The Up-Goer Five Text Editor

The Up-Goer Five Text Editor: Can you explain a hard idea using only the ten hundred most used words? It's not very easy. Type in the box to try it out.

Why a South African Braai beats a US bbq | Peace, Love & Giraffes

Why a South African Braai beats a US bbq | Peace, Love & Giraffes: Trust me. I was skeptical too. When my then boyfriend, now husband tried to explain the beauty of a South African Braai, I’ll be honest, I didn’t really get it. It sounded like a basic barbecue. A gathering of friends and family eating food from the grill. “Our barbecues are great,” I argued. “My dad makes a mean burger.” But whenever we cooked out on the grill, my husband’s face said it all – he longed for his beloved braai.

Analysis: A dam(n) crazy idea | Daily Maverick

Analysis: A dam(n) crazy idea | Daily Maverick: Right now there are 10,000 cubic kilometres of water behind dam walls – five times the volume in the planet’s rivers. The weight is so great it triggers earthquakes, and geophysicists estimate that the redistribution of weight from reservoirs may be having a measurable impact on the speed the earth rotates, the tilt of its axis and the shape of the gravitational field.

Disinformation, Carl Bildt, and Eastern Orthodoxy | David Heith-Stade's blog

Disinformation, Carl Bildt, and Eastern Orthodoxy | David Heith-Stade's blog: I usually don’t write on current political issues, but during the last days there has been a piece of “news” circulating on Russian websites about which Russian, Greek, and Finnish friends have made me aware.

A recent English version of this piece of “news” has the following headline “Carl Bildt thinks that Eastern Orthodoxy is main threat to Western civilization.” (Carl Bildt is the foreign minister of Sweden; therefore, I have been asked about this.)

1959. Extension of University Education Act No 45 - The O'Malley Archives

1959. Extension of University Education Act No 45 - The O'Malley Archives: This act made "it a criminal offence for a non-white student to register at a hitherto open university without the written consent of the Minister of Internal Affairs" (Lapping 1986: 184).

It also "provided for the establishment of a series of new ethnically-based institutions for Blacks, together with separate universities for Coloureds and Indians"

Have We joined Satan’s Side? - A Russian Orthodox Church Website

Have We joined Satan’s Side? - A Russian Orthodox Church Website: In reality, war does not begin when people start shooting at one another. It begins when certain convictions, upsurges in awareness, or news darken people’s reason and they stop seeing what is most important in those near them. They stop understanding that within the person near them – or not near them but, relatively speaking, “on the other side of the barricade” – there is much more to love than to hate.

Something terrible is happening to us now, when we stop seeing in our neighbor that which is most important, profound, and authentic. As a result, Satan is running the show. We are only giving occasions for the demons to rejoice, for their revelry, when, during our Pascha, we say “Christ is Risen!” to someone, but at the same time write terrible things about others on Facebook and rejoice that someone has “knocked off” someone else, and so forth. Hell is triumphant.

Free Family History and Genealogy Records — FamilySearch.org

Free Family History and Genealogy Records — FamilySearch.org



Getting better, though I still miss some of the functionality of the old one, like the ability to download Gedcom files.

The Case for Drinking as Much Coffee as You Like - Lindsay Abrams - The Atlantic

The Case for Drinking as Much Coffee as You Like - Lindsay Abrams - The Atlantic

7 Ethnic Names with Figurative Meanings

7 Ethnic Names with Figurative Meanings: 7 Ethnic Names with Figurative Meanings
by Mark Nichol

Names of ethnic groups have inspired nonliteral associations, many of them derogatory designations for the “other.” Here are seven such terms based on such names.

Devshirme � Blog Archive � Menstruation And Holy Communion

Devshirme � Blog Archive � Menstruation And Holy Communion: Metropolitan Methodios distributed the writing below to us at our monthly clergy brotherhood meeting this morning. It is from St. Gregory the Great to St. Augustine of Canterbury and is the last word on the “issue” of women receiving communion while menstruating. Some of his language reflects the time in which this was written (6th century) but the bottom line is that a woman’s period should not keep her from receiving communion (no matter what Yiayia may say about it : ).

Logismoi: C.S. Lewis & St Silouan

Logismoi: C.S. Lewis & St Silouan: Third, and most interesting to me and, I presume, my readers, he had a meeting with his spiritual director, the Rt Revd Simon Barrington-Ward, the former (Anglican) Bishop of Coventry and a friend of Lewis at Magdalene College, Cambridge. At this particular meeting, Barrington-Ward was trying to explain ‘what Lewis meant by “wordless prayer”, a significant theme of Letters to Malcolm and one that had occupied much of the first year of my doctoral research.’

Ranks of Angels - Russian Orthodox Church of Three Saints � � � �Храм Трех Святителей�

Ranks of Angels - Russian Orthodox Church of Three Saints � � � �Храм Трех Святителей�: The Celebration of the Sobor [Assemblage] of the Leader of the Heavenly Hosts Michael, and the Other Heavenly Bodiless Hosts was established at the beginning of the IV Century at the local Laodician Council, which occurred several years before the First Ecumenical Council. The Laodician Council by its 35th Canon condemned and renounced as heretical the worship of angels as creators and rulers of the world and it affirmed their proper Orthodox veneration. A feastday was established in November -- the ninth month from March (with which month the year began in ancient times) -- in accordance with the 9 Ranks of Angels. The eighth day of the month was decreed for the intended Sobor [Assemblage] of all the Heavenly Powers -- in conjunction with the Day of the Dread Last - Judgement of God, which the holy fathers called the "Eighth Day" -- since after this age in which the seven days [of Creation] have elapsed will come the "Eighth Day" -- and then "shalt come the Son of Man in His Glory and all the holy Angels together with Him" (Mt 25:31).

