Taken from The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.
"That's the duty of the old," said the Librarian, "to be anxious on behalf of the young. And the duty of the young is to scorn the anxiety of the old."
They sat for a while longer, and then parted, for it was late, and they were old and anxious.
So, yesterday I posted a quote from a Christopher Hitchens book, God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. I bought the book at Borders the other day because it was marked down quite a bit and the premise intrigued me.
Guess what I found in the book? That's right. A tract.
If you haven't heard already, students can sign up for a free year of Amazon Prime. All you need is a .edu email address and you are on your way to free two-day shipping. Even if you have a pre-existing Amazon account you can simply input your .edu email address and confirm it. There is no need to create a new Amazon account. Fantastic.
You can't ask for a better deal when shipping from here:
Read what Christopher Hitchens writes in his book God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.
Imagine that you can perform a feat of which I am incapable. Imagine, in other words, that you can picture an infinitely benign and all-powerful creator, who conceived you, then made and shaped you, brought you into the world he had made for you, and now supervises and cares for you even while you sleep. Imagine, further, that if you obey the rules and commandments that he has lovingly prescribed, you will qualify for an eternity of bliss and repose. I do not say that I envy you this belief (because to me it seems like the wish for a horrible form of benevolent and unalterable dictatorship), but I do have a sincere question. Why does such a belief not make its adherents happy? It must seem to them that they have come into possession of a marvelous secret, of the sort that they could cling to in moments of even the most extreme adversity.
I'm sure you are all aware of the awesome Old Spice commercials starring former NFL player, Isaiah Mustafa. As people have been leaving comments on the online commercials, Mustafa, a.k.a The Old Spice Guy, has been responding. And the result can only be summed up in one word: viral.
Here are some of my favorite responses.
Rebekah and I will celebrate our second anniversary on Monday. This is the card my sister sent us...
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
It needs no fiery dedication,
It has no moldy insulation,
No sealing issues with a door,
Hooray! Our new refrigerator.
This installment of "Words Theologians Like" is credited to Jeremy. Be sure to check out his blog! If you would like to make a contribution to "Words Theologians Like," leave a remark and it may be featured in future installments.
Well, it's summer. And that means nearly unprecedented amounts of church fun manifested in "Casual Sundays." Here are three items you may see your pastor modeling on such an occasion.
Firstly, the braided belt. These relics garnish many pastor's closets and typically make their first appearance around Memorial Day when the deacon board decides jeans are allowed in the pulpit.
Secondly, the American flag tie. Summer offers plenty of opportunities to show unbridled patriotism and the pastor is not immune. Nothing makes the Galatians 5:1 sermon pop like donning one of these little gems.
Finally, the Hawaiian shirt. Popularized by a particular Californian pastor, the Hawaiian shirt has become a staple of "Casual Sunday." But beware if a pastor rocks this style too often; there may be a subliminal message being sent to the trustees that he wants a couple more vacation days next year.
If you liked this post, you can check out an earlier edition of "Pastor Styles."
My mind has officially been blown. Check this out.
In May 2008, I sat down at the computer in my soon-to-be in-laws' house and checked my feedreeder. I found a link to an interesting list and decided to post the link on this very blog.
A year passed and Rebekah and I found ourselves married and in Louisville at a new church. Soon we began to get to know some people in our Bible Fellowship Group. One of those individuals, Derek, stumbled upon this blog and told me that in some unknown way he was familiar with it. The breadth of my readership is not all that far-reaching, so I didn't put a whole lot of thought into how he might have come across my blog. He brought it up a couple more times, but my response was the same.
Then, last Sunday, Derek approached me and told me where he had seen my blog before. Over two years ago, when I sat at that computer in Fargo on a Saturday morning, I linked to his blog. A man that I had never met before, who lived nearly 1,000 miles away, wrote a list that I read and desired others to read as well. As far as I knew anyone could have written that list. Anyone. I had no idea it would be someone who I would call a good friend.
That's how my mind was blown.
Thanks, Derek.
A few months back I thought of a nice recurring post, but unfortunately it never recurred. Until now.
Recapitulate
To offer a brief summary of a conversation or lecture, summarize.
"After a no less than lengthy sermon, the guest preacher insisted on recapitulating his remarks."
I've blogged about rainbows before, but this dude takes it to a whole 'nother level.
Four more books in June. That puts me at twenty-three for the year. And I have twenty-nine to read by December 31. No problem.
I could have capitalized a little more in June; my reading was light. Oh, well.
This is an incredible interview with a man who just retired from the Postal Service.
