A Christ-centred three months – and counting!
Posted by Mathew | May 1, 2010 | No Comments
I thought it appropriate for another summary of content from my new co-blogging venture over at The Aristophrenium. Between us, the writing staff have produced a number of good thought-provoking articles (a total of 52 in our first three months, no less!); but perhaps most exciting of all is that we have added a fourth member to our team: Adam. With Adam now joining us, and the rest of us firing on all cylinders, the next quarter at The Aristophrenium is set to be amazing. Come check us out and subscribe to our RSS Feed. We hope to continue to present our readers with a Christ-centred, intellectually honest forum that welcomes engagement from a great variety of people – even from those holding opposing worldviews.
Here’s a summary of some of the top-stuff that you may have missed (in no specific order):
- Adam starts off his Aristo portfolio with an in-depth look at the term “God is Love”
- The team takes a moment to reflect on the Christian meaning of Good Friday, acknowledging Christ was pierced for our own transgressions
- Even atheists can understand the gospel – it’s a pity some Christians don’t
- Ryft does a great job at explaining why Christian apologetics holds a place of importance and priority alongside gospel evangelizing and then follows up on an article of a recent practical example he had
- I reflect on an abortion discussion I had via Twitter, considering if pro-birth is a term that can be applied to pro-lifers and if the bodily autonomy argument has any weight
- Duane uncovers and then sets straight the confusion some Christians hold over what Creationism entails
- Ryft delves into the depths of theological thinking in his open dialog with Michael Coords (on calvinism vs arminianism) and Mitchell Leblanc (a disproof of God)
- I lament over the deplorable display of Christian thinking on an Australian TV panel that hosted Richard Dawkins when he was here for the global atheists convention
- Duane brings out the nut-cracker as he looks at the meaning of the word “day” in the Book of Genesis
The above are only a fraction of what was published over at The Aristophrenium. Be sure to visit and look around the new blog and see what else is there of interest to you.
What’s become of my thoughts?
It goes without saying that my focus is elsewhere at the moment. For the time being, thoughts out !oud will remain until I work out whether or not I have sufficient ideas to keep it going – after two years writing here, it could very well be time to move on to greater projects. One such project for this year definitely lies with The Aristophrenium.
Thanks for reading!
The A-Z of Christian Living
Posted by Mathew | April 3, 2010 | No Comments
Slipped into the jacket of an old NAS Bible of my wife’s she found a crisp piece of paper that was given to her by her uncle. On the paper, he had written the A-Z of Christian living. I thought I’d share it here as it’s quite clever:
A
Believer
Can
Devote
Every
Faculty
Given
Him
In
Justice
Kindness
Love and
Mercy,
Never
Omitting
Prayer,
Quietly
Preaching
Scripture,
Taking
Up
Valuable
Works
Xhibiting
unYieldingness in
Zeal… Continue reading ...
A month at The Aristophrenium
Posted by Mathew | March 9, 2010 | No Comments
I haven’t made it overly clear – apart from the occasional hint here and there during January and February – but I am now producing content for another blog as well here at thoughts out !oud. Late last year I developed a partnership with two other fine Christian bloggers – David and Duane; between the three of us, we relaunched David’s existing blog into a new masterpiece to which the three of us now regularly co-author. This new venture is called The Aristophrenium.
If you’ve enjoyed some of my writings here, I’ve no doubt you’ll enjoy the wider variety and depth of writings over at The Aristophrenium. Between David, Duane and myself, we’re able to provide more content… Continue reading ...
The Senate, pink Aussie flags and 5000 bums
Posted by Mathew | March 8, 2010 | No Comments
Last Monday morning (1 March 2010), on the fabled steps of the Sydney Opera House, photographer Spencer Tunick – world renown for his photos of mass nudity – snapped a five-thousand strong contingent of butt-naked nudites under the House’s white sails.
Said Mr Tunick of the event, “Gay men and women lay naked next to their straight neighbours and this delivered a very strong message to the world that Australians embrace a free and equal society.”
Australians have been demonstrating “a free and equal society” for pretty much most of its recent history (yes, ok – many could state that that statement has a fair bit of contention, but by and large I hold it… Continue reading ...
Tags: culture > homosexuality > same-sex marriage > sexuality > Spencer Tunick > ssm
Excerpt: Burqas, bathrooms and the public concern
Posted by Mathew | February 15, 2010 | No Comments
[The following is an excerpt of an article I published on The Aristophrenium. Please visit The Aristophrenium to read the full article and to comment.]
“While the French government unveiled its plan to ban the burqa worn by some Muslim women, the reign in Maine leaves much to explain by proposing to allow transgendered people to use the bathroom of their choice. The contrast between the two stories is quite clear: the French move to protect its public while the Mainers move aside to endanger theirs.
Two burqa-wearers walk into a post office …
The stance taken by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, declaring last year that the burqa was not welcome in France, is one taken… Continue reading ...
Quote: Christian Pride and Complacency
Posted by Mathew | February 10, 2010 | 1 Comment
If Christians who shelter beneath [their own] self-assurance do not learn better ways by listening to the Scriptures, God may address them in the terrible language of tragedy. We serve a God who delights to disclose himself to the contrite, to the lowly of heart, to the meek. When God finds us so puffed up that we do not feel our need for him, it is an act of kindness on his part to take us down a peg or two; it would be an act of judgement to leave us in our vaulting self-esteem.
~ DA Carson, Evangelical Theologian and New Testament Professor… Continue reading ...
