Christian Carnival!

Yowza, yowza, yowza… Step right up and take a look! This week we have many fine examples of Christian writing from all over the ‘web. Never heard of a Christian Blog Carnival? Well now’s your chance to check it out.

(And don’t forget to hang out here a while!)

Ladies (and gentlemen, of course!), start your clicking!

All About Living Your Life presents 7 Benefits of Being Present.
What can you do about the past and the future? Nothing much, except that the thought of it takes away the energy from what you can do now. Develop a habit to live from moment to moment. The present is the only time that you have full control to do what you want to do. Being present benefits your well-being profoundly.

Isabel Anders at BlogHer presents A Book Life.
We are, all four in our family, self-confessed “bookaholics.” My husband has been caught commenting wryly that if the “book police” knew about our hoarding of volumes we’d surely be victims of a raid.

Faith and Finance presents Three Verses to Remember.
All of us have our weaknesses and for some, it might be the temptation to overspend on credit cards. But even if you’ve never had a dime of debt in your life, these three verses can help you spend smarter, regardless of whether you pay with plastic or paper.

Simple Life Habits presents Inspirational Quotes for Difficult Times.
We all have periods of time in our lives when the road seems rough and the way seems unclear. It is in times like this that it is important to draw strength in the inner man. While there are many ways to do this, I want to share two of my favorite ways that I like to overcome discouragement. I like to find promises from the Scriptures and inspirational quotes for difficult times.

Inspiks presents Evolutionary Tales Exposed.
The Bible teaches that the Heavens, Earth, and all life on Earth was created by direct acts of God during a relatively short period, calculated to be sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago, by Biblical scholars. The Genesis accounts of Creation teaches us that God created the Earth in six 24-hour days, taking a literal interpretation of the Genesis accounts of creation.

Rebecca LuElla Miller presents The Lesson of the Bee.
Not so long ago, I had a bee find its way into my bedroom. I don’t relish killing bugs, and less so bees, but this one was in my bedroom! What to do? I ran through my options as I watched the angry little critter buzz to the top of the window screen, find no opening, and buzz back to the bottom. Again and again.

Jack presents Hope in God in Hopeless Times posted at What Christians Want To Know.

Aoide-Melete-Mneme presents Thoughts on Matthew posted at à la mode de les Muses.
Even though I read the Bible in a haphazard manner, skipping around and such, I’ve noticed that, of the Gospel accounts, I always end up beginning with Matthew (c. AD 40-65). This time was no different. My journal notes contain thoughts on a number of passages, but today I wanted to discuss the infamous passage on judging others…

Zowada presents The Existence of Evil: Natural Disasters | Zowada Blog posted at Zowada Blog..
Everyone has seen the devastating effects of natural disasters ranging from volcanic eruptions to raging tsunamis. How could a loving, good God allow millions to die in disasters such as the recent earthquake in Haiti? Exactly how much evil should God tolerate then before He ceases to being that all-powerful, all-good God? If an earthquake determines that God is no longer good, then how much suffering should God remove so that He can be an all-good God?

Maryann Spikes presents Apologetics Toolbox posted at Ichthus77.
I am starting an apologetics toolbox for my sons and wanted to make it available to others. The cool thing about a toolbox is you can add to it–consider this a starter kit.

Jeremy Pierce presents Rowling’s Ethics of Magic posted at Parableman.
I was involved in a conversation several weeks ago about the fiction of Tolkien, Lewis, and Rowling and the theological-ethical frameworks that those authors apply to their characters’ use of magic. One viewpoint among the participants was that Tolkien and Lewis have clear criteria for when the use of magic is evil, and Lewis has a complete theological framework. Tolkien argues that magic is perfectly appropriate for beings created with it as part of their natural abilities. In their case, it’s not actually supernatural, because it’s part of their innate capacities.

Annette presents Love is …. posted at Fish and Cans 2.

Violet N. presents Praise while you fight posted at Other Food: daily devos.

Richard H. Anderson presents Dating the Synoptics posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.
The dating problem should proceed from physical to literary evidence. For instance the earliest fragment of the Gospel of John (John Rylands Papyri, P52) can be dated to 125 C.E. Therefore we can conclude that the Gospel of John must have been written between the resurrection of Jesus and 125 C.E. For the synoptic gospels, no credible statement can be made with respect to the various known fragments. Therefore we must resort to literary considerations.

Henry Neufeld presents Dominionists, Dominionisimists, Theonomists and Political Labels posted at Threads from Henry’s Web.
I don’t deny that there is a certain hysteria involved from time to time, but I think there is a much different sort of dynamic involved in mislabeling some people as dominionists, and even in trying to find a specific theological stream of movement that can properly be labeled “dominionist.” I would suggest that the fundamental problems here are different, and they are ones that regularly occur in discussing political and religious movements, doubly so when discussing a movement that is both religious and political.

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