Peace Rehabilitation Center

Peace Rehabilitation Center is a community of sisters and brothers in Kathmandu, Nepal...and around the world committed together to the rescue and rehabilitation of Nepali young people who have been stolen or sold - "trafficked" - in South Asia's burgeoning sex industry.

The poverty and poor educational system of rural Nepal contribute greatly to high levels of sex trafficking. Seeking a better life, women and girls of an increasingly young age are easily lured into domestic prostitution or international trafficking by false promises of marriage or employment, sometimes offered by friends or relatives. Many migrate of their own accord in hopes of improving their economic circumstances, but once abroad find few opportunities and turn to prostitution. The majority of trafficked Nepali women will never see their families or homes again and have little chance of escape or rescue. Most will perish due to abuse, illness, abandonment, harsh brothel conditions, and/or the effects of STDs and HIV/AIDS. At present, sources estimate that 200,000 Nepali women work in Indian brothels, and that 70% of them are HIV+.

Founded on Director Shanta Sapkota's conviction that "love is big medicine," PRC assists in brothel rescue through its involvement in a Nepali and Indian NGO network. Women who are connected with PRC by this and other NGOs, government officials, or families receive counseling and care as they heal from the trauma of trafficking, prostitution and repatriation. In the family-centered atmosphere of PRC’s rehabilitation home, women and girls are given an opportunity to complete their education and trained in literacy, health, hygiene, nutrition and micro-credit. As possible, they are prepared for reintegration into their home communities.

PRC also sponsors a separate home for young girls who have suffered abuse or abandonment and are at greater risk of exposure to traffickers. Here, they complete their education and receive the love, care and discipline that will give them confidence to succeed once they are ready to live on their own. As many of the repatriated Nepali women suffer from AIDS, PRC staff trains women’s families in long-term terminal care of AIDS patients. If a family cannot or will not provide care for a woman, PRC cares for her until her death. PRC also provides counseling, medical assistance and education about HIV/AIDS to other community groups and HIV+ individuals.

I commend this organization to you heartily. My fiance Jenny and I will be going there on our honeymoon, and may very possibly be moving to Nepal in the spring to help Shanta with this tremendous work. The PRC is pushing back the darkness, and if you want to use your money to push back the darkness this would be an organization to consider supporting.

Trading Pleasures

"Marcus Aurelius believed that the course of wisdom consisted of learning to trade easy pleasures for more complex and challenging ones. I worry about a culture that bit by bit trades off the challenging pleasures of art for the easy comforts of entertainment. And that is exactly what is happening..." -- Dana Gioia, American poet and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts

1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith

Worth taking a look at:
http://www.ccel.org/creeds/bcf/bcf.htm

The Gospel Coalition

I hereby proclaim this to be the best new website in the past three years. If you are a follower of Christ, it is worth your time. It represents the life work and thought for many of the leading Christians of this and the previous generation...men such as Tim Keller, John Piper, Mark Driscoll and many others.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/

War against War

"We earnestly war against war. I wish that Christian men would insist more and more on the unrighteousness of war, believing that Christianity means no sword, no cannon, no bloodshed, and that if a nation is driven to fight in its own defense, Christianity stands by to weep and to intervense as soon as possible, and not to join in the cruel shouts which celebrate an enemy’s slaughter. Let us always be on the side of right. Today, then, my brethren, I beg you to join with me in seeking renewal. Now is the time for a man to buckle on his harness, and bestir himself." -- Charles H. Spurgeon, 19th century reformed Baptist pastor and theologian

Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia, is a transliteration of the Hebrew word הַלְלוּיָהּ . Halleluyah is a composite of Hallelu and Yah (Jah). It literally translates from Hebrew as "Praise Yah, [third-person plural]!" or simply "Praise Yah!" Yah is the shortened form of the name Yahweh(Jehova). For most Christians, "Hallelujah" is considered the most joyful word of praise to God, rather than an injunction to praise Him. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible(mainly in the book of Psalms (e.g. 113-118), where it starts and concludes a number of Psalms) and four times in Greek transliteration in Revelation.

Our Third World Brethren

I've been reading the book The Next Christendom by Philip Jenkins which reflects on the rising numbers of Christians in third world countries and in the global south matched simultaneously by the decline of Christians in the western world. It is a fascinating book, and it has caused me to praise God for things like Westminster Theological College in Uganda as it seems like very soon our brothers and sisters in Africa, Asia, and Latin America will be leading the charge for the cause of Christ in the world of this age. Christianity started as an Eastern religion, moved to the West, and is quickly moving back to the East again. Already, when you think of an average Christian, you should not think of a modern and "enlightened" American or European , but rather an African shepherd, an Asian businessman, or a Latin American farmer.

