One of the unique biblical images God uses to teach us about life, walking with him and serving others are attached to the end of our arms.  The hands are used for various purposes in both the Old and New Testament to reflect and teach us biblical truth.  Paul's letters to Timothy have one of these purposes, the laying on of hands by pastoral leadership, on full display.  In this essay we will look briefly on how God uses "hands" throughout Scripture concluding with a treatment on how Paul uses laying of hands in the epistles to Timothy.

Handy Metaphors in the Old and New Testaments 

There are many references to hands in the Old Testament but there is an overarching theme for each of them.  Hands represent action, the state of one's heart that finds itself into the world.  Hands represent what we do, the actions we take and how our intentions are reflecting by character and works.   We see this in hands being described as clean or unclean.  For instance,  clean hands represents a righteous life (see Job 17:9, Job 22:30, Psalm 18:20-24, Psalm 24:1-6, Psalm 73:13).  Clean hands represent holiness of life and unclean hands represents a heart that is vile and wicked.   The book of proverbs talks about hands that shed blood as being the hands of the guilty and wicked man.  Furthermore the New Testament also talks about lifting up holy hands indicating the same thing.  This is all a matter of the heart, though it is expressed with metaphors of the hands.  Jesus made it clear that washing one's hands do not cleanse the inside of a man's heart; but the work of our hands is indicative of the condition of our hearts.  Additionally, the nature of our work is seen in our hands in such prayers as Psalm 90:17 which reads: Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!   Here we find people asking God's favor upon the work of their lives.   Jesus also uses a hand metaphor to talk about a manner of life in response to God's call on us.  He tells us that no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).  So it is a clear metaphor in scripture that the condition and action of hands represent the condition of the heart before God.

Finally, though he has no physical hands, God's own favor and work is expressed with the language of  "his hands."  The work of deliverance  and redemption wrought by God in the Exodus is repeatedly described as being through "his mighty hand and outstretched arm."  God's favor is expressed by his hand "being upon us."  After Nehemiah goes before the King to ask for assistance in his work to rebuild Jerusalem we read this wonderful verse: And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.   When the hand of God is upon a people it is a sign of favor and his working on their behalf.  This continues in the  New Testament when Jesus is said to be raised from death and seated at the right hand of God.  This is the place of power and authority beside a great King.  To finish this essay we will further discuss how power and authority is symbolically and actively transferred to people through the laying on of hands.

Laying on Hands 

Placing hands upon someone today to pray for them is becoming more and more common in evangelical churches.  I find no problem whatsoever with the practice as it indicates belief, faith and standing with one another in prayer.  However, the laying on of hands has specific meaning in Scripture of which I want us to be aware.    In the brief space that remains we will examine how the laying on of human hands indicates conveyance of blessing, judgment, transferring of guilt for sin as well as for the ordination of people in the authority of God for gospel ministry. 

In the Old Testament a father would convey the blessing and birthright to children and grandchildren through the laying on hands.  It was a transaction that was symbolic of a fathers generosity and favor upon his descendents.  Hands would also be placed by the priest onto an animal called the Scapegoat (Leviticus 16) which was being sent away from the people so as to take away their sins.  Additionally, a person bringing their own peace offering would place his hands upon the animal symbolically putting his sins upon the sacrifice (Leviticus 3:1-5).  Judgment upon a criminal was also demonstrated before the enactment of capital punishment by the placing of hands upon the offender.  The manner in the Old Testament is clear.  The authority to forgive sin, convey blessing, enact judgment was done in an official capacity in obedience to God's Word.  The authority of God and the action of God is visibly seen through the laying on of human hands.

In the New Testament we see Jesus speak some powerful words to the disciples before he ascended back to the right hand of God.  In articulating what has become known as the Great Commission, Jesus said the following in Matthew 28:  And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.  Here is the line of authority-the Father has placed ALL authority to Jesus.  Jesus then commissions his church to go in that authority and live the mission of God.  We see very clearly that authority is vested upon Jesus' followers through the laying on of hands.   This happens in several ways.

First, hands are laid upon the sick to pray for healing by both Jesus and his followers (Mark 6:5, Luke 4:40, Acts 28:8, James 5:13-15, perhaps Mark 16:18).  Remember, it is the power of God that heals the body not the person's hands.  The hands are a way of expressing faith and dependence and petition to God for healing.  One more point.  Even when the body naturally heals  it is operating according to God's design not independent of it.  So God is the source of all healing and he chooses whom he will heal and for what reasons.  We can pray in faith and trust him to work if he so chooses.  Ultimately, the final healing will come at the resurrection of the dead where we will receive immortal, incorruptible bodies and disease and death will be vanquished. Second, the Holy Sprit and spiritual gifts were at times imparted to a person from the placing on of hands and prayer (Acts 8, 9, 19).  Note again, it is not the hands which give gifts, but God who has the power and authority.  Furthermore, though this was a means by which God gave gifts he also does so without any intermediary.  If he wants to gift his people he can also do so directly.  The Spirit is also given to people today at the point of spiritual conversion and no apostle is required to convey this as Holy Spirit is promised to all who believe (Ephesians 1).  Finally, there is a clear laying on of hands to set people apart for church leadership.  In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas are set apart for missionary service.  In the pastoral epistles we see that hands are laid upon people, specifically our boy Timothy, to set him apart and confirm his calling to pastoral ministry.  In doing so the authority of Jesus is recognized and the calling of God confirmed by those who are current ministers.  Some see a pure line of hands back to the apostles themselves in ordaining to gospel ministry.  This is why Paul exhorts so not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure...for the appointing pastor/elders prematurely can damage the credibility of ministry by the work of the hands of warped and immature men.

• 10 Stunning Ultra Geeky Home Theaters
  
• Or this guy's home theater project
  

I posted a brief update on the Jacob's Well web site today on the progress God is bringing in our church planting efforts.  You can read that here.

James Harleman, one of the pastors at Mars Hill Church in Seattle has an interesting post up on the Cinemagogue blog entitled Film in the Era of Daddy Issues.  Here is the final paragraph and do go read the rest if you are into films and may have Daddy issues.

I hope these glorious, decades-old daddies of film heroism give us a lark in the cinema as they keep on punching out the opponents, and I hope they also spur us to consider why we are hungry for an everlasting dad that remains faithful and true to us, who shows up and decimates our opposition, who sets things right and even clarifies our direction and purpose. If we stop and consider, some might find that “…the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him…” - Ephesians 1

Daniel Henninger has an interesting article over at the Wall Street Journal regarding what he calls one of the most popular presidential accessory for a candidate in this election.  What is it? Authenticity. I found the opinion piece fascinating in that it is all about how to be an "authentic" politician.  The ironic thing touched upon is that authenticity, being real, being yourself is very hard for political folks trying to win elections and please many different interest groups.  It is so easy to pander to left, right, etc. 

The funny thing about Henniger's piece is that it chronicles the struggle of candidates trying to be or appear to be authentic.  A few quotes:

One almost feels sorry for the 13 or 14 pols who've been running for the presidency this year. Keeping the authenticity balloon afloat is hard work. For starters, the press is obsessed with the phenomenon. The modern reporter is a human tuning fork, alert to the merest false note of inconsistency. It isn't widely known, but no journalist is allowed to moderate a presidential debate unless he vows to turn every question into an accusation of hypocrisy.

...

If we want a better understanding of the style of authenticity that people who vote are looking for, consider the real meaning of Barack Obama's controversial praise for Ronald Reagan. Sen. Obama was correct that Reagan caught the nation's need for a new direction, which is now the senator's claim. But Reagan's published letters and papers make clear that he believed in his political ideas for a long time. By 1980, they were deep and clear. They were authentic.

If that is the standard of true political authenticity, and I think it is, then the relationship in this campaign between the people and the pols will remain as it has been -- difficult.

