December 26, 2014
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Top 15 Business Books for 2014
by Dale Zevenbergen
…d in 2014 Ten Great Books on Church History A Librarians Guide to a Good Book Happy reading! credit for books summaries: www.amazon.com ↩…
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February 19, 2020
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Social Media is Politics by Other Means: A Review of LikeWar
by Donald Roth
…e of weapons in their effectiveness.” In other words, in a world where the cost of open war between major powers may be too high, a campaign of disinformation, distraction, and disruption may be just as effective (if not more so). We’re all now part of this war. The bottom line, then, is that none of us are noncombatants in this new battlefield. We need to be aware that everything that we share, like, or otherwise engage with in the social media s…
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March 23, 2016
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When You Fast: Fasting and the Ultimate Purpose of Your Life
by Shane Heilman
…clothed, and the needs of our brothers and sisters provided for. It has become clear to me throughout my study of the Psalms in the past two years that God’s mission and concern is primarily that of justice. As Psalm 11:7 says, “The LORD loves justice.” He loves it. He delights in it. And He gets really, really ticked off when justice is perverted in ANY way. He rightfully and justly (there it is again) pours out His wrath upon those who disregar…
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June 8, 2021
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Too Much of a Good Thing?: A Review of Overdoing Democracy
by Donald Roth
…gitimacy is upheld when the political losers sense that the winners remain committed to this open dialogue. In other words, the democratic ideal is a society where citizens “rule themselves as equals” because they also “reason together as equals.”1 This means that democracy aspires to be ruled by reason, but, in reality, it is ruled by the majority, and this creates a certain inherent tension. I’m a lawyer by training, and my friends and family wo…
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April 2, 2018
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“Movies Are Prayers” Book Review
by Josh Matthews
…deceptive lies that masquerade as profound truths. At their best, they may offer compelling revelations—massive expansions that open wide our own too-narrow world-and-life-view, causing real change in us. They may induce empathy. They may spark creativity and play. They may provide new, unique ways of communicating with others. They may make us love others better and more richly. I think that Josh Larsen believes this, that movies can be important…
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January 14, 2020
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Part of a Balanced Breakfast: Three Steps to Restore Balance in our Digital World
by Mark Volkers
…se us a balanced breakfast, but they do promise us increased productivity, free entertainment, better communication, and lives enhanced in so many ways that it’s almost breathtaking. A quick Google search for new apps brings up names like: 1Gallery, bethere, Cometin, EdLock, Disney+, Muscle Booster, LumaFusion, BabySitMe, Farming Simulator, and the list goes on and on and on. This article is not an attempt to bash technology or advocate that we al…
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June 30, 2015
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God Loves Sex and Sexuality
by Neal DeRoo
…l Berry discusses this in his collection of essays entitled “Sex, economy, freedom and community”). If we think marriage is a necessary step before intercourse, then we must seem to agree that the public has some role to play in a couple’s sex life (after all, what is marriage but a public declaration, before God and the community, of a couple’s commitment to each other?). Hence, discussing our sexuality, probably including even our sex lives, wit…
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January 7, 2015
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Answering Your Question: Tension between Science and Genesis
by Neal DeRoo
…tenets. This will have consequences for how one engages in the scientific enterprise, most notably in the ‘presuppositions’ that guide one’s scientific inquiry. In regards to the Genesis account, a proponent of this view would argue that the first three chapters offer us an account of the right tenets through which to view the world (the world was created and sustained by God’s design, will and Law; it has been tainted by sin, and so stands in ne…
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September 23, 2021
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Neo-Calvinism for the Nations: Reviewing Part 2 & 3 of Reformed Public Theology
by Donald Roth
…don’t have the space to engage more deeply with each essay, I will instead offer my summary of the common themes that emerge from these essays as a snapshot of exactly what insights Neo-Calvinism has to offer in this field. “Together, these essays demonstrate that Neo-Calvinism can offer insight beyond its Dutch roots…” The most common theme emphasized by these authors is the concept of sphere sovereignty. Sphere sovereignty is the idea that God…
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June 1, 2021
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Having Your MasterCake and Eating It Too: A Review of Liberty for All
by Myles Werntz
…nd fulfill their vocation as those created in God’s image as they seek God freely, coming to faith not out of compulsion but free assent. This age, between the ascension and the Second Coming, is one characterized by a searching out of the truth, offering Christians various opportunities to engage with people of other faiths and no faith about the common good and about the nature of ultimate things. Eschatologically, there will be judgment of the…
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March 2, 2015
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“Like a Girl”: Why our Words Matter
by Jason Lief
…feld Prof. Lief here seems to make, if I’m not mistaken, what has become a common error in interpreting Galatians 3:28, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Also, I don’t see the word “longer” in the verse, but we’ll leave that as it is for now.) First, nowhere does the verse say nor imply that “in Jesus Christ God breaks open every cultura…
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July 15, 2017
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An Everyday Prayer
by Todd Zuidema
…my eyes. Lord, open my ears. Help me to see and to hear your goodness and compassion.” This prayer, formed out of Jesus’ words contained in Luke 10:24, makes a worthy prayer for the day. It is common to be weary of squabbling, angry voices, and the apparent unwillingness to talk through differences. It is exhausting to live in a world of sound bites that polarize, and of “fake news” that seeks not to inform, but to inflame. Each day, there is new…
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May 11, 2017
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Living with Less
by Kayt Frisch
