Disturbed Christians (Christianity)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Disturbed Christians

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.disturbedchristians.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Disturbed Christians was created as a place to tell stories about ways that religion has wronged people; more importantly it is a place for sarcasm, humor, and anecdotal true accounts of when faith and culture collide. We practice love, not Christianity. And redemption? Yeah, I guess we’ll have to drag our feet and include a bit of that too—we are Christians after all—but I promise it won’t be preachy or anything like that, because nothing makes a blog blow more than people telling you that you can go to heaven.

MY REVIEW: This blog is written by three individuals, one who posts on
Mondays, one who posts Fridays, and one who posts whenever she feels like ti.

The theme is Christianity. The "disturbed" Christians of the title aren't disturbed as in "mentally disturbed" but disturbed as in upset with how Christianity is portrayed by some organizations, in the media, etc.

As an atheist, I find reading these blogs pretty interesting, but I know that actual Christians will also find what they have to say of interest.

Sample post:

The Heresy Hunters Are Coming! [half of it!]

If you are a blogger, you will experience criticism from time to time. When your put your thoughts out there for the entire world to read, you will eventually find some one who disagrees. And there's nothing wrong with that. Here's the main thing to remember when dealing with criticism. If it's constructive criticism--for example, "I think you should research your topics more before you write about them"--then you should consider what your critics say, because they might be onto something. However, if your critics something like, "You liberal scumbag!" it's best to delete their comments.

The Christian blogsosphere has a specific kind of critic called the Heresy Hunter, who has taken it upon him/herself to expose every false doctrine they can find within modern Christianity. Heresy Hunters see themselves as modern day Reformers pitted in a battle against the corrupt Church. Sometimes they accurately find false doctrines that a lot of Christians accept, like the Prosperity Gospel and the Word-of-Faith movement. However, sometimes the Heresy Hunters forget about 2 Timothy 2:24-25: "The Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth." (Emphasis mine) When the Heresy Hunters get on a roll, they often resort to name-calling and finger-pointing.

RECENT POSTS:
--The Heresy Hunters Are Coming!
--Mormon Mondays (on Tuesday): Introduction
--Surprised by Humor?
--Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey?
--A Fourth Observed
--Lisa Gungor - "Jesus and John"

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

The Many Faces of Truth (religion, life and culture)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: The Many Faces of Truth

WEB ADDRESS: http://themanyfacesoftruth.wordpress.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Exploring Truth in the many people and places that reflect it. Included are essays as well as book, music and movie reviews.

MY REVIEW: This is an excellent blog for anyone who is religious, not religious but interested in the history of religion (that'd be me). The author discusses the Bible, and books about religion, Christian music, and so on, from a Christian standpoint. He writes very well, in a very informed manner.

Highly recommended.

SAMPLE PARAGRAPHS FROM A POST:

In the "Making Sense of Christianity" series of posts, we have been discussing whether or not the Bible is a reliable source of Truth. In this post, we will examine the Easter Story more specifically.

The Easter Story is the climax to the Old Testament narrative. At the end of the Old Testament, we know that humanity has sinned and that God has promised redemption through the line of David and through the Covenant(s) He has made with Israel. We are waiting for the Messiah, the Anointed One who is to come and bring the Kingdom of God to earth, the One who will finally set things right. Through the first four books of the New Testament, we are told the story of Jesus, the Messiah who has finally come. Jesus indeed starts setting things right, but in ways we do not expect. Jesus takes the place of a servant, washing feet, healing beggars and the sick, eating with adulterers and tax collectors. Then we have the Easter story. Jesus the Messiah dies, most unexpectedly, but then Jesus lives again, ushering in the Kingdom of God.

But for those of us who live so many years after the events supposedly took place, we have a burning question: Did the Easter Story really happen? What evidence do we have to believe that Easter actually happened? Let’s look at the details of the Easter Story and see whether they verify the Easter Story or whether they show that the Easter Story is nothing more than a lie.

In a previous post we looked at women in the New Testament. We saw that women play a pretty important role in the Easter Story. There was a group of women who were at the cross with Jesus. It was a group of women that went with Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb to “embalm” Jesus. It was a group of women who went to the tomb early on Sunday morning. It was Mary Magdalene who first “preached” the Gospel, proclaiming the Good News to the men.

What we didn’t look at in that previous post is what the men were doing during the Easter Story. First, just before Jesus is arrested, he takes a few disciples and prays in Gethsemane. Jesus is greatly disturbed and sorrowful, and he asks the men keep watch as he leaves to pray by himself. When he returns, he finds the men in earnest prayer. Wait. That’s not right. Jesus returns to find the men keeping watch, just like Jesus asked. Wait. That’s not right either. Jesus returns to find the men sleeping. Yep. That’s right. Sleeping. This happens not once, but multiple times. Jesus brought some men along to keep watch while he prayed, and instead of doing as Jesus asked, they fall asleep. Over and over again. (Mark 14:32-42)

Then there is Peter. While Jesus is being questioned by various authorities, Peter is asked whether he is a disciple. He denies ever knowing Jesus. Again, this happens not once but multiple times. (Luke 22:54-62) John describes it very poignantly, “It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.” (John 18:18) Instead of standing with Jesus as he is questioned, Peter is standing with the servants and officials of those who are questioning Jesus.