10 Tips for Creative Writing Submissions and Getting Published :Writing Forward

10 Tips for Creative Writing Submissions and Getting Published :Writing Forward

Barack Obama, Pro-Life Hero

Barack Obama, Pro-Life Hero | Sexuality/Gender | Religion Dispatches: Writing in the National Catholic Reporter in early August, Nicholas Cafardi made the provocative assertion that between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, the president is the more pro-life candidate. A significant part of the Duquesne law professor’s argument is that Obama favors “support for vulnerable pregnant women and alternatives to abortion [which] will make abortions much less likely, since most abortions are economic.” A few weeks later, just thirty-four days before the election, that argument became even stronger.

Who should I vote for for US president?

If I were American, who should I vote for?

Who should you vote for? US Presidency 2012 quiz

Democrat	-9
Libertarian	-9
Republican	-15

You expected: Dem
Your recommendation: Democrat/Libertarian
Click here for more details about these results

Orthodoxy and Creationism: by Deacon Andrew Kuraev | Salt of the Earth

Orthodoxy and Creationism: by Deacon Andrew Kuraev | Salt of the Earth

What's the difference between these two brains? - Telegraph

What's the difference between these two brains? - Telegraph: To neurologists who study the brain, and who have worked out how to interpret the images, the difference between these two brains is both remarkable and shocking. The brain on the right lacks some of the most fundamental areas present in the image on the left. Those deficits make it impossible for that child to develop capacities that the child on the left will have: the child on the right will grow into an adult who is less intelligent, less able to empathise with others, more likely to become addicted to drugs and involved in violent crime than the child on the left. The child on the right is much more likely to be unemployed and to be dependent on welfare, and to develop mental and other serious health problems.

BBC News - Five million paid less than Living Wage, says KPMG

BBC News - Five million paid less than Living Wage, says KPMG: One in five workers in the UK is paid less than required for a basic standard of living, a report has claimed.

Cold caller firm pays out for wasting businessman's time - Telegraph

Cold caller firm pays out for wasting businessman's time - Telegraph: Richard Herman, 53, was so upset with firms phoning him up and trying to sell him goods and services he decided to charge them for the time they took out of his day.

Paperback Writer: NaNoWriMo Ten

Paperback Writer: NaNoWriMo Ten: Kleimo's Random Name Generator -- This generator uses US census data to produce name lists of up to 30 for males, females or both genders. You can also set the obscurity factor from 1 (extremely common names) to 99 (extremely uncommon names.)

Mehdi Hasan: Being Pro-Life Doesn't Make Me Any Less Of A Lefty

Mehdi Hasan: Being Pro-Life Doesn't Make Me Any Less Of A Lefty: What I would like is for my fellow lefties and liberals to try to understand and respect the views of those of us who are pro-life, rather than demonise us as right-wing reactionaries or medieval misogynists.

One of the biggest problems with the abortion debate is that it's asymmetric: the two sides are talking at cross-purposes. The pro-lifers speak about the right to life of the unborn baby; the pro-choicers speak about a woman's right to choose. The moral arguments, as the Scottish philosopher Alasdair Macintyre has said, are "incommensurable".

Another problem is that the debate forces people to choose sides: right against left, religious against secular. Some of us, however, refuse to be sliced and diced in such a simplistic and divisive manner. I consider abortion to be wrong because of, not in spite of, my progressive principles. That I am pro-life does not make me any less of a lefty.

BBC News - Mau Mau struggle for recognition at home and abroad

BBC News - Mau Mau struggle for recognition at home and abroad: From the reaction of the Mau Mau veterans in Kenya, you might have been forgiven for thinking they had won their torture case against the UK government.

Straight from the Heart

Straight from the Heart: Like many Orthodox, I am fascinated by God’s annual gift to His Church of the Holy Fire, which He kindles faithfully in the Church of the Resurrection (or "the Holy Sepulchre") in Jerusalem every Holy Saturday. I first heard of the Holy Fire from reading (of all things) H.V. Morton’s famous travelogue of his visits to the Holy Land, his In the Steps of the Master (first published 1934). It’s fair to say that this English churchman was not impressed. He wrote that he thought it “an extraordinary thing” that “a frenzied ceremony that might have occurred in a grove of Adonis should have taken place at the Tomb of Christ”, wherein “hundreds of simple, but apparently mad, Christians believed that God had sent fire from heaven”. Morton didn’t believe God did send fire from heaven. He wrote, “The crowds have been told time and again that the Holy Fire is a piece of symbolism, but nothing will shake their belief that on this day it descends from heaven into the Tomb of Christ.”

Datablog: deaths after police contact or in police custody | News | guardian.co.uk

Datablog: deaths after police contact or in police custody | News | guardian.co.uk: 1,433 people in England and Wales have died either in police custody or following other police contact since 1990, according to data compiled by Inquest, a charity specialising in the investigation of contentious deaths.

