OD Today: 30 December 2008

It’s New Years Eve Eve, and everybody’s either still on vacation or catching up after vacation. Here are today’s links, some of them a day old:

1. La Shawn Barber comments on a story from World Net Daily about Jesse Kilgore, a 22-year-old man who killed himself after reading Richard Dawkins‘s book The God Delusion. “First, I take a hard stand when it comes to suicide. It’s the work of inconsiderate and self-centered cowards, whatever the reason.”
2. Ingrid Schlueter picks up the Drew Zahn article on Focus on the Family pulling their Glenn Beck article; apparently misses the fact that World Net Daily is selling the same book on their website.
3. Watcher’s Lamp collects links and briefly comments on the story of Gianna Talone Sullivan, who has visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus. “The foreboding messages from the Mary of Maryland resemble the end of days described in the Bible. However, the solution for global peace offered by the apparitions are not Biblical.”
4. Defending Contending picks up the story of Jonathan Gagne and six other students in Granby, Quebec, who have been suspended for refusing to attend a mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture course.
5. Defending Contending picks up Ingrid Schlueter’s comments on Franklin Graham’s comments on Rick Warren regarding his appearance at the Barack Obama inauguration, also takes a swipe at Billy Graham.
6. John Baker picks up the story of Focus on the Family dropping their article pushing Glenn Beck’s book; comments on James Dobson: “its founder has a fallen Humanist view of what Faith in Christ is! He has a degree in and accepts atheist humanist explanations for peoples actions.”
7. La Shawn Barber picks up the story of Herman Rosenblat, author of Angel at the Fence, a “true story” of love during the Holocaust that turned out to be fiction.
8. Defending Contending shares a YouTube video of girls dancing to N*Sync, with links to two other cases of people dancing to pop music in a church sanctuary. “Ichabod!”
9. James Thomas offers an “Appeal to Spirit-Filled Ministers.”
10. Christian Research Network awards a “Political Correctness Award” to Rick Warren, citing this article from One News Now. I’m guessing no actual award will be presented.
11. James White pushes a cruise; guest speakers include White, David Wheaton, Gary Demar, and Marshall Foster.
12. Desert Pastor comments on the ongoing bombing of Gaza. Defending Contending links. “Americans would be crying for blood and the obliteration of whatever country desired to harm us on a daily basis.”
13. John Robbins comments on Michael Horton’s recent interview with novelist Anne Rice. “He gave her a big platform to tout her garbage without any rebuttal, clarification, or warning.”
14. Ken Silva offers more comments on contemplative and centering prayer; Silva’s argument is that because they originated with the Desert Fathers and not Jesus or His disciples it isn’t biblical: “This is where the antibiblical practice of Contemplative/Centering Prayer originated; it was not practiced or taught by Jesus Christ nor His Apostles, and it has no place in the life of the Christian.”
15. Sam Guzmán links to this video sermon by South African pastor Keith Daniel: A Warning to America (76 minutes).
16. John Sexton links to an article from the Orange County Register regarding Seabreeze Church, offers numerous comments. “Note: Giving dropped and no one is specifying why. The reader is left to assume it was the bad economy. It wasn’t.” “they took a $200K personal loan from a member (they took a couple actually, but one in particular came from someone who left the church two months later). The church has refused to repay the money after multiple requests.”
17. Cindy Kunsman connects Geoffrey Botkin to Great Commission Ministries, with a timeline.
18. Lighthouse Trails offers a Top 10 articles list.
19. Orrin Judd links and offers comments on Barack Obama’s choices regarding church attendance: “After all, Christ only came on a donkey, the One rides a unicorn.” The Chicago Tribune article he links to offers some perspective, with a rundown of the church attendance habits of the previous four Presidents.
20. Four Pointer does not like Coexist bumper stickers.
21. Watcher’s Lamp offers two articles about Israel’s shelling of Gaza: one on Hamas shelling Israel, and another on Iran’s reaction and Egypt’s reaction, with related links.
22. John Baker quotes and links an article from Right Side News by Caroline Glick regarding Hamas imposition of sharia law, including provisions for crucifixion of  “Christians, Jews and anyone else who does not conform to their ideology.”
23. Michael Davis links and comments regarding a One News Now article on a lawsuit by Illinois pharmacists challenging an executive order by the governor, Rod Blagojevich, requiring them to sell “morning-after pills.” Davis’s comments: “Freedom of religion and conscience is at issue and many want to disregard the rights of individuals in favor of commerce. Throw in a progressive agenda that liberal politicians buy in to and you have the beginnings of oppression and persecution.”
24. Ken Silva calls out Charles Stanley for recommending meditation.
25. John Baker links and cites an article from Arabian Business regarding an agreement among five Arab nations (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates) to move to a single common currency.
26. Ingrid Schlueter comments on an article from Yahoo! News about teens breaking virginity pledges: “Outside of the power of Christ in our lives, most of our vows against sin fall by the wayside. Our flesh is powerful and the culture around us is constantly parading around the supposed rewards of sin. Scripture tells us that the way that seems right to us, however, leads to death. Only when we are truly born again can we have the power of God in us to resist temptation.”
27. Gay Christian Movement Watch comments on Gene Robinson‘s disappointment in Rick Warren’s invitation to give the invocation at the Barack Obama inauguration: “I should name this the battle of the false prophets.”
28. Ed Stetzer on bearing false witness: “The same goes for people as diverse as Joel Osteen, Brian McLaren, and Jeremiah Wright. Regardless of how much we disagree and how passionate we feel, in all cases, people should be spoken of truthfully, even when we are disagreeing with them.We cannot not let a passion for the truth make it OK to not speak truthfully. God is never honored when we defend His truth by speaking falsely.”
29. Ken Silva offers a quote from a book co-edited by Richard Foster regarding Thomas Merton.
30. Orrin Judd shares some analysis on the current Israel/Hamas flareup.
31. Scott McClare offers among other things a review of Francis Schaeffer’s book The Church At the End of the 20th Century.
32. Herescope/Discernment Research Group shares a section of Jeremiah Burroughs’s book Exposition on the Prophecy of Hosea, particularly as a warning to an apostate church. I have to admit that I’m puzzled how the book of Hosea could be considered “the meat of the Word” for an evangelical Christian, and doubly puzzled that anyone from a Protestant tradition would consider “the Church our mother.”
33. John Baker shares an editorial from the Boston Globe concerning human rights violations perpertrated by Hamas inside the Palestinian territories. “In direct contravention of international law, Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, utilizing homes, schools and community centers as launching pads, content in the knowledge that if innocent Palestinian civilians are caught in the cross-fire, it will be Israel that is criticized.”
34. Ken Silva shares a letter from Margaret Manning, currently of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. Silva, in his introductory notes, focuses mostly on Nouwen and a quote from his book Sabbatical Journey; Manning mentions Nouwen only once in a response that appeals mostly to Augustine and Luther: “We quote from Nietzsche and Ghandi – and yet no one is accusing us of being atheist or Hindu supporters. We quote from Oscar Wilde – and yet we are not being accused of supporting debauchery or supporting the homosexual lifestyle. Why is it then, if we quote from Henri Nouwen, or Richard Foster, for example, are we being accused of being in cahoots with ‘contemplative spirituality?'” This is a great question, and I’m looking forward to Silva’s answer.
35. Lighthouse Trails shares another Top 10 list: their ten favorite articles by other authors this year. And another, their ten favorite articles from other ministries.

And in cult news, Wayne Bent of the Lord Our Righteousness Church has been sentenced to ten years in prison.