That is fancy speak for - America does not seem not find it easy to trust the convictions of the folk running for office.  One wonders if someone can actually be themselves and win broad elections - maybe politics is for people who like the game and the dance even as they complain about it and talk about "bringing change to Washington."  In Reading Obama's book, it seems to attempt to show him as a centrist, an authentic person who is different than the others who are part of the political machine.  But in his book I still hear pandering to different groups - perhaps politics can be done no other way?  At least winning politics.  But to be honest, I think we all should vote and participate in self-government.  But I do understand why some in the younger generations get cynical about the whole song and dance - it seems, well, inauthentic.  Thats as political as I want to get around here.

Phillip Jenkins, author of several books chronicling the historic shifts in Christian faith towards the global south, reviews a new book of Church history which gives a balanced attention to the faith's spread and movement in places other than Europe and America.  As much as I love Western church history (particularly that of the Reformation) I have longed for a book from which I could read histories of African and Asian Christian movements. Jenkins reviews a volume by Martin Marty entitled The Christian World.  This brief volume may just help me on that journey and I clicked my Amazon buttons today to speed its arrival.  Here is an exerpt from Jenkins' review:

Even Marty's chapter titles, his "episodes," suggest the scale of the departure from more traditional surveys, which commonly hurry to get the faith to Europe, and then largely ignore the rest of the world until the arrival of those Europeans. Marty, however, pursues a symphonic approach, in which different regions serve as themes and motifs, heard at the beginning and perhaps falling away during later movements, but never forgotten, always ready to recur at significant points of the performance. For Marty, the church of course begins in a Jewish environment, followed by a First Asian Episode, a First African, and a First European. A second European Episode then follows (roughly covering the years since 1500), and then a North American; but then the earlier motifs surface once more, with a Second African Episode and a Second Asian. A thoughtful conclusion stresses the "irrepressible" quality of the Christian venture, and its ability to recoup in one region catastrophic losses suffered in another.

I mean no disrespect to Marty's work when I say that little of the material presented, few of the examples, will come as any great surprise to readers with any background in Christian history. Its value lies instead in its overall construction, and the relative importance allotted to different times and regions, and he has clearly exercised enormous restraint in limiting coverage of Western-centered topics that he knows and loves—the Reformation, the 18th century Awakenings—in order to give due credit to non-Euro-American issues. Many will find the results startling, and that is very much to the good. To take an example, his North American chapter uses a sparse 28 pages to span the whole experience of Christianity in that region since 1492. In comparison, modern Africa receives 19 pages, modern Asia 18, both quite rational allocations in terms of the numbers of believers in those regions today and of their likely importance in the development of the faith in coming years. The Christian World is a bold attempt to make people rethink their basic assumptions of the where and when of a history they may assume they know all too well. To use a rather ugly word, it is a classic exercise in defamiliarization. Marty incidentally, as is well known, never employs ugly words or jargon, and writes throughout in admirably clear, intelligent prose.

I am looking forward to this read and will queue this one up behind my current book of the bedside table...Consuming Jesus, Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church. 

Brian McLaren, emergent guru, former pastor, author, conference circuit rider and book tour promoter has another detractor on his vision presented of the "new emerging views" of Jesus, the gospel and the church.  This time the one who questions his vision is John Wilson, editor of Books and Culture magazine.  So you know, Wilson is an intellectual and not a right of center fundamentalist or Willowback modernist who McLaren aims at so often.  A few of Wilson's comments:

Speaking of McLaren's view of war Wilson writes:

I have to admit that—immersed as I am now in a pile of books about the conflict with Japan in World War II and another stack about the Spanish Civil War—this talk about war as an "addiction" seems sophomoric, indeed painfully naïve and patronizing. Perhaps I am just in denial. But dialogue between just-war folk and pacifists? Yes, I'm all for that—and if this dialogue can take us further, wonderful.

Such dialogue, of course, has proceeded fitfully for many centuries. Neither the just-war tradition nor the pacifist tradition has been static. And so—on this point and across the board—the claim of McLaren's title, Everything Must Change, is quite misleading.

His other main complaint is about his facile view of church history and the importance of the emergent's correction of the past.

McLaren is particularly misleading when he's suggesting, as he does quite emphatically at times, that somehow the church went off the rails early on, and that only now are (some) Christians beginning to understand what Jesus was really saying. While McLaren occasionally adds nuances and qualifiers, this ahistorical account runs through the book. In this respect, his message is oddly reminiscent of the ahistorical narrative of church history that dominated the evangelical/fundamentalist churches of my youth. Between an idealized first-century church and the present moment, when the preacher was calling on you to make a decision for Christ, there loomed a great wasteland—all those centuries in which the church failed to heed the plain words of Scripture.

Finally, he comments on McLaren's naivety in dealing with global economics with the following statement:  

The reader of McLaren's book will discover that everything hasn't changed. Do we, as McLaren suggests, decide not to buy a cheaper shirt that has been made in a factory where the workers receive terribly low wages and instead pay more for a shirt that has been made in a factory where the workers are better compensated? Or—as a number of economist friends of mine would maintain—would McLaren's well-intended gesture, insofar as it had any effect beyond producing a sense of virtuous conduct, actually tend to undermine the fortunes of those poor workers?

Wilson's post is brief and yet another reminder that McLaren's voice is not one that I trust either biblically or intellectually.   You can read Wilson's essay here.

I wanted to write a note today and encourage all of us to thank God for the civil rights movement in America which is celebrated on Martin Luther King Jr. day.  It is hard to imagine that just a generation ago African Americans were under the harsh rule of Jim Crow here in the south.  Though we may not rejoice in all of Dr. King's life, he was greatly used by God to speak and lead a nation towards greater justice and equality. 

I pray each of us might pause and thank God today in light of the progress which has been labored for in America and to ask him for a continued work for greater equality and justice in our society today.  I enjoyed John Piper's blog on MLK day - http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1026/

I did an hour long training and discussion today with some of our Inversion leaders on the nature of evangelism and the missional church.  Though it was specifically created for our Inversion peeps, I thought it may be of some interest here on the POCblog.

Here is a pdf of the file...
 

So, now that Apple has puffed up its chest and strutted in arrogant superiority once again, I wanted to throw my two cents in about how the buzz about the newest MacBook amounts to some hot gaseous substance derived from the name said product (ie Hot air).  I recently reviewed my new Dell XPS m1330 purchased right before the AIR Mac announcement.  With the specs of my PC so much in my mind I watched the AIR announcement with some interest.  I left with only one word - unimpressed.  Of course their will be MacIdolaters claiming that this machine will make you float through airports and reach some sort of quasi Buddhist enlightenment, but I feel this is a product which many struggle.  In this battle royal comparison review I will do two things.  First, show that the MacBook AIR simply does not match up to other devices - I will use my XPS m1330 to illustrate.  Second, I will speculate on why this Macbook needs work or it may just disappear into thin air.  Finally, I will laugh at my Mac friends - because I love them and they evangelize me - maybe I won't laugh too much.

