I was recently asked to recommend good courses or books to study world history from a Christian and biblical perspective. What I've read/studied and can recommend without reservation are...

"Your home-education, nice clothes, and manners cannot save you". Paul Washer reminds everyone of what is ultimate at the Sufficiency of Scripture Conference.

InaShoe.com is giving away audio cd's from the conference.

Preparing for baptism. Bible scriptures to study during family devotion over several weeks.

We just returned from a trip to Boston for the Reformation 500 Celebration, followed by 5 days in Washington DC. A great trip - I'll post more details later.
For now, here are posts from our daughters first second

You can also buy CDs from the Reformation 500 conference from Vision Forum.

Final Part - Review of Culture Making by Andy Crouch

(Continued from Review - Part 3)
Crouch's final insight I'll comment on is about finding your calling - where you can have impact on the culture. He recounts Jesus parable of the 30, 60, 100 fold increase. This happens when divine grace is experienced. When you work and move in your calling, God's grace should be evident so you should see remarkable effectiveness. Look for signs of this multiplicative effect among your tasks and interests - your call is likely nearby.

Crouch states your calling is at the intersection of grace and the cross...[More]

Martin Luther's posting of his 95 Theses in Wittenberg in October 1517 is one of the most significant historical events of all time. These are now available for display on your website or blog with this widget. Simply select and copy the code shown and add it to your site's html.

<br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.everygoodpath.net/w.js?q=95c23182625" ></script><noscript><a href="http://www.everygoodpath.net/">Every Good Path</a></noscript>

A most amazing autobiographical message from one of my favorite people. Church leaders, young people considering their calling, parents, etc. will all benefit. C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, G.K. Chesterton, Jonathan Edwards, Geometry, Poetry, Logic, Hermeneutics, Rationality, Romance, Dyslexia - all there. A huge, glorious story...

Part 3 - Review of Culture Making by Andy Crouch

(Continued from Review - Part 2)
Another of Crouch's insights is the principle of "3-12-120". He argues that power is the ability to introduce a cultural good and that this inevitably starts with a small passionate team, you and a couple others.
Whether it's an entrepreneur with a wife and friend, CEO+CFO+COO, or the President, Chief of Staff, and a couple cabinet members, everything starts on the smallest level. From there a few others are needed to round out an idea or perform key roles - the 12. Then a wider community...[More]

Part 2 - Review of Culture Making by Andy Crouch

(Continued from Review - Part 1) The next section is a biblical survey of these aspects of creating and cultivating. Ending with the scene of the heavenly city in the book of Revelation, Crouch speculates that the city is furnished with human cultural goods - things humans have made. This is an insight I had never considered. The translucent gold "clear as glass" is not natural gold, but the work of a craftsman. The stones adorning the city are not raw minerals, but crafted jewels. The "kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it", which refers to human goods made through the ages. Crouch relates this to Isaiah 60 "the ships of Tarshish bring your children" and "the nations shall bring You their wealth". Crouch wonders if the ships of Tarshish might share the harbor with America's Cup champion yachts. Crouch's personal list of "the glory of the nations" includes music of Bach and Miles Davis, green-tea creme brulee, fish tacos, Homer's Odyssey, the iPod and Mini Cooper automobile.

Perhaps Crouch is right in that some human goods will persevere for eternity. Our works will be tested by fire and those done for God's glory will last, while others will be consumed. It's interesting to consider what may stand the fire as a way to determine what goods are truly helpful and glorious now. The iPod enables me to hear glorious music or biblical texts. But it also cuts me off from sounds in nature and isolates me from my neighbor - who will start a conversation with someone with plugged ears? The Mini Cooper may be a fine car, but do cars themselves glorify God? They enable us to go a long way in a short time - but is that something God wants us to do? Should we be more willing to stay home and stay in our local neighborhood so we know our neighbors? If we stayed on our block more, we'd be forced to know our neighbor, depend on each other, and may even learn to love one another. Isn't this the biblical command?

So I don't doubt that some human goods will persist in the New Jerusalem, but my sense is it will be a fairly small pile. When the angels are crying "Holy, Holy, Holy", will anyone really step away from that to plug their ears with Miles Davis on the iPod? I hope not. But will we and the angels join together in Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus"? I hope so.

to be continued in part 3...

See it at Amazon: Culture Making

Part 1 - Review of Culture Making by Andy Crouch

After hearing an interview with Andy Crouch on Mars Hill Audio, I found the book in our local library. The book is a helpful description of what culture is and how one makes an impact. Many of the ideas in the book come up from time to time on the Mars Hill Audio Journal, so the book did not have the groundbreaking impact on me that it may have on a general audience.

Crouch defines culture as not just pop culture nor the current prevailing mood, but as primarily something we make. It is a collection of human works. Much in the book is helpful but rather than provide a complete synopsis, I'll focus on the several ideas that were new to me....