The Week-est Link, March 28. 2008: Blogging Tournaments, Disney World, Blog Gems, and Violence

1. Whew. It's been quite a week here at consumed. This little blog has seen a relative avalanche of comments due to some controverted content. I'm really thankful for those who have weighed in, and it was interesting to hear another side of the Billy Wolfe saga. Thanks again to everyone who wrote in. I don't have time to respond to comments, but I read every one of them, and I'm often pushed to think by them (as you can tell if you read my frequent follow-up posts).

2. Said at Southern has a terrific March Madness-like contest going on right now (replete with brackets and all!) that has the dual purpose of 1) finding out which SAS-related blog is the big dog on the block and 2) giving exposure to unknown bloggers and linking them to better-known bloggers. It's a terrific idea, though Tony Kummer and Timmy Brister are known for terrific ideas. The "Madness" is in its second round, and somehow, inconceivably, consumed made it to the second round. Sadly, folks, we're currently getting smashed. Oh well--I suppose this blog is something like NCAA cinderella Siena. At least, like them, we made it to the second round!

3. Together for the Gospel has multiple videos up from the 2006 conference. They will be well worth the time it takes to load and watch them. I was there to witness most of this content in person, and I can say that it made an impact on me. Less than three weeks to go 'til 08!

4. Slate ran a hilarious series exploring the weird sub-galaxy of Disney World this week. Not everything is nice (or rated PG), and I don't love the paranoid, mocking nature of some of the author's writing, but he also unearths some pretty realistic insights about this strange place. I don't know about you, but animatronic robots give me the absolute creeps.

5. Introducing a new feature on this blog: "Blog Gems". I want to bring to your attention worthy blogs that you may not have heard of. I'll do this on Fridays, and I'll generally only give you one link so as not to water this feature down. Today's Blog Gem: Redeeming History, a blog written by Trinity Evangelical Divinity School PhD Student Mark Rogers. This blog, written by a very sharp Historical Theology student, is devoted to spreading the riches of Christian history. It is well-written, well-researched, and spiritually profitable. Mark is a good friend and a future scholar, and I could not encourage you more to check out his young but very good blog. I may not have many readers or much "virtual clout", but many people have been very kind to me in giving my blog attention (Tony, Timmy, Justin Taylor), and I want to extend that kindness to others. Email me at owendstrachan [at] yahoo.com if you think you might qualify here.

6. Last words on the violence issue (I promise). Let's cut to the chase: I think it's rather foolish to think that one needs to watch shows devoted to acts of brutal, needless violence in order to train one's son to be a robustly masculine protector. We need not freak out about violence, but neither should we think that the worst iterations of it (i.e., meaningless, needless violence) serve as the best instructors of our children. That's just silly. If you want to cultivate a strong man, a good man, a man who knows his body and can use it for good, train him in biblical truth. Teach him. Show him how to use his body. Wrestle with him. Teach him about safe, bounded, harmless (relatively) violence. Allow him to participate in contact sports, albeit those (in my opinion) that do not glorify or rely on violence (e.g., basketball, baseball). In these ways and others, you will acquaint your son with his body, teach him to use it productively (an important word, no?), and ensure that he does not equate physicality with hurting people--which so many boys today, whether Christian or otherwise, do. This is productive training.

It is silly to think that we need to expose children to bloodsport to train them up. Simply put: we do not. Our children need not be awkward, unexposed to physical contact and play, but neither do they need to love violence and crave it to be robustly masculine men and protectors of others. Those who argue along these lines are overextending the bounds of credulity, in my humble opinion (though I appreciate my friend Reid's thoughtful piece on this subject, even if we do come to different conclusions).

My father never watched a brutal fighting match with me, but he trained me to be a protector. I never played football, or wrestled, or watched brutal combat fights (either real or otherwise), and I never relished violence. I wasn't a wuss, though; I loved sports, and I liked some degree of contact. My father oversaw all this, and he exuded a spirit of tenderness toward the women in his life, being primarily his wife and daughter. I never had any doubt that Dad would protect us to the death, and I don't have any doubt that I would do the same for my family. I am thankful that he did not think that I had to become hungry for brutality to develop this instinct. He didn't think that, and I didn't need it. I simply needed what we all need: an unapologetically masculine, physically capable, compassionate man in my life, showing me on a daily basis what it means to be a strong but restrained, able but careful, manly but gentle man of God.

That, and not any form of violence-glorifying media, is what we need more of. Not UFC, but good dads. Not TKOs, but good dads. Not wrestling that hurts, or football that brings concussions, or chest-beating fury, but good, godly, wise, masculine dads.