The Matchup - AIR vs. XPS 

Features			Commentary
Size	H: 0.16-0.76 in W: 12.8 in D: 8.94 in W:3.0 lbs	H: 0.87 to 1.33 in W: 12.5 in D: 9.4 in W: 3.97 lbs	Both are small, but the AIR clearly wins the size competition.  The Dell is less than 4lbs and hardly a burden, but AIR is tiny even though its 3lb weight is not the lightest in the world. Advantage - AIR
OS	OS X Leopard	Windows VISTA	Commenting on this one is a religious affair.  I love VISTA, Mac folks love Leopard.  Just so people will not whine - Advantage - AIR
Screen	13.3 LED Backlit	13.3 LED Backlit	Both have screens using the bright, power saving, thin LED backlit screens. Advantage - Draw
Processor	1.6 GHZ Core 2 Duo	2.2 GHZ Core 2 Duo	Advantage - XPS
Memory	2 GB	3 GB	Even with VISTAs memory hunger, 3 GB still is better than two. Advantage - XPS
Hard Drive	80 GB, 4200RPM, 64 GB SSD option	200 GB, 7200RPM, 64GB SSD option	This one is embarrassing.  The XPS has the largest 7200RPM drive while the AIR uses the smallish, slow drive used in iPod Classics.  This clearly hinders the air as a serious primary computer which might be used for say...editing video.  Clear Advantage - XPS
Video Subsystem	144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory	Dedicated Nvidia GeForce graphics with 128MB dedicated memory	Again, no contest.  The AIR has a shared video subsystem, the XPS a dedicated graphics card - Clear Advantage - XPS
Optical Drive	None, optional external SuperDrive	8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive	Now, I know Apple wants you to think that not having this is a feature because you can use another computers drive wirelessly.  This however is ridiculous.  What if a friend hands you a disk and says - check out my wedding DVD/photos? You are out of luck.  Clear Advantage - XPS.
Input/Output	MicroDVI with adapters, one USB 2.0 port, one headphone jack	HDMI (high def video), VGA, 2 USB 2.0 ports, Firewire port (for dig video cams), Express Card Slot, Multi Card Reader (SD, MMC, Mem Stick), Fingerprint Biometics security, 2 audio headphone jacks for sharing, microphone input jack	No contest here.  The AIR has crippled I/O greatly limiting what you can connect to the machine.  Again showing this is not a good primary machine.  Clear Advantage - XPS.
Networking	Wireless N, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR	Wireless N, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, 10/100 Ethernet, optional wireless broadband from SPRINT, Verizon, AT&T	Yes, the world is wireless and both have the same wireless network features.  The XPS adds a hard Ethernet port and an option for wireless broadband - Advantage - XPS
Keyboard	Nice backlit keyboard with ambient light sensor.	Great keyboard, no backlight	Advantage - AIR
Track-pad	Large trackpad, mulit touch gesture support	Small trackpad, pretty standard	Now I use the keyboard for so many things that the idea of learning touch chords on a track pad to rotate a photo sounds stupid.  But the cool factor goes to the AIR though I don't see the point.  Advantage - AIR
Cool Factors	Ultra thin, Nice looking, integrated web cam and microphone	Thin, Nice Looking, included Express Card IR remote for multimedia and presentations, heat sensitive touch buttons for media and volume control, integrated web cam and microphone...fingerprint logins.	Advantage - XPS
Battery	Non Removable, 5 hour	Removable battery with multiple options. I purchased the 6 cell (4 hour) and optional 9 cell (6 hours)	Again, a non removable battery is silly.  No secondary possible on the AIR and you have to get Apple to get a new one.  Batteries loose capability over time so this again is a clear advantage.  Clear Advantage - XPS
Price	$1799	$1734	The price on the XPS includes the extra battery and a machine with far superior features. Clear Advantage - XPS

Bottom Line - The Macbook AIR is at best a secondary machine.  Its poor hard drive, no optical drive (though they say this is cool), no removable battery, crippled I/O options, underpower machine without dedicated video option.  This is a very limited machine which puts it clearly in a "second or third machine" option.  Yet with the price a very high $1799.00 for the baseline configuration it is priced in the high range for even a machine with some kick.  Yes it can fit in an envelope - great.  But I do not want to be able to mail my laptops...I want to be able to do serious computing tasks.  The question I was left with in looking at the AIR was this: How many rich MacIdolators are out there who want a thin Apple toy to supplement their MacBook Pros or iMacs? For I think they might be the primary market for this device.  For me, I would not trade my XPS m1330 for any MacBook - let alone one as anemic looking as the one called "AIR."  OK, I decided to not laugh at my Mac friends.

If you still want something to be excited about in Jobs' recent announcements, you can now pay 4 dollars to rent a movie to watch on tiny screens.  If you want to watch with friends in the living room, well you can pay another 229.00 bucks to do something as complicated as watch a movie on your TV...This is a "good deal?"  Good grief at least with something Netflix you can get your movies and watch them with friends without giving Apple another substantial chunk of your bank account.  I see why Wall street did not buzz after the recent worship service of the cult of Mac.  

For more on MacBook Air you can see the following:

• USA Today - Many laptops are lighter than MacBook AIR
  
• ZDNet - Yes, the MacBook Air is light. But so what-Dell XPS is a better deal on price (I agree)
• PC Mag - MacBook Air: A Nice Touch
• CNET - Mac Book Air Review
• Mahalo Search - MacBook Air Reviews
  

John Markoff of the New York Times recently caught up with Steve Jobs to discuss all things Apple and technological.  Many of you know that Jobs just recently gave his MacWorld keynote and rolled out several new products.  An overpriced, too little time, DRMed, movie rental store on iTunes with a good selection and a Thin notebook called the MacBook Air.  All things buzz around Jobs and everyone who knows him says he likes it this way.  So it Markoff's piece is interesting tech journalism but a quotation found therein was a bit ridiculous. In belittling the Amazon Kindle e-book strategy Jobs made the following comment:

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”

This is a prime example of why marketers cannot influence the future through leadership and must only follow the dollar signs of the masses and what they think people want.  Now, I do not want to sound arrogant, but sometimes this amounts to a capitulation rather than leadership.  My kids "want" to eat bad food all day, but as a parent/leader, I lead them to finer dining because it is what they need.  There are several problems with Jobs' quote. 

First, it assumes that people were not reading when they read his quote.  I know he is referring to "books" but people are still reading Steve - hello POCBlog reader. Second, it commits what philosophers call the IS/OUGHT fallacy.  Simply because something IS a certain way, does not mean that it OUGHT to be that way.  Of course this deals in ethics and views of the common good, not just "what sells."  Jobs only concern appears to be the latter.  We ought to be (sorry) concerned in helping literacy, not capitulating to literary decline in culture.  Jobs seems to be saying that a gadget whose focus is reading book is flawed, because the kids don't read good any more.

So what should we do with challenges like "people not reading?" My conviction would be to help people love to read.  Because reading...well, its fundamental.  The same thing can be said in the church.  People say that the Christian community don't read deep things, doesn't care about theology, only reads books full of lightweight kitsch...blah, blah, blah.  The marketers therefore flood the bookstores with such stuff and do not help the problem a bit. Our response was to start a young adult ministry that had these things at the center rather than giving in and just entertaining the folks with a get a date club ministry.  I write for Inversion, not for publishers.  I commend thinking, feeling, aching, caring and theology - not shallowness because that is what the folks want.  My goal is not to make it big, strike it big, but to establish people in the gospel and a sacrificial commitment to actually following Jesus.  The result - our people's joy in God and Jesus' mission going forth.  So when Steve Jobs says "nobody reads anymore" - just reply, "Well, I do!" and go spread your tribe.  When people say that nobody cares about theological reflection anymore - I just reply "Well, we do!" and may the tribe increase.

Reviews and/or Theological Reflections

Tim Challies reviews The Shack...interesting as this is the "hot book" right now in NashVegas among church folk. It is #42 on Amazon right now and #1 in spirituality and Christian segments as well  I found the theology discussion on the Shack Forums here to be quite revealing.  I am going to read it soon - I know one girl on our church staff that thinks it is not biblical in its depiction of God - Challies seems to agree.  Yet I am convinced that many do not even care whether it is "biblical" or not and will simply be taken by the book.  Those who might question its presentation of God will be called "religious" or "legalists" or people that don't get it...people of an "old way" of seeing God that holds people in shame.  We like views of god that match our sentiments rather than the God of the Bible.  Heck, lots of Christians do not even know the contents of the Bible or the historical doctrines of the church.  We prefer books by Joel Osteen.

