Ross Douthat writes an op-ed piece for the NY Times on pantheism in the new blockbuster film Avatar: In Cameron’s sci-fi universe, this communion is embodied by the blue-skinned, enviably slender Na’Vi, an alien race whose idyllic existence on the planet Pandora is threatened by rapacious human invaders. The Na’Vi are saved by the movie’s hero, a turncoat Marine, but they’re also saved by their faith in Eywa, the “All Mother,” described variously as a network of energy and the sum total of every living thing. If this narrative arc sounds familiar, that’s because pantheism has been Hollywood’s … [Read more...] about Pantheism and Avatar
Matt Chandler’s Medical Plan
Pastor Matt Chandler gives some specifics on the radiation and chemotherapy he has coming up soon after Christmas. HT: @John Piper … [Read more...] about Matt Chandler’s Medical Plan
USA Today on Multi-site Churches
Interesting, informative USA Today story on the multi-site church phenomenon. Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and Ed Stetzer are all quoted. Couple factoids: Megachurches with two or more locations under the same leadership made up 37% of U.S. Protestant churches in 2008, up from 22% in 2000, according to a study by the Leadership Network and Hartford Institute for Religion Research in Hartford, Conn. Of the USA's 100 largest churches, 67% now have two or more sites and 60% of the 100 fastest-growing churches also have multiple sites, according to the annual listings of the USA's largest … [Read more...] about USA Today on Multi-site Churches
What’s wrong with the Senate health care bill?
Yuval Levin sums up why conservatives are still dead-set against it, but also why progressives like Howard Dean and Rolland Burris are now publicly opposed as well:In essence, what's left of the bill compels universal participation in a system that everyone agrees is a failure without reforming that system, and even exacerbates its foremost problem — the problem of exploding costs.Read the whole thing. (You'll also learn why you should have bought health insurance stocks a few months ago.) HT: Power Line In a poll conducted by NBC News/Wall Street Journal from December 11-14, just 32% say … [Read more...] about What’s wrong with the Senate health care bill?
C.S. Lewis College
Interesting announcement from the C.S. Lewis Foundation: "The C.S. Lewis Foundation has long envisioned establishing C.S. Lewis College in the U.S. as a fully accredited Christian institution of Great Books and Visual and Performing Arts. That vision is now about to become a reality as plans move forward to launch C.S. Lewis College on the beautiful campus in Northfield, Massachusetts, recently acquired for this purpose from Northfield Mount Hermon School. This property has been purchased for the use of C.S. Lewis College by Hobby Lobby, a privately held retail chain of arts and crafts stores … [Read more...] about C.S. Lewis College
Contra Santa Claus
Good post by Noel Piper on why it is better for young children not to grow up mixing Santa Claus with the manger scene: First, fairy tales are fun and we enjoy them, but we don’t ask our children to believe them. Second, we want our children to understand God as fully as they’re able at whatever age they are. So we try to avoid anything that would delay or distort that understanding. It seems to us that celebrating with a mixture of Santa and manger will postpone a child’s clear understanding of what the real truth of God is. It’s very difficult for a young child to pick through a marble cake … [Read more...] about Contra Santa Claus