New Series at Said at Southern: Seasons of a Seminarian, Part One

I'm itching to write a number of things this week, but I first want to tell you about a series of articles I'm writing at Said at Southern, the SBTS metablog, about seminary. If you've ever wanted a kind of overview of the seminary experience from a student's perspective, you might find this series interesting. It's nothing special, but in it, I do seek to tell the seminary "story" generally, though I do so from my own experience, mixing in my own anecdotes and memories. I think it does a reasonable job of recounting the average seminarian's experience. Though I tell it from my own personal history, one need not have gone to Southern to resonate with its ideas and happenings.

Here is a paragraph from the first part of the three-part series.

"We come to seminary from a wide range of backgrounds. Some have worked in campus ministry, some in local churches, some have been missionaries, some were accountants or lawyers or investment bankers in past times. This is part of what makes seminary a profitable experience: the wealth of diversity accrued to a campus that pursues a common goal, namely, training for the ministry of the gospel. I came to Southern after an action-packed year in Washington, DC, where I interned at Capitol Hill Baptist Church and the U. S. Department of State. Like many seminarians, I had thought it best to take a bit of time off from school following college graduation, as I was a bit weary of books and quizzes and papers and classes. After a year in “local church bootcamp” (I assure you, an affectionate moniker for the CHBC internship and church experience), I felt ready for the Christian academy. Like many prospective seminarians, I knew some theology and had read through the Bible, but I had little sense of the bigger picture behind it all. I wanted to really know the Bible, to be able to read it for myself in the original languages, and to learn the history, philosophy, and theology that it birthed. I was old enough to know a little, but young enough to be aware of the same. I was young and hungry, and seminary was the answer."

I'll have more on this series in days to come.

The Week-est Link, January 25 2008

1. Thanks so much to all the bloggers out there who have linked to consumed. I really appreciate it, and thanks to all who left very kind comments last week about my blog. I was very encouraged as I always am by the commenters on this blog.

2. Here's what looks like a perceptive and beneficial lecture on Islam and the claims of radical Islam. It was held at Capitol Hill Baptist last spring and has received very good feedback.

3. A well-rounded and persuasive piece on limited atonement, written by an SBTS student and friend named Bradley Cochrane. What's nice is that the post is readable and relatively brief, unlike some of the stuff you see out there on the subject. (HT: Said at Southern)

4. Griffin House makes good, soulful music. I don't think you've heard of him--I certainly hadn't--but my buddy Ben Peays hipped me to him. Check out this song for sure--very melancholy and moving: "Tell Me a Lie." Sort of country, folk, alt-rock. If you like the video snippet, buy the mp3. I can't stop listening to it.

5. Excellent Collin Hansen piece on Barack Obama's abortion views. Obama is the most pro-abortion candidate ever, according to some. Some may sneer at single-issue voting, but Christians should not, when that issue relates to the death of millions of babies. Hansen's a fellow TEDS student and a very good writer. More on his work in the future. (HT: Justin Taylor)

Have a great weekend. It's supposed to warm up here in Deerfield, which means that regular existence--characterized by such activities as moving and breathing--should resume soon.

The Week-est Link, January 18, 2008

1. Some quick thoughts from yesterday's post: There will certainly be times when Christians are forced to work very shrewdly in order to share the gospel with unbelievers. For example, I know that public school teachers have to be very careful about evangelizing while on the job. Terry had some good words on this matter in yesterday's comments. Readers should not take my post to mean that being a Christian means constantly sharing the gospel regardless of consequences. No, the matter is more complex than that. My point was a different one--I was saying that Christians who are able to share the gospel without some immediate penalty or something like that should ideally have the mindset that they should share the gospel as soon and fully as possible, rather than waiting for a relationship to build.

So often, we forget a very basic biblical idea: we are not cursed if we incur hate or condemnation from unbelievers because of the gospel--we are actually blessed, according to Matthew 5! Can you believe that? Well, I don't think many of us do believe this teaching in practice. I think that we completely forget it and so tailor our witnessing to the reaction of the world around us, in the process stifling our witness and failing to give God glory. Relational evangelism can (not always) be a way of hiding our light under a bushel, so to speak, of being cowardly, of thinking gospel-induced hatred is a curse, not a blessing from God.

2. Thanks to all who left their blog info. Please remember to link to me. I will have my links updated over the course of the weekend. Again, as I've linked to you, please link to me.

3. Presbyterian historian Sean Lucas and Baptist historian Michael Haykin post their top nine biographies. An odd number (literally, right?), but the lists are interesting. (HT: Justin Taylor)

4. Get some great lectures on the Gospel of John here. The lectures are by Dr. Jonathan Pennington, a rising scholar of the Gospels. He teaches at Southern Seminary, did his PhD at St. Andrews, and is an engaging, understandable communicator who has much to teach you if you will take a bit of time to listen. (HT: Said at Southern)

Have a great weekend, everyone!