Just for Fun

Well, it turns out that monkeys and men are still distinct - in Austria that is.  See the following news story - It's official: In Austria, a chimp is not a person. For those of you who were unaware, there are people that think primates are deserving of human rights - free the chimps!  On a less humorous note, this in an actual paragraph is from the Great Ape Project:

The idea is founded upon undeniable scientific proof that non-human great apes share more than genetically similar DNA with their human counterparts. They enjoy a rich emotional and cultural existence in which they experience emotions such as fear, anxiety and happiness. They share the intellectual capacity to create and use tools, learn and teach other languages. They remember their past and plan for their future. It is in recognition of these and other morally significant qualities that the Great Ape Project was founded. The Great Ape Project seeks to end the unconscionable treatment of our nearest living relatives by obtaining for non-human great apes the fundamental moral and legal protections of the right to life, the freedom from arbitrary deprivation of liberty, and protection from torture.

So for all those zoo keepers out there - feel very ashamed of yourselves for depriving the apes of their freedom and dignity.  

General News

Though receiving a 83-82 scare from Ga Tech this evening, the UNC Tarheel Basketball team is still #1 - In basketball season I cheer for my alma matta. In football season I pull for the Hokies - we served in ministry for six years at VT. 
 

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a new laptop for my work.  I wanted to get something that was both thin and light and capable of any computing task...say a machine under 4lbs which could handle non linear video editing.  Yes, I am that guy who has high demands for computers.  This past summer Dell released a lightweight portable with a high end geek factor to some pretty rave critical reviews.  This holiday season they offered 799.00 off of the high end configuration of that machine - the XPS m1330.  I dialed through the online configuration, watching my heart as to not love a machine and tumble into idolatry, tricked it out and clicked the button.  Due the the very amazing price break on the high end of this model, I kept to my budget and got way more horsepower than I anticipated.  The following is my review of the laptop - I am very pleased.

Packaging 

I have bought many Dell computers over the years for home and ministry, a few laptops, a few desktops, even an ole Axim X5 Pocket PC years ago.  What was most striking about the new deal when it arrived was its packaging.  Obviously Dell has gotten into design with the XPS line of computers and it showed opening the box.  Inside was not a plain box but well thought out packaging with an attractive tribal XPS design.  It did not waste materials so that will make the landfill worriers  rejoice.  Inside was the very helpful quick start guide but also some unexpected niceties.  First, Dell provides a small magnetic snap closure portfolio which is embossed with the XPS brand and designed for holding user manual, system DVDs, etc. A nice touch compared to a box to hold these materials; it will be a great storage place for all software DVDs and user support items.  Additionally, though not a full on laptop case, Dell provided a nice silver and black padded XPS branded sleeve to slip the notebook down into; only complaint here is that it has flap closure so it can not be accessed without removing if the sleeve/laptop is in a backpack.  Otherwise the sleeve is quite nice.  I knew Dell had done some good work from the packaging, but you know...you can't judge a book by its cover, so I cracked it open and set it up.

Hardware Aesthetics

The industrial design of this machine is pure elegance and beauty.  It is well deserving of the press buzz it received as being able to hold its sexy with the MacBook line from Apple.  First of all it is a thin/light notebook that is in the shape of a wedge - it is thinner at palm rest/closure than it is at the hinge.  The frame is made of magnesium alloy and the case is brushed aluminum which looks great and gives it a sleek, sturdy feel.  In fact, though it is the smallest laptop I have owned it feels the must sturdy in build quality of any of the machines. It is currently available in four colors: red, white, blue and tuxedo black.  I roll black on almost everything so you can guess the choice I made there. With the 6 cell battery the machine is small, and comes in at less than four pounds when configured with the new LED screen (more on that in a moment).  Here are the dimensions: (w) 12.5, (d) 9.4, (h) 0.87 to 1.33 inches.  It will not float off into thin air, but it is very small.  I also purchased an extra battery which extends the back of the machine when in use but has enough juice to play two DVDs on a full charge.  Some additional aesthetically pleasing features are the new touch sensitive, illuminating media buttons, metallic inlaid logo on the lid and screen as well and of course the color options are nicely accented on the machine.  Though important, the machine does more than look good. On to the real hardware.

Hardware Systems

As configured my 1330 has a smokin fast 2.2 GHZ Core 2 Duo with a 4MB Cache and 800MHZ front side bus.  It is fast and it feels fast.  Additionally I opted for the 7200 RPM hard drive so to be able to do high end tasks like video editing.  We have the 200 GB model which has a free fall sensitive which disengages the head if "dropped" and is touted as the world's largest 7200RPM disk for notebooks - at least for a few weeks.  It is equipped with a beefy 3 GB memory and has a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS / 128MB video card rather than using system memory for graphical tasks.  Input output options are simply amazing for a computer of this size.  On the left size are power, VGA, Ethernet, 1 USB 2.0, HDMI and 1394a firewire (for camcorders) ports.   On the right you have a security lock anchor, another USB 2.0 port, slot loaded DVD+/-RW drive, and the Express Card slot.  The front hosts two headphone jacks for sharing, a microphone in jack and an integrated media reader (MS, SD, xD).  Some unique extras which came as standard on this machine were a finger print scanner for easy, secure logins, a thin media remote control that tucks into the Express card slot, hardware WiFi switch and WiFi catcher...very nice.  The WiFi catcher shows you if there is an availble network even if the machine is completely turned off.  The WiFi is 802.11n and there is also an optional wireless broadband build in available for Sprint, Verizon or the slooooow AT&T.  I did not get the cell network deal.  The top of the screen features a web came and dual digital microphones for video conferences or skype video type calls.

One last word must be said about the screen.  I purchased the new 13.3 inch LED back lit screen which allows for thinner screens which are about 30% brighter than standard LCDs.  It cost a little more but was well worth it as the screen is gorgeous.  It is also better on battery life so this was another consideration in utilizing this screen technology.  The max resolution is a robust 1280 x 800 and the brightness is as advertised.  For those doing desktop publishing, image editing and/or video an external display can easily be attached via HDMI or VGA port.

Software 

My laptop came equipped with Windows Vista Home Premium so I must comment on Microsoft's most recent operating system.  Vista has received lost of press, not of it all good.  The main issue people face here is Microsoft's success.  Windows has a massive installed base and the amount of software, hardware, etc. designed to work with Microsoft's system is mind boggling.  So every new instance of Windows has huge compatibility challenges.  I say this only to say that Vista has taken heat for device support and software compatibility as people attempted upgrades.  All new PCs will ship and work great with Vista.  All that to say that I absolutely LOVE Vista. The UI is gorgeous, it is much more friendly in terms of usability than any version of Windows I have used.  Its integrated search is fast and found everywhere in the OS.  My favorite location which search is usable is in the redesigned start menu.  This feature is great for those who use keyboards and don't like having to mouse so much.  It the windows key which activates the start menu, I type two letters of the app I want to run, it finds it instantly, I hit enter and I'm off.  The start menu also searches your system (files, media, apps, e-mail, calendar etc) as you type.  Super fast, super helpful.  All my software runs fine on Vista and the only complaint I have is with "User Access Control."  This is a security feature that is designed to keep computer idiots from messing up their own machines.  It prompts you when you want to do something like install software.  It says "You are about the run X installation, are you sure you did that?" You just have to click a bit more with installs and customization.  It was annoying when installing all my stuff and customizing the start menu, but now it hardly every bothers me.  If you want the scoop on VISTA there is no better review than Paul Thurrott's on the SuperSite for Windows.  The integrated Dell software for media is nice, fingerprint software works without a hitch, and the Dell customization of VISTA (mobility center) is well done.  

