Selected Reading, March 26, 2022

 

Looking for something different than the usual online offerings? Try these links.

Creatures

Why Should I Care About Animals?
My answer is “because they’re cute.” William Boekestein’s answer is just a bit more theological.

Horseback-riding goat a hit on B.C. farm
Arret and Bouge have an unusual friendship. At least check out the video.

Bible 

The Bible Is More Accurate in Texas (Well, Sort of …)
That title make you want to read, right? This is a clever introduction to the Y’allVersion, which “fixes” the places where the Greek and Hebrew use a second person plural, which we don’t have in standard English. (By the way, a You’uns version, a Yinze version, or a Youse version would fix the problem, too.)

Bible Study Is Hard Work (And That Is OK).
“[A]re you struggling in your reading of God’s Word? That’s OK. You’re supposed to. The Bible is deep, rich, and ancient. There are words in the Bible that are unfamiliar to modern ears. There are truths in the Bible that seem too good to be true. There are challenges in the Bible that we can’t live up to. There is conviction within the pages of the Bible as it reveals our sin.”

But it’s worth all the work, I promise.

Kids’ Lit

Stig of the Dump
Someone recommended this and it sounded like exactly like the sort of book my grandsons like, so I ordered it for them. I was right; they love it. Any 7-12 year old readers you know might like it too.

Here’s from the publisher’s blurb: “Barney isn’t supposed to go near the chalk pit. His grandmother and sister both told him the edge could give way and he could fall in—but what else is he supposed to do on a miserable gray day?
 
It’s not long before Barney falls into the pit and bumps his head. But where he lands is more than an old garbage dump: It’s a home. There’s a little hut built out of discarded junk, and more surprisingly, there’s a boy, about Barney’s age, inside. He speaks in grunts instead of English, wears a rabbit-skin loincloth, has shaggy black hair, and might be named something that sounds like ‘Stig.’”

I had never heard of this children’s novel, and I consider myself a bit of a classic children’s literature expert. I guess I’m only an expert in North American classic children’s lit.

(And Tony Robinson—the perfect narrator for it—reads this novel here and here.)

Selected Reading, February 19, 2022

 

You might enjoy these links.

History

How should we think about the sins of our heroes from church history?
In this video, Jared Wilson answers this complicated question by urging us to look at history through two lenses: the reality of sin and the substitution for sin. 

Theology

Are Christians Totally Depraved?
Understanding the answer to this question is important to our sanctification: “When we consider the full-orbed teaching of Scripture about the believer’s relationship with his or her sin, we will have a right understanding of what we were, what we are, and what we one day will be.”

Nature

Leave it to beavers to provide untold benefits to scores of creatures
Another northern creature column from my hometown newspaper.

Did you know that “there are two creatures on the planet that actively and significantly alter their environments to suit their own needs”? One of those creatures is the human creature, of course, but the other is the beaver.

Blog

Theological Term of the Week: Person
I’ve been updating and sometimes redoing old theological term posts on the Trinity. This one has a whole new definition.

Also updated recently: Perichoresis (new definition and links) and modalism.

Selected Reading, February 4, 2022

 

Three short recommended reads.

Scripture Reading 

10 Passages to Read with Someone Who Is Near Death
A excellent list this is, and some of you may find it useful.

Christian History

Dorothy Carey and Her Struggle With Mental Illness
The very sad story of the wife of the famous Baptist missionary, William Carey. 

At some point during the first months of 1795, [Dorothy] began to lose her grip on reality and slip into what today would be called paranoid delusions… .

Most of her delusions and fears had to do with a persuasion that William was having affairs with other women. Any reasoning on his part didn’t help. 

Read the whole thing.

Old Testament

Theophany and Christophany
“[I]f we’re paying attention to the Old Testament, we’ll find that by the time we meet Jesus Christ in the New Testament, it’s not actually the first time we’ve met Him. We’ve already been introduced.” —Simply Put