Touring the Net

My "weekly" look at some of my favorite places:

"Christian Carnival CCXVIII" (218) is up at A Kiwi and an Emu. There were more than three I wanted to link - but that is my limit:

• In "Cherishing Fidelity", at Light Along the Journey, John relates

  Proverbs 3:3 Do not let truth and mercy leave you;
  bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

  which is about fidelity to God, to fidelity to his wife



• David at Boomer in the Pew continues to blog his discipleship class at his church with "Growing as a Disciple of Jesus Christ (Part 2)":

  In that last post, we learned that as Christians we live in "that thick middle stage of a believer's second life (on becoming a Christian) sandwiched between two thin slices of grace and glory". Sanctification sandwiched between justification and glorification.
  
  We further learned that sanctification is a process. In Christ we are set apart and we are to move forward on the journey towards holiness.
  
  So...how on earth do we do that?

• Don at The Evangelical Ecologist explores the marriage habitat - specifically the love language of the wild male of the human species - in "A Menaissance Wanted":

  Most guys are cool with being softer around the edges especially when we connect it to loving our wives and daughters in ways that are meaningful to them. But our culture has fallen into the trap of thinking husbands are supposed to love the way they do. We’re supposed to be our wife’s best girlfriend, with a winkie and chest hair added as a bonus. After all, we rationalize, it’s our wives who understand what love is all about, and men who don’t climb on board their way of thinking are dufuses or oafs and are certainly not interested in the relationship…
  
  But that doesn’t really cut it, does it guys. That’s not what you really want either, is it gals. A girlfriend that sometimes leaves the toilet seat up?

Jeremy at Parableman was surprised to discover "Hillary the Evangelical Theonomist Conspirator" (I was too) and posted this comment at Moderate Voice that he has yet to get an response to:

I'm wondering what the fuss is supposed to be about. This looks like a typical evangelical group. They study the Bible and believe in influencing those around them (and therefore indirectly the world) through personal relationships infused with godliness and what they as Christians believe to be the truth. I realize that some conspiracy theorists associate any language about influencing the world with conspiracies about controlling people through theonomistic enforcement of Christian beliefs on those who reject such teachings, but anyone remotely familiar with evangelicalism should know that this is simply standard salt and light kind of stuff from the Sermon on the Mount. So what is it exactly that Hillary is supposed to explain? She is a Christian. Is it surprising that she wants to live her beliefs rather than pretending they don't influence her life?

Can you help him out?

Rick Moran at Right Wing Nut House

• In "America's Shame", Rick rips into John Yoo's memo for the Bush Administration justifying torture.

  From what I’ve been reading for years on other conservative sites, I know that many of you believe that any treatment we hand out to terrorists is too good for them, that they deserve to suffer and besides we need the information that only torture will elicit. Beyond that, there is a troubling rationale used by many conservatives that posits the notion of reciprocity; that because the terrorists treat prisoners in a beastly manner, it is perfectly alright for us to do the same to them.
  
  . . . Why this aspect of American exceptionalism escapes my friends on the right who don’t hesitate to use the argument that we are a different nation than all others when it comes to rightly boasting about our vast freedoms and brilliantly constructed Constitution is beyond me . . .
  
  Let’s be clear on this; John Yoo’s memo does a tap dance around the Constitution, the UN treaty banning torture, and domestic laws prohibiting our public officials from engaging in acts that cause bodily harm to another person.

• He also rips into Barack Obama for being "An Easy Liar":

  We’ve just spent 16 years dealing with Presidents who proved to be less than honest on big issues. Can’t we do better this time around? . . .
  
  Most politicians are pretty good liars but Obama, like Bill Clinton (unlike George Bush who is a horrible liar) is very, very good at it. And what’s even worse is his ability to turn 180 degrees and embrace the truth when he is discovered while barely acknowledging or ignoring the lie.
  
  I will probably end up doing a post soon on McCain’s whoppers as well. The guy can’t keep his story straight about his support for amnesty, the Iraq War, or campaign finance reform, or any number of issues he has dealt with over the years. McCain doesn’t have quite as much to lie about – or at least about his personal associations.
  
  For two guys running on how honest they are, it’s depressing to think that if these guys are the straightest talkers we have in the political class, our republic is in deep trouble.

Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost:

• addresses prison rape - "Between Smirks and Silence: Ignoring the Epidemic of Prison Rape":

  In 2004 the corrections industry estimated that 12,000 rapes occurred per year—more than the annual number of reported rapes in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York combined. In a 2007 survey by the U.S. Department of Justice, though, more than 60,000 inmates claimed to have been sexually victimized by other inmates during the previous 12 months.
  
  First-time and non-violent offenders are often targeted by prison gangs for sexual servitude. Once an inmate is forced into sexually submissive role, becomes a ‘punk”, the gangs treat him as chattel. While prison guards turn a blind eye, the gangs use these men as sexual slaves.
  
  Although the majority of these inmates are eventually returned back into the general public, their sentence could turn into a death penalty. HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C are up to 10 times more prevalent in correctional institutions than in the outside population. The repeated abuse these inmates receive makes it almost inevitable that they will be exposed to one of these fatal diseases.

• Picks a few neat things for this week's "Thirty-three Things". Two of my favorites:
  
  • Classic Works of Apology
  
  
  • From fact to not: the "10 Most Historically Inaccurate Movies of all Times"

Dan at Cerulean Sanctum gives the one-verse answer to a great sex life (married of course)

As a married man, I’ve learned a lot about sex over the years. The greatest truth I’ve learned on the topic, the one guaranteed to drive one’s partner wild with ecstasy, comes right from the Bible. If explored to its depths, every ramification plumbed, I can guarantee this Scriptural admonition will lead to a most exhilarating sex life.

You ready? Because here it is:

The great thing is - it is not an 8 part series: "Let's Talk About Sex - or Not". BTW: I agree with Dan - Paul hit it with this verse. [HT: The View From Her]

From World on the Web:

• The Onion News Network's coverage of the "9/11 Truth" theories:
  
  



• "The Anti-war, Pro-life Dilemma":

  For conservatives who oppose the Iraq war, does John McCain — thoroughly unconservative to many of them — offer any compelling reason to vote for him in November? Right now, a majority probably believes he does. But reasons for thinking he doesn’t are gaining currency. McCain’s pool of voters shrunk by two last week when a couple notable conservative Catholics defected and endorsed Barack Obama. The surprise endorsements have since propelled the conservative blogosphere into an introspective reflection about whether McCain is in fact a good gamble.

Enjoy