Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Jesus Creed

Home
Evangelical
Weekly Meanderings

Weekly Meanderings

Last updated on: December 11, 2010 at 12:02 am by Scot McKnight

Weekly Meanderings 2010-12-10T06:58:10-06:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Snow works its little miracles!

This post by Gary Stratton has to be one of the best blog posts of the year.

Ted links us to a beautiful version of “Immanuel.” Jim Martin on dealing with weariness. Bill Donahue is a leadership guy, and this post is just one of his many that many find helpful.

An excellent post by Dan Reid (where have you been Dan?) on publishing challenges: One and Two.

Ever have this experience of Janet‘s? I have … but in another way: a deep sadness and melancholy when I come to the end of a favorite author’s works. Faith ponders silence. I’ve been following this series by Mike Glenn.

Christmas facts (or non-facts).

Linda. Josh (what about you?).

So true, Brad, so true. So helpful, Eugene, so helpful.

Patrick weighs in on a sensitive claim — the Not Ashamed Day — by some UK Christians. Pete Enns weighs in on the when and why of Genesis.

Brett’s Advent playlist.

Don’t do this from your home!

(HT: Geeding)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wS3cC_CVCA&feature=player_embedded

Meanderings in the News

1. Do you concentrate better at a coffee shop? “Back home in Toronto, with my ergonomically correct chair, spacious desk and dedicated Internet connection, I pulled up my notes from the journey to Laptopistan and tried to write. Within 10 minutes, I was lost in Facebook and watching old “Soul Train” clips on YouTube. So I unplugged my laptop, traded my sweat pants for jeans and walked two blocks to the nearest coffee shop. There was some country music playing at a comfortable volume, and the familiar sight of cords along the floor. I took a seat between a guy working on an identical MacBook Pro and a woman drawing in a journal, and I worked like I was back in Atlas: productively, contentedly, fueled by a steady diet of Earl Grey tea, an economically acceptable quantity of cookies, and that social pressure I was craving.”

2. Oh, no, don’t Newt: “During an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said that he is “much more inclined to run” for president in 2012 than not run. Gingrich has been hinting for months that he may seek the presidency — though he has a history of making a lot of noise about running before deciding against it, as he did before the 2008 election. On Sunday, Gingrich said that after speaking with friends and colleagues, he is “more inclined to think it is doable.” However, he said he would not make a decision until the “end of February, beginning of March.”

3. This piece by Lisa Foderaro nails it: “The move mirrors similar prunings around the country at other public colleges and universities that are reeling from steep drops in state aid. After a generation of expansion, academic officials are being forced to lop entire majors. More often than not, foreign languages — European ones in particular — are on the chopping block. The reasons for their plight are many. Some languages may seem less vital in a world increasingly dominated by English. Web sites and new technologies offer instant translations. The small, interactive classes typical of foreign language instruction are costly for universities. But the paradox, some experts in higher education say, is that many schools are eliminating language degrees and graduate programs just as they begin to embrace an international mission: opening campuses abroad, recruiting students from overseas and talking about graduating citizens of the world.” Education can’t be calculated like this.

4. On deportations: “When ICE officials realized in the final weeks of the fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, that the agency still was in jeopardy of falling short of last year’s mark, it scrambled to reach the goal. Officials quietly directed immigration officers to bypass backlogged immigration courts and time-consuming deportation hearings whenever possible, internal e-mails and interviews show. Instead, officials told immigration officers to encourage eligible foreign nationals to accept a quick pass to their countries without a negative mark on their immigration record, ICE employees said.”

5. Shankar Vedantam: “Republicans have a near monopoly on complaints about government spending. Dozens of new Tea Party candidates were elected to Congress on a promise to clean house. But data going back two decades—to stick to Simpson’s crude metaphor—show the milk is mostly coming from Democratic states, and the sucking is being done by Republican states.”

6. State problems: “While next year could be even worse, there are bigger, longer-term risks, financial analysts say. Their fear is that even when the economy recovers, the shortfalls will not disappear, because many state and local governments have so much debt — several trillion dollars’ worth, with much of it off the books and largely hidden from view — that it could overwhelm them in the next few years.”

7. William Bennett, John Cribb, on twelve reasons to be grateful for the USA.

8. Ed Whelan points to Ted Olson’s former arguments: “If “incorporating society’s current preferences into the Constitution” is “a very perilous course” (and I certainly agree that it is), it is all the more perilous to be entrenching in constitutional guise the current preferences of what has been demonstrated, in election after election, to be a minority. (And, no, I am of course not disputing that genuine constitutional rights operate in a countermajoritarian fashion.) Seemingly intoxicated by his new role, Olson is now racing recklessly down the “very perilous course” that he once warned against—in far more modest contexts—and he’s trying to drag the nation along with him.” Has Ted Olson ever gone on record to explain his changes?

9. Ross Douthat: “This, in turn, may be remembered as the great tragedy of the culture war: While college-educated Americans battle over what marriage should mean, much of the country may be abandoning the institution entirely.”

10. David Brooks: “Every day, hundreds of thousands of scholars study human behavior. Every day, a few of their studies are bundled and distributed via e-mail by Kevin Lewis, who covers the social sciences for The Boston Globe and National Affairs. And every day, I file away these studies because I find them bizarrely interesting.”

Meanderings in Sports

Is Tiger back? “Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Tiger’s biggest edge was his head. No one was tougher, or believed more. Yang and the 72nd-hole miss at the Barclays chipped away at that. Now that edge is gone. Getting it back is more important for Tiger than any swing tweak.”

Weekly Meanderings

Previous Post

December 10, 2010

My Recommendation for Christmas

Next Post

December 11, 2010 Blue Parakeet Giveaway

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where was Jesus placed after He died?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A temple A cave of fire A tomb A pyramid