Peter is by no means the only cowardly one, though. We find out from John that the rest of the men have been locked up in rooms hiding because they fear for their lives. Instead of honoring Jesus at his grave, instead of anything else beneficial they could have been doing, they are locked away, hiding. (John 20:19)

If the Easter Story is a lie, if it is simply made-up, why are the men presented as cowards and the women presented as the brave heroes of the story? Wouldn’t the male authors of the Gospels have preferred to write it the other way around if they were simply making it up?

RECENT ARTICLES:
--Did Easter Really Happen? (Making Sense of Christianity #4)
--Music Review: Sara Groves’ Fireflies and Songs
--Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion (Answering the Critics #2)
--The Gospel of Paul (Making Sense of Christianity #3)
--Artist’s Best: Caedmon’s Call

Redemptive Heart (Lifestyles & Culture )

REVIEWED BY: Ann Currie

MY RECOMMENDATION: No

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK:Redemptive Heart

WEB ADDRESS: http://markwgaither.wordpress.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Practical resources written from a biblical worldview for those struggling in troubled marriages and those who want to help them.

MY REVIEW: This is a blog geared toward both those in troubled marriages and also ministries who want to help that group. As described, the blog is strongly Christian based.

Many posts are about books and seminars, many written or sponsored by the writer. The writer discusses issues that he sees bringing stress into marital relationships such as sex addiction, porn, wayward spouses, etc. His posts are short and full of biblical references.

I found most of his posts to not be long enough or frequent enough to offer either solace or help. If I were in a bad marriage, after reading the blog, I think I would feel more guilty (even if the problems were not my fault.) But there are always books offered that will show you the way to forgiveness and salvation. Or, if things are dire, a seminar to make you see the light.

Overall, the blog is weak. The posts are few and far between, maybe once or twice a month. It is much more a vehicle for products than a source for the soul.

RECENT ARTICLES:

--The problem of divorce
--Redemptive divorce seminar success
--Swindoll’s New Testament Insights
--A little porn is ok?
--A kinder gentler porn?

-----
Ann Currie publishes My Life a Bit South of Normal: www.abitsouthofnormal.com/
and also, Silver Pieces: The Strange and Peculiarstrangeandpeculiarsilver.blogspot.com/

Three Culture and Lifestyle Blogs, reviewed by AC Williams

According To Roderick An inspirational blog providing practical insights for living to the Christian community through biblical inspiration; as well as, giving relevant information concerning life and culture.

I am not particularly religious, but for those seeking inspirational uplifting and guidance, this is a good blog. This is geared toward those of the Christian faith. The posts are relatively long but well written. They flow like a Baptist sermon, which makes sense since the blogger, Roderick Evans is himself a minister. He breaks his "lessons" down into 4 or 5 points each using Bible verses and stories from the Bible as examples. His words are strong but meant to keep the flock on the straight and narrow way. He posts 3 or 4 times a week.

His last five posts include:

- When God says "No" -Three Reasons for God's Response of "No"
- Defining the Christian Male - Seven Traits of the Christian Man
- Speak to Me! - 5 Ways the Christian Hears from God
- The Christian Mandate for Ministry: 4 Reasons for Ministries and Gifts
- Keep your Eyes on Jesus - Overcoming Distractions

NO THUMBNAIL Acronyms Sometimes Suck: This is a blog about unfortunate acronyms and initialisms.

This blog looks to be Inactive - I first thought someone had a lot of time on their hands to keep up with this blog.

Then I looked at the dates of the posts - they don't. The most recent post is January 17, the most recent prior to that was November 12, preceded by October 22. Also, in going through the older posts many were references to obscene or (what my dear Aunt Kat would call) potty humor.

Perhaps it was a good idea on the drawing board but got lost in implementation. On a purely structural basis, it is set-up well with the name, the logo or sign, then a paragraph giving the provenance of the acronym, a little history of the business or organization, etc. Cute, but nah. Don't bother.

Last three posts:

-International Builder's Show
-Puppy in my pocket
-District of Alaska

Allergizer: provides useful, up-to-date information about allergies: cases, symptoms, treatment and medical research.

This looks to be a very helpful blog for those who suffer, or who have family members who suffer, from allergies. It is only updated every week or two, which is disappointing.

There is a lot of information in the posts. You can learn about hypoallergenic dogs (and cats - who knew?). There is much medical data on antihistamines, not just name brands but how they work and new things coming on the market. They even report on an iPhone App for Food Allergies. There is so much information here that the way it is laid out I found a little difficult to navigate my way around.

The last five posts:

--Seen that? Restrictions on Pseudoephedrine-Containing Allergy Medications
--Seen that? Understanding Antihistamines
--Seen that? Minimizing Seasonal Allergic Rhinitus Symptoms
--iPhone App for Food Allergies
--Seen that? The 2006 Spring Allergy Capitols