“That hippo is a statue!”
“is NOT!”

It’s been a good four years Scot.
And nice selection here once again. I found Ed Gilbreath’s post thought provoking.
Bob Smietana’s article is also excellent. The article can be found from your link, but the direct link is:
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090404/NEWS06/90404026/1023
Evolution and emotional maturity and then Eric Reece’s piece. Much to ponder.
We preach a fairy tale excerpt of the gospel and expect it to stand up. I’ve never found it convincing, not since high school. But the whole story – the whole narrative – that is a different thing altogether. Here I can hang my hat – and when I do things like miraculous healings and the resurrection are not the “unbelievable bits” we now realize in our increased knowledge and perspective to be untrue, bits we’ve outgrown. They don’t “prove Jesus divine.” They are integral parts of the whole. And without them, without the whole story, the teachings of Jesus will not change the world or bring the kingdom.

Re: Newsweek article & your comment, “the need for Christians to put less stock in reclaiming America and more stock in preaching the gospel and forming churches that make a difference.”
Amen, Amen and Amen, Right On, Cool, insert fistbump here, Awesome, thumbs up, etc., etc. I’m sure I’ve missed some, but you get the point.

I forgot the most important part of my comment – with respect to Kingdom or evil empire?
This is a long article, but most of us will want to skip straight to the last paragraph on p. 6 past the fluff and pointless meandering onto the meat:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/features/webexclusives/090406.html?start=6

Congratulations on 4 years, Scot et. al. (You’re a relayer now, rather than a marathoner, but still a champion blogger.)
My husband and I will be at the Ancient Future event. Hope to meet some Jesus Creeders there.

Those were some of the most absurd 2009 baseball predictions I’ve read to date. The Royals vs. Reds in the World Series? You’ve got to be kidding me! Neither team will make the playoffs, and both teams have a good chance and ending last in their division.
Give me Red Sox vs. Cubs baby!! It would be the World Series with the most ratings in TV history.
Interesting piece about Russel Moore. I’ve never really thought much about cremation. I’ve had some family members do that though. Reason being, it makes the funeral much more flexible, it makes it easier for people so they don’t have to stare at a dead corpse, and it is about 1/8th the cost. Some people just consider it respectable to save their families $8,000 and be cremated as opposed to buried. God can make anything that is dead come to life again, so ethically I don’t see Moore’s point at all. It’s a personal conviction thing, and I think he came around to basically saying this. He says he’s still against it, but it’s not like it will hinder the final resurrection or anything. Good food for thought.

Congrats on four years of blogging! I also listened too and greatly enjoyed your interview with Steve Brown early this week. I love that’s guys sense of humor. In case anyone hasn’t read it, I’d highly recommend his book “A Scandalous Freedom”. I’ve read it three or four times now, and am hoping to pick it up again once (if!) the semester comes to an end.

Congratulations on four years of blogging, Scot. And–the piece by John Frye on pastoring is outstanding!

Here’s a caption on the geese: “I saw him first!”

I just finished watching an interesting “religious” series on the History Channel. It confirmed things, yet raised questions within me, my soul, my logical mind, and my “spirituality”.
So, why are there so many “religions”? Which one is right? Should one choose a belief system that promotes love and forgiveness, yet murders in the name of their God? Wait, even Christianity hypocritically killed in the name of God/Christ. As a matter of FACT, most wars in the world were due to religious beliefs or dis-beliefs. So many have died and/or murdered in the name of their “God”. Don’t you find that ironic…find that a bit disturbing? Why is that? This religion hates that religion…that religion hates all other religions. Yet the vast majority of religions have a common thread of “morality”, of which “hate” is deemed as wrong. Love thy neighbor, right? And if a religion is based upon love and morality, how can another religion be deemed as not the correct religion? A certain religion states that “only” through “Him” is the way to salvation and eternal life. I guess all others are screwed based on that. So, what about those who have never heard of “Him” due to Geographics? Are they doomed to hell? Doomed to burn simply because they never heard of the choice?
Again, why are there so many religions to choose from? Which one is “correct religion”? Are any of them right? Are any of them even real? Are we a people so weak, so desperate to hold on to “something” that we can’t live without it and even kill for it? Is it possible for the human race to simply “just be”?…No miracles, it just is what it is? Why is that so hard to deal with? Why do we need to write books of a divine power to comfort our souls? Please forward you “thoughts” (your own thoughts, not religious spew) to me “AmazedByItAll” (dwamp1@yahoo.com). Would love to hear it. Or is this breaking the “terms of service/rules of conduct” for this site? Hmm, that just may be the vehicle to snuff out those who challenge someone else’s man-made belief system.