Amen! This is a great interview to read. Just as the Romanticism movement birthed out of a response to Modernism, we need to be cautious today about exalting artists above others, even in the Church. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/andrew-peterson-artists-adorning-dark-book/ UPDATE: 2020-01-25 RTS invited three speakers to talk about the arts and faith. The speakers are focused on poetry. https://rts.edu/resources/2019-reforum-theology-the-arts-1/ And here’s part 2! https://rts.edu/resources/2019-reforum-theology-the-arts-2/

With so many cases having arisen out of the disastrous and faulty ruling of 2015, it is good to see religious liberty being defended on various fronts. While we as Christians don’t put our hope in political power or political victories, for our sole hope is in Jesus Christ, the matters and affairs of the state are important. The Reformers, such as Calvin and Luther, certainly understood this. The church is facing difficult things ahead in the Western world; the trials currently underway are only the beginning.

In addition to my previous posts on the Ugaritic language, I have also created an Open Font Licensed Ugaritic Font, aptly called “Redemption Studio Ugaritic”. The other various fonts I saw were not free fonts, save for one. This font, under the Open Font License, can be used for any purpose as long as the creator of the font is given credit. You can read the license here: http://scripts.sil.org/OFL. I have provided a TTF, OTF, and WOFF file below.

This is one of the few helpful reads I have found on the internet regarding immigration. The other was Kevin DeYoung on TGC. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/immigration-policy-must-be-based-on-more-than-an-appeal-to-compassion/ There is a lot to discuss here, and as DeYoung points out, we cannot use simple platitudes for making big decisions. Wisdom demands more from us. https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2019/09/56067/

Numbers like these should make the church consider whether or not higher accessibility in giving is worth the loss of giving in worship or the cut taken by companies for processing the church’s giving. There certainly are statistics pointing to higher amounts given when web-based giving is available. https://www.disrn.com/2019/09/27/digital-tithing-has-become-a-multi-billion-dollar-industry/ UPDATE: 20191021 An absolutely fascinating post! This gives a philosophical framework explaining why we do not need to fear the rise of machines.

An absolutely fascinating post! This gives a philosophical framework explaining why we do not need to fear the rise of machines. As some in our political world and scientific world warn of either the domination and conquering of machines a la Terminator or the replacement of humans and the devaluing of humans, something like the rise of AI can actually force us to have to think about what makes humans unique and special.

Interesting thoughts about how to process the cultural shifts made by the Internet. Not unlike the argument I made in my poem, “The Search Engine Lament”, the book under review by Greg Bailey discusses how having a vast swath of information makes us process the information we have less. The Search Engine Lament Even companies are marketing in this way, arguing against information overload. (There was another company which marketed against it based on the idea that our brains would freeze because of how much information, but I can only seem to find Bing’s.

Ann Swindell writes about how motherhood has kept her from pursuing the type of work or art she enjoys, but how motherhood has been a blessing in seeing how God works in our lives. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/gift-frustrated-passions/

Desiring God has said it well. In the age of social media, our ability to argue, debate, critically think, analyze, synthesize, and the like have been degraded, corroded, and starved. Unlike the humanistic renaissance, if Wikipedia doesn’t include something (and hasn’t edited it out of existence), people are bound not to know the history of their ideas, culture, faith, or the like. Many modern peoples are happy eclectics, believing in disparate doctrines and ignoring the gulfs between them.

When I first began my seminary work, I didn’t know how to handle styling for my documents. Sure, the SBL Handbook had various bits of information, but did I really have to parse through it all for every document? Yes, and no. Yes, if I had not realized that LibreOffice’s main way of handling document formatting was intentionally built on creating a document template. My first inkling was then to find a template document, but I could not find one.

While reading The Letters of Samuel Rutherford,1 I came across this quotation. In the meantime, I am pained with his love, because I want real possession. When Christ cometh, he stayeth not long. But certainly the blowing of his breath upon a poor soul is heaven upon earth; and when the wind turneth into the north, and he goeth away, I die, till the wind change into the west, and he visit his prisoner.

Image Source: Pixabay If I wash my hands with foaming apple scented soap strong yet subtle, wafting up, and rub my cheeks and stretch the curling hairs shaping my beard with scented hands will she smell the orchard?

Image Source: Wikimedia I’ve hung my portrait in a tower, from the height of the staggered stones, the reflection bends on the sea, waves of light erode that bastion. On the throne atop the tower I stare at the painted portrait: elongated brush strokes in refined oils deigned my features, the walnut frame contained a mirror captured by imagination. Though I add rich browns and velvet reds something is amiss; over my shoulder the tower bends on the sea.

Image Source: Flickr For Brother Chad. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles…” -The Apostle Paul Scoffers ask: “What purpose is there in singing?” in a crowd our voices rang, the faucet shut, the veil shattered at his feet and I held him as he wept.

Image Source: Pixabay Only five minutes to find a parking spot Do I have my wallet? Ouch! A pebble in my shoe Oh! Good. How much… Block, shredded, or slices? do I have? What is this hole in my shoe? Which aisle is… Twenty dollars cash. Where did it come from? Seven. Huh, I don’t recall its arrival. What flavor do I want? My toes shouldn’t be so free, no, Not mozzarella.