The battle for the minds of men

September 5, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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Ever feel like you’re being pulled in dozens of directions?

It can sometimes seem like there are more and more expectations placed on us and we find we can’t live up to any of them.

From a man’s perspective, we’re expected to be understanding husbands, perfect fathers, committed workers, reliable friends and so much more.

The pressure from each of those areas can be hard enough but when you put them all together and then add a spiritual aspect we really do need to know how to think through the issues that call for our attention.

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Today we talked about constructing a Christian worldview. Obviously, it’s not only men who benefit from knowing what they believe and then living it out. We could all do with a better understanding of how to think through the issues that face us each day.

Do our beliefs really instruct the way we think about the world and how we live? If we have a strong world view we can walk confidently knowing that we have a framework which will define our priorities and our actions.

Ross talked about the new book A Spectator’s Guide to World Views: Ten Ways of Understanding Life. The book gives a fair assesment of a number of current world views such as New Age, Secular Humanism, Relativism and Postmodernism, while contrasting what they offer with a Christian world view.

You can hear our discussion using the media player below.



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Tim Challies wants you to win

September 5, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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Tim Challies is at it again.

Some time ago Tim would regularly give away books through his website, Challies Dot Com. The give aways are back bigger than ever.

Just click on the banner below to enter.

While the prizes won’t be everyone’s idea of a great read, there will be many who would love to get their hands on these commentaries.

There will be three winners.

  • First prize: All six available volumes of the Reformed Expository Commentary series.

  • Second prize: Any three volumes of the Reformed Expository Commentary series (to be selected by the winner).

  • Third Prize: Any one volume of the Reformed Expository Commentary series (to be selected by the winner).

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Step away from the Quechup and no one gets hurt

September 4, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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A new internet networking site, Quechup, is getting a lot of attention around the blogosphere and none of it’s good.

From all reports they are emailing entire address books without permission.

People are receiving invitations that are supposedly from friends and then joining up. That’s when the whole process is repeated with each new sign up having their entire address book spammed.

If you get an email from anyone asking you to join Quechup it’s probably best to delete it and stick with those networking sites that are a little more careful with your private details.

I’m sticking with Facebook. If you want to add me as a Facebook friend you’ll find my Facebook profile here.

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Is that all there is?

September 3, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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Bowden at Counseling Notes recently had an interesting conversation which he shares in his post Meaning of Life.

I had an interesting conversation with a teenager today. A good kid from a good family that attends a good church.

I asked him what it meant to be a Christian.

“It means you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.”

Okay, that’s a nice, correct answer. What does it mean?

“It means I’m going to heaven.”

Alright, but most people grow old and die before they go to heaven. What about between now and then? What does being a Christian mean in the here and now?

“If you pray for things, you can get stuff.”

Wow. Just… wow.

If that’s all there is I’d rather forget it.

Is that really what young people, or even most people, in churches today understand following Christ to mean?

When did Christ’s message change from giving our lives for others to having a magic genie that gives us stuff and provides a nice place to go when we die? When did the focus change from the glory of God to the satisfying of men’s petty desires?

I know that this teenager has given a very simplistic answer but I wonder how deep that kind of thinking goes. Are our churches just another instrument of a consumer society?

I wonder what kinds of answers we’d get if we asked some of the people we know what it means to be a Christian. If you’re a Christian what does it mean to you?

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Thumbs Up! Edition Five

September 3, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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Time for Edition Five of Thumbs Up!

Thanks to those who have taken part this time around. It’s been a light week but there are a couple of wonderful posts to highlight.

If this is the first you’ve heard of Thumbs Up! and you’re wondering what it’s about you can read the details here.

Deano has written a post that gives a big Thumbs Up to Trent at his blog My Jarrol Spot. Trent is a very talented photographer and Deano has displayed some of his amazing work on his blog.

Over at Romi’s Journal Romi presents Thank you, Ai, a tribute to a friend whose simple gift came to mean so much.

My Thumbs Up! this week goes to the many hundreds of supporters who got behind 98.5 Sonshine FM during the eight day radio that finished on Friday. Their generosity still amazes me. There were times that we thought we wouldn’t reach our goal but the listeners came through, not only reaching the goal but exceeding it. The messages of support that came with the donations are an inspirational encouragement for all who put in long hours to make Radiothon a reality.

I don’t think I’ve left anyone out but if you did post a submission this week and you can’t see it here, please email me so that I can add your post. If you missed out on being a part of Thumbs Up! this week, get posting now and submit for next week.

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