As Jeremy said when he assigned me this Carnival - the 300th is a big edition. So, wanting some kind of theme - I put "three hundred" into a Bible search. Other than "mighty men" and shields in the Old Testament, I came up with this passage:
John 12:1-8 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he had raised from the dead. So they prepared a dinner for Jesus there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table with him. Then Mary took three quarters of a pound of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus. She then wiped his feet dry with her hair. (Now the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil.) But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him) said, “Why wasn’t this oil sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?” (Now Judas said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, he used to steal what was put into it.) So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial. For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me!”Read more!
After a fairly long hiatus as an active blogger, it is nice to come back and host another Christian Carnival. As near as I can tell, this is my 13th Carnival, and it is always a pleasure.
The posts are in the order that I recieved them in.Often I hear people say that they don't give to their church because they don't trust how the money is being spent, don't like the fact that the pastor drives such and such of a car, and the like. Yet they continue to go to the church. They just don't give to it. Here are my thoughts for these people:
A look at Romans 2:1-3
Paul is the Ultimate Family Man. Article discusses Paul as "father," "mother," family member, and how he teaches tha tevery family member is a minister. Bonus: Information about visiting Turkey "the other Holy Land" with the BAS.
How much money should we be seeking as Christians - and why should we be seeking it?
This story is going to sound too magnificent to be true, but I promise you this this just recently happened to me and is completely true. I'm sharing it because it is a great example of the magnitude of God's glory
G-ds creatures teach us life lessons
Whether looking for a single voice in a certain denomination or for a community of others just like you, Christian mothers will enjoy these top 100 blogs. Don’t forget to grab dad and the kids if you find one or more you really like.
I've talked with quite a few people lately who maintain that Christian rock music and Christian rap are sinful and lead to a life of rejecting God. I simply can't fathom how they come up with this idea
if you’re going to be the leader here are some things you’re going to need to stay in the game:
Bringing your faith into business transactions can be a tricky situation. This post hopes to look at when and how it may be appropriate.
Blog team member Derek Ashton describes an interesting experiment he conducted with his kids, and the possible theological implications.
It's all about prayer.
Weekend Fisher considers what it does to our idea of truth when Truth is the person of Jesus rather than an abstract idea.
Waiting on God is where a lot of us are in our lives right now . . . The question which perhaps we need to consider is "How do we wait on God?"
Did you know that as a Christian you have access to the secret thoughts of God? This post discusses what the Bible has to say about our access.
In rereading the first few chapters of Genesis, I was struck by something I hadn't fully explored before. Why did God ask Where are you?
Is this how YOUR pastor search would go? (Note: Jevlir Caravansary (jevlir.com) is next week's Christian Carnival host)
A response to Craig Blomberg's recent post on Calminianism.
Fundamentally Changed contributor Erik D. writes about his journey in fundamentalist Christianity
As part of my series on illegal immigration and a Christian's responsibility, I posted this examination of three cases of civil disobedience to examine the motivating factors and see if there are any principles that might carry over into the immigration issue.
Shontta looks at the implications of us being created imago dei - in the image of God
This is another of those long comments I made on another blog.
One nice thing - other than these great posts - about the Christian Carnival is that there is always one forming: send your submissions to blog carnival for the next Carnival.
Another one: There are a whole lot of past Christian Carnivals you can look at as well.
Enjoy
It is an honor to once more be hosting the Christian Carnival - especially such an important number like 250. This is very close to the 5th anniversary post, and it is such a nice round number.
Certainly, as many who have watched my blog know, I am pretty inactive as a blogger right now. Indeed, this carnival may (or may not) be the last I host - and my time constraints are apparent in its lateness (for which I apologize). Also, I have had to withdraw from the team that manages the Carnival because of those time constraints.
Which is the point of the introduction here. The Christian Carnival always needs help:
Am I bummed about the results of the election yesterday? You betcha! Am I sad that our country elected someone who supports the murder of our unborn children? No doubt about it! Am I crying in my coffee and chewing my fingernails to the quick over it this morning? Never!
You may say, "WHAT?"
Many of us who call on the name of God spent time praying about this election. I would like to encourage you to continue to pray for this nation and its government and let it become a part of your regular life.
Whoever can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much.
. . . this post may seem a bit philosophical, but its a simple enough thought-experiment about how the God of the philosophers ought actually to be closer to the God of Abraham et al. On the other hand, Open theism is regarded by many as heretical (either way, the post could probably use some criticism :)
Another entire category of defective doctrines stemming from the Word of Faith movement are those doctrines concerning the guarantee of physical health.
