Apologetics:

Updated:

Vox Apologia III will be at “Revenge of Mr. Dumpling”, and entries can be sent in, starting tomorrow, on the subject of “Euthanasia”.

There is a LOT more info on his site, in this post.

Entry deadline is Midnight, Sunday the 30th.

Alex is taking a break from blogging – to take a vacation. In fact, he’s visiting pretty near me. my parets vacation in Gulf Shores quite a bit.

Weapons of Warfare has a good post, titled The Tension of Evangelism.

News:

Updated:

Eric, from Evangelical Underground, announces his first annual “Evangelical Blog Awards”. These awards have many, many categories, so go check it out – then submit your nominations, per the instructions in his post. I think the only ones I would qualify for would be “Apologetics”, and “New” 😀 (And, if you ask me, Weapons of Warfare should get the nod for apologetics, if he keeps his current rate up.)

Catez, from Allthings2All has established a “Women’s aggregator” for faithbloggers, titled “Women4God”. Read about it here.

Jeremy, at Parableman, cracks down on WorldMag.

My response? From the comments at Parableman:

I have to disagree with you, for one simple reason: How the sentence is constructed.

It doesn’t match what I was told to expect. It doesn’t match your
description, when I read it. I don’t even read World Mag – so I don’t
care either way – but I dislike a big ado about nothing.

Rolling Stone’s agenda in deciding to not run that ad was, indeed,
anti-Christian. The sentence structure used clearly denotes that the
subject of the “anti-Christian” statement, was, in fact, Rolling Stone.
They are anti-Christian because their worldview is antithetical to
Christianity, and their decision to not run the ad was based on a supposed policy to exclude ALL religious advertisement. (Which, incidentally, I think is a lie, through their teeth.)

The only time the post mentioned “anti-Christian” was linked
to a noun, via possession. “Rolling Stone’s anti-Christian agenda”. I
don’t know how the statement could be any clearer. Rolling Stone has
never, ever, ever been pro-Christian. It’s a ROCK magazine.

The sentence, (read in my mind’s eye paraphrase), reads “despite the TNIV’s gender-inclusive language, the anti-Christian agenda of Rolling Stone may bear fruit for Zondervan.

The subject of the sentence prior is Zondervan, and the storm of
media attention garnered for it. The “gender-inclusive” statement is
simply referring to the prior media storm created by that gender inclusiveness.

So, what they are in essence saying, is that Rolling Stone’s bungle may have negated the storm of negative controversy, by potentially promoting Zondervan positively, as being “discriminated against”.

I don’t see anywhere where they call anyone who doesn’t agre with the TNIV as “anti-Christian” – they call Rolling Stone
anti-Christian. Which, if you’ve kept up with Rolling Stone’s policies,
and articles over the years, is indeed consistently
anti-Christian/Judeo-Christian moral values.

The article makes no “endorsements” of the TNIV, calls noone “anti-Christian”.

I don’t know World Mag, and I really don’t care either way what they
say – as I rarely read them, unless linked to them, like I was here.

But, looking at the linguistic elements, I don’t see either of the above, in any way, shape, or form.

Reading the sentence as written, even with a anti-article outlook
going in, due to your post, I saw absolutely nothing of what you
described. Linguistically, your problem doesn’t exist. If you want it
to say something other than written, thus implying that he mistakenly wrote something, but meant something else… you might have a chance to make that work. I don’t see any reason to think so, however.

Anyway – that’s my take. I don’t care about World Mag – but I don’t
see anything even remotely close to what you’re talking about in that
sentence, as written – unless you take a healthy dose of
“interpretation” to it. A VERY healthy dose.

Bleh. I hate controversy within the body – I really do. But, I’ll respond to it, if I feel it needs to be responded to. I’m an apologist, yes. However, within the body, to someone I respect… I really don’t like doing it. Oh well. I’ll just suck it up, won’t I?

