parables of a prodigal world

For all you newbies/first-timers here at Parables , the Weekly Round-Up is kind of my summary of 5-10 of the best links and posts from around the blogosphere (or that little slice of it on which I keep an eye) from the past week. Ben Witherington III (or BW3 to his friends) ruined it this week. His 2008 Redneck Top 10 Awards simply left the competition in its dust. No other post is worthy of inclusion in the Round-Up this week. It's that good. And remember, people. This guy is is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland, and the author of the, well, simply mind-blowing 8-volume Socio-Rhetorical Commentary Series . Gotta love a world-class theological scholar with a sense of humor. Anyhoo, here's two of my favorites from the post. A Redneck Wedding Reception: A Redneck Quote: Enjoy the rest. And for anyone who might be offended at this whole "redneck" thing, he...

cli·ché (n.) 1. A trite or overused expression or idea. 2. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial. When I was in law school, I wrote a paper regarding the dilution of the Miranda warnings (you know..."You have the right to remain silent," etc.). My point was that the warning itself has become such a cliché that it's now just a fancy way of saying "You're under arrest." I argued that, at the very least, a detailed Miranda warning should be required. The original point of requiring the Miranda reading was to ensure that citizens are aware of their constitutional rights. Pretty important point. And if the words used to relay that information are no longer serving that original intent, then something has to be done to make sure that problem is rectified. Clichés start out life as wonderfully informative concepts packed into bite-sized morsels. They serve a hugely important purpose. But over time, they can become diluted, they can pic...

Welcome to the 253rd edition of The Christian Carnival, the Advent ( conspiracy ) Edition. In honor of this being the first C.C. of Advent '08, I thought I'd spruce up this edition with a scattering of videos from an idea that is near and dear to my heart, and is gaining a lot of momentum (please God!). I'd say more about it, but that's not how conspiracies operate. Enjoy your trip around the Carnival. ...and spread the word. Paul Kuritz presents Jesus the Vampire Slayer posted at Paul Kuritz: Opinions . A nice review of "Called Out of Darkness," Anne Rice's recently-released testimony of faith. Richard H. Anderson presents Second Harvest posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos , reminding us that miracles don't necessarily have to be out of this world, just not of this world. FMF presents Free Money Finance: What Truly Matters, Part 3 posted at Free Money Finance , calling it another example of "Where faith and money mesh....

The 253rd Christian Carnival, the Advent (conspiracy) Edition, will be taking place this coming Wednesday at Parables of a Prodigal World . The Christian Carnival is a weekly collection of some of the best posts of the Christian blogosphere. It's open to Christians of Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic convictions. One of the goals of this carnival is to offer our readers to a broad range of Christian thought. This is a great way to make your writing more well known and perhaps pick up some regular readers. If you've never particiapted in one of these, I'd encourage you to give it a whirl. Your post should be of a Christian nature, but this does not exclude posts that are about home life, politics, or current events from a Christian point of view. Select only one post dated since the last Christian Carnival (i.e. from the last Wednesday through the coming Tuesday). Please submit only one post (per blog, per author) dated since the last Christian Carnival deadline, i....

December 1st: N.T. Wright's birthday and the unofficial start of the Christmas countdown. Seems appropriate. So in honor of those two events, here's a little snippet from Wright's article, What is this Word?: The Incomprehensible, Intimate Christmas Story . If you have time, read the whole thing. Highly recommended: One of the greatest journalists of the last generation, Bernard Levin, described how, when he was a small boy, a great celebrity came to visit his school. The headmaster, perhaps wanting to impress, called the young Levin to the platform in front of the whole school. The celebrity, perhaps wanting to be kind, asked the little boy what he'd had for breakfast. "Matzobrei," replied Levin. A typical central European Jewish dish, Matzobrei is made of eggs fried with matzo wafers, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Levin's immigrant mother had continued to make it even after years of living in London. To him, it was a perfectly ordinary word for a perfectly ...