Abstinence at the movies
Posted by Mathew | February 7, 2010 | 2 Comments
The recent media attention on the issue of sexual abstinence of the past two to three weeks – which I wrote a commentary piece on over at The Aristophrenium – led me to watch a movie that I would not have ordinarily have watched. Not 15 minutes into the film I was beginning to regret watching it – I wasn’t expecting it to be as crude and as base at it actually was. In hindsight, knowing our culture and the way in which it views sexual topics and issues, perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised. In any case, I got the kids off to bed and settled down with my wife to watch The 40 Year Old Virgin
Tags: abstinence > culture > love > sexuality > Steve Carell
Excerpt: Abstinence arouses displeasure Down-under and State-side
Posted by Mathew | February 2, 2010 | 2 Comments
[The following is an excerpt of an article I published on The Aristophrenium. As indicated in my two-year anniversary post, I will be writing both here at thoughts out !oud and The Aristophrenium.]
“One thing that hasn’t been abstaining from the news in the past fortnight is culture’s attitude towards sex. There are two counts in particular that caught my interest: one was State-side, aroused by curious questions from Oprah Winfrey on her namesake’s show; the other was a reactive orgasm from Australia’s media and some members of it’s Federal Government (including the Deputy Prime Minister, no less) towards remarks made by the Opposition Leader.
Both instances concerned the topic of sexual abstinence and, while both were… Continue reading ...
Tags: abstinence > Bristol Palin > Julia Gillard > Oprah > sexuality > The Aristophrenium > Tony Abbott
Woman arrested for attempted murder for failed abortion
Posted by Mathew | February 1, 2010 | 1 Comment
Here’s some more No Shortage of Crazy:
Q. If a woman desires (and is permitted by law) to terminate her pregnancy, under what circumstances is she not allowed to?
A. In a culture which says that abortions are permitted by law when the mother does not desire the child, doesn’t it then seem contradictory to state that the mother cannot induce a termination of her own accord?
In most States in the US and increasingly in the UK and in Australia, abortions can be solicited for any reason, even if the pregnancy is desired by the father – the mother’s decision vetoes that of her husband’s/partner’s.
Recently, an Iowanian woman was arrested for attempt of murder… Continue reading ...
Quote: When sex gets the best of you
Posted by Mathew | January 31, 2010 | No Comments
“What had happened to the human imagination, as a whole, was that the whole world was coloured by dangerous and rapidly deteriorating passions; by natural passions becoming unnatural passions. Thus the effect of treating sex as only one innocent natural thing was that every other innocent natural thing became soaked and sodden with sex. For sex cannot be admitted to a mere equality among elementary emotions or experiences like eating and sleeping. The moment sex ceases to be a servant it becomes a tyrant. There is something dangerous and disproportionate in its place in human nature, for whatever reason; and it does really need a special purification and dedication. The modern talk about sex being free like any other sense… Continue reading ...
Useful tweets for everyday Christians – 2010-01-22
Posted by Mathew | January 21, 2010 | No Comments
- #Muslim martyrs compared to #Christian martyrs – is there a difference? You bet: http://is.gd/6IrUX #religion #
- #Jesus is not the bridge over troubled waters. But if you allow him he will pull you through the waters if you can stand the tow. #
- #Religion is not the opiate of the masses … TV is the opiate of the masses. Frankly, they're better off with religion. #
- There's more to The Aristophrenium than you think. All will be revealed on 1 Feb 2010. Follow @Aristophrenium to find out. #
- Great msg from #JohnPiper on How to deal w the Guilt of past #Sexual
Celebrating two years online … now there’s a thought
Posted by Mathew | January 21, 2010 | 2 Comments
Today marks the 2nd year anniversary of thoughts out !oud.
It really doesn’t seem all that long ago when I first figured out how to install Wordpress, chose an appalling Wordpress theme (I dunno what it was … some garishly bright yellow and orange sun-thing), cobbled together my first post and delved right on into the blogosphere. The two years have gone quick, have been an interesting journey – full of lessons and growth – and during the time there are many people I’ve come to know and to whom I’ve been grateful for along the way.
Following are just some of the highlights, reflections and learnings for me over the last two years.
Small beginnings
How to spark revival in your church
Posted by Mathew | January 17, 2010 | No Comments
If your church is wanning in the Spirit and is in need of a rejuvenation, all your congregation may need is the blessing of a squirrel-lead revival.
Praise God!
(Enjoy.)
[youtube]K16fG1sDagU[/youtube]
(H/Tip to Dennis G Hurst, via Facebook.)… Continue reading ...
Tags: Christianity > church > Ray Stevens > Religion > revival > self-righteousness
Useful tweets for everyday Christians – 2010-01-15
Posted by Mathew | January 14, 2010 | No Comments
- #Quebec vows to stamp out #heterosexism to eradicate #homophobia. That's just queer in itself: http://is.gd/6eGx1 #tcot #
- @bretta75 & @tlenayebi – thank you for the RTs! #
- The greatness of a society is measured best by how it cares & protects those citizens who r least able to care for themselves. #
- All #Christians ought read & affirm the #ManhattanDeclaration. Help them reach a million signatories: http://is.gd/6dO6z #fb #
- Victoria, #Australia permits #lesbian duo to be named as parents on birth certificate of #IVF child: http://bit.ly/4vNVNH #family #
- A refreshing
Quote: the necessity of biblical preaching and reading in church worship
Posted by Mathew | January 12, 2010 | 2 Comments
Far from being an alien intrusion into worship, the reading and preaching of the Word are actually indispensable to it. The two cannot be divorced. Indeed, it is their unnatural divorce which accounts for the low levels of so much contemporary worship. Our worship is poor because our knowledge of God is poor. And our knowledge of God is poor because our preaching is poor. But when the word of God is expounded in its fulness and the congregation begins to glimpse the glory of the living God, they bow down in solemn awe and joyful wonder before his throne. And it is preaching which accomplishes this. The proclamation of the Word of God in the power of the Spirit… Continue reading ...
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