NT Wright, on the Washington Post/Newsweek website On Faith, posts some thoughts on Jerry Falwell’s passing.

Notes on Falwell From Afar

I’m afraid we in the UK have only heard distantly of Jerry Falwell. Most churchgoers in England won’t have heard of him at all; nonchurchgoers will only have heard of him as a strange character who pops up from time to time when people are writing ‘how weird can they get’ articles in our newspapers shaking their heads over American strangenesses.

My own sense, having spent a lot of time in the States over the years, is that he was a classic of his type and with a lot more integrity than some of the shady characters in the religious penumbra. But, insofar as I know what he taught — which I freely admit would be second or third hand — he was saying some things which I strongly say myself but I think in a different framework, and some things which I strongly argue against (e.g. on the present state of Israel and prophecy).

Within the strange, large economy of God’s grace, which filters the truth of scripture through all of us imperfect interpreters, it may be that I make just as many mistakes as I think he did, but we are each called to be true to what we find in scripture and I have no reason to suppose he was not as obedient to that imperative as I struggle to be.

May he rest in peace and, with the rest of us, rise in glory where we shall look back on present disagreements like an adult looks back on childhood squabbles in the playground.

I think that’s where many of us stand, only I wouldn’t be able to say it with such intelligence and wisdom.

Brad Peppo initiates a discussion on the place of children in the church.

EDIT: It appears that Jerry Falwell has died.

Continue to pray for his family.

Jerry Falwell was found unconscious in his office late this morning, and was taken to the hospital.

Pray for him and his family.

Jason Kottke linked to this article in Smithsonian Magazine, about global warming and increases in the rate of evolution and, thus, the number of species. This year, the article states, thousands of new species have already been identified, including species of bats, corals, mollusks, sharks and rays.

Some of these new species are credited to new methods of molecular taxonomy. We can look at DNA now, and researchers are using that information to classify organisms. Genes are diverse, so that gives us more species. But, the rate of evolution is also given some credit for the increased number of species discoveries.

But this, I think, is wanting the cake and eating it, too. Speciation is a process that, it is taught, takes place over the course of thousands of years. The article says even millions of years. And yet this article is suggesting that climate changes over the past 100-150 years have given rise to thousands of new species?

So, ABC has announced that Lost has been assigned and end date. There will be three more shortened seasons. Those three seasons will each be shortened to only 16 episodes each, and will run straight through from February to May.

Derek Webb and Co. have started up a company along the lines of FreeDerekWebb… you give them some info, they give you free music. Could be interesting.

http://www.noisetrade.com/