Scot…I missed the hubbub about advertising yesterday, but wonder if it is related to the add up right now from the Mormons? Hmmm….

Had the Bears’ overtime win come BEFORE my students had their final exam, they may have gotten off easy!!

Cizic was the NAE vice president for governmental affairs wasn’t he? Not the president. Leith Anderson is president. Or is there something here I don’t know?

John’s post on theology is great – I always enjoy reading his stuff (and the comments afterward).
Colson’s piece is thought-provoking.
This paragraph hit me:
Tragically, America is continuing to rear its young to become not only self-obsessed, but obsessed with personal power. Quaint-sounding virtues such as courage, honesty and prudence — historically considered the elements of character — are no match for a society in which the exaltation and gratification of self becomes the overriding goal of life.
This is so true – and it is often rationalized (rather ironically) as “for the greater good” – that is: encouraging greed and pride and self-centered focus in the individual leads to greater achievement and thus greater good. And this contagion winds its way into the church as well – in many ways – but one way is in the growth of “personality cult” churches.
Much to think about…

I prefer Paul Young’s “St. Arbucks” to Starbs.

Indeed, it is true, RJS.
Colson’s piece brought me up short, and made me think about the devastating intrusions of pride into my own life, and made me realize that if I’m in thrall to sinful pride, I can justify anything. (I wrote on my own blog about that recently).
The consequences of that justification, however, are tragic, something Blagojevich is finding out first-hand, something that I’ve found out too often. Thanks for your insights.

We have listened to Spike for over 20 years. My wife is going to miss him terribly. While I enjoy john, his replacement, my bride is not so sure. But WGN was and is a friend in the morning drive.

That’s not Zombie Nation. That’s Penn State pride!

I found this paragraph from the CT article on homosexuality interesting in light of the other discussion here on the essentials of faith.
“Some would say that this reversal in Christian sexual ethics does not touch the core of the faith and is therefore no grounds for church splits. They are mistaken. This accommodation to a society’s declining mores, instead, divides those who embrace it from the church historic.”
My question is – Is this an issue that is essential? And if so, could her argument be used for many other “essentials”?

Thanks for the mention, Scot.

Cardinal Dulles passed away yesterday afternoon at age 90. May God grant him forgiveness of all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, and bless and save his soul.
See the link for details.

The Sojourner article on online segregation is just more of the same empty argument we get about the “most segregated hour.”
People hang out with people like them. You can make a case that it’s counter productive, but it’s not necessarily sin.
Telling people to include links to “under-resourced” sites is fine, but making it out to be a “justice” issue is silly.

Scot, THANK YOU for posting the Chuck Colson piece. WOW.

In response to your question — the McDonalds latte’s are horrible.

Go, Lukas, go! The Belgian trappist ales are to die for, so the Duvel review was a delight to read.
(Maybe I should have posted that at his blog, not this one.)
qb

I had a McDonald’s latte last summer. Blegh! Didn’t even finish the thing. It tasted like cigarette butts. I weaned myself off lattes about 18 months ago and now just drink doctored up coffee, but I stopped by Caribou with a coupon last week and got myself a vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso – oh. my. goodness. Yummy. I had forgotten how fabulous a real latte can be. But McDonalds? Yuck. Get a box of General Foods International Coffee Drink mix instead – it’s better.

ChrisB, the reason we hang out with people like us is rooted in our sin nature. Just because the segregated hour is a relatively benign version of the same sinful impulse which has been used to justify wars, genocide, slavery and oppression doesn’t make it a neutral thing. Especially as the church, we cannot be one people if we can’t even come together across culture and race. As long as we remain in our comfy segregation, we cannot possibly represent the Kingdom of God – God obviously relishes differences and variety and we ought to ask Him to teach us to do the same.

qb-
I’m largely an American microbrew guy, but Duvel is about as good as it gets. Any other Belgians to try of similar ilk?

Lukas, it’s wintertime, so it’s a great time to ‘speriment with the densely-flavored Belgian ales. New Belgium makes a nice knock-off, called “Trippel,” and it tastes a great deal like the magnificently estery Leffe Blonde. Not exactly a session brew! And beware: Leffe’s six-pack has 11-oz bottles instead of 12s, so the cost per ounce is higher than New Belgium’s Trippel.
I dunno if you can get “Trois Monts” in the U. S., but it’s worth a try to find it. A bit better suited to lunchtime than a triple-malt blockbuster, but still sneaky strong.
And, of course, one can do worse than Chimay blue. Standard, but nearly perfect.
Happy brewing,
qb