Flotsam and jetsam (7/20)

• Zondervan is offering 50% off deal on their A Reader’s Hebrew & Greek Bible.
• Matt Flanagan discusses the epistemology of testimonies, arguing that we are justified in accepting testimony as an epistemological starting point (basic belief), but that we can’t stop there.
• Mark Stevens has started a Christian scholars smackdown series. (He actually calls it a “showdown,” but that seems to tame. How about “Christian cage match” or “Theologians in the Thunderdome”?) Anyway, it should be fun so head over there and cast your vote.
• James McGrath offers a nice set of links to recent posts about Christian conservatism.
• R. R. Reno offers an interesting response to criticisms the Catholic Church has received about its recent document on disciplining priests.
• Halden offers the conclusion to a paper he presented recently on “blogging as theological discourse.”
• And, Lindsey Lohan is back in court today. (Just kidding. I’d never actually post a link to a story like this. I’m actually very annoyed that I know she’s due back in court today.)

Flotsam and jetsam (7/18)

• Stuart points out a great story about atheists “de-baptising” people with hair dryers. What will they come up with next?
• NYT has a couple of opinion pieces. Frank Rich argues that the downfall of Mel Gibson parallels the decline of the Christian right over the last few years. And Maureen Dowd comments on the new Vatican policies regarding the sex abuse scandal and the ordination of women.
• C. Michael Patton has a very nice graphic for explaining what it means to be an evangelical. And James McGrath offers an infographic showing how states handle evolution in in their curricular standards. I was surprised to see how few make any explicit mention of evolution in their standards.
• Sara Coakley has finished a 3-part series on “Rethinking the Sex Crises in Catholicism and Anglicanism” (see also here and here).