Most people agree that adultery is wrong, but sometimes I’m asked if the Bible really has anything to say against premarital sex. This John Thomas article is an excellent and brief answer to the question.
“What is The Dark Knight’s near-fanatical audience responding to? To Heath Ledger's Joker, of course. Mr. Ledger's character has clearly touched some national nerve. . . . We know that Mr. Ledger died of an overdose of prescription drugs after a period of insomnia and acute depression. What we see on the screen in The Dark Knight -- as we are plunged into a netherworld that provides no escape from its brutal realities -- may well be a projection of Mr. Ledger's inner torment as he tried to fight those afflictions: a portrait of a Method actor who could not keep a proper distance from his role, an artist who stared too long into the abyss and saw a twisted, drug-addled death mask staring back at him. (This past weekend, Christian Bale was arrested then released on bail following charges of assault from his mother and sister; The Dark Knight must present one heck of an abyss.) We know enough about how involved actors can be in their roles to see that this idea is not far-fetched. Does that make The Dark Knight a $180 million-plus snuff film?” (“Too Far From Escapism” in the WSJ)
“Watching this depiction of an actor playing Jesus on the cross, it just hit me, harder than I'd ever been hit before. If that was really the son of God, and he really died for me, then I felt compelled to get on my knees and worship him.” Read this fascinating WSJ account of Bobby Jindal’s conversion from Hinduism to (Catholic) Christianity. Jindal is governor of Louisiana and a talk-about prospect for John McCain’s running mate.
Speaking at TED in 1998, Rev. Billy Graham marvels at technology's power to improve lives and change the world -- but says the end of evil, suffering and death will come only after the world accepts Christ. A legendary talk from TED's archives. Watch this talk.
A single friend of mine turned down a date with a Times Roman font. She said he wasn’t her type.
Good Luck Comes to An End: A woman accidentally stabbed herself in the foot with a 3-foot-long sword while performing a Wiccan good luck ritual at a central Indiana cemetery. Katherine Gunther, 36, of Lebanon, pierced her left foot with the sword while performing the rite at Oak Hill Cemetery, police said. Gunther said she was performing the ceremony to give thanks for a recent run of good luck. (Story. HT: Best of the Web Today)
“Obama, reflecting the mainstream Democratic view, simply wants to get out of Iraq as soon as possible. Two years ago, it was because the war was lost. Now, we are told, it is to save Afghanistan. The reasons change, but the conclusion is always the same. Out of Iraq. Banish the very memory. Leave as small and insignificant a residual force as possible. And no long-term bases. McCain, like President Bush, envisions the U.S. seizing the fruits of victory of a bloody and costly war by establishing an extensive strategic relationship that would not only make the new Iraq a strong ally in the war on terror but would also provide the U.S. with the infrastructure and freedom of action to project American power regionally, as do U.S. forces in Germany, Japan and South Korea” (Charles Krauthammer, explaining why Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressed enthusiasm for an Obama presidency).
Time magazine reported on the prayer Obama wrote and stuffed into the crevices at Jerusalem’s Western Wall: “Obama didn't pray for an election victory, a lottery win to help pay for his campaign, or for his Republican rival Senator John McCain to be felled by lightning or a pecadillo. On the contrary; his prayer hints at the struggle within, how Obama is seeking divine guidance to surmount the obstacles that lie ahead of him in his lonely, awesome challenge to become the next president of the United States. On hotel stationary, he penned the following prayer, according to Maariv, which ran a photo of the note: ‘Lord, protect my family and me,’ Obama wrote. ‘Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.’”
UPS driver’s body transported to the gravesite via UPS.
In Christianity Today’s “Good Question” column, James Beverly answers the following question from a reader: “Popular spiritual author and Oprah favorite Eckhart Tolle quotes Jesus a lot. Is he a Christian?” His answer is here. I wrote about this earlier, and you can also find my sermon on this topic (“The Church of Oprah”) on the sermons page at Hillcrest Online.
In “A New Day for Apologetics,” Troy Anderson, a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News, says that people young and old are flocking to hear--and be changed by--winsome arguments for the Christian faith.
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