Editor: There is no particular indication that this is a Christian site, or author - but it seems like a worthy project; and a great future resource for Christians who are taught to focus on God's blessings - but, like all humans, may lose track of those "good things" in the midst of real life
Hell exists and has its effects felt on earth now just as with the Kingdom of God (also a vivid image of Jesus - a future fulfillment of the Kingdom of God with present effects). However, it will not be “populated” until the general resurrection which again Jesus describes vividly.
With all of the news about the layoffs, the market crashing, international woes, or even just the fact that your car didn’t start today, it’s good to know that God gave us leaders to look to.
Prayers are answered for a toddler. :)
Have you ever gotten your days and nights switched so that you were sleeping and waking out of your habit and pattern? At times like that I often feel tired, and even when fully awake and energetic, I tend to be unhappy that I am fully awake at such an odd hour, knowing that it will only perpetuate another day out of rhythm.
Now that we have somewhat established a foundation from which we can work with, it would probably be best to move on to more practical matters. If church is truly about the people of Christ, obviously committed to God’s heart and kingdom purposes, then we have to ask what that means for our everyday lives, right?
Hosea told us God desires "mercy not sacrifice." Does that mean God didn't require a sacrifice to forgive us of our sins?
Some rambling reflections on being a Christian veteran on veteran's day.
There seems to be one key factor in keeping a marriage together.
The term Progressives is being used today both in politics and in Christianity. What exactly does it mean?
Wickle hopes that this year we might spare the country The annual war on the "War on Christmas" and instead act with peace and charity.
Are there things God does that he has no obligation to do? Does God always do the best possible thing to do? Surprisingly, commonsense answers to those questions might lead you to opposite views.
It is an honor to host this carnival. The submissions are listed in the order in which they were recieved. Enjoy. For four years Connie Holloway had carried a stranger’s name, and it was time for a change. But how do you pick your own new name? What would you do if you had that kind of freedom?
Prayer is a means to work out our faith in a way that the working of God’s eternally present will in our midst is revealed thus making what is incoherent coherent, and what is unintelligible, intelligible. It is not to ask that God intervene in a specific miraculous way on our behalf as if not praying will not effect change. It is to ask God to reveal what God has already planned in the midst of otherwise incoherent events to render them intelligible. Prayer is thus a means of grace that we enact through faith.
Paul's Secondary missionary journey took him to the philosophers of Athens. How did Paul address the pagan philosophers?
Weekend Fisher considers why she automatically prays when faced with news of a friend's illness, but does not automatically pray when faced with resentment for those who wrong her. Wrestling with the sinful nature and one of Jesus' hardest -- and most blessed -- commands.
Why do we Blog? Is it helping the Kingdom of God?
Join me as I explore the Family Integrated Church Movement.
Christians have followed the world in pampering our children for several decades and now we are beginning to see the results in Christian adults today.
some questions about Barack Obama's view of evil and how it relates to fallen humanity's motivations
Would Jesus approve of the choices you make in reading, viewing, and speaking?
Application and misapplication (in my view) of Matthew 7:1.
Here’s a good example of how not to marry science with a worldview: the so-called Evolutionary Manifesto
This was a great set of posts - and, again, it was an honor to put them together into the 136th Christian Carnival.
Next week travel to RodneyOlsen.net where the tents are already being set up for the 137th edition. Do you have an entry? Want to participate for the 1st time? Here are the instructions for participating
I looked into making this the "Room 222 Edition" - but I couldn't think of a way to connect the old TV show to a Christian Carnival. Darn. So, the excellent posts are in the order received. Enjoy the rides!
Erich Bridges presents "Truth with a capital 'T'" posted at CounterCultureMartin Luther King Jr. died 40 years ago this spring, taking a bullet to the head because he had the courage to stand for an absolute . . .
Rodney Olsen presents "The New Conspirators" posted at RodneyOlsen.net.There’s an old book on my bookshelf that was second hand when I bought it many years ago. The cover was already beginning to part company with the pages when I snapped it up for the bargain price of just three dollars. It was an early catalyst in helping me to see faith in a different light to the understanding I’d developed while being brought up in a conservative, traditional church.
FMF presents "Thoughts on the Bible, Tithing, Giving, and Faith" posted at Free Money FinanceToday we have a "guest post" from smr, a person who left several recent comments to my post titled "Tithe or Pay Off Debt -- Which One Should You Do First?" I'm posting all of the comments together as I thought they made quite a unique and interesting post.
Diane R presents "The Disabled and the Church" posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet. How should the church use the developmentally and physically disabled? Or should they?
Renae presents "Provision" posted at Life Nurturing Education. The anniversary of the dreadful day has passed. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since my husband lost his job. We struggle with the temporary solution . . .