950 deaths took place in custody, 317 following a police pursuit, 112 were the result of a road traffic incident involving a police vehicle and 54 were police shootings.

The highest total was recorded in 2003, when 104 such deaths were recorded. Fourteen of these fell within the operational jurisdiction of the Metropolitan police, of which one was a shooting.

Police Officer Who Shot at Amadou Diallo to Get Gun Back - NYTimes.com

Police Officer Who Shot at Amadou Diallo to Get Gun Back - NYTimes.com: More than 13 years after the police shooting of Amadou Diallo, Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly has agreed to restore a service weapon to one of the four New York City officers involved, a decision that Mr. Diallo’s mother characterized as a betrayal.

Half of the Facts You Know Are Probably Wrong - Reason.com

Half of the Facts You Know Are Probably Wrong - Reason.com: Dinosaurs were cold-blooded. Vast increases in the money supply produce inflation. Increased K-12 spending and lower pupil/teacher ratios boosts public school student outcomes. Most of the DNA in the human genome is junk. Saccharin causes cancer and a high fiber diet prevents it. Stars cannot be bigger than 150 solar masses. And by the way, what are the ten most populous cities in the United States?

Map of Individualism (vs Collectivism)

Map of Individualism (vs Collectivism): I believe that individualism is an innate (hence genetic/hereditary) trait of character. It's opposite is collectivism. Please check the thread How individualistic are you ? for a preface. I believe that the individualism-collectivism dichotomy is responsible for many fundamental cultural differences between European countries.

Collectivist and individualist cultures - Psychology Wiki

Collectivist and individualist cultures - Psychology Wiki: Cultures are typically divided into two categories: collectivist and individualist. Individualist cultures, such as those of the United States and Western Europe, emphasize personal achievement at the expense of group goals, resulting in a strong sense of competition. Collectivist cultures, such as those of China, Korea, and Japan, emphasize family and work group goals above individual needs or desires.

Police have shot dead 33 people since 1995 - only two marksmen have ever been named | Mail Online

Police have shot dead 33 people since 1995 - only two marksmen have ever been named | Mail Online: Since 1995 a total of 55 officers have opened fire on and killed members of the public, but in only two cases have their names been revealed.

The figures can be revealed as the inquest into the death of 32-year-old barrister Mark Saunders continues – and the policemen who shot him dead in May 2008 are allowed to remain anonymous while giving evidence.

BBC News - Sainsbury's chief attacks plans to reform Sunday trading

BBC News - Sainsbury's chief attacks plans to reform Sunday trading

Banned | South African History Online

Banned | South African History Online: People banned under Apartheid

Catholic Charismatic Renewal in England - Goodnews online

Catholic Charismatic Renewal in England - Goodnews online: it's packed with news and articles, plus masses of information on what's happening in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

MYSTAGOGY: Is Augustine of Hippo A Father of the Church?

MYSTAGOGY: Is Augustine of Hippo A Father of the Church?: Augustine is indeed Orthodox by intention by his willingness to be corrected. The real problem is that he does not theologize from the vantage point of personal theosis or glorification, but as one who speculates philosophically on the Bible with no real basis in the Patristic tradition. Furthermore, his whole theological method is based on happiness as the destiny of man instead of biblical glorification. His resulting method of analogia entis and analogia fidei is not accepted by any Orthodox Father of the Church. In any case no Orthodox can accept positions of Augustine on which the Father’s of Ecumenical Councils are in agreement "against" him. This website (www.romanity.org) is not concerned with whether Augustine is a saint or a Father of the Church. There is no doubt that he was Orthodox by intention and asked for correction. However, he can not be used in such a way that his opinions may be put on an equal footing with the Fathers of Ecumenical Councils.

Gay. Mormon. Unicorn. | The American Conservative

Gay. Mormon. Unicorn. | The American Conservative: Via reader DeeAnn, here’s an amazing post by a Mormon therapist who comes out as a happily married gay man. Happily married — to a woman.

Research Shows That the Smarter People Are, the More Susceptible They Are to Cognitive Bias : The New Yorker

Research Shows That the Smarter People Are, the More Susceptible They Are to Cognitive Bias : The New Yorker: Here’s a simple arithmetic question: A bat and ball cost a dollar and ten cents. The bat costs a dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

The vast majority of people respond quickly and confidently, insisting the ball costs ten cents. This answer is both obvious and wrong. (The correct answer is five cents for the ball and a dollar and five cents for the bat.)

The Witness

The Witness: JUNE 2, 1972, was a day Cape Town should remember: a peaceful UCT student protest outside St George’s Cathedral was bludgeoned apart by the SA Police (SAP): the first occasion in South Africa where white students had been physically attacked and injured in significant numbers during any political demonstration.

Inside The LC: The Strange but Mostly True Story of Laurel Canyon and the Birth of the Hippie Generation Part I

Inside The LC: The Strange but Mostly True Story of Laurel Canyon and the Birth of the Hippie Generation Part I: One of the earliest on the Laurel Canyon/Sunset Strip scene is Jim Morrison, the enigmatic lead singer of The Doors. Jim will quickly become one of the most iconic, controversial, critically acclaimed, and influential figures to take up residence in Laurel Canyon. Curiously enough though, the self-proclaimed “Lizard King” has another claim to fame as well, albeit one that none of his numerous chroniclers will feel is of much relevance to his career and possible untimely death: he is the son, as it turns out, of the aforementioned Admiral George Stephen Morrison.

