David Matthew Quinn

Highest Ranked Blogs on Religion

2012-02-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

Finding a good blog can be very time consuming. I've often been asked how I find good blogs on theology or church issues and I thought it would be a good idea to post here to answer that question. There are a lot of very bad blogs that thrive mostly on controversy or making inflammatory statements about people. In my opinion, they do a lot of damage to the church and to good people I know personally. Some of those blogs will be in the lists I give you and I apologize in advance for that.

There are a few different ranking systems I've found that directed me to some really great blogs about Religion, Christianity, Theology, Biblical Studies and other kinds of churchy news. If you want to know what's going on in the Christian Blogosphere, be sure to check out these sites and check back regularly to see how blogs move up and down in position. You will have to use discernment. These are not popular because they're the best. They're popular because they are the most viewed. So, without further rambling, here are three main places I go to find good blogs on Christianity.

One more hint: Once you find a blog you like, check the "blogroll" or section of that blog where they tell you the other blogs they read. That's usually a good way to find other good, lesser known blogs.

Technorati
Technorati lists the Top 100 Religion Blogs under the Living Category. This a great place to find how blogs rise and fall in popularity and to see how they are influencing others.

Church Releveance
Kent Shaffer has put together the Top 200 Church Blogs at Church Relevance. He used to list the Top 100 but then he changed the way he ranked them and decided there were a lot of other good ones that deserved to be on the list. I was very glad for the additions.

The Biblioblog Top 50
This site is updated monthly (he's a little behind at the moment) and can direct you to biblical studies blogs. Also make sure to check out the Complete List of Biblioblogs if you want to search by categories like Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Early Christianity and Greco-Roman Culture, Textual Criticism, and much more.

I hope this is helpful to get you started or to help you find some other interesting blogs if you feel like you've been wanting to branch out. Also, let me know if there are other blogs you like that aren't on any of these lists. I'm always interested in finding good writing that's not the most popular.

$5.00 or Less Bookstore

2012-02-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

Some old books

The death of Borders was a sad event for me. I love books, bookstores, and libraries. Anywhere you can find a book is a good place in my opinion, and a place where you will find me eventually.

When I go to someone's home for the first time, I quickly look for the bookshelf or bookshelves and scan their titles. Most homes or apartments still have these archaic things even though kindles are quickly replacing many thousands of them. The bookshelves come in all different sizes and usually say something about the people who live there. The books also say things about the people. But in the same way that you should not judge a book by its cover, you also should not judge a person by the books on their shelves. There are a lot of reasons why people have different kinds of books. Though, if I see that someone reads only two or three different authors, that does tell me something very clearly about them. Anyways, all of that is for a different post.

The whole reason for this post was really to tell you about a great bookstore that is still surviving in Simi Valley, CA. I think it has the potential to someday become like a Powell's or Tattered Cover. I'm talking about the $5.00 or Less Bookstore. Their website doesn't exist yet but you can find them on Facebook if you know how to search. There are a few bookstores left here in town and this one is by far the best.

I'll give you just one example of an amazing find I made a few months ago at this amazing bookstore.

Novalis Schriften, 1820

One of my favorite writers is George MacDonald. George was very influenced by Novalis, a German, who wrote Hymns to the Night among other things. It was one of the primary writings that inspired the mythopoeia of MacDonald, who inspired Lewis, who conspired with Tolkien, who made way for L'Engle, and so on and so forth.

I was wandering in the back of the $5.00 or Less Bookstore when I noticed they had opened a new rare books section. I spent at least an hour searching through every book, when all of a sudden I found an 1820 edition of Novalis Schriften (in German) containing Hymnen an die Nacht. Now, you would expect that a book like this would be worth more money than a politicians paycheck, but not at the $5 or Less Bookstore. No. It was $5.

So if you live in Simi Valley or you ever come to visit, stop in and search the ever evolving system of books organized by genre but not necessarily by author or title. Most days you'll pay $5 for a hardcover and $3 for a paperback, with all kinds of deals and coupons available each month to help you get books for even less. They're in a bigger building than when I first found them and they continue to grow. If you love the process of discovering a good book as much as I do, you will not want to miss this place.

Cornerstone South LA

2012-02-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

From 1998 to 2002 I attend USC and lived in an area known as South Central Los Angeles. The neighborhood didn't have a good reputation then and it still doesn't now. One of the ways you try to change your reputation is by changing your name. People do it all the time, so why not a city. A few years ago, South Central became South LA, but not much changed.

