More Christian Radio technology

Well, very soon after my last post where I promoted biglooradio.com their server went down and has not returned to operation yet. So I went searching for other alternatives. I did'nt have to go far because I-tunes has a list of options. They have K-Love, Air-1, and CMRadio.net. CMRadio.net includes different styles of Christian music for different tastes. Isn't technology wonderful?

Speaking of technology, I came across this quote today on a blog that I read:

James Emery White has an interesting comment on the word technology and points out other concerns for us in this area. "Ironically, within the word Technology itself lies the new philosophical mooring that marks our intent. The word is built from such Greek words as technites (craftsman) and techne (art, skill, trade), which speak of the idea of either the person who shapes or molds something or the task of shaping and molding. But it is the Greek word logos, to which technites is joined, that makes our term technology so provocative. Within Greek thought logos is a reference to divine reason or the organizing principle of the world. In John's Gospel logos is used to communicate the idea of the divinity of Jesus. Moderns have put together two words that the ancients would not have dared to combine, for the joining of the words intimates that mere humans can shape the very order of the world. Though technology itself my be neutral in its enterprise, there can be no doubt that within the word itself are the seeds for the presumption that would seek to cast God from his throne and assert humanity in his place as the conduit of divine power. And we have wasted little time."

Through our embracing technology and the improvements in life that we experience as a result of it, are we actually accepting the same old lie spoken in the garden of eve?

Gen. 3:5 "In fact, God knows that when you eat it (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

From my time on the internet, for work and personal pursuits, I know there is a lot of good to be found. But there is also a lot of very bad things out there. Some of the currently most popular webspaces (blogspot.com, myspace.com, msn.com) include content that is Christian in nature as well as some that are very un-Christian or anti-Christian. Of course this is to be expected in a free society.

But what will it be like for our grand children 10 or 20 years from now? Will the subtle presumption described by James Emery White continue toward fruition? Or is Mr. White just very paranoid?

Christian radio and Merry Christmas

If you like listening to contemporary Christian music and you are working at your computer many hours of the day, try listening to an internet radio station that plays a lot of different types of Christian music.

http://www.biglooradio.com/

I listened to them all day and heard some new music that I would not hear on K-Love. I really like K-Love but Bigloo Radio plays a lot of independent artists that K-Love doesn't play. Try it for something different. It streams to your computer and plays in I-tunes or Windows Media Player.

Does it seem that there is a real attempt this year to stop the use of "Merry Christmas" and replace it with the generic "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings"? Our culture has succeeded in making Christ a side note to the Christmas holiday and now many stores are telling their employees to use the "Happy Holidays" greeting because they think they will offend a small minority of our population. Christ is not a side note of Christmas but IS Christmas! I think that every Christian should be offended by any merchant that will not allow their employees to greet people with simply "Merry Christmas".

I read about a backlash against Lowes who was putting a banner up that said "Happy Holidays" but in Spanish "Feliz Navidad", which means Merry Christmas. After a number of customers complained, Lowes removed the banner.

If you notice this at a merchant this year, tell them that you like the use of "Merry Christmas" and when you are greeted with Merry Christmas, thank the person for recognizing the Person that makes the holiday.

And, as the day approaches, try to focus on that Person rather than the presents you are going to buy. He is more interested in whats in your heart than whats in your wallet.

Abortion ....

causes long term mental distress according to a new study just reported today here and here.

To most Christians, this must seem like a no-brainer. Today this is being reported on news.google.com in their health section. I looked at some of the 21 reports on this and I didn't see any from US sources that are not pro-life. Do you think the national (liberal) press is ignoring this?

Despite the study, many of the so-called family planning groups that were asked about this report claim that there is no evidence to support the study. What planet are they on?

Perhaps this study will encourage women who have been quietly living with this distress to come forward and share their stories. Perhaps this is what it will take to slow down the number of abortions being done.

Revolutionary things to listen to ....

House2house has generously made available a couple of talks by Thom Black (of the Barna Group) from the Labor Day National House Church Conference this year in Denver. I encourage everyone to listen to his talk on the changing landscape of the church in America (based on the recent book published by Barna, "Revolution".) You can listen to or download the files here.

Wayne Jacobson and Brad Cummings also discussed the book "Revolution" on thier November 11 podcast, The God Journey. As always, they offer some great insight on the findings of the Barna Group. You can listen to or download this edition of the podcast here.

One Year Bible Blog

Last week I came across a blog by a brother named Mike at http://www.oneyearbibleblog.com/. For the last 4 years he has been following the Tyndale House One Year Bible in the New Living Translation and posting his comments in his blog. Each day's reading includes an passage from the Old Testament, a passage from the New Testament, a Psalm, and a Proverb. Each day in his blog, he comments on the daily readings while including links to BibleGateway.com for the text of the days passages and links to some very good commentary websites. As this year winds down, he is planning to go through it again next year and is inviting readers to subscribe to his blog. With a subscription, readers will get an email each weekend that lists the next weeks readings with some comments by Mike. With this list, even if you can't get online because of travel or whatever, you can still keep up with the daily reading.

I encourage you to subscribe to Mike's blog and commit to reading the Bible completely in 2006. As of this weekend he had over 400 people subscribed for 2006. Many are subscribers from 2005 who are enjoying it so much they want to continue. By subscribing, you become a member of this encouraging community of believers committed to reading and studying God's Word.

Will you consider joining me in 2006? Take a look at the blog and let me know.