Religion V. Gospel

By Pastor Mark Driscoll

Religion says, if I obey, God will love me. Gospel says, because God loves me, I can obey.

Religion has good people & bad people. Gospel has only repentant and unrepentant people.

Religion values a birth family. Gospel values a new birth.

Religion depends on what I do. Gospel depends on what Jesus has done.

Religion claims that sanctification justifies me. Gospel claims that justification enables sanctification.

Religion has the goal to get from God. Gospel has the goal to get God.

Religion sees hardships as punishment for sin. Gospel sees hardship as sanctified affliction.

Religion is about me. Gospel is about Jesus.

Religion believes appearing as a good person is the key. Gospel believes that being honest is the key.

Religion has an uncertainty of standing before God. Gospel has certainty based upon Jesus' work.

Religion sees Jesus as the means. Gospel sees Jesus as the end.

Religion ends in pride or despair. Gospel ends in humble joy.

Be Thankful

In my first week at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless I have learned and noticed many things. It would take more time than I have to write and more time than you have to read to document all my thoughts and musings here on this blog, but I thought one thing in particular was worth pointing out.

Homeless people, perhaps understandably, complain a lot. They complain about their health problems. They complain about their relationship problems. They complain about their financial problems. On and on it goes. All of this might seem like a bit of what you would expect at a homeless shelter, but when I went to my second (or is it third) job at Starbucks, I found that people there, surprisingly enough, complain as well. People complain about the way their coffee drink was made. Coworkers complain if we are too busy. Coworkers complain if we are too slow. I hear people complaining about their kids. I hear people complaining about their jobs. Even away from the homeless shelter, on and on it goes.

Then it dawned on me: it seems to be human nature to complain regardless how well life is actually going. From the lowest of the low, to people who can regularly pay $5 for a cup of coffee, people are, by and large, whiners. Why? Do we like drama that much? Do we want attention? Does pitty make us feel that good? Are we that egocentric? Are we unaware that there are people who are actually suffering and aren't having to invent problems to complain about? Silliness I call it. The whole business is silliness.

This is your friendly reminder to be thankful and grateful this week. Life is rarely as bad as we think it is, and almost never as bad as it could be. We have much to be grateful for. I could probably go on some poetical spill about the splendor of the sunrise and the simple pleasure of taste buds, but you know that I am right without another diatribe from me. Just be thankful.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. " -St. Paul

New Job

I started a new job this week at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. As of right now, I am working as part of the programs staff. After one week, I feel very blessed to have been given this job and opportunity. Soli Deo Gloria.

John Piper's Prayer for His Church

O Lord, by the truth of your Word, and the power of your Spirit and the ministry of your body, build men and women . . .

Who don't love the world more than God,
who don't care if they make much money,
who don't care if they own a house,
who don't care if they have a new car or two cars,
who don't need recent styles,
who don't care if they get famous,
who don't miss steak or fancy fare,
who don't expect that life should be comfortable and easy,
who don't measure truth with their finger in the wind,
who don't get paralyzed by others' disapproval,
who don't return evil for evil,
who don't hold grudges,
who don't gossip,
who don't twist the truth,
who don't brag or boast,
who don't whine or use body language to get pity,
who don't criticize more than praise,
who don't hang out in cliques,
who don't eat too much or exercise too little;

But who are ablaze for God,
who are utterly God-besotted,
who are filled with the Holy Spirit,
who strive to know the height and depth of Christ's love,
who are crucified to the world and dead to sin,
who are purified by the Word and addicted to righteousness,
who are mighty in memorizing and using the Scriptures,
who keep the Lord's Day holy and refreshing,
who are broken by the consciousness of sin,
who are thrilled by the wonder of free grace,
who are stunned into humble silence by the riches of God's glory,
who are persevering constantly in prayer,
who are ruthless in self-denial,
who are fearless in public witness to Christ's Lordship,
who are able to unmask error and blow away doctrinal haze,
who are tough in standing for the truth,
who are tender in touching hurting people,
who are passionate about reaching the peoples who have no church,
who are pro-life for the sake of babies and moms and dads and the glory of God,
who are keepers of all their promises, including marriage vows,
who are content with what they have and trusting the promises of God,
who are patient and kind and meek when life is hard.