I lived just off campus during my freshman year and moved a little further from the campus each year after that. First I was on Orchard, then West 30th Street. I remember people asking me if I was afraid to walk to class in the morning or to come back from class late at night. I heard stories of people getting robbed and stabbed on their way back from school, but nothing like that ever happened to me.

Instead, I started talking to people who lived in my neighborhood. I had a lot of friends from school who lived in my apartment complex or in houses close by and some of us got to know families who lived in the neighborhood for years before we ever got there.

I came to love the city - I mean really love the people of the city. One time I gave a guy a ride and while I was dropping him off somewhere near Adams Blvd. he looked at me and said, "you probably shouldn't give people rides like this, it could be dangerous". In that moment I honestly wondered if he was about to rob me. I just looked at him and said, "I don't give everyone rides. I listen to God and if it seems like he's telling me to do it, then I do it. You seemed like a guy I could trust and I knew God wanted me to give you a ride." He thanked me and got out to meet his friend.

It may sound crazy to you to hear me say that God tells us to do things. He does. And when you hear from him, you simply need to do what He says. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks about that.

Three years ago my wife and I got married. We were married by our good friend and pastor Matt Moore who is about to make one of the biggest moves of his life because God is telling him to do it. We have been so privileged to know him and his family and we are fully confident that God is directing them to move to South LA. very close to the same neighborhood where I lived for four years. We are going to be praying for them and I would like you to pray for them too. You should also consider joining them if you think God wants you to move to Los Angeles.

You can read all you need to know about Cornerstone South LA on their website. You can contact them if you have a heart to move to the city or if you already live there and have ideas about ways they can connect with people.

Maybe I'll see you there someday. I still love that city.

Book Review: Primal

2012-02-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

In this book, Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. takes a close look at a foundational command to the church.

Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. All of the Law and the Prophets hang on the commandment, "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

For Mark, the heart is identified and cultivated through compassion and generosity. The soul is expressed through wonder and interaction with God by speaking and listening through prayer; and the reading, study, and meditation of Scripture. The mind should be used to it's full potential including thoughts, plans, emotions, feelings and creative acts for the world to see.

Mark goes about employing scientific observations and discoveries, personal stories, and experiences of his church to illustrate and affirm that he has experienced the truth of Jesus' words.

He is also convinced that the Church will come to life and take back it's rightful place and true witness in society as it returns to the way the early church followed after Jesus.

This is a good read if you enjoy other books focusing on the importance of love for God and your neighbor, such as Crazy Love by Francis Chan or Radical by David Platt.

You can read more about Primal and the author, here.

The Historian's Craft: Primary Sources

2012-01-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

As I sat reading Christopher Columbus' personal journals I thought, "This doesn't sound like the person described by text books at all." The class was a Latin American Colonial Seminar. The first assignment was to read Columbus' journals and discover the new world with him through his eyes. We were also supposed to write a journal as though we were traveling with Columbus, chronicling everything we saw and experienced on the journey.

Columbus talked constantly about how marvelous everything was. He was driven by faith in God and a desire to understand the people he met in the new world. He was a real person. He faced all kinds of challenges at home and on his journeys. He didn't know how he was going to fund his exploration. People around him got sick and died. He didn't know what he was going to find. He also could not fully prepare for how he would respond to new discoveries of land and people who looked, talked and lived differently than anyone he had ever known. Anachronistic historians often make him appear a lot worse than he really was.

When you read a primary source like the Journals of Christopher Columbus, you see the past as though it is the present, because when it was written it was the present for the one writing. One of my favorite historians to talk about this issue is David McCullough. He has a great way of describing the way we should read primary sources. He reminds us that we read about the past with a knowledge of how things turn out. But it wasn't that way for the ones living through it. The future to them was unknown. They didn't know how things would turn out. We might undervalue their bravery because we're so unaware of how big the risks were for them. We may judge their decisions without having to face the same kinds of consequences they did when actually making the decisions.

If you're going to study history, you must read the primary sources. Don't just read text books or summaries by great historians. Begin with the evidence produced in the time period you want to understand. Understand the clothes they wore, the food they ate, their living conditions, their environment, the political conditions, their religious beliefs, their vocabularies. All of these things and more will get you into the time and help you to see things with their eyes.

Next, you must learn to Interpret.

