Middle East Radio Forum

I just wanted to post this link to their website. It is an extraordinarily informative hour on the radio, when you can learn a lot about the Middle East and its history as it relates to the current turmoil. I hope you check it out. The host of the program has posted various links to other related websites for further enlightenment. You'll have to download and install Quicktime Player to listen if you don't have it. It's worth the trouble. But FYI: I had to try three times to download the setup files because of corrupt files which interrupted the download. It seemed to work reasonably well otherwise.
Middle East Radio Forum
Be back later with another interesting link!

Calvinism vs. Arminianism

For all you theology buffs who are interested in the debate between what John Calvin taught, which is by and large taught in the Bible, and what Jacob Arminius taught, I submit to you this link to an excellent--if not the best--expositional sermon on the Five Points of Calvinism. These points are, of course, not exhaustive of Calvin's theology, or of Biblical theology. They merely answer the five points raised by Arminius and his followers.

When, not if, you follow the link to the webpage of the sermon, be sure to click "Later" when asked if you wish to receive their email newsletter (if you do, then click "Continue"). Enjoy The Five Points of Calvinism.

Compass Direct

Today's post is a shameless plug for Compass Direct, a Christian website dedicated to informing the public about the severe persecution suffered by Christians around the world. It is an eye-opener for us Western believers who have been living in countries which were founded predominantly by Christians, and have experience only moderate political persection (culture wars) which rarely turns violent. Thank God we are a safe, though imperfectly so, harbor for a restless world. May God grant us His peace, grace and mercy in our time of need.

A FEW CHANGES

I tried a couple of things today to see if they would improve the appearance of my blog. One was to revert to my old title, "Pete's Blog," an unpretentious name for a novice such as myself. The other change was to insert a news feed in the sidebar. That was an experiment in HTML code 101. I'll leave it to the adventurous to see how I did that.

Well, I could post a hyperlink for fun here.

For Blogger.com users' future reference, use the hyperlink toolbar button, then change the text from its full web address to whatever you want. It will stay a hyperlink to that address. Pretty cool.

Music Hath Charms..

I don't know what to write about, but I have noticed that when I listen to great Christian music such as that found in the previous post, it can be incredibly inspiring. Earlier, I watched the trailer for End of the Spear, the movie about the murder of five missionaries to the Auca Indians of Ecuador. That certainly set me on a Christian course this evening. Here is the link: http://www.endofthespear.com/ It certainly is inspiring, especially if you have a high-speed connection because of all the "buffering."

One of these days, I'll figure out how to post a link without using "http, etc.," like other bloggers do. There. Now if you click on that link, you will find that I discovered (learned) how to do it. I'll leave it a trade secret unless you are familiar with Blogger.com.

Well, that leaves me with one more post which basically says what I want, but nothing else. Again, if you can swing playing audio of your choice through your computer while blogging, do it. It will inspire you to employ your whole brain! What a rush!

Until I feel inspired again...

P.S. As a disclaimer, the above photo was uploaded from my computer, not from the movie. If you have Windows XP, it's in the My Pictures folder, under Sample Pictures. This one is called, "Blue Hills." Obviously:)

Born Again Radio

I just wanted to post this link to Born Again Radio for "America's Best Christian Music.". I recommend the first and second buttons on the left to listen with Windows Media Player (32/48K wma). These sounded the best. I also recommend the Recommended Links page (http://faithchurchaz.org/documents/links.html) of Faith Church of the Valley's website (http://faithchurchaz.org) for a comprehensive list of hyperlinked resources for the multimedia addict as well as Bible scholar.

The title of my post being what it is, I must end it here and begin a new one to change the subject. So here I go...

GASP! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE???

You have just stumbled upon the most unread blog on the web!!! This is just a miscellaneous blogpost which says basically nothing except,"Hey!" I should visit other blogs and websites in order to draw inspiration for my own blog. I do enjoy posting things when I feel inspired to do so. Perhaps I just feel the need to publish. This is, after all, the Information Age.

We are living in the midst of what some are calling the Information Reformation (Hugh Hewitt, et al). I feel very fortunate (blessed) to be able to go online and read and/or write about it. But the real phenomenon is found in surfing the Net, not just talking about it. Not to slam commentaries about such things or abstract thinking in general. It is our God-given ability to reason that helps us to cope with the changes inherent in a living, breathing community of naturally creative human beings, guided of course by the unseen but discernable hand of God.

I must begin a new paragraph because I have no idea how to follow that last one. But it is an exercise in freedom and reason that I discuss these things. I seem to favor descending into a philosophical tone when writing about life in general, and I will always do so, given enough time. This is to soar with wings of eagles, to write freely but restrainedly, to chain the wild beast and make him perform well as though not a wild beast at all. Grrrr.

How does one wrap up such a post as this, a philosophical-wannabe treatise on hardly anything at all. I can sign off knowing the next post will be better.

Well...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Well, it looks like my new year's wishes are a little late. But better late than never. I trust all of you imaginary readers of my blog had a good holiday season. I did, especially since I discovered Mannheim Steamroller! Their Christmas CDs are peerless and worth listening to over and over. I recommend them to anyone who loves good, clean music.

Well, this is my second paragraph, and already I'm repeating myself ("Well"). Having run out of things to say, I must defer to any websites you may prefer to visit. Happy Surfing.