Amen

I Can Relate

"The people who most anger me are those who believe exactly what I myself believe, but fail to see the problems and difficulties, the sheer struggle, involved in so doing. "

--loosely quoted from Herman Bavinck (1854-1921), Dutch Reformed Theologian

The Quotable A'Kempis

"Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be."

"First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others. "

“How seldom we weigh our neighbor in the same balance with ourselves”

"For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step. "

"Constantly choose rather to want less, than to have more."

Thomas A'Kempis -- German Christian mystic & religious author (1380 - 1471)

Sadhu Sundar Singh

Sundar Singh was born into an important landowning Sikh family in Patiala State in northern India. Sundar Singh's mother took him week by week to sit at the feet of a Sadhu, an ascetic holy man, who lived in the jungle some miles away, but she also sent him to a Christian mission school where he could learn English.

The death of Sundar Singh's mother, when he was fourteen, plunged him into violence and despair. He turned on the missionaries, persecuted their converts, and ridiculed their faith. In final defiance of their religion, he bought a Bible and burned it page by page in his home compound while his friends watched. The same night he went to his room determined to commit suicide on a railway line.

That night, in a dream, Christ appeared and spoke to Sundar in Hindustani, "How long are you going to persecute me? I died for you. For you I gave my life. You were praying to know the right way; why don't you take it? I am the Way." The next morning Sundar woke up and announced his intention to follow Christ to his father. His father pleaded and demanded that he give up this absurd "conversion." When he refused, Sher Singh gave a farewell feast for his son, then denounced him and expelled him from the family. Several hours later, Sundar realised that his food had been poisoned, and his life was saved only by the help of a nearby Christian doctor. On his sixteenth birthday he was publicly baptised in the parish church in Simla, a town high in the Himalayan foothills. For some time previously he had been staying at the Christian Leprosy Home at Sabathu serving the leprosy patients there. It was to remain one of his most beloved bases and he returned there after his baptism.

Then, in October 1906, he set out from it in quite a new way. He walked onto the road, a tall, good-looking, vigorous teenager, wearing a yellow robe and turban. Everyone stared at him as he passed. The yellow robe was the "uniform" of a Hindu sadhu, traditionally an ascetic devoted to the gods, who either begged his way along the roads or sat, silent, remote, and often filthy, meditating in the jungle or some lonely place. The young Sundar Singh had also chosen the sadhu's way, but he would be a very different sort of sadhu.

"I am not worthy to follow in the steps of my Lord," he said, "but, like Him, I want no home, no possessions. Like Him I will belong to the road, sharing the suffering of my people, eating with those who will give me shelter, and telling all men of the love of God."

The months and years ahead were full of many hardships...his feet became torn from the rough tracks, he was stoned, arrested, and slept in a way-side hut with an unexpected cobra for company. the little Christian communities of the north were referring to him as "the apostle with the bleeding feet."

One day, while in Bombay, a brahmin had collapsed in the hot, crowded carriage and, at the next station, the Anglo-Indian stationmaster came rushing with a cup of water from the refreshment room. The brahmin -- a high-caste Hindu -- thrust it away in horror. He needed water, but he could only accept it in his own drinking vessel. When that was brought, he drank and was revived. In the same way, Sundar Singh realised, India would not widely accept the gospel of Jesus offered in Western guise. That, he recognised, was why many listeners had responded to him in his Indian sadhu's robe.

In December 1909 he began training for the Christian ministry at the Anglican college in Lahore. Although Singh had been baptized by an Anglican priest, he was ignorant of the ecclesisatical culture and conventions of Anglicanism. His inability to adapt to Anglican life hindered him from fitting in with the routines of academic study. Much in the college course seemed to Singh to be irrelevant to the gospel as India needed to hear it. Singh was told he must now discard his sadhu's robe and wear "respectable" European clerical dress; use formal Anglican worship; sing English hymns; and never preach outside his parish without special permission. With deep sadness he left the college in 1910, still dressed in his yellow robe, and in 1912 began his annual trek into Tibet as the winter snows began to melt on the Himalayan tracks and passes.

His years as an evangelist and teacher in Tibet and Northern India were filled with hardships, difficulties, and persecutions, but he was often rescued by members of the "Sunnyasi Mission" -- secret disciples of Jesus wearing their Hindu markings, whom he claimed to have found all over India. As Sundar Singh moved through his twenties his ministry widened greatly, and long before he was thirty years old his name and picture were familiar all over the Christian world. He was, though, always human, approachable and humble, with a sense of fun and a love of nature. This, with his "illustrations" from ordinary life, gave his addresses great impact. Many people said, "He not only looks like Jesus, he talks like Jesus must have talked." Yet all his talks and his personal speech sprang out of profound early morning meditation, especially on the Gospels. In 1918 he made a long tour of South India and Ceylon, and the following year he was invited to Burma, Malaya, China, and Japan.