Be Slow to Argue with Old Men

2012-01-30T13:44:00.000-08:00

I was reading about a debate between two older men, both of whom are a little more than twice my age. Both have taught me some good things, but I prefer one more than the other. I have learned more valuable things from him and I trust him. He's helped me to make sense of some difficult things, and I respect his life. I tend to avoid listening to the other man, because he mostly frustrates me. I also don't get along very well with other younger people who listen to him a lot.

All of this got me thinking about how often I take up a critique or an argument against an older man, even if it is just in my mind. I will hear a man teach something and I disagree with either his method or his message and my tendency is to want to avoid having to listen to him or anyone else who starts referencing him. For some reason, after thinking all of those other things, it hit me. These guys have lived twice as long as I have. They know so much more than me because they have experienced more, studied more, lived more.

I'm making a commitment from now on to listen more to men who are much older than me. I will listen more and wait longer before I begin to critique or judge the words they say. I will listen less to men who are slightly older than me, and I will seek out counsel from people my own age least of all. I'm not saying that I can't learn from these others (or even people younger than me). I'm just making a decision to actively pursue the wisdom that comes from having age and experience.

A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness. -Proverbs 16:31

This longer story is also good example of damage that was done when someone listened to his young friends instead of his wise old counselors.

1 Kings 12:1-20

¹ Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ²And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. ³ And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, ⁴ “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” ⁵ He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?”⁷ And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” ⁸ But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. ⁹ And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” ¹⁰ And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. ¹¹ And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said,“Come to me again the third day.” ¹³ And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, ¹⁴ he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD that he might fulfill his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

The Kingdom Divided

¹⁶ And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents.¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. ¹⁸Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. ²⁰ And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.

Geschichte

2012-01-25T20:16:00.000-08:00

The Beginning

I don't know much German, though my family on my dad's mom's side came from Germany. I can count to three in German (with a very bad accent), I like some of their beer, and they make great automobiles. Besides that, I know one other word in German; and I believe it is one of the most beautiful words in the whole world.

Geschichte means History.

It also means more than what Americans think of when we think of history. It is a story of the past. It is something the Americans could have never invented or perfected because we have too little of it to call our own.

The first time I heard the word was in HIST 300: Approaches to History at the University of Southern California. The description of the course was simple, "Approaches to history; intellectual and personal dimensions of the historian’s work. Required of all history majors." It is the second sentence that all students dread, but the thing which I now wish everyone could experience: 'required of all history majors'. We as historians were required to study the history of history. It made all the difference for me.

Herodotus, the "Father of History", was our first guide. Then it was on to Thucydides. Together they laid the foundation for our modern historical method. They called it historia - inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation.

Eventually, we got to the Germans. Nothing was off limits for the German philosopher-historian. He became a philosopher, a scientist, an artist. And I began to gather the tools and learn the field that would set me on a path of discovery, understanding, and insight into major world events, cultures, missionary movements, church denominations, sports, wars, politics, and too many other things to list now.

I'll continue a series of posts telling you some of the great things I've learned from history and why I think everyone needs to understand it. I'll give you some tools to study history, some great authors to read, and some of my thoughts on why history matters now more than ever. I hope you'll stick around.

Revised: What is Good Aid?: Oliberté vs. TOMS

2012-01-19T09:47:00.000-08:00

*Additional News*

After tweeting and writing the below post, we got a Twitter response from @tatewatkins, who wrote the article, letting us know "I wrote the piece, do understand how TOMS operates, and sought comment from them multiple times." It seems he did his due diligence. The negative sense I got from Oliberté was also clarified in a tweet they sent saying, "Just want to take a moment to say we're not "anti" @TOMS - they've gotten shoes to kids in need. We just have a different view and approach."

I think the title of the article and certain quotes made about TOMS made it seem more negative towards TOMS than intended.

I also removed my statement below about the article being "biased and poorly researched". I think I was overreacting and wasn't fair to the author.

An article written in the GOOD Business section sparked some good questions for me and my friends who have spent a lot of years working in relief and development (both non-profit and for-profit).

GOOD's comment section doesn't allow me more than 1000 characters and what I had to say in response to an article that seemed to present a negative view of TOMS from the people who were interviewed wouldn't fit in the space they gave me. So, here's my brief response which I would love to talk about more with anyone who is interested.

I appreciate the effort to make a comparison between these two companies, but I think you are really oversimplifying the issue of poverty and making one company look like it is so much better than the other, when they are really just trying to help people in different ways. Both ways can be good if done well. Either can make mistakes and end up being detrimental to community development. Neither will bring all the help that is necessary to someone living in poverty.