Summary 

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this new laptop from Dell.  It is a leap forward for them in industrial design, contains high end components while maintianing a reasonable price.  Not everyone needs this type of laptop as a budget machine will do e-mail, documents and web browsing for a minuscule cost.  But for those who need power, want small and don't mind a high cool factor, the XPS m1330 is a great choice from Dell.  It has met my expectations so much that when Apple announced the MacBook AIR I simply thought - Why would I want that when my Dell crushes it feature for feature and for less cash.  Comparison is soon to follow.

Here are some additional industry reviews: 

• CNET - includes a great little video review
  
• Laptop Magazine
• PC Magazine Editor's Choice
  
• A YouTube Video Review
  

Sometimes I have been asked the question "Reid, what are your hobbies?" - Usually it comes from men who spend time on the golf course, shooting animals, building stuff with power tools (or buying power tools), or hooking fish by a lake.  To be honest, my hobbies overlapped substantially with my work.  I like reading, ideas, philosophy, theology etc. I suppose I waste some time watching football as well.  But to be honest my favorite hobby-like activity is technology.  My undergrad degree was in Applied Science and Physics and I got hooked in the early nineties after getting an IBM PS/1 PC.  Now I only dabble with code these days (web sites, Movable Type installs, wrote a Visual Basic macro las year) but I still like gadgetry.  Again, it is sort of nice that this overlaps with my work as well. 

To be honest, behind the Bible, my laptop is the most important tool I own.  I communicate on it, write on it, design stuff for ministry on it, study Scripture on it (Logos Libronix rocks), read on it, listen and acquire audio content with it and, of course, blog on it.  My laptop, though only a tool, is a tool I constantly use.  I also like the little machines too, which helps me utilize it. 

So today I am going to have a couple of technology articles.  The first will be a review of my new laptop I received just a couple of weeks ago.  My current machine goes back to its owner (Fellowship Bible Church) here soon so I needed a new one to launch into the field with as a church planter. Second, will be a feature comparison of my new PC with the new MacBook Air - and why I am thankful I purchased the former and NOT the latter.  If gadgets and techno speak put you to sleep, hit the snooze button on the POCBlog and come back tomorrow :)

This past Sunday I was privileged to teach with my good friends at Fellowship Bible Church in Murfreesboro, TN.  They are in the beginnings of a series entitled the Missio Dei.  My message was entitled Man's Need for God and focuses on the Fall and the need in the world for the gospel. 

40 Min - can be downloaded or listened to here: Man's Need for God. If you listen, feedback, questions and comments are welcomed. 

The high priest of the Mac cult will soon be speaking to his enclave of followers.  The prophet will bear news about the wonders that the stainless steal, graven apple image will soon bring to worshipers worldwide.  Engadget has a great picture of the pilgrims awaiting the arrival of El Jobso to their temple.
 

According to Engadget, these five devotees showed up at noon yesterday for this mornings Keynote address at MacWorld Expo.  Some call them zealots, I remain convinced that what we are seeing is most properly called MacIdolatry.  As the brother John once said long ago, "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

My friend Tim Dees takes Gloria Steinem to task in one of his excellent Fact of the Day essays.  He also has a good one on "Brooklyn" which is quite humorous.  Check him out at http://www.thefotd.com/

The Steinem piece I have grafted in here below as well.  Just trying to prove my masculinity...Here is Tim's review of the recent NY Times Op Ed.

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A STEINEM ON HER REPUTATION

Amid all the bad things that can be said about this election, there is one good thing that I can say: we have the most diverse presidential field ever, and the candidates are being judged on their merits, not on the color of their skin or their gender.  This isn't a universal truth yet, but Barack Obama's success and Hillary Clinton's relative success indicate that non-white male candidates now have a chance.  This is great news.

It would take a real killjoy to turn this expression of egalitarianism into a platform to tell everyone that they're racist or sexist, but Gloria Steinem had an op-ed piece in the Times today that did just that.  I've never been a fan of the way the Times op-ed page is edited (I use the term loosely), but Steinem's piece is particularly fatuous.

For the full argument, read the article yourself (it's available here), but in short, Steinem states that (a) Barack Obama would never have a shot if he were a woman, and (b) Hillary Clinton is losing the election because she is a woman.

Like all Hillary Clinton supporters, Gloria Steinem believes that the key to being president is experience.  That is certainly true in the insurance industry, but that's really about it.  Abraham Lincoln had minimal experience; Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson each had more experience than half the Democratic field combined.  Americans aren't looking for someone experienced, they're looking for someone they can believe in.

It's this commitment to the message of experience that leaves Steinem confused.  How can Iowans reject the more experienced candidate?  And here Steinem starts kicking in the Freud: "children are still raised mostly by women (to put it mildly) so men especially tend to feel they are regressing to childhood when dealing with a powerful woman."  Gotcha, guys!

When Steinem tries to explain why she supports Clinton, things really fall apart: "I'm supporting Senator Clinton because like Senator Obama she has community organizing experience, but she also has more years in the Senate, an unprecedented eight years of on-the-job training in the White House, no masculinity to prove, the potential to tap a huge reservoir of this country's talent by her example, and now even the courage to break the no-tears rule."  Take a careful look at qualification #4: "no masculinity to prove."  I'm no Barack Obama expert, but I don't picture him as the kind of guy who's always challenging people to arm wrestling matches and accepting dares to drink hot sauce.  What Steinem is saying is that every male is fundamentally deficient, because he feels compelled to prove his masculinity.

But that's not all.  Check out this paragraph:

"What worries me is that some women, perhaps especially younger ones, hope to deny or escape the sexual caste system; thus Iowa women over 50 and 60, who disproportionately supported Senator Clinton, proved once again that women are the one group that grows more radical with age."

Note the massive assumption that a vote for Hillary is a "radical" vote.  I can't honestly say why voting for a woman is more radical than voting for a mixed race candidate, but that's an assumption that Steinem made without support.  It's worth noting that college students, known for being radical, are polling hugely in favor of Obama.

So at the heart of this article are two huge assumptions: that men feel compelled to prove their masculinity, and that voting for Hillary is radical.  You could call these prejudices.
 

There is a great article in this month's Book's and Culture magazine summarizing a book by Arthur Brooks entitled Who Really Cares?  The work studied the difference between religious conservatives and secular liberals in the area of charitability.  Here is a summary from the article:

Religious Americans are not only much more likely to give money and volunteer their time to religious and secular institutions, they are also more likely to provide aid to family members, return incorrect change, help a homeless person, and donate blood. In fact, despite expecting to find just the opposite, Brooks concluded: "I have never found a measurable way in which secularists are more charitable than religious people."

There is a very interesting article by Nick Paumgarten in the New Yorker regarding commuting culture in America.  As we are soon moving the the New York City metro area, I found the article to be of great interest.  We will soon be ministering to people in New Jersey, some of whom will be on trains during the week.  It is one of the challenges of church planting in the area we are going as people are strapped for time and financially stretched thin.  Weekends are also sacred as the pace slows from the hours in cars and on trains.  Here is an excerpt:

“People with long journeys to and from work are systematically worse off and report significantly lower subjective well-being,” Stutzer told me. According to the economic concept of equilibrium, people will move or change jobs to make up for imbalances in compensation. Commute time should be offset by higher pay or lower living costs, or a better standard of living. It is this last category that people apparently have trouble measuring. They tend to overvalue the material fruits of their commute—money, house, prestige—and to undervalue what they’re giving up: sleep, exercise, fun.

