As I approach the actual story of the flood in my series on Genesis 1-11 on the Participatory Bible Study blog, my attention is drawn to the problem of violence in the Bible generally, condoned by God, commanded by God, or even carried out by God. Recently on the web I’ve seen quite a number…
Some time ago (September 5, 2005) Adrian Warnock wrote an excellent entry on the need for a Christian experience in the present (hat tip: Peter Kirk). As usual, whether I agree or disagree, Adrian does a fine job of presenting his position, and in this case, I do agree. He continued that entry with another…
Daniel has an interesting post on E-Merging suggesting that we view the Bible as a conversation. He says: In real conversations, one participant doesn’t just sit back and agree with everything being said. There are tensions and resolutions, and some questions are simply left unanswered. I think this is an excellent approach to Bible study…
Fareed Zakaria has an excellent Newsweek article on oil, The Real Story of Pricey Oil. In it he suggests that we need to get serious about reducing and stabilizing demand, and about developing new technology. He discusses the politics of oil production in a clear and straightforward fashion. This is something to which we need…
I recall my first college English class when I informed the professor that I was going to write on patriotic elements in the poetry of Alfred Lord Tennyson. He made it clear that he would prefer a different author; for some reason Tennyson didn’t match up. He also made it clear he’d prefer a different…
Just to get a taste of what is available on the blogs covered by the Moderate Christian Blog Aggregator, let me give you a list of the most recent posts, in the order in which they appeared when I viewed the aggregator, with the exception of my own blogs. Note that blogs are randomized with…
A little over a month ago (August 12, 2006) I started the Moderate Christian Blog Aggregator and the related blogroll. To get the ball rolling, I included my three blogs (three so I can segregate my areas of interest more easily) and one group blog to which I’m primary contributor. I also included my wife’s…
I have long been an advocate of permitting criticism of Christianity, because I think allowing such criticism is good for my religion. I have friends who would regard my religion as a delusion, and I encourage them to speak directly about what they believe. This is not a matter of commitment to legal free speech,…
Psalm 104 has a distinct message about God’s creation that has stuck with me strongly since I first studied the passage in graduate school. I have previously posted links to my prior study of the text and structure of this Psalm, done more than 25 years ago. I’m starting from that point now. When we…
I have liked John McCain for a long time, and now he has taken a stand on torture and interrogation. Chip Read on MSNBC’s first read comments on this as a matter of conscience. I’m amazed, despite everything that has already happend in the war on terror, that this is entirely an issue. I’m deeply…