TOMS is providing shoes to children who otherwise would not have the ability to get shoes, because they don't have the money. Oliberte is providing jobs to those who would probably not make as much if they were doing something else. Both can be good for any given community in Africa, or on any other continent for that matter. Both are marketing that their products will help people beyond the consumer.

The quote that "TOMS is a good marketing tool, but not good aid" is misleading. It assumes that giving people jobs is always better. Are we advocating child labor here? What about the hundreds of millions of orphans, the majority of whom are in Africa? Giving an adult a factory job in no way guarantees that those kids are going to get what they need. The jobs are good for the community, but they are only a small part. And generosity is very powerful.

Saundra Schimmelpfennig also doesn't seem to understand the value of a gift given in love. That can often have a far greater impact on someone than a job, but in a different way. You can't begin to say that one has more impact than the other, without showing some good research demonstrating that providing a job to an adult (who may or may not "do good" with their money) is better than providing shoes to children in poverty.

I think both companies are doing some good things and they will both have opportunities to make improvements and make better decisions as they continue to grow.

Alcohol and the Kingdom of God

2012-01-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

Preston Sprinkle, a faculty member at Eternity Bible College (my new workplace), has recently written a series of blog posts on what the Bible says and does not say about drinking alcohol. I have had a lot of conversations about this topic in recent years and believe I have a healthier understanding of how a Christian can and should use alcohol than I ever had growing up. It involves understanding your culture, submitting to your church leadership, loving your brothers and sisters in Christ in every situation, and reading and believing all that the Scripture says about alcohol.

His posts are the best I've seen dealing with this topic and I suggest you read them all in order if you've ever had questions or problems with drinking. The final is by far the best and takes the conversation to a place I've never seen it go by others who either adamantly oppose drinking or those who freely drink more than they should. Both groups tend to impose legalistic rules and judgments on people who indulge or refrain. But if we really listen to what God says to His people about drinking, we will see that it is intricately tied to the hope of new creation, the kingdom of God, and how we are to live in community with others.

Read the following posts and the comments in order over at the Theology for Real Life Blog:

1. Wine (Dec. 27)
2. Beer (Dec. 30)
3. Cabernet Sauvignon (Dec. 31)
4. O'douls (Jan. 3)
5. Belgium Trippel Ale (Jan. 4)

New Pages

2011-12-09T17:30:00.000-08:00

I'm working on adding some new pages to the blog that will contain resources and ideas for Education, Missions, Poverty, History, Orphan Care and more.

Here are some sneak previews of two that are in progress

What do you think? Any other suggestions for additions to these pages or new pages?

Back to School

2011-10-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

As I finished up my B.A. in History at the University of Southern California in 2002, I began filling out applications and seriously praying about going to seminary. One of my best friends and I prayed together consistently and we were considering the same school. We had great plans to further our education, which would prepare us for lives of ministry. We were going to be missionaries. He was going to serve in inner city New York and I was headed to some jungle somewhere. After a lot of prayer we decided that formal education was not the route to take. We didn't want to keep reading. We just wanted to start applying what we already knew. He began working as a janitor at his church and I began working as a warehouseman at a Christian relief and development organization. We were going to learn humility in the school of service. And we did. Since then, both of us got married, we increased our responsibilities serving in our local churches, I traveled to over 20 countries teaching and learning from church leaders and missionaries all over the world all while serving children in need by providing for their most basic physical needs and teaching them about the God who loves them.

For the past 10 years I've thought often about returning to college and pursuing a graduate degree in history or some related field. I love learning and using what I learn to encourage others. But I've never been able to justify going back to school. It seems too much like an easy way out for me. I've known that I can't go back to school until I know exactly why I'm there. I would have to be studying something that could be directly applied to work, or that would really equip me for some new kind of work.

In September, I went back to school. But it wasn't in the way i was expecting. I started a new job serving in an administrative role at Eternity Bible College as the Director of Institutional Assessment. I have the awesome privilege and responsibility of helping gather data and improve our processes of administration, teaching and learning to make sure we are accomplishing our mission and values in everything we do as an institution.

I am back in school in a way I never imagined...and I love it.

Daniel's Diorama: Children's Hunger Fund Back to School Pak

2011-06-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

An Interview with Preston Sprinkle about "Erasing Hell"

2011-06-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has been following the recent debates about the existence and exact definition of hell will want to listen to this interview with Preston Sprinkle who is co-authoring the book Erasing Hell with Francis Chan, soon to be released.