Robert Putnam sociologist and author of the book Bowling Alone made some insightful statements about the reality of modern life:

Putnam likes to imagine that there is a triangle, its points comprising where you sleep, where you work, and where you shop. In a canonical English village, or in a university town, the sides of that triangle are very short: a five-minute walk from one point to the next. In many American cities, you can spend an hour or two travelling each side. “You live in Pasadena, work in North Hollywood, shop in the Valley,” Putnam said. “Where is your community?” The smaller the triangle, the happier the human, as long as there is social interaction to be had. In that kind of life, you have a small refrigerator, because you can get to the store quickly and often. By this logic, the bigger the refrigerator, the lonelier the soul.

Please pray for us as we move to a place that has fragmented community and very large refrigerators.  I pray that God might use the church to allow people a respite and joy for the soul as we live for the glory of God, the good of the City extending hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Growing in community will be difficult in commuterland - but it is also a deep felt human need. 

For those of you from the Atlanta area, this sprawling southern city receives some treatment as well.  It is not a land of time spent on trains, but rather a car bound people guzzling down gasoline.   Just think, for some in Atlanta -" travelling ten miles can take forty-five minutes." One final segment was of interest to me as it actually mentions the great garden state of New Jersey. In this, Putnam is comparing Bologne, Italy and its quaint, smaller feel to the land of Tony Soprano.

Putnam’s favorite city is Bologna, in Italy, which has a population of three hundred and fifty thousand; it’s just small enough to retain village-like characteristics. “It would be interesting to swap the citizens of Bologna with the population of New Jersey,” Putnam said. “Do the Bolognese become disconnected and grouchy? Is there a sudden explosion of malls in Bologna? How much of the way we live is forced on us? How much is our choice?”

It is a lenghtly article but well written and worth your time.  May God use Jacob's Well in the lives of disconnected and grouchy people.

Alistair McGrath, Christianity’s Dangerous Idea – The Protestant Revolution from the Sixteenth Century to the Twenty-First (New York, HarperOne, 2007) 552pp.

History has the unique capacity to both inform and to transform the present. It is informative in that we learn the stories of our past, enjoying the narratives of peoples, places, events, failures and accomplishments of those who have traveled before us. It is transformative in that we can better understand who we are as people in light of the roads traveled to the ever present now. Additionally, the wise learn from both the mistakes and teachings left for us in the literary trails of our ancestors. Of course, when not well written, history can be a bore. I recently finished a book that was both engagingly written, informative and in some way gave great peace and understanding to my journey as a Christian convert living in the twenty first century. The book that has so helped me is Alistair McGrath’s excellent treatment of the Protestant Reformation, Christianity’s Dangerous Idea. I know this introduction colors this review a bit, but I simply loved the book…so now that I have stated this front and center…on to the review.

McGrath’s thesis in the book is that the formal principle of the Protestant reformation, that each person has the right and duty to interpret Holy Scripture for himself, was and remains a dangerous idea. It is dangerous in that it placed the Bible in the hands of all people and removed an authoritative interpretation from the magisterial control of the Roman Catholic Church. This of course is dangerous because it has and will continue to provoke all sorts of interpretations of Scripture, all claiming to be “biblical”, which has splintered the church into many small factions and denominations. It is also revolutionary in that it set free the Bible from the control of Rome so that it could speak to all people as the very Word of God.

McGrath and his publishers did a great job with the title and branding of the book. The reformation is called a revolution here and the cover design has a picture of Luther holding the book with a red tint covering the view (see above). The cover almost looks like a communist piece striking the radical nature of revolutions in the hearts of modern readers. To be honest, McGrath does an equally good job in conveying the radical nature of the European Reformations in this 550 page volume.

The book consists of three major parts or subdivisions. Part I, entitled Origination focuses on the history involved with the reformation and the origins of reform on the continent, then later in England and finally on American soils. McGrath’s approach here does have the focus on the great men and leaders but he uniquely focuses on the sociological realities in the local communities where reform movements began. His treatment of the reformation is to view it not as one monolithic movement, but rather as small reform movements which emerged in different contexts with quite differing foci, though still uniting against the common ideological opponent – the halls of Rome. Part II deals with the major realities in which the Protestant faiths express both unity and diversity. In this section, entitled Manifestations, several topic of importance to Protestantism(s) are covered. The Bible, Doctrines, ecclesiastical structures, culture and the arts are all covered in this section. Part III deals with the malleability and transformation of Protestantism(s) in the 20th century focusing heavily on the Pentecostal arrival and the rapid growth and expansion of Protestant movements in the global south.

The work is somewhat lengthy as it, but McGrath managed to keep his treatment concise. He achieved an amazing balance of rigorous treatment without overwhelming the reader with minutia or making it a one thousand page tome. There were many strengths to the book which I will touch below as well as a few obligatory drawbacks I felt while reading. To these we turn.

Strengths

Part I – Origination

In McGrath’s treatment of the continental history of Protestantism he covered the various movements and men of import. As expected, Luther, Calvin, Swingli and the latter Anabaptists are all central figures in the work. I found two particular things interesting about McGrath’s treatment of nascent Protestantism. First, he discusses the sociological settings in which each of these early reform movements emerged and how each touched a certain cultural reality in their application. Second, his focus on the commonality of these movements is expected, but I really liked his emphasis on how each of these local reformations was very different in scope and goals. His point was that there was never one monolithic, big “P” Protestantism, but rather a myriad of reform movements who each desired various degrees of change based upon their particular reading of the Bible. What united them all was a formal principle of deriving theology directly from Scripture and the constant threats from Catholic armies and princes.

The focus on the reformers ability to adapt Scripture to context and local need emerges latter in McGrath’s touching on the Protestant ability to morph, adapt and contextualize to reach out to new generations and completely new cultures. From day one the Protestants walked into dangerous waters in putting the Scriptures in the hands of the people. It produced overreactions and misreading of that book, as in the apocalyptic flavors of the Anabaptist movement, but it also returned the church to its very source of life; the very word of God.

I found this look at the early days of Protestant faith refreshing as it makes sense of the continued fragmentary nature of the movement based on various readings of Scripture. Much of my frustration about Protestantism is I expect a unity which really never existed from the beginning. In fact, any look at church history shows that there has never been 100% lock step agreement on all things. I have found great peace in knowing that there is certainty in the Scripture about certain matters and the church has been clear on these issues. The triune nature of God, the full deity and humanity of Jesus, salvation through the cross of Christ, a call to holiness and new life, the second coming of Jesus and God’s judgment all come to mind. Understanding our history has not made me discouraged to be separated from Rome (or the Eastern communion) but rather confirmed my commitment to the basic principle that Scirpture is the proper source for our theology. It may be abused by some, but the Word of God is clear and must remain central. Even if formal, visible unity is never realized.

One note of caution. There are some who may take hermeneutical difficulties and differences and run with them towards an ideology that there is no one clear meaning in Scripture. To acknowledge our history is one thing, to abandon the view that the Scriptures can be understood is quite another. Yes, we may differ at times in our understanding of the Bible, but our duty is to hear, head and obey…even when others may disagree. We submit to the text, we do not tell it what to say. Unfortunately the latter is far too common for those who desire to stand over the Bible, not under it.

I found this section to be a great introduction to Protestant thinking on many theological and ecclesiological issues. I wish many evangelicals today would read Part II alone as I fear that many modern church growth evangelicals do not understand the distinct ways of thinking and methods in which Protestants have historically traveled. As I read Protestant views about the Bible, worship, the church and how Christian thinking connects to all of life, I longed for a revival of some aspects of Protestantism. Far too many of us have such a small view of the church and the reformers maintained a view of her centrality in Christian life. The comparisons between magisterial Protestantism which maintained the tight coupling of church/state with that of reform movements who were suspicious of such ties was also quite helpful. For one I am thankful for those who stood for the separation of church and magistrate. The corruption of the church by the pomp and power of the state has been evident since the time of Constantine.