…e’s no point in keeping something “just-in-case” – she points out that the cost (both monetary and psychological) to store a “just-in-case” item is almost always higher than the cost to replace it. I started trying to apply Kondo’s ideas by looking at my closet, and I realized that I had lots of clothes that I was keeping just-in-case. Some of those “just-in-cases” were legitimate (e.g. if/when I get pregnant again I’ll want that shirt) but most w…
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October 23, 2018
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Sexual Abuse in the Church
by Caleb Schut
…worship service. People no longer come to church to hear the sermon; they come to take communion. This liturgical move changes the flow of power in worship and in the church as a whole by de-emphasizing the role of the pastor and emphasizing the presence of Christ at the table. The preacher’s personality and charisma should, of course, never be central to the preaching of God’s word. However, churches built around their pastor’s personalities are…
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June 25, 2015
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A Reformed Approach to the Interactions of Science and Religion
by Tony Jelsma
…. Such paradigms may not be correct but serve as frameworks for scientific study. Scientists continue to work within a paradigm until it becomes untenable and is replaced by a better paradigm. Conversely, the study of religion is not as subjective as often portrayed. The Christian faith is based upon God’s revelation in the Bible. While there are clearly differences in interpretation, the Bible provides a standard for evaluation and guidance in on…
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March 21, 2017
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Mathematical Beauty
by Mike Janssen
…simple, elegant proof is as true and beautiful today as it was then. These examples, coming as they do from pure mathematics, should not suggest to the reader that applied mathematics contains no beauty at all. In fact, the “unreasonable effectiveness”—to borrow a term from Eugene Wigner”—of mathematics in describing the created order suggests a transcendent beauty all its own. Moreover, many ideas which began as pieces of pure mathematics turn ou…
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July 10, 2018
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The Fortnite Phenomenon: Should Christians be Wary? (Part I)
by Donald Roth
…eo games are play, not drugs, and they have many of the same benefits that come from freeform play in any environment. So how does Fortnite fit in as an example of unstructured play? The game itself has a colorful and simplified aesthetic that feels somewhat cartoonish, and the gameplay is a mix between crafting and survival games like Minecraft and a more traditional shooter game. That is, players will harvest resources from their environments to…
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April 1, 2015
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Standardized Testing: Help or Harm?
by Steve Holtrop
…od, each child is endowed with talents, innate curiosity, and a desire for freedom of inquiry and creative expression, freedom to choose interests and areas to explore more fully. Teachers and schools that used to have schedules and curriculum materials designed to stimulate student interest and allow for delving more deeply into areas of interest have had to scale back. Standardized testing, by focusing on minimum competencies, takes everyone dow…
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May 22, 2018
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Willow Creek: Why We Need More Church Discipline
by Caleb Schut
…I can’t tell you how valuable and encouraging it is when a deacon or elder commends me for something done well. In turn, those affirmations open me up to receive critical feedback. Too many churches simply don’t have methods of feedback or threads of dialogue to create the sort of relationships that hold leaders accountable. We need more church discipline, not less. It is 2018, and if the church has learned anything in the last few decades, it is…
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July 15, 2016
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What Does Progressive Mean?
by Kim Van Es
…, for protection and restoration of the earth’s resources, for programs of compassion to hurting people. Obviously, these efforts are not exclusive to progressives, but they flow naturally from what they value: engaging positively in the world, here and now. Earlier I said that progressive Christianity scares some people. But for others, learning about this expression is an incredible relief. “Do you mean that I can be a Christian and still embrac…
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January 25, 2016
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Religious Freedom and Presidential Politics
by Chelsea Maxwell
…a mix of judicious law enforcement, careful social work, charitable outreach, and good old melting pot assimilation we eventually work things out. (Example: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/08/06/hmong-leaders-seek-legalize-cultural-weddings/31258453/)…
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October 26, 2015
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Common Home: Pope Francis and John Calvin on Creation
by Monica Schaap Pierce
…ed a three-year certification program with GreenFaith toward the goal of becoming a certified “green” house of worship. 8 One of the requirements of the program is to integrate Eco-Sundays into the church’s worship calendar. On Eco-Sunday, the congregation adopts a creation-centered theme—such as water, land, biodiversity, or food. The chosen theme is woven into our liturgy and hymns. It is explicated in the preaching of the Word, which focuses on…
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May 21, 2019
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Introducing the Planetary Health Diet
by Dawn Berkelaar
…The EAT-Lancet Summary Report is short and accessible, available in seven languages. The full EAT-Lancet Commission report is available from The Lancet (you will need to register for free to view and download the report). Photos of what these kinds of meals might look like can be found in the EAT-Lancet Summary, page 11. ↩…
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August 2, 2016
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Why Is School Like a Prison?
by Dave Mulder
…often fly in the face of traditional educational practice. However, his recommendations for change are always based on meticulous research; his critiques should be considered. This quote come from p. 11 of his 1993 article, “Choices for Children: Why and How to Let Students Decide.” Kohn, A. (1993). Choices for children: Why and how to let students decide. Phi Delta Kappan, 75(1), 8-19. ↩ Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what…
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February 9, 2015
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A Farmer’s Perspective
by Malcolm De Kryger
…moderator), Phil Kooima, Darin Dykstra, Joel De Jong, and Dale Vande Berg. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the Sioux Center Chamber of Commerce….
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