Number of comments: 3 This is Penelope Jane. I like her. She gets a little anxious when people enter the house, but other than that, we get along great. She's my favorite dog.
Number of comments: 2 I have strong opinions about lots of things (ie, music, guitars, guitar amps, guitar effects pedals, food, drink, literature, movies, politics, religion, religious people, institutions, etc etc). I don't have a problem sharing my opinions on the blog world--if you don't want to hear them, then don't read this blog.' [...]
Number of comments: 0 "Meet the Natives" is a fantastic show on the Travel Channel. When Brittany first told me she wanted to watch it a few weeks ago, I'll admit that I was a little leery. Sunday nights are pretty much the only time we sit down and watch TV together, so we' [...]
Number of comments: 1 Glenn Beck might be the devil.
In between watching PTI on EPSN at the gym tonight, I would catch a minute or two of Glenn Beck's show. I don't watch any news talk shows on a regular basis (unless you count the Colbert Report or the Daily Show), much' [...]
Number of comments: 5 I've been thinking about that question a lot lately.
Why do I blog?
I've always said that I was thinking out loud, more or less. That I was putting my thoughts and ideas into words to better understand them and work through them. I wanted to hear feedback [...]
Number of comments: 2 I went to New York City last week. To say it was "great" is not good enough. Just not good enough. It was simply terrific. The city makes you feel so alive and there's so much to experience. So I have stories and photos to share, but life is busy' [...]
Number of comments: 17 John Piper is obviously a smart guy. He's much smarter than me, to say the least. He's a good writer and a passionate speaker. I have no doubt that he sincerely believes that the things he says, does, and teaches are Biblically correct. Because he thinks his view on Christianity [...]
Number of comments: 1 I used to write about a lot of different things--most of which were quite "controversial" for some people. I wasn't intentionally trying to upset others (though that's fun at times), but was really trying to work through certain theological concepts and social constructs that I had been discouraged from discussing [...]
Number of comments: 1 I like Christopher Hitchens. He's intelligent and witty... and quite smug. Not on a level with Bill Maher--more like Richard Dawkins, just less formal. I can't wait to see his movie about traveling around with a Christian pastor and debating each other.
Number of comments: 1 "I have never, ever felt like a “Christian artist.” I don’t live like that, I don’t create that way; those categories mean nothing to me. I don’t think they mean anything to anybody. I don’t think they’re real. I don’t think there’s any such thing as Christian art or secular" [...]
Number of comments: 1 I love music. I really love music. But I have an issue. I wish there were more John Mark McMillan's in the world...
I'm really critical. I expect a lot of other musicians. If you're a professional musician, you should constantly be pushing the creative envelope. Seeking to write' [...]
Number of comments: 0 Victoria blogged about staying with us in Bowling Green. I thoroughly appreciated the things she had to say, as well as the time she spent with us. You can read her blog here.
Also, I learned a great new joke from Hayden today:
Number of comments: 1 And it seems like we missed Fall. It was hot... it was hot... it was hot... then it got cold. There was no transition in temperatures. Just hot, then cold. Sucks.
I ride the bike several days a week; its not too bad since I'm exercising at the' [...]
Number of comments: 0 Philip Clayton and Harvey Cox both have new books out and they are taking them out on tour. One of the blog tour stops will be on Homebrewed Christianity's blog, but as you can see below they will be making their rounds over the next month until they' [...]
Number of comments: 0 This is post #200 on my blog.
Wow.
I'm on my third name (the first was "Remembering Titus" and the second was "The Straw Man's Favorite Blog"). I've written about a ton of topics. I've encouraged some good discussion, pissed some people off, and shared a [...]
Number of comments: 0 I was talking to a friend on Friday about the institution of church. This person is older than me, smarter than me, and also works at a church--so his insights can be particularly helpful at times. But when he dropped these few sentences, it blew me away:
Number of comments: 1 Al Franken is proposing a bill that would withhold contracts from defense companies that don't allow their employees to sue over sexual assault, discrimination, and battery in the workplace. Makes sense, right? You can listen to Al explain why in his own words:
Number of comments: 0 Terry has taken a break from blogging and Facebook. In his absence, I thought I'd post this commentary from Howard Zinn. If you haven't read anything of his yet, stop what you're doing and go buy one of his books.
