Sharp IronSharp IronMy hope is that Sharp Iron can be a friendly enough place that you would feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and opinions on a variety of topics. I am very interested in spirituality and how that affects every aspect of our lives. Articles
Painting by the Numbers
2007-11-15 18:10:00 When you first decide that you want to be an artist you might pick up a ?Paint by Numbers? kit. Each ?painting ? is really a diagram full of many differently shaped and numbered spaces, each number representing a different color in your paint box. By religiously applying the correct color to each numbered shape it ... More About: Christianity , Jesus , God , Faith , Spirituality
An Afraid New World
2007-11-15 12:56:00 A New York Times headline today says; Scientists Use Monkey Clones to Extract Stem Cells Not only is this the first time such cells have been produced in any animal other than a mouse, but the method, the researchers say, should also work in humans. ?We hope the technology will be useful for other labs that are working ... More About: Science , Religion , Life , Nature , God
Tagged, You?re It
2007-11-14 00:43:00 I don’t know what this is all about but Poetman is pretty cool so I guess I’ll play along. http://1poet4man.wordpress.com/ has tagged me, here are the rules: Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, ... More About: Spirituality , Tagged
While Some Eat With Their Eyes Others Just Don?t Eat
2007-11-12 22:56:00 So we?ve been talking about things like fair trade, social justice, moral responsibility and the conscientious s capitalist. Often we get to arguing about where we should draw the line, who should decide what is ?enough?, what is ?too much? and whether this is really just talk of pie in the sky. I?ve never ... More About: Family , Life , Environment , Food , Culture
The Old Man?s Rules
2007-11-10 21:39:00 ?Why do you have so many different rules, anyway?? The young girl looked up at the old man, frowning. ?I do?? he asked, smiling down on her. ?You sure do. Dozens, maybe hundreds of ?em? she said. ?Well, actually, I really only have one rule. Some people have trouble figuring this one out so they made it easier ... More About: Religion , Christianity , Jesus , Theology , God
Towards a More Liberating Imagination
2007-11-09 22:34:00 In talking with a number of people about the possibility of lasting social change, I mostly encounter pessimism. People often shake their heads, shrug their shoulders and say, ?Well, what can we do? Jesus does say that the poor and oppressed will always be with us.? Thankfully, there is a growing movement of ... More About: Religion , Christianity , Culture , God , Faith
Ric Booth?s ?Rich Young American?
2007-11-09 12:23:00 A fairly new blogging friend, Ric Booth, has written a great poem and it has won an award. I’ve reprinted it here for everyone’s enjoyment but be sure to check out his site: www.ricbooth.wordpress.com the rich young american by ric booth my cell is padded grey on grey fluorescent shadows flood my days i sit and type old words so ... More About: Christianity , Culture , God , Rich , Bible
Thanks, But I?ll Pass on the Turkey.
2007-11-08 18:21:00 Yep, we?re finally doing it. Bev and I are checking out of the Thanksgiving Day scenario. We?ve been talking about it for a couple of years but were afraid of making too many waves among our extended families. Our kids are just about grown now, both young adults, so if they want to continue with ... More About: Family , Life , Food , Culture , God
What Kind of Christian are You?
2007-11-07 16:29:00 There is an interesting article over on Christian ity Today called “Five Kinds of Christians” http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/ 004/1.19.html . Here is the table they use to summarize their findings: Active Christians 19% Believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ Committed churchgoers Bible readers Accept leadership positions Invest in personal faith development through the church Feel obligated to share faith; 79% do so. Professing Christians 20% Believe salvation comes through ... More About: Church
Bad Boy Crowe to be Gladiator for God
2007-11-07 15:16:00 Movie star from Down-Under, Russell Crowe intends to be baptized this year, in a Byzantine (?) chapel he built on his estate. In a Mens Journal interview, as reported by the AP, Crowe says “If I believe it is important to baptize my kids, why not me?” This should prove interesting. First Mel Gibson and now ... More About: Hollywood , Religion , Christianity , Culture , Spirituality
Blood Bananas
2007-11-05 15:31:00 I found this article by Ryan Beiler on Sojourner’s website: www.blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/2007 /11/blood-bananas-by-ryan-rodrick.html A recent USA Today article summarized the scandal well. This was my quote of the week for SojoMail today: Chiquita’s money helped buy weapons and ammunition used to kill innocent victims of terrorism. Simply put, defendant Chiquita funded terrorism. That’s the U.S. Justice Department, in court filings last ... More About: Culture , Faith , Civil Rights , Morality
Christian Chameleons
2007-11-02 16:57:00 Tonight I will once again sally forth into the fray, exposing myself to debauchery, drunkenness, sacrilegious song and other temptations of the flesh. I just hope I have a good time. There was a period not too long ago, just after I had my conversion experience, when I was a bit unsure as to how a ... More About: Christian , Chameleon , Mele
Michael Gerson on Open Arms Conservatism
2007-11-01 13:59:00 There was a nice piece written by Michael Gerson in the Post yesterday. For those who don’t know him, he was a senior adviser with the Bush administration but left over idealogical differences. He has a book out; “Heroic Conservatism” in which he talks about those differences. In this article he says; This obligation to protect ... More About: Politics , Christianity , Culture , God , Justice
What Would Jesus Shave With?