Weapons of Warfare weighs in from a different perspective, with Jeremy replying.

*sigh* (HT: Smart Christian – who is also debating Jeremy’s decision.)

Update 3:
I fixed the “cutoff” problem. It was the “minimum width”, in the CSS, as well as some messed up margin values. HT: Eric, from Evangelical Underground 😀

Now… to find the trackback problem. (And no, it’s not Spam Karma – it was happening before I installed it, and that portion of the plugin isn’t enabled)

Hrmm. Pingbacks work, though. Yay.

Update 2:
AllThings2All has an AWESOME post up – the title is “Not many Noble“. Hint: It’s a quote from a Narnia book. (Which I love – along with C.S. Lewis.)

Go read it. Now. Kthxbye.

Update 1:
A good essay concerning the Russian anti-semitism issue.

Apologetics:
Eric of Evangelical Underground is examining the darker side of “blogfathering”, in his continuation to yesterday’s post on “Finding a Niche Within a Niche.” He’s also created a snazzy new layout.

Alex got “Spywared.” I despise spyware.

Adrian is tracking the ecosystem jumps – and, he was apparently separated at birth from Jollyblogger. Small world…

Dory, at Wittenberg Gate, has another This and That post up. She discusses her homeschooling, among other things- a subject dear to my heart, as I’m a homeschooled-type personage.

The original “topic starter” of the excellent debate at Weapons and Warfare weighs in. He’s doing a series on Catholicism, on his blog. Not entirely to the advantage of Catholicism, it seems.

Minor Prophet points our attention to rising Russian Anti-Semitism.

News:

Illinois passes an anti-discrimination law, which could force churches to hire homosexuals, or risk lawsuits. (HT: EO)

The blogosphere:

Jollyblogger explores Denominational aggregators/blogrolls.

Challies digs into Spiritual Gift Assessments & The Bible. Good post – and interesting topic.

More to come. I’ll post updates on top.

I’m going to steal shamelessly from the name of the late 80’s “missile defense program”, in my initial offering of an idea.

Now that we’re moderately organized, apologists – we need to start targeting, and spreading out to practice apologetics.

I have a couple theories on how to do so.

1. We need to start “teaming up”.

2. We need to start identifying the people we plan on reaching out to.

3. We need to start identifying the people we need to defend the Gospel from, and to.

So, there’s a few ideas, thrown into the wind. Now, let’s flesh them out.

Teaming up:

I’d like to mention a verse I made in an earlier post: “And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three {strands} is not quickly torn apart.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

This concept is especially important to those of us who actively defend the faith – sometimes in hostile settings. I can point to a host of times, in my own experience, where just one single, solitary friendly word worked worlds of encouragement. Even more welcome is a brother or sister, who can stand back to back with you, and assist you – and you him/her. It is invaluable, when debating, defending, or explaining the Word – and even more so in a hostile setting – which is where those of us who are active, offensively (in a tactical sense) minded apologists are likely to be.

I encourage you to find someone, or someones, of a like mind, and a like spirit, to “team up” with, when you do “on the spot” apologetics. On a forum I often debate on, I created a group called “Shade Tree Apologists”, in order to assist the Christians who debate on this forum. It’s proven unbelievably encouraging and effective – because, like that strand of three cords, it is not easily broken. It allows you to have backup, to have a slightly different perspective, an encourager, and a comradeship.

Don’t forget the great bit of wisdom above.

Identifying:

I have a challenge for you. Find at least 3 “secular”, 3 agnostic, or 3 atheistic journals/blogs this week. Pick whichever suits your style of apologetics. Now, start commenting. Get to know them. Interact – make their day. Preferably, find a low traffic blog (especially you higher-ranked bloggers), and make their day even further by giving them a nod in your sidebar.