Doug presents "Watch Your Language" posted at Bounded Irrationality. Many younger Christians are beginning to push the Christian cultural boundaries in using cuss words and vulgar language. Thankfully this blog post doesn't. We look into what the Bible says about vulgar language? Is there any room for it in a Christian's life? Are there some things that should never be said?
Richard H. Anderson presents "Exit polls" posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos. “Sticks and bones can break my bones but words can never hurt me.” -- The Pennsylvania exit polls have demonstrated that this nursery rhyme may not be accurate . . .
Paul presents "Wisdom is the Principle Thing" posted at Life is For Living. Proverbs 4:7 -- "Wisdom is the principle thing, therefore get wisdom, and in all thy getting get understanding" . . .
Dana presents "How online communication has affected me" posted at Principled Discovery. Christine, aka The Thinking Mother made a good point on my post looking at how our virtual lives affect our personal lives . . .
Paul Kuritz presents "CITIZEN KANE: Echoes of Eden" posted at Paul Kuritz: Opinions. Consistently on top of the list of best American films, Citizen Kane is hailed as an exposition of the hollowness of the American dream—financial affluence and material luxury. Perhaps Orson Welles’ film receives its power from another earlier, exposition - human beings cannot create the Paradise they have lost . . .
ChrisB presents "Prayer and Action" posted at Homeward Bound. Prayer: awesome privilege and occasional cop-out . . .
Jennifer in OR presents "The Intelligent Lizard" posted at Diary of 1. My attempt to be funny. :-) About a controversial subject. Intelligent Design/Creation proponent here . . .
Annette presents "Flee and Pursue" posted at Fish and Cans. 1 Timothy 6:11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness . . .
Mark Olson presents "Fear, Loathing, Death, Dostoevsky, and Zizioulas" posted at Pseudo-Polymath. On fear of death, health-care, and the Christian life.
Jeremy Pierce presents "Sex and Duty" posted at Parableman. Hugo Schwyzer argues against seeing sex as a duty for married couples. This post argues that in one sense he's right, but he's ignoring a perfectly legitimate sense in which sex among married couples is a duty, one commanded by Paul and implied by the teaching of Jesus.
Tom Gilson presents "Darwin-Nazi Link: Fundamentally Wrongheaded?" posted at Thinking Christian. Was "Expelled" chasing a red herring when it said Darwin was partly to blame for Hitler?
Don presents "Earth Day Preachin' Misses the (M)Ark" posted at The Evangelical Ecologist. Grist tries to faith-i-fy their Earth Day blogging with this sermon on Noah and the Ark by Ken Ward of the Unitarian-Universalist First Church in Jamaica Plain, Mass. Don Bosch at The Evangelical Ecologist says his reasoning for taking care of God's critters doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
Thom presents "The Security System: Everything Must Change" posted at Everyday Liturgy. The final three parts of my five part review of Everything Must Change will deal more with the application of McLaren's theories to our contemporary world and how McLaren's thinking changes our Christian perspective of global crises by changing our interpretation from a modernist/capitalist/American narrative into a King Jesus/Kingdom of God narrative.
Barbara presents "Jesus must come first" posted at Tidbits and Treasures. When we shove Jesus aside for any reason, we are letting the devil get a foot in the door. Jesus must come first!
Weekend Fisher presents "Scoring the books of the canon on historical attestation: part 1, the method" posted at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength. Gospel of Judas? Gospel of Mary? Secret Mark? There is plenty of talk about secret writings, lost writings, suppressed writings -- how do we sort through it all? Weekend Fisher looks for a way to objectively evaluate the historical attestation of early Christian writings
John presents "God's Hands vs. Our Hands" posted at Light Along the Journey. What does Little League baseball have to do with trusting and serving God? Find out . . .
John Hobbins presents "The War between anti-ESVers and anti-TNIVers: My Stand" posted at Ancient Hebrew Poetry. John stakes out a pro-TNIV and pro-ESV position in the Bible translation wars, and gets caught in the crossfire [and see the comments!]
This was another great set of submissions. I hope you enjoyed the rides
First, some housekeeping at the Carnival: We need some new hosts. We occasionally get to the point where the same 5 or so blogs rotate the Carnival. This really isn't good, and hosting the Carnival - while it can be some work - is a good ministry opportunity within the Body of Christ. Go here to jump in - the water is awesome.