Sadhu continued preaching the Gospel of Jesus where ever he could for the next decade, but always there burned in him a desire to see the Gospel reach the people of Tibet. In April 1929, Sadhu made one last trip into Tibet. He has never been seen or heard from since.

I Hope Her Name is Really Perseverance

A Sad Indictment

It is a sad indictment of our culture that the news of the arrest of Paris Hilton is getting more thought, attention, and comment than the news of Paul Wolfowitz's resignation as president of World Bank. Paris is inconsequential. Wolfowitz's resignation has tremendous implications for U.S foreign policy, the development of third world countries, the ending of extreme poverty, global political tensions, and on and on. It is hard to believe that most Americans don't even know who Paul Wolfowitz is. End of vent.

Let's Have Another Round

I once wrote a post on alcohol (read it here) that started a good conversation on the subject. I believe The Evangelical Outpost's latest entry adds some valuable comments to the conversation.

A Swift Kick in the Pants

I consider myself parr of the theologically Reformed circle (I believe in all five doctrines of grace, covenant theology, etc.), and as such, I sometimes need a good kick in the pants. Peter Leithart provides just such a kick for me now...

"One of my recurring frustrations with recent debates in the Reformed world is a widespread failure of theological imagination. Too many seem to operate on the assumption that we have everything already figured out; we have all possible categories and positions ready to hand. All we need do is deploy these categories on whatever happens our way. It'll fit, Procrustes says.

Thus, it is seriously proposed that someone is either on the road to Rome or the Road to Geneva - with no possibility of a third (or fourth, or fifth) destination, with no possibility that there might be something in between (though in between is where much of the Christian world lives). And if I suggest that we Reformed might still have something to learn from the Bible about justification, then I must be Rabbinic or Roman Catholic - there simply is no other alternative. "

I realize that I have opperated this way often in my spiritual formation and development. Yet, despite all that we know (and, by the grace of God, we know many things) we do not yet know all things. We have a lot yet to repent of and a lot yet to learn. Soli Deo Gloria.

Sweet Eugene's New Book

Eugene Peterson's third book in his series on Spiritual Theology, The Jesus Way, is now out. I must admit, I have been waiting for this one. This series of books will probably be Mr. Peterson's magnum opus, and if The Jesus Way is half as good as his first two instalments in this series (Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places and Eat This Book) then it will be well worth your time.

Publisher's Description: A way of sacrifice. A way of failure. A way on the margins. A way of holiness. All of these ways prepared the “way of the Lord” that became incarnate and complete in Jesus. But somewhere along the line, have we lost the way? In The Jesus Way Eugene Peterson continues his stimulating conversation in spiritual theology, considering all the ways that Jesus is the Way compared to the distorted ways the American church today has chosen to follow.

Arguing that the way Jesus leads and the way we follow are symbiotic, Peterson begins with a study of how the ways of those who came before Christ — Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah of Jerusalem, and Isaiah of the Exile — revealed and prepared the “way of the Lord” that became complete in Jesus. He then challenges the ways of the contemporary American church, showing in stark relief how what we have chosen to focus on — consumerism, celebrity, charisma, and so forth — obliterates what is unique in the Jesus way.

Get it here.

A letter to the Global Church from The Protestant Church of Smyrna

On April 18, five Muslims entered a Christian publishing company and killed three believers in the southeastern province of Malatya. Two of the victims were Turkish converts from Islam and the third man was a German citizen who had lived in Turkey for 10 years. News reports said four of the attackers admitted that the killings were motivated by both “nationalist and religious feelings.”

Below is link to a letter received by The Voice of the Martyrs from a church in Turkey. This letter contains a description of the torture suffered by the martyred believers, and the information is graphic in nature.

http://www.persecution.com/news/index.cfm?action=fullstory&newsID=511

Check This Out

This may be the best Christian bookstore that I know of:

http://www.wtsbooks.com/

It is really worth checking out.

Following Jesus and Practicing Yoga

I have had observed some interesting and widely varied Christian responses to the practice of yoga. I have met some who are devout practitioners of this ancient Eastern body wisdom, and I have also been with a Christian who would not walk into a store that sold yoga mats and DVDs because it was "Satanic."