2007-10-30 22:41:00 OK, I know that argument over what would Jesus drive has pretty much fizzled out. And good riddance! It tended to be divisive and distracting. But I think a good point was put out there that perhaps, just maybe, we are a nation of addicted consumers and this addiction is not really a ... More About: Shave
The One Minute Evangelist
2007-10-29 21:36:00 SCENE 1 The new girl, Mary, walked briskly into the office carrying a stack of file folders. She was smiling cheerfully and wearing a bright yellow dress with a vibrant floral pattern. Martha looked up from her desk. ?What in the world are you wearing? That dress is not appropriate business attire for this office ?besides, ... More About: Minute , The O
Michael Austin
2007-10-26 18:15:00 In 1974, during the robbery of a Royal Farms store in Baltimore, a security guard was shot to death with his own gun. Witnesses at the scene, including the cashier on duty, described the assailant as a light skinned black man around 5 feet 8 inches tall. Michael Austin, a very dark skinned man over ... More About: Religion , Culture , Justice , Civil Rights
Ghost Story
2007-10-24 21:59:00 My wife and daughter share a casual interest in accounts of the supernatural. They love to watch those ghost shows on the cable channels, the ones where the paranormal investigators check out allegedly haunted houses. Although they are not in the least way obsessed with the idea of supernatural contact, they both find it entertaining ... More About: Theology , Nature , God , Story , Ghost
The Bible in Five Acts
2007-10-22 04:20:00 I very much enjoyed N.T.Wright’s book on Biblical authority, “The Last Word.” In it, he illustrates an innovative way of looking at scripture in its entirety, a way which avoids many of the pitfalls that we encounter when trying to corroborate writings that appear to have diverse, even opposing points of view. He calls it the ... More About: Religion , Christianity , God , History , Faith
Disrespicting a Gas Pump
2007-10-20 20:10:00 I got gas today. I wasn’t real happy about it it, since it cost me over $2.70 a gallon. After I filled up my tank the pump began to beep, asking me in its insistent little way if I wanted to take my receipt. As usual, I deliberately ignored the machine, indulging in a little ... More About: Culture , Justice , Morality , Pump
N.T.Wright on the Enlightened Church
2007-10-19 01:05:00 We are all children, grandchildren or at least stepchildren of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, and have cause to be both grateful for the consequent privileges and anxious about some of the consequent problems. So says N. T. Wright, in his little yet important book “The Last Word: Scripture and the Authority of God - Getting Beyond ... More About: Christianity , Church , Fundamentalism , Bible
Good Bread and Wine
2007-10-17 04:44:00 For the past couple of weeks in class the kids and I have been learning how to bake bread. Although I have spent over half my life working with all kinds of food I have shied away from baking. It looked just too complicated, all those different steps involved, all the precise temperatures and ... More About: Religion , Christianity , Church , Jesus , Culture
Pint Sized Preachers
2007-10-15 12:20:00 Check out this report from ABC’s 20/20. Looks very “Hollywood” to me. http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/247.1/po pup/index.php?cl=4501215 More About: Christianity , Church , Culture , God , Faith
Conservative Contortionist Coulter Crams Capezio in Chops
2007-10-12 17:42:00 Oh, no. Say it ain’t so; Columnist Ann Coulter Shocks Cable TV Show,Declaring ‘Jews Need to Be Perfected by Becoming Christians’ Thursday, October 11, 2007 Slash-and-burn columnist Ann Coulter shocked a cable TV talk-show audience Monday when she declared that Jews need to be “perfected” by becoming Christians, and that America would be better off if everyone were ... More About: Conservative , Chops , Cram
To Church or Not to Church: Revisited
2007-10-12 16:16:00 Jonathan Brink over on Missio Dei wrote an interesting and imaginative piece on this topic: ?Jesus and Leadership Structure”. Here is an excerpt: When Jesus said the provocative words, ?Come follow me,? there must have been a chill that ran up the spine of the disciple?s backs. Imagine the moment. Ordinary people being called by an ... More About: Religion , Christianity , Church , Emergent
Good Book: ?If God Is Love: Rediscovering Grace in an Ungracious World?
2007-10-11 14:31:00 I just finished this book and thought it was superb. Very easy reading, short chapters, light and airy styling. Although written by two men, Philip Gulley and James Mulholland (both Quaker ministers), it was written in the first person singular. It is essentially a compendium of their experiences and thoughts of Jesus and his kingdom. I was lead ... More About: World , Love , Book , Grace , Good
Millennialism: Pre-Messianic Christianity
2007-10-10 21:20:00 For hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus the Jewish people waited, some patiently, some not so patiently, for the coming of the Messiah. The prophets foretold of the power that he would wield as he restored Israel to its proper place at the head of all nations. Those that had subjugated and persecuted ... More About: Religion , Christianity , God , Faith
Jonathan Edwards; Mystical Contemplative
2007-10-10 04:41:00 “The sense I had of divine things, would often of a sudden as it were, kindle up a sweet burning in my heart; an ardor of my soul, that I know not how to express. Not long after I began to experience these things? I walked abroad alone, in a solitary place in my father?s pasture, for contemplation. And as I was ... More About: Jonathan , Edwards , Myst , Mystical , Temp
Anita, the Christian Lesbian
2007-10-09 04:45:00 I trackbacked to this lady’s website and found it to be well worth the visit. Homosexuality is such a divisive topic within the church, some think it may very well make or break many denominations. I think that any of us could benefit to listening to her story. Her testimony is entitled “The Peace of ... More About: Christianity , Christian , Church , Faith , Lesbian
Enemies at the Gate
2007-10-05 22:23:00 ?Your Jelly Fish version of Chrissianity (sic) is well documented?great job ?coverting?(sic) souls to Christ with you gummy bear Jelly bean Jesus version of the Gospel! You guys are well defined by this little piece appropriately called ?Back Rubs 4 Jesus? Ha! That suits your sweet, sweet, candy cane Chrissianity (sic) just fine! What ... More About: Gate , Enemies , The G
?And On the Eighth Day God Did?.What??
More articles from this author:2007-10-01 23:25:00 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning?the sixth day.Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all ... More About: Religion , Christianity , Church , God , Faith 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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