January 2012 - Connection Points

Christ-centered Thoughtfulness

By Randy Newman January 30, 2012Core Blogs, Thoughtful LivingNo Comments

“A new book by Mark Noll deserves thoughtful consideration by all of Christ’s followers…not just those serving in academic venues. Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind challenges everyone to consider the difference the Christian worldview makes in the ways we think and the ways we think about thinking.

George Marsden’s landmark work from 1997, The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship, argued that the pillars of the Christian worldview – creation, fall, redemption, and consummation – should shape the way Christian scholars approach their work.

Beware the Pendulum

By Randy Newman January 23, 2012Core Blogs, Thoughtful Living1 Comment

A common mistake in popular reasoning about complex issues is to swing from one unhealthy or inaccurate extreme to an equally (or worse) unhealthy or inaccurate extreme in the opposite direction. We swing the pendulum from one bad place to another.

New Year = New Trend? Let’s Hope So

By Randy Newman January 2, 2012Evangelism, Recommended Reading, Thoughtful LivingNo Comments

I’ve mentioned Stephen Prothero’s revolutionary book, God is Not One, in this blog before. I think his writings are worth noting, especially with the hopes that he could be signaling a change in the ways our culture discusses different religious views. At the beginning of a new year, it may be worth praying that a new cultural trend will accompany the new calendar.