Here are some quotes for the day!
1. Rachel Held Evans is looking for feedback about topics that she should cover for her blog. I
especially liked Katy-Anne's comment (which I have slightly edited in
my quotation of it):
"I read here all the time. I LOVE the 'ask
a...' series, as it appears most do. I really, really don't like the
faith and parenting guest posts. To me, if I want to read mommy
bloggers, I'll go read their blogs, which I actually avoid like the
plague most of the time. (And I'm a mom lol). Personally I'd like to
see a little less humorous/personal stories, but not have them cut
altogether. I come here for intelligent discussion and to read topics
that make me think. :) I think you have just enough on faith and
doubt. I enjoy the book and movie reviews and think you do enough of
those. I do like the theological discussion and also think you do
enough of those to keep my interest. I would love more on your
experiences in the Christian writing and publishing industry (a lot more
ha), and more opportunities to ask you questions or at least read
Q&A from other people who asked questions. :p More
writing/blogging/publishing tips, and while I care about your eye that
doesn't capture my interest but I still come back anyway. :) Those are
just my thoughts. :)"
Those are my thoughts, too, only I'd add
that I also like Rachel's blog because it critiques evangelicalism and
the evangelical sub-culture, as well as allows people to share their
stories about leaving or returning to church.
I hope I don't
offend Mommy bloggers! I tend not to read posts about raising kids
because I myself am not a parent. At the same time, I have enjoyed
posts about trying to teach kids faith and spirituality (see here, here, and here).
2. Finding Truth has an excellent post, Tecumseh the Prophet. Prophecies have been attributed to the Native American leader Tecumseh. Finding Truth astutely asks:
"So
if you’re a Christian, I’d like to ask what you think about this
information. Did Tecumseh really prophesy these events? I know that some
liberal Christians might be comfortable with the idea that God could
have used him as a prophet even though he wasn’t a Christian. Of course,
I know many other Christians who would disagree with that. But if they
choose to dismiss these stories about Tecumseh and just file them away
as coincidence, that still leaves some questions.
"It’s easy to
see the similarities between these stories about Tecumseh and the
stories about Jesus. Tecumseh’s followers gave us the first hand
accounts of these prophecies, and the fact that many Indians from
various tribes united behind him is added evidence in his favor.
Otherwise, why would they have followed him? Of course, none of these
prophecies were written down at the time they were spoken, because few
Indians were literate. Jesus’ followers believed he did many amazing
things as well, and many people eventually followed him. But again, none
of those events were recorded until decades later.
"In other
words, we have as much reason to believe Tecumseh was an actual prophet
as we do to think Jesus was really the son of God. If you believe one of
these claims, but not the other, why?"
I myself am open to the
existence of the supernatural or the paranormal in all sorts of
settings, Christian and non-Christian. In terms of why the supernatural
shows up when it does, though, I'm not entirely sure.