Every (now and again on a) Friday (I’m posting links to things I’ve read this week that I think you might find interesting too, next week I want to start sharing some links readers of the site are finding interesting…If you read something you think should be featured here submit it here, starting your message LINK LIST SUGGESTION.

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What I posted recently

• How the Simeon from the Christmas story teaches us how to faithfully long for the Kingdom of God

• Max Weber and the Protestant Work ethic | In Short

• To Escape or Inhabit, that is the question

• A light has come

Images

• White house official photographer talks about his year on instagram HT: macstories. While Obama has innumerable critics domestically, it’s hard to think of a president who has been more of a ‘soft power’ hit overseas, especially here in Africa.

• Any close reader of my Tainan City guide from last year could spot the style was heavily influenced by Andrew Kim of minimally minimal city guides. Another excellent one here for Vancouver

Technology

• I love these types of posts that allow someone to evangelise and explain the apps they use and why. That’s why I was delighted to write this one for ‘the sweet setup’ blog last year. These recommendations from Craig mod are pretty close to what my own recommendation would be.

• I’ve been thinking of a couple of podcast project ideas recently, here’s a review of an iOs recording platform ‘ferrite’ that could be useful! I’m also open to any suggestion on podcast topics! | HT: Tools and Toys

• Since Christmas day I’ve been the intermittently proud owner of an Apple Watch – here’s a fascinating link to how it might be one of the most accurate time keeping devices available today (apart from when it runs out of battery!).

Apple built its own Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers at various locations to ensure the delivered time is as close as possible to Stratum One accuracy, the time server which keeps the Apple Watch within microseconds of Stratum Zero devices – the highest possible quality for time references.

Theology and Christianity

• I greatly appreciate Malcolm Guite’s liturgical poetry. He follows the church calendar and composes poetry to elucidate it. In this recent post he is marking the epiphany where the church recollects the coming of the wise men to worship Jesus, it’s celebrated on the 6th of january but, as he mentions, many will celebrate it the Sunday before (yesterday). He pulls out a few reflections in his introduction to the sonnet I’ve never considered before;

Here is an Epiphany, a revelation, that the birth of Christ is not one small step for a local religion but a great leap for all mankind. I love the way that traditionally the three wise men (or kings) are shown as representing the different races and cultures and languages of the world. I love the combination in their character of diligence and joy. They ‘seek diligently’, but they ‘rejoice with exceeding great joy’! I love the way they loved and followed a star, but didn’t stop at the star, but rather let the star lead them to something beyond itself. Surely that is a pattern for all wise contemplation of nature whether in art or science.

• There was a Christian media furor over the benching of a wheaton college professor who publicly expressed her belief that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. It didn’t take long for well respected theologian Miroslav volf to weigh in to support the idea and this post from Peter Leithart to claim otherwise. All good primers to read concerning an issue that will only become more pressing for Christians in the West.

• I started (and never finish) writing a primer on new testament studies in Paul this week. It was mostly propelled by this post by Scott Mcknight on how the new perspective is complete (as far as JDG Dunn’s contribution at least).

• The second turn in Pauline scholarship that peaked my interest was the release, acclaim and reviews for John Barclays book; “Paul and the Gift” – reviewed here at Reformation 21 by Alastair Roberts

• Thanksgiving is being widely praised as a worthwhile virtue for the new year. Alastair Roberts gives a particular thoughtful treatment here at political theology

  The new form of gift economy established by Christ and the apostles led to the eschewing of honor competitions, to releasing others from debt, and to the replacement of the vicious asymmetries of hierarchical patron-client gift relations with those of mutual patronage.

• These vulnerable and humanising remembrances are refreshing insights to those with controversial personalities like Ed Dobson. Read here at jesus creed.

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