Best Of The Web 2011

12/6 marked the 5th anniversary of Redmptive Thoughts.  Normally I would take this time to reflect on what I have written throughout the year, but I have taken a blogging sabatical which has lasted a lot longer than intended. Consequently, I have written very little.  Within the next few months I will return to blogging. In the meantime, I will bring to your attention those internet articles which succeeded in capturing my attention in 2011.

The Arrest: Illness Unbidden : Douglass Groothius utilizes the metephor of an arrest by a totalitarian state to create a profound picture of what illness does to human beings and those closest to them.  Then he ties this to Christ's sufferings. From Groothius' blog Chronic Illness, Christian Faith, and Other Laments.

Avoidance--A Christian Problem: "Those whose lives are ruled by fear ironically avoid what is necessary to remove it." Ben Witherington speaks of how fear not only ruins lives but also prevents us from admonishing those we love when they need admonishment.  From Witherington's Bible and Culture blog.

1.1 Cheers For Pat Robertson: The one good thing that happens when Pat Robertson makes a statement that embarrasses the Church is that the statement often provokes thoughtful responses from deeper thinkers. Robertson's statement that a husband would be justified in divorcing a wife suffering from alzheimers provoked this outstanding response from Russell D. Moore. From Christianity Today's blog.

Arminians Shooting Themselves In The Foot: William Watson Birch's analysis of the reaction of SOME Arminians to Rob Bell's "Love Wins."  From his The Arminian blog.  See also Roy Ingle's Five Dangers Facing Classical Arminians from his Reformed Arminian blog.

Why The Missional Movement Will Fail, Part 1 and Part 2:  The Missional Movement will fail because it has so focused on evangelism that it has neglected the Church's role of discipleship. From Michael Breen's blog.

Did Youth Ministry Create The Emerging Church? Part 1 and Part 2:  The roots of both the Emergent Church and the Megachurch are to be found in Youth Ministries. Does this make Youth Ministry as has been practiced by the Evangelical Church a threat the Church's theology, ecclesiology, and relationships among its members? By Skye Jethani of the Out of Ur blog.


Sniffing Glue: A Childhood In Christian Pop: Written by a woman who grew up in a Christian home but has since left the Christian faith. She explains how contempory Christian worship led her to abandon the Church.

Heresy Is Heresy, Not A Lithmus Test For Gospel Preaching: Jason B. Hood warns against opening up oneself to the charge of antinomianism in preaching grace. The charge should not be regarded as a badge of honor, as some within Calvinist circles consider it. From Christianity Today's blog. Also from that same source: In Praise of Confidence by Mollie Ziegler Hemingway. Doubt is celebrated in some Christian circles. Is this a good thing?

Bad, Mr. Huckabbe, Bad      Our political and cultural elites condemn Christians who critique Islam while ignoring the treatment Christians and other religious minorities receive in Isamic countries. Should we be surprised? From John Mark Reynolds at The Scriptorium.

The death of Steve Jobs inspired thousands of meditations upon the meaning of his life. Here are three: The Apotheosis of Steve Jobs by Gene Veith (Have we turned Steve Jobs into a secular saint?), Al Mohler writes of how the secular world will remember Jobs and how Christians should evaluate his life, and in Jobs, Dubya, and Leadership, James K.A. Smith points out the similarities in the leadership styles of Jobs and George W. Bush. Smith notes how critics who criticize Bush's leadership style praise Jobs for the very same traits.

Two other posts by Douglass Groothius caught my attention: What is a Library? and Banning Laptops in the Classroom. Both deal with how internet technology has diminished our sense of place and the learning process. Both are from Groothius' other blog The Constructive Crumudgeon.

Can A Christian Work In The Marketing Field? by Roger E. Olson.

The Guided And The Misguided: The moral history of Soap Operas by Martha Bayles published on the Claremont Institute's website.