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What? Me, Unplug?

A great blog post by brought these three articles to my attention:

  1. Less Television and Computer Gaming May Keep Children Slimmer. Granted, this is kind of a “duh,” however, the reason may not be what you think.
  2. An Email Free Day
  3. I Need a Virtual Break, No, Really.

What I find interesting in the last article is the term “secular sabbath”. Despite being, from my point of view, a contradiction in terms, the concept is valid. In fact, I am pondering avoiding my computer all Sunday. I might even avoid television and gaming (okay, granted I don’t do much gaming).

This somewhat flies in the face of popular “wisdom” that the up-and-coming generation is “wired” for multi-tasking. Just something else to ponder.

hattip to:The Point

What About Pain?

In Calling on the Saints, Heather Gemmen Wilson talks about faith, family (both personal and church), love and forgiveness, and all in the context of the aftermath of being raped.

I hope every church, including my own (including me, for that matter), can respond in such love to another’s hurt. I would also hope that those that are hurting understanding something else she wrote:

Most people don’t blame the church directly for the trials in their lives, but many do accuse the church of not responding appropriately when calamity strikes. Church leaders and laypeople alike certainly make mistakes as they care for us in times of need. However, if we allow that their mistakes come from their own wounds and that their love is genuine, if imperfect, we nearly always find ourselves more healed than hurt.

Definitely an article worth reading.

ekklesiaproject.org – Telephones and What is Good for Us

In Telephones and What is Good for Us, Randy Cooper writes about the Amish. My big takeaway was this:

It took all summer for them to decide whether they would have phones. They finally decided against it. And they had two reasons. First, they knew that if they began to use telephones, they would carry out conversations less and less in a face to face manner. Second, if they had telephones, they feared that their children would begin talking more and more exclusively to one another. The decision about telephones was made in light of what was good for the community and for the human word.

As much as I love computers, the Internet, and technology as a whole (although, I’m still not all that fond of phones), I strongly empathize with the Amish here. We strive to create social connections on the Internet, because we seem to have forgotten the ones in our immediate vicinity.

It’s Not Just The Americans, Then?

The Archbishop of Canterbury, as I’m sure many are aware, has declared that Sharia law should be officially endorsed in England. Unofficially it is endorsed, but by being officially endorsed there is a huge potential for disaster. However, regardless of the lawful/lawlessness that would result, the fact that the man who is, for all intensive purposes, the leader of the entire communion of Anglicans (Episcopals in the U.S.A.) advocating precepts of Islam strikes me as something far too similar to the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. with its various issues, and almost guaranteed schism. If he doesn’t believe that Bible of his any more then he no longer has the clear spiritual leadership of the Communion any longer.

A Take on Generosity

A politician, like you and me, can be generous only with his own money. A politician spending other people’s money is, at best, implementing sound policies – and, more realistically, much closer to a burglar who “generously” uses part of his booty to buy rounds of drinks for his buddies.

Cafe Hayek: Who’s Generous?

Don Boudreaux wrote the above on the Cafe Hayek blog on the 7th of February. Obviously, there was some sort of back-and-forth at the Baltimore-Sun, especially with all the posts that follow that, frankly, seem to have nothing to do with the letter itself.

I’ve pretty much decided that while I care about politics, I don’t care enough to blog about it. However, while this is somewhat political (especially with all the comments), in truth, this really should be a pretty good observation.

Whether the public trough or the church’s through, one cannot be generous with what isn’t one’s own. In the church, this causes a lot of tension. We in the church say that all Creation is God’s. That being the case, can we truly generous if it is God’s? Or is this saying that something is God’s is someone’s idea of getting people to tithe?

Just something to ponder.

Atheism and Violence

Father Edward T. Oakes has written an awesome piece on the First Things blog, Atheism and Violence. It is a long hard read, but very worthwhile.

This addresses a number of posts I’ve made, most recently in The Chickens are Coming Home to Roost, and should, I think address Allen’s point in his comment on that post.

It boils down to this, when one removes the pillars or the glue that hold a particular society together, make sure that you replace it with something specific, otherwise a mess will ensue.

hat tip to: Roberto Rivera @ The Point

What DO We Believe?

…most Christians do not understand what they believe, why they believe it, and why it matters. How can a Christianity that is not understood be practiced?

Unity in Diversity

Chuck Colson, no matter how you may feel about him and his past, has made an excellent point here. This goes directly toward the heart of much of my concern regarding the “emerging church” movement, and, frankly, the recognizable decline of the “mainstream” denominations. If you do not understand the basics of the faith, how can you discern the lies and the misdirection that can lead you away from God?

Of course, being obsessed with theology can also lead one astray.

Don’t Look at Me; Look At HIM

Lou Braun writes:

I have had some negative experiences with Christians as well, but what I have found liberating is not focusing on people who claim to follow Jesus, but rather look to follow Jesus myself. A lot of people hate religion, maybe even church, but I don’t know many who despise Jesus.

I don’t want to take away his thunder, so I recommend his note, especially in regards to “New Age” religions. He provides a perspective I hadn’t heard, at least in that way, before.

What caught my attention is something I have noted previously, people always look to people. Sadly, we Christians are not perfect. Some seem to imply that they are, but I think that is more a case of inference, rather than implication. All are sinners.

I am a poor reflection of God’s love and perfection. You want perfection? Look at Him.

JFJ: Holding The Mirror For Christians

David Brickner’s latest article, Jesus and His People, is a good mirror, from a Messianic Jewish perspective, of evangelical Christians.

The Divide Between “Mainline” and “Evangelical” Needs to be Bridged

Rick Warren often strikes me as a tad shallow. However, I am beginning to understand his point of view, somewhat. In this interview in Christian Today, he speaks about how the split in perspective between the two churches has hurt both, and by default the mission of Christ.

This dovetails nicely into a little cartoon I saw in the Jews For Jesus newsletter that I received today. It’s too bad I couldn’t find it, but I assume it was just a cute cartoon with the words of Moishe Rosen (the founder of Jews For Jesus) put into. It said:

I’m always amazed when one believer sets out to “sink” another believer’s “ship.” How is it that they fail to notice we’re all in the same boat?”
…so we, being many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.
Romans 12:5