It’s Christian Carnival Time!

We begin with a collection of posts having to do with Biblical understanding and application:

At Light Along the Journey, John looks at the nature of the faith that transformed the life of Bartimaeus in the post Blind Faith.

Richard H. Anderson presents A Brief History of the Covenant Relationship, posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.

Tom Fuerst, at Theology for the Masses, discusses Jesus, the Syrophoenician Woman, and a Reversal of Violence.

Also from Theology for the Masses, but by a different author, Henry Imler: Justice.

And again, Cheapham presents On creation posted at Theology for the Masses. (Check out the comments for some thoughtful ideas, too.)

Rey from the Bible Archive wades in the deep end of the pool with thoughts on Psalm 110, Melchizedek and Christian Theology.

From Weekend Fisher Blog: Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength. One thing God has spoken; a look at the basis for the classical Jewish view that a verse may legitimately have multiple levels of meaning.

We continue with further discussions on the Christian life:

Rich Vosler presents Pruning makes growth for new life posted at Sales Training Tips.

James DeLelys has a parable to tell, Farming, at Healing Through Words.

FMF presents To Tithe or Not? Being Rich Toward God posted at Free Money Finance.

The Evangelical Ecologist provides us with a Book Review – One Month to Live.

Thoughts on how we live it all out through church:

Do you really know what is going on in your church’s youth department? You should visit sometime…you might be shocked! Diane R presents Your Church’s Youth Department? posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet.

Lent is a traditional season of repentance. Walking the cross is a common Western tradition of liturgical repentance. “A more penitential liturgical expression is the Orthodox Canon of St. Andrew” … which in this post Mark Olson commends to any and all Christians: On Repentance and Lent posted at Pseudo-Polymath.

Thom presents The Importance of Silence posted at Everyday Liturgy, commenting on noisy church services, and offering thoughts on the place of silence in church.

Next, we move into ethics, theology, and apologetics:

Ali presents Stop Discrimination Against People With Down’s Syndrome. posted at Kiwi and an Emu: a post dealing with the abortion of fetuses who likely have Down’s Syndrome. Written from an Australasian perspective – “applicable to Americans,” says Ali, “but not at all related to ‘certain policital issues’ over there.”

Often Christians sidestep or give pat answers to the problem of evil. Doug looks at the possibility that evil was necessary: Necessary Evil posted at Bounded Irrationality.

“More people have slaughtered in religious wars than all other wars combined.” John asks, Do you think this statement is true? War and Religion posted at Brain Cramps for God.

Jeremy Pierce presents Muslims Worshiping But Not Worshiping God posted at Parableman. Do Muslims worship God, i.e. the same God Christians worship? This post argues that the answer is more complicated than a yes or no, but technically the answer is yes the way many people mean the question, even if that’s misleading in certain contexts (i.e. when people mean something else).

ChrisB asks, Is Systematic Theology Bad? posted at Homeward Bound: The Christian religion is certainly more than a set of facts. But there are facts that need to be kept straight. It’s an important tool in the Christian faith, and its occasional misuse should not deter us from its regular use.

At Thinking Christian I take a look at an approaching controversy over the Intelligent Design-related film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, in a series beginning with Expelled: The Pre-Controversy.

And we close with some refreshingly creative-arts related topics:

At the Seek Truth Blog, Brett Martenson has a poem for us, A Long Winter’s Psalm, lamenting the current weather (in the US midwest anyway) and alluding to deeper, spiritual yearnings.

Henry Neufeld discusses Learning from Stories posted at Jevlir Caravansary: using stories from various perspectives in teaching–whether you agree with the characters or not.

Annette presents a hymn she likes; she says, “It’s one worth getting to know:” Saved By Grace posted at Fish and Cans.