“Convention”-al Theology

We shouldn’t be surprised when speakers at political conventions toss out bones to their various breeds of constituency. After all, they want to appeal to everyone. A large block of voters have strong religous beliefs, so naturally the speakers want to appeal to them. Kerry tried to court the religous vote by not wearing his … Read more

Consciousness

In his essay “The Mind,” Jonathan Edwards offers the following definition of consciousness: CONSCIOUSNESS is the mind’s perceiving what is in itself—ideas, actions, passions, and every thing that is there perceptible. It is a sort of feeling within itself. The mind feels when it thinks; so it feels when it discerns, feels when it loves, … Read more

Jeer This

Why on earth the Greek crowd would jeer the American runners because their own star failed to show up for a drug test is beyond me—but I’ll wager they’ll think twice before they do it again. Shawn Crawford, Bernard Williams, and Justin Gatlin swept the 200 meter final. The absent Greek, Kenteris, did not place.

Free Stuff

John Rabe points to some free online offerings by Crossway Books which include a number of John Piper’s books! Also available for free is the forthcoming When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy. I’ll agree with Rabe in that Piper is excellent, and if you’ve never read any of his works due … Read more

SP2?

Has anybody out there installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 yet? Just curious. I’ll probably take the plunge soon and let you know if I have any problems. UPDATE: Being the early-adopter wannabe that I am, I installed the update, and everything appears to be in order. It took about 20-30 minutes for the download … Read more

Smoking Waterguns

The media’s hissy fit about the SwiftVet supporters being Republicans borders on the absurd. Each new item that is uncovered comes with the expectation of a “eureka” moment, as in this Reuters piece: The Bush campaign and the White House have said they have nothing to do with the Swift Boat group or the ads. … Read more

Qualifications for Deity

What are the skills need to play God? Ellen DeGeneres, who has George Burns’ former role in a remake of Oh God! seems to have prepared well: “Ellen is a strong comedian and she has always done material about God and questions about God,” said Jerry Weintraub, who produced the original movie and also will … Read more

The Compleat Gentleman

In an age such as ours, when boys grow up to be either “wimps” or “barbarians,” where is the modern-day knight? Does he even exist? If so, then what does he look like—how does he act? These are all questions explored by Brad Miner in his new book, The Compleat Gentleman: A Modern Man’s Guide … Read more

New on the Blogroll

I’ve made several new addtions to my “Weblogs of Note” blogroll. Among them: Matthew White’s South End Grounds is a baseball-themed political blog from Tennessee. White is an ex U.S. Marine, and his “Adventures in Parris…Island” series is a must-read. John Rabe is sharp Christian blogger (apparently from Florida—but I won’t hold that against him) … Read more

Just Curious…

Is Bob Costas writing a book on the Olympics? Each time event coverage ends and we’re taken back to the acerbic Costas for his commentary on the athletes, there he is wielding his ink pen as if we’ve interrupted him his writing of a masterpiece. Don’t get me wrong—Costas has one of the best voices … Read more