7 Pleasurable Ways to Improve Your Reading Ability. “3. Learn to read in depth, stay on the same subject for a while. If you are familiar with the subject you are reading about, you will understand better. Do not just read short articles. Commit to books. Stay with one author for at least one book. If the subject matter is new to you, you should even try to read a few different books or articles about the same subject, before you move on. This way you will meet the same vocabulary and ideas often, helping you to learn. You will also be able to get deeper into the subject and your reading confidence will grow.”

I have been a fan of the ESV bible translation for a long time, which is why I’m pumped for the release of the ESV Study Bible later this year. Download the Introduction to the Gospel of Luke (PDF, 1.1mb) and see for yourself. More samples. (ht: ESV Bible Blog)

Well folks, I’m going to seminary. Or, rather, a seminary course is coming to me, thanks to the interweb. I’ve been accepted into the TH434: Readings in Postmodern Philosophy/Theology online course at Northern Seminary, which I heard about via Emergent Village.

The class is led by David Fitch and Jeff Holsclaw, and it runs from June 30 — September 14. The course description is provided below:

This course surveys several major thinkers in Postmodern Continental Philosophy as well as an assortment of theological responses to postmodernity. The course aims to introduce the student to first hand encounters with the thinkers that are shaping the theological mind of today in response to postmodernity. The student should come away with a basic understanding of the formative philosophical issues facing current Western theologians and church practitioners. The student also will be prepared for further reading and engagement with philosophical writings that are setting the course for so much of the post­Christendom West.

It won’t be an easy ten weeks, but it will certainly be illuminating. I pray that this is only the beginning of a long journey.

In light of the Myanmar cyclone, First Things has republished “Tsunami and Theodicy” by David B. Hart which was originally written as a response to the 2004 tsunami.

And while we know that the victory over evil and death has been won, we know also that it is a victory yet to come, and that creation therefore, as Paul says, groans in expectation of the glory that will one day be revealed. Until then, the world remains a place of struggle between light and darkness, truth and falsehood, life and death; and, in such a world, our portion is charity.

When I was growing up, a few things were consistent: Velveeta® Shells and Cheese, quiet tables, and Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader.

The Bathroom Reader series is designed specifically with reading while sitting on the toilet in mind. According to the Wikipedia article, “Their volumes contain information on subjects such as quotes, dumb criminals, palindromes, anagrams, urban legends and hoaxes, failed inventions, the history of everyday things, and accidental discoveries, as well as articles on pop culture and ‘celebrities’… Throughout the books, there are what the BRI calls ‘running feet’ — short fun facts on the bottom of each page.”

All of this is to say that I was conditioned from a young age to read in the restroom. I don’t remember too much religion or theology in the Bathroom Readers, but that’s where A Theological Miscellany: 176 Pages of Odd, Merry, Essentially Inessential Facts, Figures, and Tidbits about Christianity comes in.

A Theological Miscellany is the perfect theological commode companion. Among the “176 Pages of odd, merry, essentially inessential facts, figures, and tidbits about Christianity”, you’ll find Famous Physically Disabled or Handicapped Christians, Church Announcement “Bloopers”, and Reformers Before the Reformation, among many others. I picked up my copy at Half Price Books for a scant $4.

If you can’t go number two without reading about the Holy One, this is the book for you. Plus, it’ll surely start some conversations when you have guests over.

The photograph below is considered the most interesting image tagged with “god” on Flickr.

God and Automobiles, originally uploaded by g. s. george on flickr.

The photographer, Geoffrey George, writes eloquently of his thoughts about the photo:

This is the memorable and ironic view that greets every motorist traveling south on I-75 towards downtown. Thousands of these motorists are surely suburban GM workers on their way to work every day, and the irony of this chance alignment is hopefully not lost on them. In the background, the Renaissance Center, Detroit’s tallest building and GM World Headquarters. In the foreground, St. Josaphat, a 105-year old still-functioning relic from Detroit’s heyday. Detroit is the Motor City, but the sins committed here cannot be forgotten or forgiven–from the hundreds of murders every year to the construction of a freeway system that divided and destroyed vibrant and working neighborhoods. Hopefully this image will one day have different associations.

For me, it is a powerful view that is quintessentially Detroit. I’m sure it’s been photographed hundreds of times, but the balance and contrast between Detroit’s largest and most infamous glass skyscraper, a struggling community church, and the freeway that cut a swath across the city and acted as a runway for white flighters provides me with endless fascination. I hope you will find it equally stimulating.

In case you haven’t been paying attention, here’s everything you need to know about the Democratic race for president in seven minutes. [ht: tony]

New Barna Research Describes Use of Technology in Churches. “Only 43% of churches described by their pastor as possessing ‘liberal theology’ have big screen capabilities, compared to 68% among the churches that say they are theologically conservative.” Interesting. Lots of good stuff in there.

Martin Luther is famous for many things, including the phrase sola scriptura (”Scipture alone”). Interestingly enough, he had quite a distaste for several books throughout the Bible. In his Prefaces to the New Testament, Luther said of the book of James, “St. James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw…for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it.” Regarding the book of Revelation he said, “I can in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it” (If you’re interested, you can read more about Luther’s scriptural views here). Even some of the greatest theologians, Luther among them, had low views of certain parts of the Bible.

So here’s the (hypothetical) question: If you were forced to choose, which book of the Bible would you remove?¹

1. To clarify, the book would be essentially erased from human history and memory. All direct quotes and any references to the whole book or any passages/verses would disappear without a trace.

Why study history? Here are sixteen excellent reasons. “9. Nothing actually ever changes in history; change is an illusion; some systems or practices always remain the same. We study the past the same way we would study the present, to understand a single system which is continuous over time.” [via kottke]