Several “encouragement” opportunities, and a way to “let your light shine before all men”. See how that works. I’m going to try an experiment, to see how the idea of “salting the blogosphere” works, in practice. Who’s with me? I’ll round up your results in my “Daily Cut” posts, as you do so. That’s the other reason I wanted the aggregator…

Targeting:

Also, I encourage you to find at least one blog with a worldview antithetical to the Christian worldview. Disagree, trackback, and dialogue. At least one “defense” per week should be our goal, in my humble opinion. Don’t you think? Now, not all of us are _active_ apologists. If your gifts correspond to this type of thing – go for it. If they _DO NOT_, ignore this. My opinion, at least. Another option: disagree, trackback, and continue the dialogue blog to blog, instead of in their comments section. I dunno. See what works. It’s an experiment 😀

So… who wants to try this?

Announcements:

WordPress junkies: I have a problem. See, when someone on 800 x 600 stops by – the center block is chopped off by the right sidebar. How do I fix this?

Yes, my brother’s graphics rock. Just saying.

Vox Apologia II was a BLAST. Thanks everyone, for your entries, and thank you, everyone who read it. I hope it was edifying, encouraging, and exhortational. (Yay for alliteration!)

Pastors:

Sign up on the Mark D. Roberts blogging pastors list.

Discovered:

Thinking Christian. Read this blog. It rocks.

Welcomes:

To the Aggregator:

The Minor Prophet

Ryan Wentzel

Wittenberg Gate

Adrian Warnock

21st Century Reformation

Apologetics roundup:

Eric from Evangelical Underground discusses Finding A Niche Within A Niche – he gives us his take on “dos and don’ts” of Evangelical blogging. It’s a good read. I picked up a good perspective on what I’m doing, and not doing from it.

Every Thought Captive reviews Love God With All YourMind, by J.P. Moreland. Also, he is addressing the New Atlantis Stem Cell Symposium, here, and here.

Dory, from Wittenberg Gate issues a challenge, in her This and That post: “Go visit a non-Christian blog today and sprinkle some salt in their comments section.” So… what are you waiting for?

She also examines the issue of Broken Leaders and Second Chances” in a post today.

AllThings2All has a really cool feature called “SideBlog” – she’s using it for announcements, and such. Cool ‘lil tool. I’ll use it myself – once I find some time 😀

EXCELLENT discourse concerning the “challenge” issued by Andrew, of Weapons of Warfare, in the comments of that entry. Funky Dung did, indeed, meet the challenge, as I had suggested, and superbly. Kudos to both of you for such a wonderfully rich discussion of the topics at hand. THAT was what I was envisioning between us, when I was thinking about putting the Aggregator together. Thank you very much for brightening my evening.

The Minor Prophet discusses whether we should give to “beggars” on the side of the road. Interesting entry.

Updates:

Miscellany:

Parableman reviews the Philosopher’s Carnival

Top ten reasons to read Christian History. (HT: Smart Christian

21st Century Reformation discusses a Radical Change in our Christian Practice

Letters From Babylon muses on Massachusetts.

A Slice of the Neighborhood:

I’d like to mention “Blogcorner Preacher“. He consistently has thoughtful, scriptural pieces up – and they’re pretty deep stuff.

His name is John Luke Rich, a self-described “struggling” Christian. He calls his blog a way of “evangelizing on the internet”. Well, if anyone stops by, they are sure to stop and read – and think some deep thoughts. I encourage you to check out his blog.

Welcome to Vox Apologia II. I know this week’s submissions were a bit light compared to last week. I apologize for that, as I feel I goofed a bit, by posting the dates/times so poorly.

From here on out, we’ll have hosts, dates, and times delineated, and planned further ahead – and the next week’s host, email, and subject defined within the Vox Apologia entry.

That being said… Welcome: To the Digital Saltshaker.

Today’s host is yours truly – Joshua Whipps, aka “RazorsKiss”. Our guest artist is my brother, Paul, aka “BrainCatalyst”. I hope you stop by his site, when you’re through. I enjoy his work – in fact – it’s all over my site. Including the banner, you see above. (Mouseover the images, as you browse down the presentation – I tried to arrange the posts by the general “tone”.)