Number of comments: 4 I once had a guest speaker in a business class in high school talk to everyone about how ridiculous it is that "the Bible says that money is the root of all evil." Of course, he didn't wanna listen when I told him he had that verse all wrong and' [...]
Number of comments: 1 So I recently got this done:
I like it. A lot. Its my first real piece. I have others--but nothing like this. It makes me want to cover myself in tattoos--specifically more Japanese art. But until Wes Carter starts doing free tattoos, more will [...]
Number of comments: 1 So David Crowder Band dropped their new album, "Church Music," yesterday.
I tried not to keep my expectations too high. Their 3rd full length studio album, "A Collision (or 3+4=7)" was one of the greatest albums I've ever heard. It was a narrative from' [...]
Number of comments: 26 So this is very tongue-in-cheek, but I laughed at it:
Hell is an interesting concept. I've talked about it plenty in the past. But I think I'm finally just to a place where I'm comfortable saying certain things. For instance, I'm comfortable saying that I [...]
Number of comments: 2 If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
That's good advice. Advice I should have adhered to more often in life. But the thing is: I can't hold it in all the time. I've just got to speak my mind sometimes. Some things just' [...]
Number of comments: 1 This guy was photographed walking through the anti-healthcare reform demonstration last Friday in Washington DC. I read that people spit on him, yelled words like "Commie" at him, and tried to take his sign. Eventually police had to intervene, but he supposedly kept smiling the whole time.
Number of comments: 1 I like Kanye. His music is incredible. His production skills are off the chart. But stuff like this is what perpetuates most people's opinion that he's a completely self-absorbed ass:
Number of comments: 2 I joined a Fantasy Football league.
I've researched players. I've researched performance over the past few seasons. I did a pre-draft plan. I've been watching... (wait for it)... ESPN. I may even watch more than 2 games this season.
So I'll admit it: my participation in a fantasy [...]
Number of comments: 1 This is probably the last "letter to the editor" I'll write on the issue of health care reform. It was published today in the BG Daily News. I've started receiving negative emails and don't wanna deal with that headache. Anyway, I hope I communicated my point in a reasonable manner.[...]
Number of comments: 8 If I disregard certain people's recent comments, I've been encouraged lately by some other people's comments--not here, on my blog, but in person.
A couple of weeks ago, I read this letter to the editor in our local paper:
Number of comments: 9 In his 1795 essay entitled Dissertations on First Principles of Government, Thomas Paine wrote this as his last paragraph: "An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret, and to misapply even the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty" [...]
Number of comments: 0 Since he died, I've been saying that Michael Jackson isn't really dead. I think he faked his death. Well, I should say that I think there's a good chance he could have faked his death. (The wording in that sentence is VERY important.)
Unreasonable people deserve to be addressed in an unreasonable manner. Name-calling and hysteria-spreading need to stop so this health care reform discussion can move forward. [...]
Number of comments: 0 (copied and pasted from the petition I just signed):
"Our health care system is broken. It’s clear we need a change, but special interests, some claiming to speak for people of faith, are trying to block reform with distortions and distractions.
Number of comments: 2 I'm probably not who you think I am.
Probably not.
Because I'm still trying to figure that out. It keeps me up at night. I wrestle with it. I toss it around. Its rather unsettling. But there are questions I gotta answer. I'd rather fight this fight and' [...]
Number of comments: 0 I guess I need to explain further:
My problem with Sarah Palin doesn't end with the fact she's a moron.
I certainly have problems with her spreading lies. She makes stuff up. She spreads it around. People believe it. (By the way, fact check. Don't take anything a [...]
Number of comments: 3 I've said it before and I'll say it again: Sarah Palin is a moron--truly and undoubtedly a moron.