And so it is that, even while the father is actively conspiring to fabricate an incident that will be used to massively accelerate an illegal war, the son is positioning himself to become an icon of the ‘hippie’/anti-war crowd. Nothing unusual about that, I suppose. It is, you know, a small world and all that. And it is not as if Jim Morrison’s story is in any way unique.

Outside the Walls, But Not the Tradition | Emergent Village

Outside the Walls, But Not the Tradition | Emergent Village: But I do have to say, I’m uneasy with one of Halter’s assumptions. And since he’s so adamant about questioning our easy assumptions, I have to mention it here. From the very beginning of Sacrilege, Halter says that he wants to show us the real Jesus—the Jesus who walked in Nazareth, who comes alive when we read the Scriptures aright. He wants to give us Jesus without tradition. The assumptions of American Christendom, (assumptions, I should repeat, that deserve to be questioned) get lumped into a category called “tradition.” But my worry is this: I’m afraid it’s actually a deeply American assumption to think that we can get back to “the real Jesus” without tradition. We love to jump from the New Testament to now. But a plethora of Jesus scholarship has shown us that when we make that leap, we almost always end up creating Jesus in our own image.

Alice Grist: Momma was Gay, Poppa Was a Witch - A Personal Account of Gay Parenting and Gay Marriage

Alice Grist: Momma was Gay, Poppa Was a Witch - A Personal Account of Gay Parenting and Gay Marriage: I was born and initially raised by a handsome stable of heterosexuality. Dad was the local church vicar, Mum his loyal wife. My playground was the extensive vicarage with views of a graveyard. I was a good girl who refused to snack on the body of Christ, even when offered. I knew I wasn't old enough. Life was all sunshine and loveliness.

Then real life struck. Like many children before and after me, my parents divorced. Daddy was to become a 'writer' needing his own space, whilst Mummy moved in with a woman. Life never looked different. My main devastation in all this was that I had to leave my beloved Brownie troop. It didn't occur to me that the lesbian partnership I was about to be raised by was anything less than normal.

The weirdest thing about my childhood was probably when Dad turned his back on the church and became a Pagan High Priest. I was taken aside and point blank informed, "Alice, I'm a Pagan."

Owl of the 80s

Owl of the 80s. Thoughts on 1990s culture.

Deformable Mirror

Deformable Mirror

Is this thing working?

For the last day or so I (haven't been able to post anything on my Blogger blogs. because it keeps telling me "Illegal post time (format is: hh:mm AM/PM)"

But it seems to work OK in this blog.

Since it enters the posting date/time automatically, it must be a fairly new bug in the software.

The Western Confucian: I Read the News Today, Oh Boy

The Western Confucian: I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: "# Sandro Magister on an unenviable position — Christians in the Middle East. Crushed between Islam and Israel.

# 'Somebody eventually had to say it -- and German chancellor Angela Merkel deserves credit for being the one who had the courage to say it out loud,' says Thomas Sowell; 'Multiculturalism has 'utterly failed'' — The Multicultural Cult."

BlogExplosion - Paros Paradise - Greek island life

BlogExplosion - Paros Paradise - Greek island life

How the New Atheists are abusing the truth | spiked

How the New Atheists are abusing the truth | spiked: "Apparently the British state is about to roll out the red carpet for a seriously evil rape facilitator. Pope Benedict XVI is the boss of a church that acts as a ‘patron, protector and financier of child rape’, says one secularist writer. Last week the UK Independent reported that in America, ‘over 10,000 people have come forward to say they were raped as part of this misery-go-round’ overseen by His Holiness and His Lackeys. In Ireland alone, a tiny country of 4.5million people, ‘Thousands were raped in reform schools’, said a British broadsheet headline last year, ramming home the ugly truth of how many kids have been raped by the Catholic Church’s army of paedophile priests.

But how true is this ugly truth? Were 10,000 children in America and thousands more in Ireland really raped by Catholic priests? In a word, no."

Lesley's Blog: Gospel Personality types

Lesley's Blog: Gospel Personality types

Bishop David's Blog: Orthodoxy, a Vicar in Sunderland, and Pentecost

Bishop David's Blog: Orthodoxy, a Vicar in Sunderland, and Pentecost

Srebrenica: The Sacred Lie by Nebojsa Malic -- Antiwar.com

Srebrenica: The Sacred Lie by Nebojsa Malic -- Antiwar.com: "And as the forensic evidence mentioned indicates, a number of them were captured, bound, and shot. This was clearly a war crime, and should be prosecuted as such. But to call it genocide requires stretching the definition of the act beyond recognition."

Ivan Illich, "Brave New Biocracy: Health Care from Womb to Tomb"

Ivan Illich, "Brave New Biocracy: Health Care from Womb to Tomb": "DNA maps and genetic cleansing; embryo cloning and euthanasia; organ transplants and physician-assisted suicide--never before have the traditional boundaries of life and death become so blurred. Never before has science intruded so pervasively into the sanctuary of the person. Where once only angels would tread, the medical establishment now treats. Are we closer to the secret of life, or just farther from God and nearer to the dust?"