Today’s subject is “Digital Salt”. I left the definition and description purposely vague, to see what people came up with. Several people took a similar approach, several people took “the road less traveled”. Both types of entries complement each other well.

Note: If you have a late submission, due to my general “uh, I’m supposed to be organized?” moments… just
send it. I’ll add it. Thanks!

Submission	Host’s Commentary
AllThings2All shares a story called “Is It Tomorrow Yet?” She writes: “If there was any impression I gained this time out it was that people are wasting time… Always passing the time and waiting for tomorrow.”	This story is powerful. It’s a wonderful example – from people ACTUALLY leaving the saltshaker, in the un-digital world. If this doesn’t convict you – you need a spiritual checkup.
Weapons of Warfare brings us Spreading the Salt. He writes: “What does it mean to be salt on this earth? More specifically, what does it mean to be salt in this new and growing medium, the blogosphere?”	There are some excellent points made here. My favorite is concerning an “over-concentration” of salt, in one place. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that fell right in with what we’ve been talking about, with the “Ghetto”.
From firstPete315, we get Mmm Mmm good…or not. He takes a brief look at the responsibility we bear as Christian bloggers and the outcomes of “blogging” in a way that is consistent with the inspired counsel of Paul.	You know – this is a wonderful “manual” for the Christian who is sharing the Word, or the Gospel, with someone else – and encounters opposition. It’s short – but chock full of good advice.
Dory, from Wittenberg Gate reminds us of the difference between effective apologetics, and winning an argument, in her entry entitled Know How To Answer Each One. She bases it on Colossians 4:5-6, and explores what our apologetic goals are, so that we can wisely choose the best approach to meet them.	She’s right. There are two types of people: scoffers, and hearers. Whether we encounter scoffers, or hearers – our audience is always the hearers of the Word. So, our speech, as she reminds us, should always be “as though seasoned with salt.”
My own post is titled “Salting the Digital World“. I write: “We shouldn’t be venus flytraps, waiting for someone to stop by, and step into our parlor. We need to go knock on other people’s doors – and go visit.”	Basically, it’s like this. We have these nice, comfortable blogs. We stay here – and, in the nice, comfortable blogs of other people we know. It’s nice to be comfortable. However – it’s nicer to be in an active dialogue with those who need to hear what we have to say – and, hear it in THEIR parlor – not just ours.
Every Thought Captive asks us a question: Where To From Here? He writes: “We are on only the ground floor of what the blogosphere can do for the Church. Let us be wise, winsome, and creative in how we proceed!”	Phil makes some great points, which serve to give an example of how to “encourage the saints” – not to mention detailing how to both engage in, and sustain a conversation in this medium.
Hill Country Views gives us Digital Salt. He writes: “We don’t hoard the digital salt for ourselves, but pass it freely around the internet.”	Anselm explores a sort of “lifestyle evangelism” – from a blogging perspective. How does your light shine, before all men? Are you actually _being_ salt?
The Greatest Pursuits reminds us, most appropriately, of another use for salt: creating traction. His entry is Melting the Ice. He writes: “As the “salt of the earth,” I believe Christians are given the ability to melt away the snow and ice coming between those who are lost or in bondage and the truth which can free them”	Very, very astute observation he makes. You really need to check this one out. In this wintry weather, you may appreciate it even more.
The Revenge of Mr. Dumpling gives us some pointers on how to BE Digital Salt, and WHY we should be Digital Salt, in his post “Digital Salt“. He writes: “I believe that the Internet is the mission field of the 21st century. The instantaneous nature of Internet communication and its global reach mean that anyone, and I mean anyone, can share their thoughts with any person, in any part of the world with extremely basic resources.”	Man, I like this guy. He’s speaking to us, about just what we’ve been talking about, via the discussions about the “Ghetto”, and what our role, as Christians, should be in this digital world. Go check it out. You won’t be sorry.