You may watch the Interview with Preston and also pre-order the book at the EBC Faculty blog.

A Heart to Teach at ZOE Children's Homes

2011-06-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

There is a beautiful story on ZOE's blog that you need to read. It's about an unexpected path to God's perfect plan. I am constantly inspired by the diverse group of people that work at ZOE who bring a range of professional skills and hearts to serve children. Check out A Heart to Teach | ZOE Children's Homes

The Business of Giving

2011-06-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a great visualization of the companies, foundations and individuals who give the most money to charitable causes. It also includes the breakdown of categories that Americans think deserve the most funding.

#E2sday: The Business of Giving | The Future of Work

The Bible is Full of Riddles

2011-06-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

I am studying through the Proverbs on Monday mornings with some of our neighbors in need in Simi Valley before distributing food, clothes and other necessities to them. Reading through the Proverbs is a great way to impart wisdom to people who have experienced poverty from injustices, laziness, lack of understanding, interpersonal conflicts, addictions, and a whole host of other causes. The Proverbs have so much to say about human relationships and, ultimately, our relationship to God and how that affects all other relationships. They also give us great insights through observations of everyday occurrences which are just as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago.

We are nearing the end of the Proverbs after almost a year and have come upon some very interesting riddles. In the final few chapters we transition away from Solomon and into hearing from a man named Agur son of Jakeh. I want to post one here to see if you can discern it's meaning.

Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a virgin.
(Proverbs 30:18-19 ESV)

So, what do you think? What is the hidden meaning? What do all these have in common?

Christianity and the Poor

2011-06-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

Preston Sprinkle just started an excellent series about Christianity and the Poor over at EBC's blog.

Check it out at Christianity and the Poor: Part 1 | Eternity Bible College's Theology for Real Life

Civil War Diaries Transcription Project

2011-06-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a lot of great posts recently from AHA Today. Today they posted a story and link to a University of Iowa project, which allows the amateur or common historian like you or me to help transcribe written letters from the Civil War.

I already transcribed one. You should give it a try and be a part of history. It's amazing what you learn while doing it also!

Civil War Diaries Transcription Project - Civil War Diaries and Letters Digital Collection - Iowa Digital Library - The University of Iowa Libraries

Is Twitter a Waste of Time?

2011-06-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

If you've just started using Twitter, been thinking about using Twitter, or considering quitting using Twitter, you should read this article posted by ProBlogger asking the big question, "Is Twitter a Waste of Time?"

Study the Bible with the Experts

2011-06-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

What the H?!!

2011-05-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

The battle has been raging for the past few months over the understanding of hell within the American Evangelical realm. Where is hell? What is hell? Does it exist? If it exists, who goes there? If people go there, how long are they there and what is it like? Some of the young guns in American Evangelical Christianity are shooting it out in the streets, while some of the old guys are shooting from the rooftops and lobbing grenades.

If you’re new to the debate, or if you’ve missed some of the important contributors, here’s a sort of timeline (not necessarily in chronological order) that will catch you up.

Hell: Round 1
Rob Bell started it off with the video promoting his new book, “Love Wins”, published by Harper.

Hell: Round 2
He was followed by numerous detractors including Justin Taylor, Kevin DeYoung, and John Piper in the form of a Tweet (all very good “Reformed” folk by the way).

So, we had the bunch of Quick-Draw-McGraws sounding off as fast as they could, but then we even had the good pleasure of hearing from those who think Satire is the best way of dealing with stuff like this.

Hell: Round 3
Some level-headed Joes began pointing out the inadequacy of responding to a book that had not been read yet. These included Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Scot McKnight and others. At this point, if you've checked any of my links, you will find that almost all of them end up linking to the others and to many more that I'm not listing.

Hell: Round 4
The other’s who had read advanced copies or chapters started to give their input. No links here. Start investigating.

Hell: Round 5
It all hit the mainstream. Time Magazine had the cover story.

Then, everyone who was opposed from the beginning, read the book and started giving the expected critiques.

Some more old hands started chiming in. John MacArthur threw the False Teacher Bomb, as usual.

Hell: Round 6
I was really happy when N.T. Wright weighed in with his “You Silly Americans” routine brought to you by Kurt Willems at The Pangea Blog. People quickly responded to him.

Interlude
As i was tracking all of this, I began asking other kinds of questions. By the way, attempting to track all of this is extremely difficult and is really why i decided to write the whole post. It brings up an entirely different issue, which the InternetMonk talks about in his post on Harold Camping, Plowboys, and the Peril of Jouissance. Though he’s using the recent May 21st Judgment Day Scare as his example I think we can see that we are having the same problem, no matter what issue we’re talking about.