Ed Stetzer - Monday is for Missiology: Meanings of Missional

Ed Stetzer - Monday is for Missiology: Meanings of Missional: "One of the questions in Orlando that night had to do with the meaning of the word 'missional.' The question reminded me of my need to finish my series on the subject, particularly since I am about to start a new series on the issue of contextualization in mission for my 'Monday is for Missiology' columns."

How to set the windows path in Windows 7

How to set the windows path in Windows 7: "Modifying the path statement will enable an MS-DOS window opened in Microsoft Windows as well as older programs to locate files that may be required to run the program."

Freegaza - News section

Freegaza - News section

The Boy Next Door

The Boy Next Door: "The three main characterizations are a little thin. The story starts with Betty waiting for her brother Robin to return home from boarding school, and since her cousin Lucy is also due to arrive the same day, Betty is excited at finally having someone to play with! In the usual Blyton fashion, ages are quickly established, in this case with Betty thinking to herself, 'Robin's eleven, Lucy is ten, and I am nine.' Both Betty and Lucy are almost like hangers-on, not integral to the plot in any way. Robin starts out being a bit of a snot, by shunning Betty's enthusiasm to see him and announcing that 'it will be dull with only two girls to play with.' Robin warms to Lucy when he sees she's brought her dog Sandy (after all, a Blyton book wouldn't be complete without a pet of some kind—although the Secret series managed quite well without any regular pets at all)."

The Treasure Hunters

The Treasure Hunters: "When Jeffery, Susan and John are told that their mother and father are going away for a few weeks, because their mother is feeling under the weather and needs some 'strong sea-air,' the children find themselves shipped off to Granny and Granpa's. But it's all good news. Jeffery, the eldest of the three children, remembers the old house well—he says it's the sort of place all kinds of things have happened, and 'anything might still happen.' Susan has been there too, but hardly remembers it, while John, the youngest, has never been there at all. And so, with very little fuss, the children are packed up and ready to go."

The Treasure Hunters by Enid Blyton

The Treasure Hunters by Enid Blyton: "The story begins with news that Jeffrey, Susan and John are going to stay at their Granny's and Grandpa's home, Greylings Manor, as their parents were going away to the sea-side, so that Mummy could get some 'strong sea air', recommended by the doctor."

Blogger in Draft: The Blogger Template Designer

Blogger in Draft: The Blogger Template Designer: "Go to http://draft.blogger.com/ to log in to Blogger in Draft. (If you’ve never been there before, Blogger in Draft is just like regular Blogger, except with new, in-development features like this one.) Click on your blog’s “Layout” link to go to the Layout tab. The link to the Template Designer is at the end of the row of sub-tabs."

Book Aunt: Enter Three Witches...

Book Aunt: Enter Three Witches...: "Who are the best—or rather worst—witches of all time in children's literature? Obviously, we have to turn to fairy tales to get started."

SUZANNE MOORE: Jon Venables is serving life, whether he's in jail or not | Mail Online

SUZANNE MOORE: Jon Venables is serving life, whether he's in jail or not | Mail Online

Are There Secular Reasons? - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com

Are There Secular Reasons? - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com: ". . . the secular vocabulary within which public discourse is constrained today is insufficient to convey our full set of normative convictions and commitments. We manage to debate normative matters anyway — but only by smuggling in notions that are formally inadmissible, and hence that cannot be openly acknowledged or adverted to."

Christians in Context: from orthodoxy to orthopraxy.: Evalutating the Charismatic Movement in its 50th Year

Christians in Context: from orthodoxy to orthopraxy.: Evalutating the Charismatic Movement in its 50th Year

What’s the buzz | bidorbuy blog

What’s the buzz | bidorbuy blog: "Here are a few helpful hints for those who get overwhelmed by Buzz:

* Stay away from fellow-Buzzers who are popular and likely to have a large following.
* If a particular thread gets too chatty and annoying, silence it: choose Mute from More Actions menu in Gmail. To mute a post from within Buzz, choose Mute this post from Comment drop-down menu.
* To kill Buzz altogether, go to the bottom of your Gmail account and look for turn off buzz link. Click it to opt out of Buzz updates and hide the Buzz link permanently."

Julia Duin: My book is finally out!

Julia Duin: My book is finally out!: "'Days of Fire and Glory: The Rise and Fall of a Charismatic Community' is about one of the most gifted leaders of the charismatic movement and the newspaper reporter who unwittingly unearthed his secret.

Millions of evangelical Christians who lived through the Jesus movement and the charismatic renewal of the 1970s and 1980s wish to process what happened them in the early days of their faith. Some even moved into Christian community households to replicate the pattern of the early church in Acts 2."

Accidental Historian: Breaking the Master Narrative, Part 3

Accidental Historian: Breaking the Master Narrative, Part 3

DOS print USB Windows printers

DOS print USB Windows printers: "Why DOSPRN?
Nowadays, many laser and inkjet printers have powerful features but cannot print simple text accurately. Besides, some inexpensive printers (the so-called win-printers) can not print in text mode (dos print mode) at all."