I also found a few minor appreciations in chapter 13 treating the relationship between Protestantism and the arts and sciences. First, the very brief treatment of Sport and faith was a welcome sighting in the book for one who spent much of his life in athletics and sports ministry. Also, I loved the tone of the discussion of science and faith. For those unfamiliar with McGrath, he holds separate doctorates in science and theology. He was very measured in that section and spoke more like an historian than one pursuing a certain view.

The main strength of this part was its concise and insightful history in of twentieth century movements. The fundamentalist controversies of the 1920s, the evangelical reengagement led by Carl F. Henrys seminal work Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism, liberal theological movements which were fully realized in the mainline American denominations, the rise of the non denominational movement and ecumenical reengagements by some with Roman Catholicism are all well covered. Whether or not you agree with the church growth, use market principles to expand the church type stuff, McGrath fairly covers the influence of this on recent North American Protestantism.

Overall I found the work both interesting and informative. However it did drag a bit in the center, perhaps an unavoidable weakness of a work with such ambition. To this weakness we now turn.

The main drawback I find in a book like this is that some of the chapters had huge goals but could not possibly deliver. For instance, chapter 12 had the ambition to try and touch the following topics: Christ and Culture (which took a now standard Nieburian route), social engagement, church and state, economics (which is a good treatment of the history of usury/money lending), the good old Protestant work ethic, education, and women. Looking at that list and realizing that the relationship of Protestants to all these issues was covered in a mere 40 pages makes one realize that the reader will be left wanting to talk about these things more. Thank God for the footnotes and bibliography I suppose. A similar issue could be said about the chapter which dealt with the arts and sciences but it was encouraging to see these as a separate chapter instead of lumping them into the aforementioned chapter 12. Though the page count was not oppressive, it just seemed like too much.

Another weak point in the work for me was the comparison of Protestantism and Islam. The basic premise, found briefly in chapter 17, was that both were logo-centric faiths which are subject to the interpretation of a holy text. In Protestantism this has led to diversity and it is speculated that perhaps Islam might go through a similar transformation and diversification as well. I found it a bit optimistic that this would lead to a more tolerate and free version of Islam. Somehow, the content of these holy books seems to me to matter more than the mere fact that they both have one. But that seems too obvious.

Conclusion

This work helped me greatly know more of whom I am theologically and passionately re-embrace mission to take the gospel to the world. Others have done so before us and we now share the task of applying that book called the Bible to the contexts and issues of our day. With Luther we must keep our consciences chained to the Word of God and stand in the community of church and history to guard against heretical teaching.

I realized in reading this work that I both love and hate some of the realities of Protestantism. There are a bunch of goofy interpretations and spins on the Bible, but yet history teaches us that basing all authority in one sinful man's ruling is no better path. This is why someone's belief "ABOUT" the Bible is of great importance. You cannot even debate in council - or on a forum, if someone does not hold to the authority of the text. At least we can wrestle under the text, if the text has authority. If one does not believe in the authority of the text, one will end up saying "it is all hermeneutics, all interpretation" - that there is no definitive meaning to the text. This is why the issue of biblical authority AND hermeneutical outlook are so important for Protestants today. If someone can make up "trajectories" to speak beyond the Bible, they will eventually err far from course. As a Protestant, we have a much higher call and must remain faithful to what the words actually teach.

This struggle to remain faithful within the freedom of protest is our greatest strength and greatest challenge as Christians. McGrath seems to be optimistic about Protestants ability to adapt and flourish. History is indeed on his side and I too remain bullish on the Word of God effecting change in the world until the Lord comes. I’ll close with the concluding paragraph of the book:

Those who are anxious about the future of Protestantism often urge that radical change in its self-understanding is necessary if it is to survive, let alone prosper. Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis (“Times are changing, and we change with them” – Ovid). The historical and theological analysis presented in this book offers a rather different answer. We have seen that Protestantism possesses a unique and innate capacity for innovation, renewal, and reform based on its own internal resources. The future of Protestantism lies precisely in Protestantism being what Protestantism actually is.Christianity’s Dangerous Ideap. 478, empahsis in original..

Semper Fidelus and Semper Reformanda – Always faithful, always reforming - these will remain our call...

Some interesting news stories today on the web. First of all, contrary to some Republican's views, Hillary Clinton does seem to have emotions:

At a campaign event in Portsmouth, Clinton choked up and grew uncharacteristically emotional as she talked about her reasons for seeking the presidency in the November election.

I feel bad as I am listening to Barak Obama's audio book right now...the audacity!  Full story story here about the goings on in New Hampshire.  And no, this blog will not be commenting on "the elections." I'll let you pick your own sources for that.

Second, apparently some people in Australia are a bit upset about the new published guidelines for the humane killing of a Joey - also known as a baby Kangaroo.  Here are a few excerpts whose rhetoric I just found odd.

Australian animal protection groups questioned on Monday a new government guide for the humane killing of kangaroos which recommends "forcefully swinging" the heads of young animals against a vehicle tow bar.

....

"These changes are basically saying the federal government believes it's okay to blast a defenseless joey to bits with a shotgun," Pat O'Brien, President of the Wildlife Protection Association, told local newspapers.

.... 

The draft national code aims to guide people on humane disposal of orphaned joeys, which live in their mothers' pouches, after the parent has either been shot or hit by a vehicle. The code rejected sending orphaned joeys to wildlife careers.

.... 

"I think we all love kangaroos. The problem is that there are too many. What we are talking about here is responsible environmental management, because if we don't do something you won't have pastures and viable farming," an Environment Department spokesman said.

Yikes, do something...like bash the little guys and shoot em with a shot gun?  I guess the headline says it all: Kangaroo killing code draws flak from animal groups

Should we laugh or cry? I won't say which I did...poor Joeys.

This is a funny video that Bill Gates put together to lampoon his soon departure from full time work at Microsoft.  If I find a better version of the video I'll rethink - but this one can be seen and heard pretty well:

Higher quality versions are available here - but you have to get through some of the initial keynote intro stuff. 

It is amazing how off line life can keep me from developing content for the blog here.  I in no way resent this, but feel the reality often.  I have had a great holiday with much "quality time" (not said cynically, but will joyful sincerity) with my wife and three kids.  It is a great delight to know and walk with my little people - even more to be known and understood by them as they get older. 

I have loved getting to know Kylene better as she rounded her four year mark last week.  She is on her way towards learning to read with her letters and most sounds under he little belt.  She loves to run back and forth in our house (yes, we let our kids run a bit in the house - bad parents!) and spend one on one time with Mom and Dad.  She is also able to ride in a booster seat now so it is fun to take her out with me places without having to take the mini-van.  Not that I have van shame or anything. 

Kayla, our six year old, has become a bit of a football buddy of mine over the holidays.  Yes, I have watched too many games and read less than I intended.  Alas, I must learn to give grace to myself.  But Kayla and I just love watching a game together.  She understands almost all the rules (not sure she gets touch backs and safeties yes) and is a pretty active fan. Some man will be blessed some day - just doing my part.  We continue to learn the 10 commandments and teach them to Kylene - fun to see how 4 and 6 year olds see the relationship between Law and Gospel.  I am also reading Nehemiah with Kayla to prepare her for our new series in "big church" - she comes with us now must Sunday mornings and was scratching out here little sermon notes today.  I did almost get teary eyed.  It is fun to have both girls exclaim loudly a cacophonous "Boooooo!" whenever we read the names Sanballat or Tobiah in Nehemiah.  Equally fun to hear them yell "Yeaaaaaa!" when we read the name of God.  Rowdy bed time Bible time - I just love it. 

As always these little girls really steal my heart away.  I took them to see a movie the other day and just watched them sitting there and prayed for godly young men for both of them some day.  I love having daughters and it is one of the greatest callings of my life.  I can't help but be thankful.  Young boys on notice - me and Tommy are watching you already - speaking of Tommy.