This whole process is fascinating to me. It is totally different than how the church used to have these discussions and it’s all because of changes in the way we communicate with things like social media (i.e., blogging, twitter, facebook. etc.), the instant availability of information, and the fact that everyone who can read a Bible can then say whatever they want about it.

Now, not only are blogs being written in response, but whole books. This can be both great and very confusing!

Hell: Round 6
Mark Galli started working on a response book God Wins: Heaven, Hell, and Why the Good News Is Better than Love Wins. Now Francis Chan along with Preston Sprinkle are submitting their own response in Erasing Hell: What God said about eternity, and the things we made up.

Of course, Francis appeared in a video which people are now responding to, without having read his book yet.

Here’s one response to Francis by Jeff Cook. Here’s a response to Jeff responding to Francis by C Michael Patton. And here’s John Shore responding to Francis and even bringing Preston into the picture, recognizing that if the author is listed as So and So #1 and So and So #2, then most of the book is probably written by So and So #2. That’s true. John tries his best to use logic to explain God and solve the whole problem, but he’s not helping us very much.

My Final Thoughts for Now

I applaud Francis for desiring to get everything out on the table. I always appreciate his heart and I think the book he’s working on with Preston will show more of what Scripture actually says as a whole about hell. All of this is producing a lot of disunity at the moment. I happen to know that unity is a big deal to Francis and Preston, so i’m trusting they will do a great job of bringing people together.

One problem is that there is not really one table where everyone is sitting. There are a bunch of little tables that don’t make room for everyone. And when one person overhears what was said at one of the little tables, they share it with all their friends at their own smaller table and usually get most of it wrong. I believe this is all a result of something Alister McGrath calls Christianity's Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution--A History from the Sixteenth Century to the Twenty-First. Everyone can read and interpret the Bible for themselves. Protestants say we don't like Popes, but we actually just end up assigning a bunch of little ones to our liking. Now, a bunch of our new, young popes are fighting and we don't really know what to do about it.

My next post will contain all the hell related verses I could find that I assume Francis and Preston will talk about along with some of my thoughts about hell.

U.S. Education Spending and Performance vs. The World

2011-05-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

I love infographics and i've been thinking a lot about going back to school. Here's an interesting visual of what U.S. spending on education looks like versus the rest of the world. Spending more money doesn't necessarily mean greater effectiveness.

Source: MAT@USC

Rulers of the World

2011-05-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

First, Pray for All People

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (1 Timothy 2:1-6 ESV)

Pray for the Rulers

If you've ever wondered who the current Rulers of the World are at any given time, now you can find out at Rulers.org. Not only can you see who has just taken power, you can find out who has lost it. You may have been aware that Dominique Strauss-Khan resigned from his position as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on May 18th due to his indiscretions. That that was big news. You may not have known that Oommen Chandy was sworn in as chief minister of Kerala in India that same day.

Also, remember to pray for Ikililou Dhoinine who took the office of president of Comoros on May 26.

This is a great way for you to keep up to date and pray for the worlds leaders, especially on behalf of the poor whom they have a responsibility to watch over. They don't always do a great job of it either. Sometimes the structure of a whole nation prevents the poor from even being recognized. A friend recently passed along this story about India's stingy definition of poverty which is a good illustration of that point.

Recognize the Ruler over All

Lastly, remember that Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth and oversees all the rulers of the earth. Pray that he will raise up the righteous rulers and cast down the unrighteous rulers.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16-17 ESV)

The Most Well-Read Cities in America

2011-05-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Amazon says Cambridge, MA is the most well-read city in America. Either that, or they just like to buy lots of books to seem like they read a lot ;)

Here's the rest of the list if you're interested Amazon Media Room:News Release

I'm sad the closest city to me on the list is Berkeley, CA and I'm pondering, once again, moving to Seattle.

HT: Omnivoracious

"Must Read" Books if you want to Serve the Poor

2011-05-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

This is a short list of books you should read and incorporate into any plan you have of serving the poor in your local community or internationally. I will add another list soon that is on my to-read shelf.

When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves [Paperback]

Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions (New Studies in Biblical Theology)

Ministries of Mercy: The call of the Jericho Road

Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity

Walking With the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development

Good News About Injustice, Updated 10th Anniversary Edition: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World

Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life