Reclaiming the Mission � Why is the Emergent/Missional Church So White?: Soong-Chan Rah’s Next Evangelicalism and Why It Doesn’t Go Far Enough (in Exposing White Western Cultural Captivity)

Reclaiming the Mission � Why is the Emergent/Missional Church So White?: Soong-Chan Rah’s Next Evangelicalism and Why It Doesn’t Go Far Enough (in Exposing White Western Cultural Captivity): "Indeed most sociologists (see Peter Berger’s article here) would agree that the great majority of the spreading church in Asia, Latin America and Africa is driven by some version of prosperity gospel and charismatic experiential Christianity. It is a version of Christianity that I would argue is indisputably tied to the Western values of individualism, consumerism and materialism."

The Missionary Who Wouldn't Retire | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

The Missionary Who Wouldn't Retire | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction: "Lesslie Newbigin, born 100 years ago today, launched a new career at age 66 by calling Western churches to act like they were in the mission field.
Krish Kandiah | posted 12/08/2009 10:07AM"

What Does "Burning A Feed" Mean? | GeneaBloggers

What Does "Burning A Feed" Mean? | GeneaBloggers: "The question of “what does it mean to burn a feed?” may seem very basic to most genealogy bloggers but I bet when you first started your blogging habit, you had much the same puzzled look as I did when I first heard of 'burning a feed.'"

The Western Confucian

The Western Confucian: "Said the architect of 9/11, four years before the attack, 'A reaction might take place as a result of US government's hitting Muslim civilians and executing more than 600 thousand Muslim children in Iraq by preventing food and medicine from reaching them' — The Osama bin Laden interviews. (Cf. Clinton's secretary of state on those '600 thousand Muslim children' — 'We Think the Price Is Worth It'.) The terrorist continued, 'So, the US is responsible for any reaction, because it extended its war against troops to civilians.' That's what 'aggressive policies' get us."

Letter from Hardscrabble Creek: 'Cultural Appropriation' is not a Religious Issue

Letter from Hardscrabble Creek: 'Cultural Appropriation' is not a Religious Issue

Contact Online Weblog: Book Review - Days of Fire and Glory

Contact Online Weblog: Book Review - Days of Fire and Glory: "Her book traces the journey of Graham Pulkingham, an Episcopal priest who led Church of the Redeemer, one of the nation's fastest growing and most vibrant churches in a Houston slum and left a legacy that lasts to this day. He held thousands spellbound with his Gospel preaching and influenced millions with his daring vision of a compelling, charismatic Christianity made visible by a system of worldwide communities. Yet, Pulkingham hid from his followers a dark double life that he at first resisted, then secretly pursued and finally allowed to twist his personal theology into a gordian knot of accommodation and self-deceit and finally death."

Nouslife: Health Care International

Nouslife: Health Care International: "If a picture is worth a thousand words ...."

VICTORIA_CONCORDIA_CRESCIT

VICTORIA_CONCORDIA_CRESCIT: "Review: 'Exploring Ecclesiology: An Evangelical and Ecumenical
Introduction' (Brad Harper and Paul Louis Metzger, 2009).

Here's a good textbook for a basic course in 'Ecclesiology 101' (or what
used to be called 'Church, Ministry and Sacraments' back in my seminary
days). Though written 'densely' in text-book fashion (a few good
stories, lots of Bible texts, with some useful quotes and endnotes) it
would also comprise an excellent study-guide for church leaders."

Diabetic Gourmet Magazine - Official Homepage

Diabetic Gourmet Magazine - Official Homepage

The Ugley Vicar: In what sense is God ‘He’? (A first reflexion)

The Ugley Vicar: In what sense is God ‘He’? (A first reflexion)

The Ugley Vicar: So what, if we call the Spirit 'She'?

The Ugley Vicar: So what, if we call the Spirit 'She'?

philorthodox: All Saints Sisters of the Poor in Catonsville, Maryland Defect to Rome

US Anglican sisters become Roman Catholic

philorthodox: All Saints Sisters of the Poor in Catonsville, Maryland Defect to Rome

Know Your Place: Come: climb the Dark Mountain

Know Your Place: Come: climb the Dark Mountain: "I believe it is time for new stories, and it seems I am not the only one. The Dark Mountain project aims to foster a new movement of writers, artists and creative thinkers, a new school of writing and art for an age of massive global disruption. We are calling it Uncivilisation."

C.S. Lewis and Deification � The Website of Unknowing

C.S. Lewis and Deification � The Website of Unknowing: "I haven’t read this yet, but it sure looks tasty… and I wanted to go ahead and post a link here, since I know some of my readers are interested in C. S. Lewis and some are interested in the doctrine of deification (in the Greek, theosis). So here’s a chance to ponder how this Orthodox doctrine figures in the thought of the most popular of Anglican authors…

Shine as the Sun: C. S. Lewis and the Doctrine of Deification

Which is actually part two of a two part essay; here is part one: The Orthodox Worldview and C. S. Lewis (Part I)"

Bishop Alan’s Blog: Liturgical Terrorism or the future?

Bishop Alan’s Blog: Liturgical Terrorism or the future?: "Fifty years ago, most denominations had some degree of closed communion — people were generally nice about it, but the denomination was the gatekeeper. Since the 1950’s this rather Brethren way of doing Church has largely broken down in the West.

