Tag Archives: racism

Jan 22 2013

this went thru my mind

 

Church: * 10 Reasons to Be Involved in a Church; * The Main Reason People Leave a Church by Thom Rainer [required reading]

* “… give church another chance. By getting involved, you’ll discover that what you once viewed as a chore is actually a blessing. Here are 10 reasons why.”

* “… the main reason people leave a church is because they have an entitlement mentality rather than a servant mentality.”

Computers & computing: Is Google Set to Kill Off the Password?

“The search giant [Google] is experimenting with USB keys, mobile phones and even jewelry that can act as a physical ‘key’ to give users access to their account. The firm’s security bosses are set to publish their findings next month – and say they could soon be commonplace.”

Divorce: How Divorce Affects Young Adults’ Religiosity

“… children of divorce make up the leading edge — or what she calls the ‘broken leading edge’ — of a growing number of adults who say they are spiritual, but don’t affiliate with a particular religion.”

Pornography: Chronicling Porn’s Damaging Effects

“It has never been easier to access pornography, and massive amounts of it.”

Racism: The Flames of Heaven by Jonathan Storment

“… I don’t think racism is really a white problem, or a black problem…it’s a human problem. … I would think the church would be the one group who could do something about this.”

Jan 21 2013

this went thru my mind

 

Bible study: Serious Bible Study on the Web by David Instone-Brewer

“The Internet is still full of rubbish … Google’s ‘ranking’ is based largely on linkages – if lots of people refer to a site, then lots of people thought it worth recommending. But they do not realize the value of a lot of things out there. The following essay will identify the best recommendations.”

Books & reading: Practical Tips for How to Make More Time for Reading

“Reduce your intake of social media and replace it with a book. … Shake up your routine. …  Go audio. … Turn off the TV. … Set a family goal. … Find a new reading spot. … Join a book club.”

Civil disobedience, faith, Martin Luther King, Jr. & racism: * Letter from Birmingham Jail [required reading]; * Loving the Dream by Jonathan Storment; * Martin Luther King, Jr. at Southern Seminary; * Are We There Yet? by Keith Brenton

* “There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being “disturbers of the peace” and “outside agitators”‘ But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were “a colony of heaven,” called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated.” By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide. and gladiatorial contests.

“Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an arch supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.

“But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.”

* “I read a survey a few years ago, that said 6% of white people in America, think that racism is still a problem. To help put that in perspective, consider this: 12% of people think Elvis may or may not be dead. But 93% of African American people think that racism is still a problem. And, at least in the world that I grew up in, and know today, they are right.”

* “”This podcast contains a recording of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on April 19, 1961. The speech is more remarkable considering the context. Southern Baptists were not unified in their posture toward the Civil Rights movement and in 1961 the outcome was far from certain.”

* “We may have made strides in our battle against racism, but in many ways, we have simply traded black and white for red and blue.”

Discipline & suffering: How Do We Know if God is Disciplining Us? by D.A. Carson

“… when we face suffering of any kind, we should use the occasion for self-examination. … the remedy is always the same: flee to the Cross, and trust our good and gracious and holy God. And it’s not inconceivable that we may conclude, with Job, that this suffering cannot be God’s punishment for specific sins in our lives. We sometimes observe that hard cases make bad theology. But easy, formulaic answers to questions of suffering are invariably reductionistic — and they make bad theology, too.”

Facebook: Search Option From Facebook Is a Privacy Test

“This week, Facebook unveiled its search tool, which it calls graph search, a reference to the network of friends its users have created. The company’s algorithms will filter search results for each person, ranking the friends and brands that it thinks a user would trust the most. At first, it will mine users’ interests, photos, check-ins and ‘likes,’ but later it will search through other information, including status updates.”

Dec 4 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Archaeology: Road Found at Bethsaida from Time of Jesus by Todd Bolen

“We uncovered a paved street from the time of Jesus’s disciples, which runs westward through the residential area from the corner of the Fisherman’s House down toward the Jordan valley. … I tell people that Andrew, Peter and Phillip almost certainly walked on it because they would have had to have gone out of their way to avoid it!”

Grief & mourning: When We Don’t Give a Pause: Javon Belcher and the NFL by Caleb Wilde

“We’re too busy with school to give a pause.  Too busy with work to give a pause.  Too busy with our Facebook feed to give a pause.  Too busy with OUR lives that we forget about the lives of others.”

Hope & hopelessness: Salvation By Port-A-Potty by Wade Hodges

“My favorite scene from the movie Castaway … [is] is the pivotal scene after Tom Hanks’s character has acclimated to life on the island. He’s given up trying escape. He’s tried to kill himself and failed. He has no hope of being rescued. His life has come to a dead end. He’s exhausted all of his options. Then one day he wakes up and finds a surprise on the beach. A piece of a port-a-potty has washed ashore.”

Jesus: 7 Things You May Not Know About Jesus by Frank Viola

“Jesus envelops time. … Jesus sung on the cross. … Jesus’ twelve disciples were teenagers. … Jesus was fragrant when He rose from the dead. … Jesus had a keen sense of humor. Jesus completed and replayed the story of Israel. … Jesus was regarded as a political figure.”

Politics, terrorism & war: Stop Supporting the “War” on Terrorism by Tim Archer

“There is no defined end to this war. … There is no clear definition of who the opponents are. … Christians who believe in just war need to stop supporting the so-called war on terrorism. There is nothing just about it. It’s just war, plain and simple.”

Racism: Racism and American Politics by Roger E. Olson [required reading]

“…  I believe I have detected an underlying current of racism at work in MUCH of the hateful criticism aimed at Obama personally.”

Oct 13 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Apologizing: Courageous Leaders Don’t Make Excuses…They Apologize

“Because so many of us have a hard time apologizing, I thought it might be helpful to have an ‘apology primer.’  Here you go …”

Church, parenting & sports: Are You Skipping Church for Your Kids’ Sports? by Joy Fisher [required reading]

“Each year, 35 million children (ages 5 to 18) suit up for organized sports. When they suit up is sometimes a gray area for Christian families. Regular church attendance is a must for parents who want their kids to put God first in their lives. So what impact does skipping church for sports have on that worthy goal?”

Courage & sacrifice: Ajith Fernando: On the Anvil of Suffering by Tim Stafford

“Offered his dream job in the United States, Fernando opted to stay in war-torn Sri Lanka, a decision that has made all the difference for the cause of Christ.”

Jesus, race & the U.S.: Deconstructing the Whiteness of Christ

“When we see the traditional images of Jesus as a blondish, blue-eyed European, where do those depictions stem from historically? … these images were not present in British America. Only after the United States became a new nation did Americans begin producing images of Jesus. He was not blue eyed at first, and his hair was brown. He was made white in this form at exactly the moment Americans were buying and selling more slaves and justifying the expropriation of Native American lands in the Southwest. In many ways, making Jesus white was an effort to sanctify these goals for land, power, and authority. … Jesus was first mass-produced in the United States in the early 1800s, but it was not until after the Civil War that his being white became an object of widespread discussion.”

Prayer & understanding your Bible: The Role of Prayer in Bible Interpretation

“For a man solemnly to undertake the interpretation of any portion of Scripture without invocation of God, to be taught and instructed by his Spirit, is a high provocation of him; nor shall I expect the discovery of truth from any one who thus proudly engages in a work so much above his ability.”

Reflection & wonder: What I Found in My Pocket by G.K. Chesterton [required reading]

“… I deny most energetically that anything is, or can be, uninteresting.”