"For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:16-19, NET)
"Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’" (Mark 12:28-30, NET)
“If you love me, you will obey my commandments." (John 14:15, NET)
"The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”" (John 14:21, NET)
"If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love." (John 15:10, NET)
"The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”" (Mark 12:31, NET)"Love of neighbor" divides into specific and general revelations:
"Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, so that he may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one has ever hated his own body but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church, for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is great – but I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each one of you must also love his own wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." (Ephesians 5:25-33, NET)
"“I give you a new commandment – to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples – if you have love for one another.”" (John 13:34-35, NET)
"For this is the gospel message that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another . . . We know that we have crossed over from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. We have come to know love by this: that Jesus laid down his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians. But whoever has the world’s possessions and sees his fellow Christian in need and shuts off his compassion against him, how can the love of God reside in such a person? . . . Now this is his commandment: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he gave us the commandment." (1 John 3:11-23, NET)
"“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37, NET)
"honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.”" (Matthew 19:19, NET)
"Fathers [or "parents"], do not provoke your children, so they will not become disheartened." (Colossians 3:21, NET)
"“But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away. Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people." (Luke 6:27-35, NET)
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, but do not have love, I receive no benefit. Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be set aside. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when what is perfect comes, the partial will be set aside. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways. For now we see in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13, NET)All bible quotes are from: Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press. Read more!
Many got the notification that the Carnival this week would be late. I have always skirted this edge because my two long work days were on Wednesday and Thursday. When I changed jobs within my company my days off became Tuesday and Wednesday - the perfect host schedule really.
Now, the theme of this Carnival was going to be something about birthdays - since mine was Thursday. It was also going to be a breeze - I would have a whole day off on Wednesday instead of going to work. However, one passage stands out now after the computer issues I had from Monday - Thursday:
James 4: 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 14 You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. 15 You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin. (NET Bible)The theme became (and nothing was easy or relaxed):
There is no theme this week for the Christian Carnival - just enjoy the rides as they come to you in the order they came to me.
A little "meta" though:
I asked the woman why she wanted to work for us. "The Terrorists are trying to kill me." I knew this was not to be an ordinary job interview. Charmaine and I were hiring a...Michael at Chasing the Wind knows it is too hard to do what God asks - which is precisely the point. It is too hard for us, but not for God - so when we live in "Dependence" on God's strength, God's purposes will be fulfilled.
They claim to have disproved a position that they don't even address. If they intend to show there is no soul, they ought at least to pay attention to what they're trying to disprove. They are ignorant of it, or they blithely assume it's safe to ignore itAli presents "Jesus in Genesis - Creation" posted at Kiwi and an Emu. He thinks there are some interesting parallels in the Creation story with the Gospel.
Scripture tells us we're to be just as careful with our world as we are with our wealth. Both are from Him and belong to Him. So how do we get that right balance between wealth and ecology? How do Christians avoid the same sort of environmental hypocrisy that Al Gore and Madonna are being accused of lately? As you might expect God's word goes straight to the root of things, and from a surprising source!Brent presents "Simplistic Theology" posted at Everyday Liturgy. He thinks that theology should be normative and deal with consistencies instead of exceptions.
It is a hard look at Islam using an analogy that is well known to most modern blog savvy Christians. Some may not like this posting...so...Rodney Olsen presents "The Gospel of Homer and Harry" posted at The Journey.
Some people are saying that they are seeing Harry Potter as some kind of 'Christ figure' in the latest J.K. Rowling book. How far should we go in drawing spiritual parallels from contemporary culture?Jennifer in OR presents "The French Atheist Still Wanted Jesus on the Cross" posted at Diary of 1.
Abortion is justified by saying the aborted fetus is not a human being, just a blob of tissue. Slavery was justified was saying that the slave was not a human being, but something less than human.
the claim that the Supreme Court's upholding of the partial-birth abortion ban is just religiously-motivated, along with a reflection on a different view of constitutional issues taken in this decision as opposed to previous ones.
I was recently Chrismated into the Orthodox church. In the Orthodox church Chrismation is a sacrament associated with Baptism for which Confirmation might be a analogue in the Western church. In this essay I discuss that event and some of what I went through before that event.
This post re-opens old controversies and is nearly guaranteed to raise tempers among both Lutherans and Roman Catholics. I have to respectfully ask the Roman Catholics to pass over this conversation as a matter internal to Lutherans.
I am sure more uses are coming - how would you use it? To paraphrase an old TV show: "We have re-built it; and it is stronger than ever".
Now, all you need to do is enjoy it - and here is the last set of posts for just that purpose.
As our month of posts about life in an African village ends we finally have a snake story and it's a big one! It has a happy ending (but not for the snake).
“He will not live the day,” he said. “You have a decision to make, and I need to know now."
Romans 12:4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly:
How do our posts reflect our gifts? We are all bloggers here; and I expected the division of gifts to be narrower than it was. The list is one our church used on its membership form.
Administration
(I Corinthians 12:28)
-organizing, designing and guiding human activities in such a way that Christ’s program is carried out-
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