People who are not personally excommunicated are admitted on the basis of baptism, and the whole Church, not the denomination is the medium of the Sacrament. The institutional denomination is only trustee for the Lord, to whom the Sacrament belongs."

Why Orthodox Christianity Is Outside the Culture Wars by Frederica Mathewes-Green - Beliefnet.com

Why Orthodox Christianity Is Outside the Culture Wars by Frederica Mathewes-Green - Beliefnet.com: "And there didn't even seem to be an Orthodox catechism, for goodness' sake. It seemed like the faith was supposed to be learned almost by osmosis, by living it. How could that work?%20If%20a%20church%20with%20an%20infallible%20pope%20and%20a%20magisterium%20could%20have%20as%20much%20rioting%20in%20the%20pews%20as%20the%20Catholics%20did%2C%20what%20hope%20did%20the%20Orthodox%20have%3F%20So%20I%20figured%20it%20was%20just%20a%20matter%20of%20time.%20Trying%20to%20maintain%20the%20classic%20faith%20without%20a%20powerful%20hierarchy%20didn't%20look%20like%20doing%20a%20high-wire%20act%20without%20the%20net;%20it%20looked%20like%20doing%20it%20without%20the%20wire.%20"

The Archbishop of York - The Sunday Times Literary Festival

The Archbishop of York - The Sunday Times Literary Festival: "But paradoxically, though the English might quite like the description of being self-made, and might in fact privately think they'd done a pretty good job, they would be the last to say so publicly. They would be much more likely to say – 'Well, I may be self-made, but I've made a bit of a botch of it, as you can see.' For alongside the arrogance which many people see in the English, there is also a much stronger characteristic of self-deprecation."

Theo Geek: The Atonement again

Theo Geek: The Atonement again: "What Christians have not agreed on over the centuries is what precisely Christ accomplished, or how, or why. Here are some of the views that have been held, with approximate dates as to when they were invented and popular:"

Olive Tree Genealogy Blog: Irish Times Archives 1859-2009 FREE until April 5

Olive Tree Genealogy Blog: Irish Times Archives 1859-2009 FREE until April 5

A Response to Wesley Hill’s “Will the Church be the Church for Homosexual Christians?” � Bekah’s Weblog

A Response to Wesley Hill’s “Will the Church be the Church for Homosexual Christians?” � Bekah’s Weblog: "There is a simple truth about human sexuality, and its implications apply to any sexual sin— pedophilia, rape, adultery, lust, homosexuality, even self-centered sex within a marriage—God created man in His good and perfect Image. He then created woman— equally made in His Image— and instituted the marriage relationship as the very good and perfect union within humanity that would reflect the unified diversity and intimacy of the relationship present within the Triune God. The problem is not within God or His creation. The problem is that mankind has found a plethora of ways to pervert God’s one perfect plan for human sexuality."

News - South Africa: Niehaus has no degree: report

News - South Africa: Niehaus has no degree: report: "Former ANC spokesperson Carl Niehaus does not have a doctor's degree in theology as claimed, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

According to Beeld newspaper, Niehaus did not get a doctor's degree in theology from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, as he had claimed. This was during his stint as South Africa's ambassador in Den Haag."

Something of an exaggeration, suggesting that he had no degree, when he did.

The National Interest � Blog Archive � Carl Niehaus, Shack-dweller & Mbeki

The National Interest � Blog Archive � Carl Niehaus, Shack-dweller & Mbeki: "I tried to make sense of the tragedy that is Carl Niehaus. I could not help but remember the man who hardly gets remembered these days: Thabo Mbeki. And while I thought of Mbeki and his lecture on the pursuit of wealth at all costs, I read an SMS posted on TV during a debate about the 2009 elections.

A viewer posted a commentary which stated: “Someone who parks a BMW outside his shack…and the shack spots a DSTV dish…is that person poor?” The question could have been asked of Carl. How did he decide to rent a R3 million mansion for R45 000 a month while he had a string of debts around his neck dating back years?"

Niehaus blames prison

East Coast Radio Newswatch: "Former ANC spokesman Carl Niehaus’ current “personal situation” was the effects of his “time spent in prison for his principled opposition to apartheid”, his lawyer said earlier today.

Niehaus was seeking professional help, his attorney, Ian Small Smith, said in a statement."

Andy Borowitz: Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy

Andy Borowitz: Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy: "In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tic, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring."

News - South Africa: Woman tells of trauma of muthi claims

News - South Africa: Woman tells of trauma of muthi claims: "Vusi Sixikixa 19 Monwabisi Jali 25 and Sonwabile 'Sbhamu' Qhosha 24 have appeared in court charged with the murders. The case was postponed to May 8. 'Of course the lies are spread by people who know what they are doing. But it doesn t stop ordinary people from believing them ' said Dlongolo. 'It is very sad. If human parts were found in my tavern freezer why was I not arrested and charged I asked people to produce the body parts and tell me what had been done with them. No one has come forward and yet the rumours keep getting worse. 'If I was really a mastermind why have those boys who confessed to the murders not implicated me The police are under pressure to arrest the killers and they would have jailed me and announced they had caught the big fish.' '"

Anglican Wanderings: If You Think This is the Future, Look Away Now!