Little Tommy Reid has been a great treat for me this season of slowing down.  I have so enjoyed getting him up for breakfast, sitting him in a little chair and talking to him like he is a big man.  I also like the fact that he can come into the bathroom and watch me shave (fascinates him).  With little girls there are certain things you cannot share, but having the little man with me for bathroom time is really a trip.  He also has learned a new word which he says whenever he passes a television..."butball" - Yes, did I mention I have watched too many games?  I love it that he like balls, wrestling with Daddy and head butting.  Oh why did God give me a son - too rich of a grace.

Finally, I have enjoyed the times with family both in North Carolina where Kasey's parents live, a weekend with my Mom and Brother and some time with my Dad her in Tenn.  Parents are also gracious to allow me to take my bride out on a date or two while they baby sit/play with/bless/grandparent our kids.  Kasey and I are have had some laughs over the break - I have even willfully went shopping with her.  She is also encouraging me in my goals for the spring of getting in better shape and deeping my walk with Christ.  We have our moments for sure, but I still think God gave us something special in our marriage and friendship.  I hope it infects others because it is really something God given and good.

Well, I have a book review and probably a review of my new non Macintosh laptop coming here on the blog.  I travel up to a seminary class next week on monkeys and men (actually entitled Origins) and I have a myriad of to-do(s) associated with Jacob's Well and Inversion.  By the way, if you know anyone with a spare 150K to invest in church planting up north, please let me know - it would help with my schedule - smile.  We are still on track to move in the summer (God willing) and look forward to focus more on the new direction here soon. 

As 2008 began I did not list a whole bunch of books, music, or highlights from 2007 here at Power of Change - but I did want to write a bit tonight about those with whom I spent the last days of 2007.  I call them the Monaghan Home Team - and I love them deeply...much more than I love to blog...even more than football games.

My friend Sandy Young sent me this in light of my post on loving cell phones :) Fun stuff.

How to know you are an impostor - you could have put someone with a Dell laptop in the circle and made the same point... 

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Al Mohler has an interesting article focusing on some research on cell phone use today.  I'm really not sure what his point is with the article other than stating the way things are today.  He does talk about parents limiting teen cell phone time but the article seems to be without a real conclusion.  Does cell phone proliferation bother him?  Does he lament the days without cell phones glued to us at all times?  I couldn't tell what point he wanted to make. To be honest, though there can be problems, I love cell phones.  Especially my little Palm Centro

I have to make sure I don't text and drive and I try not to text/e-mail while hanging with my wife or kids.  I actually saw a lady text messaging at Cracker Barell the whole time she was having breakfast with a little boy who looked like her son. I felt bad for the little guy.  Cell phones, like any tool we use in work and life must not dominate the other relationships in which we are called to invest.  E-mail, texting, twittering, blogs, facebook etc. can all be profitable and fun to use, but unplugging for silence and solitude must still remain a discipline for human beings.

I think maintaining some of the old disciplines (like writing, thinking, speaking, crafting arguments and presenting ideas) while merging them with new forms is a good thing.  Of course we can get swept into being sound byte, short text, trivial, disconnected and light person.  But this is not the work of cell phones - it is the fruit of undisciplined souls.  And we still have to deal with the "old" television demon which saps way too much of my time in BCS bowl season.

Anyway, C u ltr...

Today we have another guest essay from my prolific friend Tim Dees.  This one comments on a recent "analysis" done by a NY Times op ed writer.  Enjoy

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TERRORISM, THE POOR, AND JARED DIAMOND

Every now and then, I read something so shocking I have to read it twice.  Today's New York Times contained just such a statement (see here).  The statement in question was part of an article by Jared Diamond, the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel.  The article started with some neo-Malthusian musings about how people in the developed world consume about thirty-two times as many resources as people in the developing world.  He makes a good point that, for purposes of global resources, we ought to worry more about the developed countries than about the developing countries, regardless of lightning-fast growth rates in third-world countries.  At this point, it sounds like a pretty standard op-ed piece for the Times, but then it took a wrong turn in the following paragraph:

"People in the third world are aware of this difference in per capita consumption, although most of them couldn't specify that it's by a factor of 32. When they believe their chances of catching up to be hopeless, they sometimes get frustrated and angry, and some become terrorists, or tolerate or support terrorists. Since Sept. 11, 2001, it has become clear that the oceans that once protected the United States no longer do so. There will be more terrorist attacks against us and Europe, and perhaps against Japan and Australia, as long as that factorial difference of 32 in consumption rates persists."

This paragraph (which in no way relates to the rest of the article) expounds a popular idea that has absolutely no grounding in reality, research, or common sense: that terrorists become terrorists because they are jealous of our stuff.  Why on earth do people think this?

Such a belief holds out blindly against the facts.  Alan Krueger and a host of other researchers have done extensive research that shows that terrorists are less likely to be poor than non-terrorists (see this essay)When terror goes global, it's almost always funded by Saudi money - and the Saudis can consume with the best of them - and it's usually carried out by the educated upper class.  Think about it this way: if you knew Osama bin Laden's father, he would almost certainly be the richest person you've ever met.

But let's also think about the targets of these attacks.  Right now, the vast majority of terrorist attacks going on in the world are happening in Iraq, and they are usually against Sunnis or Shiites, not against Americans.  Today, the news reported a number of suicide attacks, and none of them were against Americans.  They were all the result of internecine conflicts within Iraq.  And what about Japan and Australia, for whom Diamond predicts future terrorist attacks?  Why doesn't anyone attack them?  This is a worthy question that Diamond dodges.  If terrorism is about consumption, then terrorists should attack consumption wherever it is.  But we all know that it doesn't.

Another serious problem with this statement is its failure to listen to terrorists.  Terrorists usually aren't quiet about why they attack certain countries; in fact, Osama bin Laden issues press releases with industrious regularity.  After September 11th, Osama bin Laden said that attacks would continue until "we can see it as a reality in Palestine and before all the infidel armies leave the land of Mohammed".  This was his primary demand, and in no way does he mention differences in consumption or wealth (for the full statement, see here).  In fact, bin Laden mentions Hiroshima and Nagasaki as examples of American arrogance.  If these attacks were against the developed world, why would bin Laden identify himself with a first-world nation?

With all the evidence in his face, how does Diamond (along with so many others) persist with this message that terrorism is provoked by poverty?  I think the answer to this question lies in a specific strain of thinking among the Western Left that I will call economic reductionism (ER).  In ER, everything comes back to money.  There's no such thing as good and bad, true and false, right and wrong, just rich and poor.  Teach a man to fish, and the world is healed.

It's got a beat and you can dance to it, but it just doesn't hold up.  Poverty doesn't trigger terrorism.  Osama bin Laden isn't flying planes into buildings because he's holding out for a Starbucks on every corner and a Hummer in every garage.  Jared Diamond should know better. 

My friend Tim Dees forwarded this article to me which refers to the "Christian message" today which has been somewhat emasculated.  The following is from an atheist guy named Brendan O'Neil.  After hearing arch bishop of Catebury Rowan Williams' Christmas Message, he felt compelled to write an essay entitled Mankind is more than the Janitor of the Planet.  It touches many subjects including environmental concern, the new atheism, and the old/new Christianity. It is a good reminder that while environmental issues are important concerns for Christian action and reflection, it is not the gospel.  I think you'll enjoy his insights.

Here is the subtitle for the article:

Mankind is more than the janitor of planet Earth
I am avowedly atheist. But listening to the bishops' drab, eco-pious Christmas sermons, I couldn’t help thinking: ‘Bring back God!’

When a convinced unbeliever mourns the loss of the substantial and radical Christian message, the church need listen.