Next Week! Next guest host is David Goodwin, aka “Mr. Dumpling”. Send entries HERE , no earlier than Thursday, January 27th, no later than midnight EST, Sunday, Jan. 30th.	Graphics courtesy of: My brother, and a graphics guru.	Got Defense? Host Vox Apologia! “being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence”
The Vox Apologia is a weekly symposium, conducted on a “thematic” basis. It includes blog entries based around a single theme, in order to garner varying perspectives – which will be assembled, as time passes, as a database of sorts. Each edition of the Vox Apologia is ‘guest hosted’ with commentary from the guest host, relevant to each submitted article, where possible, and a graphic – if desired. Participants need not be members of the Apologetics Aggregator, nor do the entry URLs submitted have to be those of the participant. Submission guidelines and a short FAQ are here. Credit goes to Gary Cruse, of The Owner’s Manual, for the presentation concept. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.

The first question: What does “being salt” mean?

Well, I wrote a bit on this some time ago, in a post entitled “On Salt” – so I’ll plagiarize myself first, and go from there.

Salt is many things, but let’s look at a few things that salt has always been, historically, and in the Bible.

Read the rest of this entry

A Challenge:

“Funky Dung”, of Ales Rarus (heh. That is SUCH a name.) has a challenge for us.

Write about how we are “Not to consume one another” – a reference from Galatians 5:15.

I now humbly request my fellow Godbloggers to write about this serious issue from their own perspectives. My readership is loyal, but small. This issue must be dealt with by all bloggers who call themselves Christians. The more voices denouncing enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, and the like and enouraging love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, the better.

So – who’s going to take it up? I’ve seen a bit of it this week, actually. I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment. Look for something from me soon.

An Inspiration:

Read this post.

Do it now.

The mind of Christ is expressed in this small, poignant scene from a red light district outreach.

It made me tear up. Thank you Catez, for sharing it with us.

The funny part? I’m the lowest-ranked out of all of the apologetics bloggers.

Heh.

See numbers below. If I put them without a “more”… this page loads slower than it’s admitted graphics-heaviness already makes it.

So…

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Updates:

The answer to yesterday’s Trivia:

RazorsKiss is a name I created for Elite Plus, when I was 8-9 years old. I’m a huge space sim fan, by the by. (Check my main website out, if you want to see how much I like gaming 😀 I’ve kept it since that time, and it’s been my consistent “online handle” since there _was_ an internet. Not for any particular reason, to begin with – but it has become a statement, in several ways. So, that’s the origin.

Symbology:

RazorsKiss conjures up images of sharp edges, dark places, a hint of “warmth” in an otherwise hard-edged, gothic atmosphere. It is two diametrically opposed objects, juxtaposed in one composite word. It is blood-red, shining, glinting light, off of a sinister object. It is a indictment of the gothic culture, by using their symbology, and turning it around from a Christian perspective. It is the sort of name that “gets you in” to the youth culture – but carries connotations that put you just a bit ill-at-ease.

Ideologically:

Razors are some of the sharpest bladed objects we’ve created. They are small, they are subtle – and they can draw blood with even the smallest cut. They can split hairs, cut hairs – and yet, create the smoothest of skin – with the sharpest of blades. The sharper the razor, the better the shave, and the smoother the result is. You need a very sharp razor, to have a very good shave.

In logic, in debates, and in apologetics, things work the same way. You logic has to be very concise, your explanations clear, your mind sharp, and your attention must be very focused. People tell me that I stare daggers, when I’m concentrating. I’m an incredibly focused person – when I want to be. I’m also very lazy at times – perhaps as a counter to the focused part of me. There IS some element to the “Occam’s Razor” reference that Ed mentioned. That’s one of the reasons I’ve kept it, actually.