Anglican Wanderings: If You Think This is the Future, Look Away Now!: "If yes, it's pretty easy, most of them like new people joining and especially would love an ex-Anglican or Roman Priest to join. If no, then avoid GAFCON like the plague, because all the groups listed above are in full, equal communion with them. READ ALL ABOUT IT. I have said before that GAFCON do not share our faith or morals, our sacraments or understanding of the scriptures and that they are (and this is not a criticism, they are as welcome to their views as we are to ours) not, in any recognisable way, Catholic. We would make our bed with them at our absolute peril and at the danger of the destruction of ourselves and our realignment with a body as unconcerned with apostolic succession as they are with the sanctity of the Sacraments."

ORTHODOXY IN THE 21st CENTURY: PERSONALISM: a brief critique

ORTHODOXY IN THE 21st CENTURY: PERSONALISM: a brief critique: "While one cannot consent to the theology expressed in Personalism, it is an admirable philosophy, and since it includes the wonderful Dorothy Day, at least some of its adherents actually put its concepts into real practice. My critique is with regards to the theological precepts, not the philosophical concepts, and certainly not a critique of those self-less people who put those concepts into practice."

Sword in the Fire: Acts 6 - Stephen and the First Deacons

Sword in the Fire: Acts 6 - Stephen and the First Deacons: "Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, & Nicolas were chosen by the Apostles as the first deacons. Although the word deacon never appears in this passage, it seems apparent based on later descriptions of the diaconate. Also Church tradition looks to this as the origin of the office of deacon.

Here are a summary of the lives of these men after they were chosen (taken from the OCA website)."

Yosuke YANASE on TEFL and general affairs: Keywords for Prof. Alastair Pennycook's Critical Applied Linguistics #3

Yosuke YANASE on TEFL and general affairs: Keywords for Prof. Alastair Pennycook's Critical Applied Linguistics #3: "Keywords for Prof. Alastair Pennycook's Critical Applied Linguistics #3
1.2 Hisitorical / political terms

1.2.1 Enlightenment

A dictionary definition of the Enlightenment is 'a philosophic movement of the 18th century characterized by an untrammeled but frequently uncritical use of reason, a lively questioning of authority and traditional doctrines and values, a tendency toward individualism, and an emphasis on the idea of universal human progress and on the empirical method in science.' (Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary)."

phislosophical definitions, with useful web links. Includes liberalism, Marxism, feminism -- good summaries

How pluralism distorts biblical salvation

How pluralism distorts biblical salvation: "A clear definition of postmodernism can be elusive. One might say the view of postmodernism is characterized by irrationality of thought. Instead of saying a thing is either black or white, postmodernism says a thing can be black and white at the same time. Or, though a thing is obviously white, it can be non-white at the same time. The definition of postmodernism can be just as slippery as the phenomenon it attempts to label."

Postmodernism from a conservative evangelical Protestant point of view.

A fairly well-argued position.

Humanist weddings grow in popularity in Scotland | Ekklesia

Humanist weddings grow in popularity in Scotland | Ekklesia: "The recent growth in humanist marriages in Scotland means they have overtaken Episcopal ceremonies for the first time, say organisers of the ceremonies. Since they were first made legal their number rose from 82 in 2005 to 710 in 2007.

The Humanist Society of Scotland (HSS) now says it expects to marry over 1,000 couples this year and predicts it will help 1,500 more to tie the knot in 2009, reports Scotland on Sunday newspaper."

Northern KwaZulu-Natal Courier, Dundee: Dundee man’s important, relevant book

Northern KwaZulu-Natal Courier, Dundee: Dundee man’s important, relevant book: "RA Burns ran the local newspaper, The Northern Natal Courier. A family friend, Mr DL Paul, worked there for years.
The Savoy cinema and Murugan Talkies were our weekend entertainment. I worshipped at St James Anglican Church.

I remember, as a boy, Reverend Tomes and later, Reverend Ivor Glass. Our Sunday school teacher was George Robson, Evan Jones, our youth mentor, guided us in our Youth Group on Friday evenings.

On Sunday, we window-shopped and enjoyed the company of family and friends."

Contact Online Weblog: Why Postmodernism and the Emerging Church threaten Missions and World Evangelism

Contact Online Weblog: Why Postmodernism and the Emerging Church threaten Missions and World Evangelism: "I am told that there are Anglican churches here in South Africa embracing this new deviation of the Christian faith. which, as I understand it so far, seems to be a kind of neo-liberalism. There is more on the site linked below on the Emerging Church which may be of interest to readers"

BlogExplosion - Puppy And Dog Training Secrets..

BlogExplosion - Puppy And Dog Training Secrets..

Presbyterian Gal: MICHELANGELO GOES HOME

Presbyterian Gal: MICHELANGELO GOES HOME: "After a two year visit to the United States, Michelangelo's David goes home to Italy"

Sub Ratione Dei

Sub Ratione Dei: "Most will by know of seen, or at least heard of Sarah Palin’s remarks on the occasion of attending a graduation service for Wasilla Assembles of God Church. This is not a post about Palin. The truth is I am highly suspicious when politicians refer to their faith, I do not know whether Palin’s religion is genuine of a ploy. However, if a ploy then this is just as concerning for it indicates something of pentecostalism’s current identity crisis."