Monthly Archives: September 2010

Witnessing to Presbyterians

Posted on 30/09/2010 by

Witnessing to Presbyterians

Posted in Fundamentalism, Presbyterian, Reformed

E.J. Carnell on fundamentalism

Posted on 30/09/2010 by

‘Fundamentalism is a lonely position.  It has cut itself off from the general stream of culture, philosophy and ecclesiastical tradition.  This accounts, in part, for its robust pride.  Since it is no longer in union with the wisdom of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Fundamentalism

What you can buy me for Christmas: a Monticello bookstand

Posted on 30/09/2010 by

A Monticello bookstand:

Posted in Visual Arts

I’d like to live in this tree house

Posted on 30/09/2010 by

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Posted in Visual Arts

Christian theology in the nineteenth & twentieth centuries: an annotated bibliography by Jim Beilby

Posted on 30/09/2010 by

Christian theology in the nineteenth & twentieth centuries: an annotated bibliography by Jim Beilby Very useful because of the brief annotations.

Posted in Authors, Bibliographies, Theology

After John Henry Newman is G.K. Chesterton next?

Posted on 30/09/2010 by

Dr. William Oddie thinks so: After John Henry Newman, who next?  My answer is that it can only be Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Posted in Authors

Why is it important to study theology?

Posted on 30/09/2010 by

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, former president of Chicago Theological Seminary (1998-2008), has the answer: Ignorance is not bliss

Posted in Theology

Hippolytus on infant baptism

Posted on 30/09/2010 by

‘Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so.  Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them.’ ~ Hippolytus, The Apostolic Tradition 21:16 [A.D. 215]

Posted in History, Presbyterian, Reformed, Theology

Photograph of the day: Lightning over Death Valley, California

Posted on 29/09/2010 by

Lightning strikes over a ridge as a storm passes though Death Valley National Park in California just after sunset.  Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Posted in Visual Arts

British thriller writer P.M. Hubbard

Posted on 29/09/2010 by

An excellent summary of the life and novels of P.M. Hubbard can be found here: The Power of Place: the Reclusive Worlds of P.M. Hubbard Scroll halfway down the page for an annotated bibliography.

Posted in Authors, Bibliographies

Pre-Malaysian novels in English set in Malaysia & Singapore

Posted on 29/09/2010 by

  An interesting list of pre-Malaysian novels in English set in Malaysia & Singapore

Posted in Authors, Bibliographies

Is drinking beer biblical?

Posted on 29/09/2010 by

It is insofar as it appears that ancient Israelites drank beer as well as wine.  Religion News Service reports: ‘Ancient Israelites drank not only wine but also beer, according to a biblical scholar at Xavier University, a Roman Catholic school … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Biblical Studies, History

Quote of the day: Pope Benedict XVI on the Church’s task

Posted on 29/09/2010 by

‘A Church that seeks to be particularly attractive is already on the wrong path, because the Church does not work for her own ends, she does not work to increase numbers and thus power.  The Church is at the service … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Churches, Quote of the Day, Theology

Melanie Phillips on the phony “war against drugs”

Posted on 29/09/2010 by

On Britain’s phony “war against drugs”: ‘It is the long-standing police strategy of treating dealers as criminals but users as victims which is largely behind the collapse of drug policy into a morass of mixed messages.  Given that one distinguished … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, World Events

New British Labour Party leader openly atheist

Posted on 29/09/2010 by

Red Ed: I don’t do God, I don’t even believe in Him The new Labour leader revealed that he is not a man of faith, in contrast to his predecessors Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. Both Ed and David Miliband … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Politics, World Events

Does religion cause violence?

Posted on 29/09/2010 by

Does Religion Cause Violence?  Behind the common question lies a morass of unclear thinking by William T. Cavanaugh The division of ideologies and institutions into the categories “religious” and “secular” is an arbitrary and incoherent division.  When we examine academic … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, World Events

Shocking ignorance of American Christians

Posted on 28/09/2010 by

Atheists, Agnostics Know The Most About Religion A new survey of Americans’ knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give … Continue reading →

Posted in Fundamentalism, Popular Culture, Society

Environmentalism as religion

Posted on 28/09/2010 by

  Environmentalism as religion by Joel Garreau

Posted in Politics, World Events, Sciences

Strange, hyperbolic New Atheist expression: “cramming religion down the throats of children”

Posted on 28/09/2010 by

Are we “cramming religion down our children’s throats”? by Karl Giberson Parents put lots of things down the throats of their children — religion, language, vegetables, ice cream, bacon, tofu, ideas of race, politics, gender and economics.  This complex mix … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism

Where does the term “theology” come from?

Posted on 28/09/2010 by

Keith Ward has the answer: ‘Theology’ was a term first used by Peter Abelard in the eleventh century for a systematic exposition of Christian doctrine.

Posted in Theology

[Long] Quote of the day: John Milbank on the politics of atheism

Posted on 27/09/2010 by

‘Given the evidence that atheism itself can become a political program and seek to enact nihilism with dire results, should we not be worried about the gradual drift of the Labour party towards atheism, despite the genuine – though varied – pieties … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Politics, World Events, Quote of the Day, Secularism

British Labour Party appoints its first openly atheist leader

Posted on 27/09/2010 by

Ed Miliband, despite being rather evasive on the subject of religion, is a genuine atheist.

Posted in Atheism, Politics, World Events

Alister McGrath: “God just hasn’t gone away”

Posted on 27/09/2010 by

‘If the “New Atheism” wanted to get a debate about religion under way, it certainly succeeded.  Suddenly, everyone wanted to talk about God.  Although the evidence suggests that the sudden emergence to prominence of the movement in 2006 took the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, History, Politics, World Events

An important article on the New Atheists

Posted on 27/09/2010 by

Reflections on the “New Atheism” by Alister McGrath

Posted in Atheism, History, Politics, World Events

Where did the term ‘New Atheism’ come from?

Posted on 27/09/2010 by

Alister McGrath has the answer: The term “New Atheism” was invented in 2006.  Gary Wolf was writing an article for Wired, a British magazine “for smart, intellectually curious people who need, and want, to know what’s next.”  He was looking … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Popular Culture, Society