Otherwise:

It’s a cool name, it’s very distinctive, I love black and red (favorite colors), the name is an old and virtually unused “trademark”. The only other people who use it are a German Xanga goth – and an old German metal band. My selection predates both. A Super Star Destroyer is named “Razor Kiss”, in a Star Wars book (Warlord Zsinj’s second) – but my name predates that as well.

So, basically… I made it up at 9 (Why? How? I have no idea. It popped into my head. I’m a huge reader – and have been since the age of 3. I read truly INSANE amounts every week – so who knows where I picked it up. ) – and I’ve kept it, because it’s “edgy” (oh… is that a theme? :D), and because it’s unique, and distinctive.

So, anyway. Yeah. I like the name. (Thanks for reminding me (with your Razor Ramon comment… NOOOOO!) to add this, Eric. (and I’m a 26 year old male, in case anyone is wondering :D)

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Challies writes about Apologetics.

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Welcomes:

To the Aggregator:

Ales Rarus, a Catholic apologist. It helps, sometimes, to get a different perspective on things.

Alex Forrest – he’s doing Doctoral work in apologetics. Welcome to the community!

Blogma, a very sharp looking blog, with a nice post on “Injustice vs Non-Justice” up right now.

Noticed:

Unscrewing the Inscrutable has come up with another Carnival. This carnival, however, is called the Carnival of the Godless. So, yeah. Now, here’s an interesting note I found:

“From a godless perspective” does NOT mean that you must be an atheist to send in a submission. There are plenty of theists who blog from a godless perspective. We welcome their posts. We will even consider posts criticizing godlessness in general, or atheism in particular. We recognize that there are some interesting theists out there who will have written relevant posts. We only ask that you do not submit a post that is just a short linking post, but rather something that shows off yours or someone else’s writing ability.

So, there’s an “outreach” opportunity if you want to take it.

Ales Rarus directs us to a post criticizing C.S. Lewis. He also wonders if anyone would be willing to do an apologetic for an apologist – namely, C.S. Lewis.

Blind Mind’s Eye disagrees with my comments about Poliblogs. He has more to say in the comments, after I reply.

I disagree – but it was kinda interesting to have someone actually disagree with me. Blogs, as I’ve noticed, have a tendency to either applaud wildly, or disagree vehemently. An actualy, reasonable disagreement was interesting 😀

Too many people are talking about Spongebob. I don’t care. So, yeah.

Christian Carnival #53 is up, and stuff. I might read it – I read really, really fast (like, neighborhood of 1,800 wpm fast) – but that would take a considerable chunk of time. I may work through it as the week progresses.

BlogClicker looks interesting.

Smart Christian is doing a one-day series on “Evangelical Identity”. (Just noticed – Joe found it before me… bleh.)

Classical Values posts about Israeli Arabs. Very interesting – go read it.

Blog of the Week:

Weapons of Warfare – some truly prodigious output, and very, very sharp blogging on apologetics.

Discovered:

Mr. Standfast, via Jollyblogger. I like.

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If I see anything else, I’ll add it in updates to the top.

Short once-over.

Same (added one to the top 100, lost one. Close. Wittenberg and Adrian closing on the top 100 – Le Sabot _just_ dipping out, with In the Agora jumping in.

Lots of movement, and additions to the top 500 and top 100 ranks. I didn’t catch all of the additions – though I did catch some. I’ll do a full workdown of it over the weekend, with every current member Joe has listed. Steadily growing, with _some_ fluctuation.

Just as my twist.. “my” bloggers are bolded this time, to show the effect of large-scale aggregator/metablog + meta-niche blogging. I think it’ll be interesting. (Note: Ev. Underground has a new blog, I think. Not positive.)

(As an aside, I’ve gone from 5713 to 1018, as of this posting, since this started. So, yeah. OutPostings + meta-niching WORK. 😛 The newer/smaller blogs got _launched_. Really far.)

Numbers below.
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