Web Safari

This mid-week return of the Web Safari is quite a bit longer than normal, in large part because I have ended up compiling links for a couple of weeks while being too lazy to write up this post. So if you like, you can read through all the links in 3 sittings. That way it will feel like you really got 3 posts out of it.

Religion, Faith, and Related Topics

The religion section kicks off this week with a couple of posts from the Internet Monk.

1. The first post is about Evangelical worship, and how it seems to have come full circle in the past few decades.

2. The second post is a discussion of Willow Creek Church's recent announcement that their programs are not actually producing disciples of Christ.

3. For a bit more on that same topic, read the article from the Christianity Today blog.
I have to say that the realization that having more participation in church activities does not equate discipleship isn't exactly an earth-shattering revelation, but it is difficult to compete with that mentality that has been increasingly touted by a lot of Evangelical churches.

4. Over at Happy Catholic, Julie D. has finished reading the new book about Mother Teresa that got so much press a few weeks back. She learned a lot about Mother Teresa that she didn't know. I have to say that I like this review of the book, because it gives a nice overall look rather than dwelling on the big news items.

5. Happy Catholic also has a great post reminding us about the importance of consistent prayer, which is linked to ....

6. ...this post at Catholic Spitfire Grill about Making Time for Prayer.

Art and Other Culture

7. Lots of people seems to be talking about the movie Bella, so here is a conglomeration of reviews for your perusal.

8. Da Vinci's The Last Supper can be viewed in High Definition. It's pretty cool, because you can zoom in and see all the cracks and slight differences in color.

9. Food writer David Lebovitz shares a story about interviewing at Chez Panisse, and then a scrumptious-looking gingersnap recipe.

10. Do you like Bambi? I'm not really a fan of the movie. But does it really qualify as being one of the Top 25 Horror Movies?

Politics, Science, and all that other stuff

11. Brant Hansen puts together a satirical list of things he's looking for in a Presidential Candidate.

12. The ice sheets on Greenland are melting, which could result in the ocean level rising by up to 3 feet in the next 100 years. Mostly we care, apparently, because that will flood parts of New York City. My overall feeling is that there's not much we can do about it at this point, so instead of freaking out, we should just let the adaptation occur as it will. Gradually people will stop living in the flooding areas. Gradually, more people will populate Greenland. Unless we decide to be stupid by trying to control the climate rather than adapting to the changes, which could happen.

13. What would you save from a fire? If you had 10 minutes, what would you take? What would you choose to leave behind? I try not to be too materialistic about things, but I think I would still find it hard to choose between the irreplaceable family items and mementos.

14. Not to worry, Communism hasn't prevented Chinese young people from developing many of the same attitudes as their counterparts in more democratic societies.

15. Apparently some Neanderthals could have been redheads.

16. Some scientists found the oldest known living animal...and then killed it before realizing how old it was.