The fact that John McCain selected her as a running mate in the last presidential election should offend every American woman. Yet, somehow, she seems to maintain an audience. Last week, [...]
Number of comments: 0 Mainline/Evangelical Christianity is an interesting behemoth of a club.
One of the major shifts that I see taking place in people moving from a "modernist" to "post-modernist" mindset is one's concern with propositional and absolute truths. In this transition, it becomes less about who's right vs. who's wrong, and [...]
Number of comments: 1 my hands can't keep up with my brain tonight i wish this could be longer and more profound than i'm sure it will be i used to write a lot and think a lot and talk a lot about the ways of the world and our future path and love [...]
Number of comments: 0 “What is the future of organized religion? Whatever it is, I hope that we will have the courage to stop rewarding and confirming peoples egos and calling it morality, ministry or church. I hope that we will have lower expectations of leadership and the institution and therefore less need to [...]
Number of comments: 2 I'm not sure what to say. I'm totally envious of the success of Cage The Elephant. They're playing all the big festivals, they're signed to a major label, their video is on MTV's rotation, they're on the cover of AP magazine, and last night they played the Late Show with' [...]
I had an accident... within a couple of yards from my house. Stupid statistics say you're most likely to have an accident within so many minutes from your residence. I hate statistics.
I was on the scooter, as usual, this morning and someone in' [...]
I've been thinking about the existence of God a lot recently.
Not whether or not God exists--that's certainly something worth pondering as well. And I've spent plenty of time thinking about that. But not this week. This week I've been thinking about what God's [...]
Number of comments: 2 Listen, I'm a conspiracy theorist. I won't get into detail, but I love a good conspiracy and the discussion that follows when its brought up.
Number of comments: 1 I messed my neck up yesterday. Don't ask me how. I don't know how. I just woke up Monday morning and couldn't get out of bed. I was also in an incredible amount of pain. Lots of ice packs and relaxing has helped. I go to see the chiropractor again' [...]
Number of comments: 1 LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does [...]
This is a jar of Peter Pan peanut butter. Its almost three years old--which is no big deal in terms of peanut butter. However, this is one of the tainted jars. If you'll remember, there was a huge recall on Peter Pan peanut butter' [...]
I cannot help but to echo his thoughts: there isn't a universally accepted theological point of view. There just isn't. There isn't a single human who [...]
There's some good shots of me and the band mixed in with Riley's story. If you listen close, you can hear us playing Led Zeppelin's "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do?" in the background. There's even a shot of Brittany, her dad Chris, and [...]
People are all in a tizzy about Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, and Farrah Fawcett dying this week. Listen, I read Perez Hilton occasionally. I read about stupid celebrity news every now and then. But how did we become such a celebrity obsessed culture?' [...]
Number of comments: 0 We've shared a lot of good times together. You were always there for me. No matter what I did to you, you were always there providing cool, refreshing liquid to my lips. I'm gonna miss you, Brunton water bottle. You're dented, scratched and peeling--but that doesn't mean I love you [...]
Number of comments: 0 Planes are uncomfortable. I'm 6'3". I'm not a small dude. Aisle seat or not, its still nearly impossible for me to sleep on a plane. So I just stayed up. Since we left Thursday afternoon and lost 7 hours in the flight, we arrived Friday morning in Madrid. Brittany slept'" [...]
Number of comments: 3 Was reading some thoughts on the existence of evil, Satan/Lucifer/the Devil/etc, and such this week and came across a reference to this video. I had never heard of Zimbardo's book ("The Lucifer Effect"), but this interview is very interesting, and in the end, hilarious...
I hope that if I keep pushing the idea of us being a real band, we'll turn into a real band. We just need to figure out what kind of music we wanna play and quit doing cover songs. That might take some time, though.' [...]
Number of comments: 2 I've been slacking. I know. I haven't written any posts about Spain. Several people have said something at this point. I'll start on them during the day on Thursday. I'm busy today.
Its the last day of my life that my left arm will ever look like this:
Number of comments: 7 ...you're not paying attention.
