Christian Carnival CCCLXII

Welcome to the January 12, 2011 edition of the Christian Carnival. Submissions are light, so I’m including a couple that are slightly out of the date range. Don’t count on that in the future.

Jim Edwards presents Improving Organisms posted at EverydayChristianFamily.com, in which his plan is to debunk evolution. It’s the most controversial post in the carnival and I think I may take a pass at it from one of my other blogs. OK folks, it’s nice to get all these devotional posts, but a few more posts to argue with might help build the carnival!

Robert Cornwall is writing a series of posts reviewing and responding to the book American grace. I love this type of series, because it does more than tell us what the book is about and whether the reviewer liked it. It gives us a taste and engages with the contents. The post is Faith without Fanticism — America’s Creed posted at Ponderings on a Faith Journey. You’ll find out some interesting things about religion in America by reading this series.

For the new year, W2W has a new challenge that will require a significant commitment over the next 365 days. Starting on January 10, 2011, they are inviting their readers to read the Bible, cover to cover, in one year. There are many plans for reading the Bible in one year, and I’m glad! These various ideas are good for people who have already read the Bible through because they give you some new options. For those who haven’t read the Bible through, each new approach or new challenge gives them an opportunity to start. Kaleb provides the details in Bible in One Year Challenge posted at W2W Soul: Windows to The Woman’s Soul.

Continuing the theme of reading the Bible in a year, with multiple plans, some unique, Barry Wallace presents A vast array of Bible reading plans for 2011 posted at who am i?.

Annette is also following a Bible reading plan, and she gives us some thoughts from her reading for January 10 in God acts, God promises posted at Fish and Cans.

My own contribution is in the same area of Bible reading, Approaches to Bible Reading from my Participatory Bible Study Blog. This goes through some of the different approaches to and attitudes about reading the Bible. I think it goes well with all the discussion of Bible year plans.

Weekend Fisher wonders if it’s possible for a person to be an epistle from God. In  Mary of Bethany, Doctor of the Lilies of the Field posted at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength, she concludes that the Bible says yes. But where does that leave us?

From the financial blogs, we have a great deal about being rich. And no, it’s not about how wonderful it is!

Joe Plemon presents a post enticingly titled Can Rich People Get to Heaven? posted at Personal Finance By The Book. Before you think you know the answer, I should tell you he’s going to mess with your concept of “rich” and maybe even of getting into heaven!

Most people think they would be happier if they just had a bit more money. FMF suggests otherwise in  Prosperity, The Sneaky Side of Discontent, Part 2 posted at Free Money Finance. In fact, prosperity could be dangerous. Just what would really make you happy?

He doesn’t connect it to being rich, but since we’ve already had discussion of whether a rich person can get into heaven, we’ll include this in this category. Khaleef @ KNS Financial says that Hell is a place that is described in detail throughout the Bible. His challenge is that we find out what Hell is, and who will be there! He does this in Hell posted at Faithful With A Few. The text is taken from James Smith and was written in 1858.

Next we turn to missions….

What are you afraid of? Nikoya Johnson presents If You Jump, You Might Live! posted at Developmental

Increase, looking at how to develop destiny driven faith based techniques.

Prince of Thrift has created a new blog, Missionary Notes, which has the purpose of bringing missionary newsletters to a wider audience. The most recent post (at the moment) is Guatemala Newsletter. He tells us that email updates from various missionaries from around the globe will be posted there. The latest is an update from the Potters who are missionaries in Guatemala. The blog currently has 3 missionaries sending us updates and they are looking for a total of 15 to 20.

Michelle is whether we’re going to be safe and avoid the world’s problems or brave and go out and deal with them. Her post is Safe or Brave? posted at Thoughts and Confessions of a Girl Who Loves Jesus….

Some people see prayer not as spirituality, but as a sort of thing that you do, perhaps from habit. Terry Denson suggests it should be a spiritual activity in The Truth About Spirituality and Prayer posted at Theology Degrees.

While a career as a clergy member may be the first thing most people think of when determining how to use a bible college degree, this isn’t the only path you could follow. Kelly Davis presents Most Popular Careers for Bible College Graduates posted at A Blog of Biblical Proportions.

Jeremy Pierce presents some observations on Supreme Court Religion Cases posted at Parableman. He’s been listening to some old recordings, and a good bit of this is of linguistic as well as legal interest. Can Bible reading bring about a riot? Read and find out!

My wife wrote Broken for a Time, not forever at Jody Along the Path. It was already in another carnival, but I think it’s worth a link here as well. Our brokenness is indeed not forever.

That concludes this edition of the Christian Carnival. Submit your blog article to the next edition using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.