23 July 2007

5 Blogs that Make Me Think

My goodness! I was surprised and honored to learn that by dear friend and colleague, Dr. Rick Stuckwisch, had listed my blog as a blog that makes him think at his blog Thinking Out Loud. Then I discovered I was also mentioned by Susan over at Susan\'s Pendulum. So, I believe I am supposed to name five blogs that I would list as making me think. Well, that's not too hard except for narrowing down to just five. I read lots of blogs each day and enjoy each one a great deal. But here are five that I have learned from:

Father John Fenton\'s blog - Father John is an outstanding homilist and a great student of the Fathers. Although there will be things that I don't agree with from time to time (to be expected, since he is an Orthodox priest and I a Lutheran pastor), I find his insights refreshing.

The Unknown Lutheran - Unknown (ha!) is a favorite. A Lutheran layman who is hooked like yours truly on EWTN and has the dream of starting up such a project that would show the world about the Lutheran Church. He's promised me a job someday when he wins the lottery, but threatens to make me hang out with kids shooting hoops (what kind of a gun do you shoot them with?) and he consistently calls me a dog. Well, I love him anyway. Check it out!

David Schütz\'s Site - David is a former Lutheran pastor from Oz and he is currently a Roman Catholic layman. I enjoy his insights - always balanced and fair. He's a big Ratzinger fan (along with someone else I won't name).

Adam\'s site - Adam is a parishioner of my good friend, Fr. Heath Curtis, and Adam is a recent convert to Lutheranism. I love his theological wrestlings and "ahas."

Last but not least:

Josh\'s site - my friend Chris Jones pointed me toward Josh some time ago, I believe, and I was impressed immediately. An articulate and bright (as in very!) young man who is not afraid to engage Lutheranism in some very uncomfortable questions and to offer some stunning insights along the way. Josh is a straight-shooter. He just says what he thinks. I like that about him.

Now there were SO many others I wanted to mention, but I notice that many of them have already been named (back track through the ones I listed). Cyberbrethren ranks up there, Cyberstones, Incarntus Est, Esgetology, Necessary Roughness, BOC Blog, and a pile of others. Chris Jones, by the way, would have been at the top of the pile IF HE EVER GETS AROUND TO WRITING AGAIN!!!

13 comments:

123 said...

So, I'm just chopped liver, huh? Great. I will have to be more provocative.

William Weedon said...

Hey, your blog is great too. I love the entish beginning which is exactly what Orthodox liturgy is all about. Go check out Orrologion, folks! The name is a pretty sweet pun all by itself, and Christopher is a most unlikely combo:

A former Wisconsin Lutheran who ended up Orthodox (and true to his Wisconsin roots favors the more radically Orthodox Orthodox) and yet whose grandfather was, ahem, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool England. Who'd a thunk it? Oh, and of course, he used to be an actor, but he literally gave that up to spend more time with his faith. Enjoy reading him!

Dan @ Necessary Roughness said...

Cyberbrethren ranks up there, Cyberstones, Incarntus Est, Esgetology, Necessary Roughness, BOC Blog, and a pile of others.

Pastor Weedon, thanks for mentioning NR. I missed whoever else named it; could you please let me know?

William Weedon said...

Dan,

I think you received some mention in Cranach a while back in the comments. Google should get you there.

Dan @ Necessary Roughness said...

Found it. Thanks a bunch.

Future Church said...

Thank you, Father Weedon, though I hope that my "aha!" moments will become fewer. I look forward to the day I can instead consistently say "I already knew that." :-)

123 said...

Well (joke coming), if I wasn't going to be a real Lutheran anymore I might as well be a real Orthodox. :) Thanks for the props. Glad you got the Entish titling. I chose it for exactly the reason you mentioned - as well as for my own long-windedness - but I wasn't sure that anyone recognnized where it came from without attribution. A LOTR fan can't be all bad... Actually, my spiritual father was especially enamored of the Jerusalem Bible back in the 70s specifically because Tolkien worked on it. Hilarious, to me.

Anonymous said...

You are number 1 in my book, Snoopy

TUL

Past Elder said...

The Jerusalem Bible!

Love it, man. That was absolutely the textus receptus of the historical critical crowd. A must have. Right up there with The Dutch Catechism and anything by Kueng, Schillebeeckx or the Berrigan Brothers! Got any of those hanging around Christopher?

I love the way the traditional understanding sits side by side in the notes along with the historical critical understanding. One Bible, two interpretations, right in line with one Mass several settings, all the "OR" variations within the settings, on and on. We've even got the hang of it with the LSB.

I bailed with the New Jerusalem Bible though -- the politically correct feminist version of the JB.

Oddly enough, for study the two Scripture versions I mostly use are, the original JB and Rabbi Hertz' Pentateuch and Haftorahs, not a complete Hebrew Bible but the traditional synagogue readings for Sabbaths and feasts, once and maybe still a staple among Orthodox Jews.

Anyone else ever read that? Blows the historical critical stuff clean out of the water, decades before a lot of it even was written or gained currency.

As to blogs most of the ones I read are the ones mentioned -- but how about Father Hollywood and Luther at the Movies? I had to bail on Cranach though. Can't find Bush II style Republicanism the political expression of confessional Lutheranism. For that matter, can't find it terribly conservative or Republican either. Somebody send him some Weaver or Burke or von Mises or, oh wait, he doesn't read. Hey, Ideas Have Consequences isn't that long!

Schütz said...

Thanks for the kindness of including Sentire Cum Ecclesia in your list, Pastor Weedon. I should be humbled, but as that doesn't come easily to my nature, I'll settle for being flattered!

Past Elder said...

Thank you to this post for calling to my attention some confessional blogs I had not seen much before -- besides the great content, it heartens me that all these guys are twenty or more years younger than I am (57) and have managed to get past the nonsense that my generation now invests in churches, districts, conventions etc in which some of its members now hold office, all in the name of reaching out to younger people. Glad you found the real deal in spite of it! Now if only I would still be around when you guys are the over 50 crowd.

William Weedon said...

Hey, Terry, if you include me in the group (which I doubt you do) you have only to wait three years. Not terribly long. You're only ten years older than I am.

Past Elder said...

At the moment I wrote that, I was primarily thinking of Josh and Adam from your list and Eric, JP Manzi and Frank from theirs -- along with the blogroll on my own blog, already mostly under 40.

I think Pastors Snyder and McCain are the only 40 somethings on the list, whoops Eckardt too.

It really gladdens me to see so many excellent young Lutherans, and Lutheran pastors, after following some of my generation.

Maybe that's why in God's economy I got off to such a late start with the marriage and family thing. Having been out of joint with my generation since Day One, despite my age I am living a life more like someone twenty or more years younger in a generation more like me.

While most 57 year olds are counting down to retirement and the last one leaving the nest and bringing by the products of their own nests, I'm waiting for the letter telling who the fourth and fifth grade teachers and homerooms will be this Fall.

I'll have time to be 57 later. Retirement -- what's that? I'll be worrying about college tuition when other guys are settling into retirement digs with their trophy wives! (It's a good thing my "starter" wife didn't hear that one -- or maybe she did!)