Monday, July 2, 2007

ten tidbits 2

1. Andrew Rilstone examines Richard Dawkins' best-selling book The God Delusion. (TY, In the Agora)

2. Christianity Today picks up the story on the split in Great Britain regarding the concept of atonement. Brit blogger/psychiatrist Adrian Warnock (he's a friend on Facebook - I don't even know the guy, and he invited me to be a friend! how great is that?) gives a quote for the article.

3. Some physicists are saying there was a time before the Big Bang.

4. Newsweek asks, are the major religions essentially alike?

5. LaShawn Barber denounces the liberal left's interpretation of "black pride."

6. Lemming is reading Nancy Drew books, and loving it.
In Chapter One, a pigeon crash-lands in Nancy's yard. A humantarian, Nancy is concerned for the creature's physical safety and well-being. OK, I buy that - pigeons may be public annoyances, but neither do I wish death upon such creatures. Nancy, as a compassionate being taking care of defenseless creatures sets a good example for the impressionable readers, fine.

Following a quick examination of the bird (Nancy somehow knows that no bones have been broken) her first reaction is, and I quote: I'll wire the International Federation of American Homing Pigeon Fanciers and give them the number stamped on the bird's leg ring.

OK, so the idea of sending a telegram is quaint and now impossible - the book was written in 1933, revised in 1966, so that's a nice historical moment/touch for 21st century readers. At the same time, WHAT eighteen year old knows to contact such a group? Knows what their ID badges look like? Even knows that they exist? Combines this with an in-depth knowlege of botany?

7. Two posts on why Evan Almighty, which seemed targeted to a Christian audience, flopped, by Denny Burk and Tim Challies.

8. You heard about this bit of news, correct? For an example of the reactions from the Left (cries of shock, outrage, and protest) and the Right (moderately pleased), see respectively here and here.

9. I was a fanatic - confessions of a former radical.
When I was still a member of what is probably best termed the British Jihadi Network - a series of British Muslim terrorist groups linked by a single ideology - I remember how we used to laugh in celebration whenever people on TV proclaimed that the sole cause for Islamic acts of terror like 9/11, the Madrid bombings and 7/7 was Western foreign policy.

By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair's bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.

10. Goodbye, Beverly Sills.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the link to the Rilstone/Dawkins post.

    As for Nancy Drew, perhaps she just googled "pigeon ring contact" and went on from there. ;-)

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