**NOTE** If swearing bothers you, don't read this. Please, don't read this. Its not because I swear, but because I link to others who do swear in this post. So if you find swearing offensive, please don't read this. And if you choose to anyway, [...]
Number of comments: 2 Its the American Patriot's Bible! Woo wee! Just what we've all been waiting for!
My favorite part has got to be: "I think that most of our hard-working citizens have a belief in their hearts that the Bible certainly has influenced may of our founding documents -" [...]
Number of comments: 0 Been outta the country. Finally made that trip to Spain with the wife. It was amazing. I'll tell you all about soon as I get the time... and get over this jet lag.' [...]
Number of comments: 2 I always appreciate someone using their talents and gifts to help someone else out. There's a family (part of the Broadway community) who have a very sick little girl. Now another family has stepped up to begin fund-raising to assist with medical bills. Check out the story and plan [...]
Number of comments: 10 Finally. Many apologies, my friends. Here it is:
So far, in just three posts, we waded through some deep theological waters. A summation: evil is real and very present; how can there be a loving, merciful God and evil/pain/suffering still be so prevalent?; God either can't do anything about' [...]
Number of comments: 9 "Some people today may find it compelling that some Great Cosmic Transaction took place on that day 1,980 years ago, that God’s wrath burned against his son instead of against me. I find that version of atonement theory neither intellectually compelling, spiritually compelling, nor in keeping with the biblical narrative.[...]
Number of comments: 8 Well, so far its been really interesting. I appreciate anyone who's still reading along at this point. High five.
So far I've laid out some basic ideas surrounding the idea that evil exists because God can't do anything about it because humans have free will/free choice and God doesn't [...]
Number of comments: 10 As I was saying last time: point #2 is: "God doesn't rid the world of evil because he can't."
You're probably thinking: "He thinks God can't do anything about evil because God is not all powerful." False. I still believe that God is all powerful. God can do anything [...]
Number of comments: 19 A confession: I realize full well that many of my beliefs have gone past what most people consider being borderline heretical into full blow heresy. I am fine with that. I sleep well at night. Most people's view on orthodoxy are very limited in their understanding of Judeo-Christian thought and' [...]
Number of comments: 1 Its been a week--which, by my standards, is far too long between blog posts. The thing is, the stuff I want to write about is really heavy. There's a lot to it. Its not some dumb video or simple story from my day. I've been thinking through the existence of [...]
Number of comments: 0 I play disc golf often. Its a great sport. It takes very little monetary investment to get started--3 discs would run you about $25. Its free to play a round. Its nice to be outside with or without friends. Plus I can throw my bag on my scooter's basket and' [...]
Number of comments: 2 We (meaning Brittany, Collin and I) went up to Pennsylvania to stay with their family and enjoy some time away from work and Bowling Green.
Twas great. We went hiking and climbing on the Appalachain Trail. Went [...]
Number of comments: 4 I have been watching some of Billy Mays' info-mercials on Youtube. They leave me speechless. Does he talk like that when he goes home at the end of the day? I can't imagine it being any other way. Someone, anyone, please: encourage him to get a real job. Him and [...]
I've been thinking for a couple of weeks about giving up something for 40 days. I don't really get the point of just 40 days, so I couldn't really come up with anything to give up. Its a tradition and it has its merits,' [...]
This is Penelope Jane. I like her. She gets a little anxious when people enter the house, but other than that, we get along great. She's my favorite dog.
[...]
So I recently got this done:
Fear mongering.
It gets better every year.
It happens to include the Quote of the Week as well:
but he's got a good point. He's not "slamming Obama" as the video title says, but his comments are excellent criticism.
Been outta the country. Finally made that trip to Spain with the wife. It was amazing. I'll tell you all about soon as I get the time... and get over this jet lag.' 
Wow. Its been two years. 
Sorry its taking so long to finish this one. I'll have it up ASAP...' 
God, I love sunny Spring afternoons...
Before
And here's the 
Sometimes, you're Oh Dae-Su.
You gotta read 
More »