Wednesday’s Links To Go

Is preaching nonviolence bad for evangelism?

Many in our society, who continue to see the destructive effects of militarism, are ready for an alternative paradigm. Hearing Christians preach peace is actually a bridge to Jesus and not a blockade for some people who have been turned off by “organized religion.”


The Holy Spirit: Why Do So Many Prefer a Spirit Who No Longer Acts?

Because Americans had great faith in science and government to cure their problems, they re-created God in their own image. If science is all about laws of nature, and good government is about the principles of American democracy, well, the Bible should be understood as being like the American constitution, and God should be seen as acting strictly by natural law. After all, it’s the natural laws that make science possible. How could we want more? Good things happen for those who learn the laws that govern everything.


No More Pentecostal Popemobiles

We need the same drastic reforms on our side of the evangelical/Catholic divide. We need Pentecostal and charismatic leaders who shun the palace, reject lavish excess and get back to the basics of true gospel ministry.


The Busy Trap

It’s strange how busyness tends to take from us the things we cherish most, often without us even noticing. When we are very busy, we lose sleep. We stop exercising. We stop spending time with friends. We are short and irritable with our family. We forget to pray. The beauty and sacredness of a new day is cheapened by how many tasks we are trying to pack into it. We are called to be sanctuaries, peaceful harbors to the lost. I think that, too often, we are more like tilt-a-whirls, spinning in every direction and still going nowhere.


Silent and Empty

Perhaps this is because the world is generally uncomfortable with silence, uncomforted by waiting. And who can understand a messiah who stands at the crossroads of an identity as a deliverer, a political hero who could fight with force for our salvation and that of a servant, a messiah who chooses intentional suffering, who chooses to walk us through darkness on the way to redemption. If Holy Week is filled with events that silence all in disbelief, Holy Saturday levels us with the silence and emptiness that is the end of God.


Why Christians Should Read Fiction

I would say that fiction, along with songwriting and personal counseling, are the most constant ways that God teaches me empathy. It’s easy in evangelical Christianity to assume that everyone who opposes us or disagrees with us is simply to be verbally evaporated as an enemy to be destroyed. But no false teaching and no wrong direction has any power unless it appears to someone to be good. Jesus teaches us that those who hand over the disciples to be killed will “think themselves to be doing the will of God.” Almost everyone is the hero in his or her own personal narrative.


A Christian Man’s Travel Plan

As I prep for my trip, there are three basic things that are on my mind: family, purity, and ministry. I thought I’d share how I plan for each of these when I’m on the road in case it might help you prepare for your own travels.


Creationist offers $10,000 to anyone willing to challenge literal interpretation of Genesis in court

Mastropaolo’s plan is to put $10,000 of his own money into an escrow account. His debate opponent would be asked to do the same. They would then jointly agree on a judge based on a list of possible candidates. Mastropaolo said that any evidence presented in the trial must be “scientific, objective, valid, reliable and calibrated.”


Drone Studies: University of Missouri Is Teaching Journalism Students How to Fly Drones

Academics like Allen believe such technology could help journalists get up-close to a breaking news stories — like natural disasters or fires — or even usher in a new realm of investigative reporting. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which has been home to the Drone Journalism Lab since 2011, teaches students how to operate unmanned autonomous vehicles (UAVs) and how to interpret the footage and the ethics using the military robots, as well FAA regulations.


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