Recommending blogs to follow is a risky proposition. The fact that I enjoy reading these blogs enough to recommend them undoubtedly says more about me than it does about the blogs themselves. Nevertheless, two blogs have emerged recently that I have found quite enjoyable and worth my time; depending on your interests, you might find them worthwhile as well.
First up is Storied Theology, written by J. R. Daniel Kirk. Dr. Kirk is an assistant professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. I first got pointed to him by online friend Mark Traphagen, and I owe Mark a beer or two for that recommendation alone. I’ve linked him here a few times already, including his thoughts on mixed martial arts and a couple times on his series on authenticity.
Reading a blog like Dr. Kirk’s (can I call you Daniel?) reminds me why I at times think it’d be fun to attend seminary at some point; the level of discussion is stretching but not incomprehensible to this layman. Fortunately blogs like Dr. Kirk’s provide a window into that world and an opportunity for discussion even for this engineer in Iowa. Worth reading.
My other recommendation for today is something completely different: Abraham Piper’s new blog Downhill Both Ways. Presented as “Views and vignettes from South Minneapolis”, Piper observes, thinks, and reports on his urban neighborhood, all the while proving that he is as adept in writing long-form as he is in short form.
I first encountered Abraham’s writing on his short-form blog, Twenty-Two Words, where he pithily comments on the world in posts of exactly, well, twenty-two words in length. When he noted on Twitter that he was starting a new blog, I wasn’t sure what to expect… but I’ve been quite taken with it. There’s something strangely appealing about late-night walks through a big city, and Abraham’s superb writing captures it beautifully. For starters, read his “Why I Now Buy Cigarettes” and “Jumping Trains”.
Check these guys out and let me know what you think. Any new blogs you’re reading and would like to share?
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"It is time to take stock: What has the intelligent design movement achieved? As science, nothing. The goal of science is to increase our understanding of the natural world, and there is not a single phenomenon that we understand better today or are likely to understand better in the future through the efforts of ID theorists. If we are to look for ID achievements, then, it must be in the realm of natural theology. And there, I think, the movement must be judged not only a failure, but a debacle."
I'm not ready to take sides in this debate, but this is a very thoughtful piece, worth reading.
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I've never understood the fascination with Mixed Martial Arts, which seem to be awfully popular among a lot of Acts 29 types… (or maybe just for the Acts29 founder?) Daniel Kirk pretty much nails the point of my discomfort.
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"Religious / clergy-based leadership often behaves like an overbearing conductor, not partnering with the orchestra but managing and controlling the musical conversation. Talgam concludes, “The worst damage I can inflict on my orchestra is to give them a clear instruction, for it prevents the sectional ensembles from listening to each other.” The global-virtual ecclesia is listening to each other – moving their focus away from the podium, towards a harmonious priesthood of the commons."
Interesting analogy and thoughts here.
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Henry was right, says author Richard Mouw, in his view that the church should not address political or economic specifics:
"The church is obliged to "declare the criteria by which nations will ultimately be judged, and the divine standards to which man and society must conform if civilization is to endure."
"…A constant theme in his writings was that the church as such has neither the competence nor the authority to address political or economic specifics. He would usually add, though—probably with the memory of Nazi Germany in mind—that there may be "emergency situations" in which the church would have clear mandate from God to address specific evils. But in the normal course of things, the church should leave it up to individuals to take a very general mandate to think and act Christianly in the public arena."
This is too good not to pass along: a skewering of the typical TV news segment. Two minutes of brilliance!
Yesterday I traveled with five coworkers from Cedar Rapids, IA to Wichita, KS, to participate in our quarterly update meeting with the FAA.
Normally, commercial travel to Wichita from CR means taking a flight connecting through either Chicago O’Hare or Dallas-Fort Worth. For a Wednesday morning meeting you’d need to leave CR early afternoon on Tuesday, spend hours in airports, 3 – 4 hours actually flying, spend the night overnight in Wichita, then reverse the procedure on Wednesday afternoon to fly home, possibly making it home in early evening… assuming the weather is decent and all the flight connections happen.
To counter this massive hassle and resulting lack of productivity for several engineers, enter this fine little piece of hardware: the company Hawker 800 XP.
It’s fitted out nicely on the inside, too, similar to this:
Being able to fly on our company jet made our itinerary for the trip to Wichita run something like this:
- 0715: Arrive at company facility at CR airport
- 0716: Announce myself and get name checked off on the manifest
- 0725: Walk out onto the tarmac and board the plane
- 0730: One of the pilots points out the emergency exits to me, the first-timer
- 0735: We take off. Once we climb out, we cruise at 36,000 feet and nearly 600 MPH
- 0840: Land in Wichita. Climb off the plane and walk across the street to the FAA office.
- 0900 – 1230: Meet with the FAA
- 1230: Walk back across the street to the airport
- 1245: Board the aircraft and take off again
- 1300: Eat a box lunch after we’re back up at 36,000 feet
- 1405: Land back in CR
- 1415: Get off the plane after being towed into the hangar
- 1435: Arrive back home
It’s still stunning to me – we went down to Wichita, had a half-day meeting, came home, and didn’t even use the full workday.
I am now spoiled to commercial air travel forever.
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"As I indicated in the first post in this series, I think authenticity is important, even indispensable in Christian communities. But it is not a sufficient rule of practice to tell us either how to act (because we’re being authentic) or how we shouldn’t (because doing a particular action wouldn’t be authentic).
Our rule of life is not who we are, but who we are being made to be in Christ, and the road he has led us on by which to get there: the way of the cross, which is the way of death, which is the formative narrative that determines what our life in community looks like."
I promise I won't start linking every post, but this series from Dr. J. R. Daniel Kirk is really good stuff. Quickly becoming a favorite blog of mine.
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Geof is upfront, as ever, about his struggles with mental illness. A good brother who needs our prayers.
Growing up in evangelical churches, the most I knew about the liturgical year was the weird dates that were printed in the bulletin at my grandparents’ Lutheran church: “Third Sunday of Pentecost” and things like that. I’ve learned more as time has gone along, but when the opportunity arose to review this book, I figured it was a good chance to learn some more.
The Liturgical Year comes from an unabashedly Roman Catholic perspective. Written by a Catholic nun, there are times when its obviously Roman biases show through, but on the whole it provides an evenhanded perspective on the year that appears to address both the Catholic and Protestant views fairly well. (There is one chapter dedicated strictly to Marian observances, but it’s relegated to the end of the book, after the basic discussion of the year.)
The Liturgical Year is split into 35 short chapters that work their way through the year, starting with the observance of Advent and Christmas, taking several chapters to discuss Lent and Holy Week, and addressing the “Ordinary Times” that are present around those observances. In general the book is written in a more flowery tone than I expected – at times I felt it suffered from too many fluffy words and not enough meat. But as a primer on the hows and whys of the liturgical year, it served its purpose well enough.
Disclaimer: My copy of the book was provided for free by the folks at BookSneeze.com in return for my publishing a review.
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"First, did you notice that our worship of God is given back-seat to our relationships with God’s children? Against our individualistic tendencies that see worship as a matter between me and God, or my heart alone before God, this passage says no, the quality of your community as a place that is living into the reconciled relationships that God himself establishes with us is our first priority."
Good good stuff from Dr. Kirk.