential campaign used it as the anthem for various rallies. Interestingly, The Call was not asked for permission to use the song, but, like most musicians, they didn’t mind the free publicity.
A photo of Been taken earlier this month
Cream of blog 07.22.10
July 22, 2010
- Advice for parents of college-bound students from John Mark Reynolds.
- Shared link from Dr. David Jones on the Christian ethics of cremation.
- C.J. Mahaney answers a father’s question about the heart issues behind a son’s obsession with video games.
- Owen Strachan gathers some powerful points from Jonathan Edwards on the question of how you can discern if you truly are a Christian.
I like a well-turned ankle as much as the next guy, but…
June 17, 2010
Lately our friend Ligon Duncan has been offering up “classics” from his “Pastor’s Perspective” piece in the FPC Jackson newsletter, The First Epistle. Here’s a still timely excerpt from his October 16, 2001, column re: modesty…
…regarding modesty, I have been approached recently by a number of godly women in our congregation who have, independently of one another, expressed their concerns to me about the lack of modesty in the clothing of many of the girls and young women in our own church. Now, I realize that fools rush in where angels fear to tread, but allow me to venture a few comments.
Current styles of dress are not exactly helping our young people in the direction of modesty. The headmaster of our Day School spoke to our Session Monday night and spoke in passing of the “Britney-ization” of our girls (referring to the famous pop icon, singer/dancer, and pin-up girl – Britney Spears). Of course, this is nothing new. Fashion has always posed certain challenges for Christians. However, we seem to be in a phase of particular, acute and widespread compromise.
I saw a column by Terry Johnson (Senior Minister of the Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Georgia) a few weeks ago addressing this issue in his own congregation. He said: “I remember long ago reading Eric Segal’s description of the heroine in Love Story (through the thought of her ‘preppie’ suitor) that there had never seen so much as an additional button left unbuttoned on her blouse. This was Segal’s way of describing her modesty. She exposed nothing! Somehow I can’t imagine a novel today having such a line. Our culture is so far gone in the direction of immodesty that Jennifer (no puritan herself) seems quaint, almost Jane Austenish. The spandex revolution has taken its toll. In addition to shorts and skirts that are way too short (what’s wrong with the top of the knee?), and necklines that plunge way too low, we must now contend with tops and bottoms that are ridiculously too tight.”
Elisabeth Elliott has raised a timely point abut modesty in her newsletter. She quotes a letter from a listener: “Where are the men? Why are they so passive on this issue? I’m speaking particularly of husbands and fathers who allow their wives and daughters to appear publicly in an inappropriate and immodest fashion. This issue is close to my heart because we have been blessed with three sons and three daughters. My heart’s desire is to teach them the responsibility that goes with purity and abstinence, to appear and behave in such a way that God is honored. But what do we say to our children when many of the Christian girls they meet and with whom they interact do not practice modesty? Though they profess the name of Christ, their appearance certainly causes godly young men to strive valiantly with their thoughts. I thank God for a godly husband, who guards and gives guidance to our daughters and to me. May our children have the strength to respond in a godly way in spite of the tremendous pressures to compromise. I realize this is not a popular issue to talk about, but it is a concern that is close to my heart and I believe close to the heart of our Heavenly Father.” (From Gateway to Joy, May 24, 2001).
Cream of blog 10.05.11
May 11, 2010
A few blog posts worthy of your time
- Kevin DeYoung on that feeling of perpetual guilt you may have.
- Kevin DeYoung on questions we should ask when people are disappointed with the church. (part one, two, and three)
- Got a “Swagger Wagon”? You might want one after watching these two videos.
- And another thing: Is your worship contemporvant? Let these guys show you how to fix that.
- Jonathan Dodson on 5 reasons you may not be seeing spiritual growth.
