Five Links for Five Years

It seems I let the blog's fifth anniversary come and go without the necessary narcissistic fanfare. So I'm making it up to my blog with a makeover (it was about time) and a throw-over to some link-worthy posts on other blogs to which I have recently begun paying attention.

Conversant Life: Why 'Biblical' tends to be Unbiblical

- Kyle Strobel flags a commonly used term that is often more harmful than helpful to a discussion

Experimental Theology: Abuse, Violence, Gender and Submission

- Richard Beck looks at 1 Peter 3 with a view to context, with provocative and insightful results

Fors Clavigera: Barna Report on the 'New Calvinism'

- James Smith tells us why George Barna's recent study is worthy neither to be called 'research', nor 'helpful'. Yes, I have a problem with Barna, ever since Revolution.

Faith and Theology: On Joy: Twelve Theses

- A fitting and beautiful follow up to the previously linked theses on smiling and sadness. If that one was a must read, I don't know what to call this.

Flowers in these Weeds: Jesse and Matty are turning 2!

- And last but the opposite of least, Angie Coutts' new blog gives the lowdown on something a tad more important to me than my blog's fifth: our twin's second! What a couple years it has been and what a couple of characters these guys are!

Thanks for reading and thinking along with me for any or all of these past five years. It has been good to converse across distance, especially under the belief that we are, all of us, reconciled to God in Christ.