More Precious Than

2010 Christianity Today Book Awards

Stéphane — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:54:05 +0000

Christianity Today picks their top Christian books of 2009:

Our judging process began with 472 titles submitted by 72 publishers. Christianity Today’s editors selected finalists in each category, and our expert judges went to work discovering the best of the bunch from 2009. Here are the 12 winners (including two ties) and 11 notables that best shed light on the people, events, and ideas that shape evangelical life, thought, and mission, with comments from the judges.

Definitely some good books to add to your reading list, I’ve added some that somehow escaped my radar. Be sure to also check out their awards from previous years, some must-read gems to be found.

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Film: The Nativity Story

Stéphane — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:13:39 +0000

The Nativity Story is a 2006 historical drama directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Lords of Dogtown). It stars relatively unknown actors Keisha Castle-Hughes and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

The story follows the virgin conception of Mary, her betrothal to Joseph, their journey to Bethlehem, and concludes with the birth of Christ. It follows the gospels respectfully, adding some speculative (but plausible) historical and relationship details.

I thought the film was decent. It is a good Christmas film, depicting the true reason for the season. Here is the trailer:

Video: The Size of Our World

Stéphane — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:46:49 +0000

Here is a excellent video comparing the size of planets and stars. It is fascinating and mind-bending. I’ve seen a few of these videos over the years, this is the nicest one I’ve seen.

“When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made, and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place, Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them? Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them?”

- Psalm 8:3-4

The Divine Commodity

Stéphane — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:45:50 +0000

I recently added the following book to my want-to-read list: “The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity“. I am not familiar with the author, Skye Jethani. It appears to the first book he has written. He also has a blog: SkyeBox.

The reviews for “The Divine Commodity” are positive, calling it an insightful and timely book. Amazon describes the books as follows:

A growing number of people are disturbed by the values exhibited by the contemporary church. Worship has become entertainment, the church has become a shopping mall, and God has become a consumable product.

Here is an introduction to the book by the Skye himself …

Preview: The Road

Stéphane — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:19:02 +0000

The film called “The Road” came out this weekend. It is based on the award-winning 2006 novel by Cormac McCarthy. The same author wrote “No Country for Old Men“. The Road is a post-apocalyptic drama about a father and son trying to survive in a barren wasteland.

It should be a thought-provoking and intelligent film, unlike a recent disaster film I watched. “The Road” stars Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, and Charlize Theron. I plan to see it soon, I will give a mini-review once I do. Here is the trailer:

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Deductive & Inductive Arguments

Stéphane — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:25:55 +0000

Arguments can be divided into two categories: Deductive and Inductive.

Deductive Arguments

A deductive argument is an argument where the conclusion is certainly true. The supporting evidence (premise) guarantees the truth of the conclusion. Here is a classic example where the conclusion is certain:

All men are mortal. (premise)
Socrates was a man. (premise)
Therefore Socrates was mortal (conclusion).

Inductive Argument

An inductive argument is an argument where the conclusion is probably true. The evidence (premise) supports the conclusion, however it does not guarantee it to be true. Here is an example where the conclusion is probable but not certain:

Socrates was Greek. (premise)
Most Greeks eat fish. (premise)
Therefore Socrates ate fish. (conclusion)

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Water Droplets

Stéphane — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:13:19 +0000

Fascinating video of water droplets, slowed down and viewed at 2000 frames per second…

Theologian: Greg Boyd

Stéphane — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:15:47 +0000

Greg Boyd is an insightful theologian that I frequently reference. He has quite the academic background, graduating from Yale & Princeton. Greg was also the Professor of Theology at Bethel University for 16 years. He is the founder and senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church.

Greg has written many interesting books. There are insightful articles, essays, and a blog on his website. His sermons and lectures can be found on the Woodland Hills website. He has many video clips on YouTube.

Here is a video concerning his conversion to Christ and the struggles he faced:

Video: Face-Off With a Deadly Predator

Stéphane — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:38:57 +0000

National Geographic photographer comes face to face with a giant leopard seal. Beautiful story (except for the poor penguins!)

Test Your Awareness

Stéphane — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:22:09 +0000

What is happening in this murder mystery?

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