On this, the thirteenth commemoration of 9/11, it's probably worthwhile to remind everyone that many Muslims are basically ashamed of the way their co-religionists are doing with ISIS, 9/11, etc. From my 2005/2010 post on the subject: It was a unique experience for my wife and I to attend the Arab Worldwide Evangelical Ministers Association …
Latter Rain Christian Coffeehouse
Instead of an album from the "Jesus Music" era, this entry is a little different: a live recording of the Latter Rain Christian Coffeehouse in Garland Texas in July, 1977.  Located in downtown Garland, the Latter Rain was active through most of that year. As opposed to the other coffeehouse recording I offer here, I've decided …
Victoria Osteen's Moment, or "What Are We Doing Here Anyway?"
It's another week along the Southwest Freeway in Houston as Victoria Osteen has embroiled herself in a controversy over remarks about why we worship God. Â The usual people say the usual things, and the usual fracas ensues, just as it has over much of what her husband Joel says. I think we'd be better off, …
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The Perils of This Life
From Augustine, City of God, XII, 22: That the whole human race has been condemned in its first origin, this life itself, if life it is to be called, bears witness by the host of cruel ills with which it is filled. Is not this proved by the profound and dreadful ignorance which produces all …
The Tricky Part of the Caliphate
There's a good deal of bad news coming out of the Middle East these days, with the rise of ISIS in Syria and Iraq.  The continued existence of either or both is in question, although give their artificiality it's amazing they've lasted as long as they have.  In response to their brutality on Americans, Yazidis, Iraqi Christians …
The Complicated Business of the "Tradition"
@DaleMCoulter muses on his students: The task was not to defend the tributary of Christianity in which my students had first touched the waters of baptism, but to show them that it was fed by a vast river stretching back two millennia. In short, I defended Christianity by helping them swim upstream so that they could …
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Gungor and the Perils of the Old Earth
There's always something going on out there, and in the last couple of weeks one of those somethings has been the flap over the musician Michael Gungor's post on the age of the earth: Do I believe God exists? Yes.Do I believe Jesus is the Son of God? Yes.Do I believe that Scripture is God-breathed …
The Disciples of Ayn Rand and the Disciples of Jesus Christ
There’s a great deal of kerfuffle over Ann Coulter’s article about Samaritan’s Purse physician Kent Brantly, his contracting Ebola in the course of treating it Liberia, his transport to the CDC in Atlanta and the cost associated with the entire process. Evidently she thinks him insufficiently patriotic to have gone to another place and fight …
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The Sign of Peace and Those "Happy-Clappy" Masses
Amidst the sorrow and tragedy that dominates the news these days, the Vatican weighs in on a matter that may seem trivial to some: The Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship (CDW) has urged the church’s bishops to crack down on boisterous exchanges of peace during the Eucharist service. In a letter dated 8 June 2014 …
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It's Easier to Vote When It Makes a Difference
@danbalz wonders why this keeps happening: The Center for the Study of the American Electorate (CSAE) recently issued a dreary summation about participation in the primary elections so far this year. Based on the 25 states that have already held their primaries, the report chronicled a pattern of voter indifference and, in some cases, record low turnout. I …
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Positive Infinity 