Curated content for Christians
Risen: Movies, Faith, and the Bible The best and most important part of this article on the film Risen comes in the final paragraph. I Got Skills I enjoyed this reflection on motherhood and parenting. Corpus Linguistics I appreciated this critical interaction with the post I wrote on feeling, thinking, and believing. Planet Earth 2…
What Should Evangelicals Make of Karl Barth? Justin Taylor shares D.A. Carson’s answer to Tony Reinke’s question. (Did you get all that?) “It is sad if knowledgeable pastors don’t make use of Barth, but it is even more sad if they make a wrong use of Barth. Barth has the capacity to say contradictory things…
More Thoughts on Christians and Sex in Movies Samuel James responds to comments and criticism on his excellent article about nudity and sex in movies. What Happened Between the Old and New Testaments? When you flip that page between the Old Testament and New Testament, you are travelling 400 years. What happened in that time?…
Cancer Cons, Phoney Accidents and Fake Deaths “After Taryn Wright exposed an elaborate fake tragedy on Facebook, she found herself leading a squad of online detectives – but on the internet, it doesn’t take long for a crowd to become a mob.” Clearance Sale Westminster Books is having a clearance sale, discounting books they have…
How Caring for Children Changes the World Kelly Needham explains. “For the Israelites, redemption began with a baby and five brave women who believed that caring for babies mattered. May we be as countercultural as they were, saying in as many ways as we can that yes, caring for children matters.” The Thinking Man’s Guide…
Anthems for Little Theologians I generally have a no-Kickstarter policy, but will make an exception here. Bible Sounds: Anthems for Little Theologians has a great sound and some neat animations. It may just be worth supporting. Martin Luther’s Death and Legacy Martin Luther died on February 18, 1546. Stephen Nichols recounts the end of his…
In Defense of Date Night Stacey Reaoch defends date nights: “While it’s true that a good marriage is built in the mundane tasks of everyday life rather than on romantic getaways and mountaintop experiences, it doesn’t negate the fact that intentional time together as a couple is indispensable to having a healthy marriage.” Joseph Fiennes…
That Part of Gospel-Centeredness We Avoid There is truth to this. “One aspect of gospel-centrality remains under-emphasized among us: interpersonal reconciliation.” 43 Giant, Crumbling Presidential Heads in a Virginia Field Smithsonian: After an ambitious monument went bust, big dreams—and big heads—remain. To Your Daughter, Speak the Truth Jen Wilkin has a word for dads. Does…
Fear, Trust, and Missionary Kids “Threat of physical harm and death do not keep missionaries off the field, but there is something that does. I have heard it from the mouths of Americans unwilling to consider missions, and ringing in my head these last few weeks: my kids could die.” Death, the Prosperity Gospel and…
Israel’s Women-in-Combat Experience “Whenever anyone at National Review … writes in opposition to opening all combat jobs to women or (even worse) drafting women into ground combat, there is predictable hue and cry from the Left. ‘But Israel! You conservatives couldn’t possibly be criticizing Israel, could you?’” Here’s why Israel isn’t the trump card. Bivocational…
The Creepy, Mysterious, & Interesting History of Valentine’s Day I really enjoyed this article on the history of Valentine’s Day. Scripture’s “Top Two” List “The Apostle Paul has a tendency to give us lists of sins. He gives us at least five of them. At first glance, it feels like he is simply piling it…
Conscripted for Life, Not War There are a couple of key lines in this article. “God gave women marvelous strength. Strength that wasn’t meant to be compared or measured against a man. Last time I checked, I’d never met a man able to give birth. I’ve also never known a man able to handle months…
Speedos or Shorts? Bikinis or Bathing Suits? I appreciate the big point in Carl Trueman’s article, but it’s equally worth reading for the one-liners like this: “quackery has never been a bar to influence.” (And he’s not even writing about the presidential primaries.) You Won’t Be So Passionate When You’re 40 Erik Raymond describes an…
Please Keep This Between Us “Please don’t tell anyone else this, but I wanted to process something with you. If you could just keep it between you and me? I assume you know I wouldn’t want it to get around, I want to make sure people really understand my side of things and that can…
Four Things to Help Overcome Gridlock in Your Marriage “Have you ever found yourself in a place in your marriage where you and your spouse disagree and it seems like there is no way forward?” We have all been there at one time or another, haven’t we? We Will Never Let Our Daughters Die for…
This has been a bit of a slow week for Kindle deals. That is, in part, because so many of the deals cycle on a regular basis and I try not to link to them if they’ve come up recently. There should be some new ones on Monday. Until then, here’s some reading for you:…
From Slum to Shining Sea “Growing up in a solid, Christian, God-fearing home, at some indefinable point between child-like faith and adolescent angst, my two-dimensional version of God had become synonymous with rules, broken rules, and never-ending failure. So I left.” Calvin’s 4 Rules of Prayer Joel Beeke explains what Calvin believed about prayer. (Also,…
True Reformation You’ll enjoy Burk Parson’s short but powerful meditation on true reformation. Counseling Wives of Addicts The most recent episode of Mortification of Spin begins with a discussion of counseling women whose husbands are addicted to pornography, then goes on to discuss a host of other important areas. This is a very helpful discussion.…
Your 7 Job Responsibilities as a Church Member Just imagine what a church can be when all the members are functioning like this. 5 Reasons You Should (Probably) Leave Your Attractional Church Jared Wilson is a big believer in the local church, so he isn’t being flippant when he tells you to consider leaving your…
The 2016 Reading Challenge is well underway and it has been fun to see people doing their own roundups. Here are a few: Nate Claiborne, Eric Dodson, Julie Thompson. There are way more at Goodreads. Facing a Task Unfinished This is a great idea: “Getty Music is inviting thousands of churches around the globe to…