• I JUST put Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games With Godinto my Amazon cart. I'm not much into gaming nor am I interested in Second Life, but this collection of essays edited by Craig Detweiler looks like it will be helpful for understanding what has really become a cultural shift.
• THE high court in Malaysia is hearing arguments from Christian groups who are complaining that the ban on using the word "Allah" for any god other than the Muslim god is unconstitutional. ~ link (via)
• DANISH scientists have concluded that "people blessed with youthful faces are more likely to live to a ripe old age than those who look more than their years." Apparently, they say, it has to do with longer telomeres. ~ link
• INDEED, churches are rediscovering the power of hospitality, which goes back thousands of years — think of Jesus feeding 5,000 people by the Sea of Galilee... Today, congregations are trying to provide more than intellectual nourishment by putting restaurants and coffee bars in their buildings. In our polarized and fractured society, people of different backgrounds are invited to come together in these houses of God to have conversation over a meal or a drink — in spite of their differences. ~ Henry Brinton in USA Today
• SOMETIMES the sense of entitlement is so ingrained that the politicians down't even try to maintain an appearance of frugality. For example, Guam delegate to Congress, Madeleine Bordallo, spent $6,090 on food and beverages in one day at the Outrigger Resort -- at taxpayer expense! ~ link
• AS though Jesus were white ~ link
• ARE traditional, high-interest moneylenders keeping microfinance groups afloat? Perhaps so in India. We need to view the microfinance models all as beta. ~ link
• "WHY pay the preacher?" by Dan Hotchkiss at the Alban Institute ~ link
• MARTIN MARTY is noting that conservative churches are in decline. ~ link
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