Yoga, at its core, is a way of exercising and disciplining the body to prepare for long periods of meditation and prayer. Certainly it has its roots in Eastern religions, especially Hinduism, but might it provide benefits to Christians who would like to pray with less distraction and meditate on the things of Christ at greater length than they are presently able? I propose that it might indeed. I, myself, do not currently practice yoga with any regularity, but I have done it before, and I can see where it might be quite useful. But, before I go any further, let me take a paragraph or so to respond to the most often heard qualm about Christians practicing yoga.

The main objection I hear from Christians about the practice of yoga goes something like, "Christians shouldn't do yoga because it is part of the Hindu religion," or "Christians shouldn't do yoga because it is the equivalent of practicing another religion and could be inviting some dark spiritual elements into their life, and is therefore a sin." The best way I know to respond to these arguments against a Christian practice of yoga goes something like this:

Pagans, Muslims, and others have studied astronomy for centuries for spiritual reasons that are contrary to the teachings of Christianity, yet Christians have benefited tremendously from adopting these advancements in the study of the cosmos. Should Christians avoid astronomy because of some previous associations with other religions? Mathematics was studied by Muslims for centuries to show how Allah had created the world with order. Should Christians abandon certain fields of mathematics because of their historical association with Islam? Certain tribal groups use different plants for their "spiritual" value in healing certain ailments, and modern medicine has found that many of these tribal remedies are indeed helpful. Should Christians shun certain advancements in medicine because of their association with tribal religions and tribal spiritual beliefs? Coffee was originally used by Sufis to help them stay up late and concentrate during their night prayers. Should Christians stop drinking coffee because it was used in the prayer rituals of Sufis? A hearty "No!" to all of these questions. I could go on and on in this vein, but I think the point is made. Just because people of another faith, religion, or worldview find something useful for themselves, does not mean that it is off limits to the Christian. All things not sinful are ours in Christ. That is part of the redemption of all things. Where there is not prohibition in Scripture, there may be liberty of behavior as the conscience permits. (This is not a licence for loose living. Shame on you if you use the idea of "redeeming all things" as an opportunity for sin. Holiness is a principal teaching of Scripture, Jesus, and the Apostles.)

My conclusion then: if a Christian finds them self very easily distracted during times of prayer or meditation, developing a yoga practice may help to center the mind and enable the Christian to experience times of prayer and meditation with less interruption and with stronger focus. As long as the intention is directed Christward, I can hardly see how this would be harmful, wrong, or sinful. Certainly there is a way to practice yoga that is sinful, but there is also a way to drink orange juice that is sinful. Yoga is no more inherently sinful that astronomy, mathematics, medicine, or coffee. All things from Christ, and through Christ, and to Christ. To Him be glory forever more. Amen.

Timely Thoughts on Abortion

The following are some excerpts from John Piper's response to the Supreme Court's recent upholding of the ban on partial birth abortions. This issue is so important, and the following words so timely, I truly hope that you will read them all:

Let the Python Eat Its Tail. Amen. by John Piper

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Supreme Court in upholding the ban on partial birth abortions on April 18, 2007. It is astonishing to read the opinion (PDF). The detail with which abortion is discussed exceeded my expectation. Kennedy’s own descriptions of the various forms of abortion are explicit and extensive. Descriptions of the procedure of partial birth abortion (“intact dilation and extraction”) are given from both doctors’ and nurses’ perspectives.

For example, one nurse described the procedure on a twenty-six-week-old “fetus” as follows—and remember this is a quote from Justice Kennedy’s official Supreme Court decision:

"Dr. Haskell went in with forceps and grabbed the baby’s legs and pulled them down into the birth canal. Then he delivered the baby’s body and the arms—everything but the head. The doctor kept the head right inside the uterus. . . . The baby’s little fingers were clasping and unclasping, and his little feet were kicking. Then the doctor stuck the scissors in the back of his head, and the baby’s arms jerked out, like a startle reaction, like a flinch, like a baby does when he thinks he is going to fall. The doctor opened up the scissors, stuck a high-powered suction tube into the opening, and sucked the baby’s brains out. Now the baby went completely limp. . . . He cut the umbilical cord and delivered the placenta. He threw the baby in a pan, along with the placenta and the instruments he had just used." (p. 8)

This use of catch phrases is surely tired. “Right to choose.” “Equal rights for women.” The grandchildren of the sixties are waking up to the vagueness and danger of those phrases. Right to choose what? Anything? All laws that protect children limit the rights of moms (and dads) to choose. You can’t choose to starve them. You can’t choose to lock them in closets for three weeks. You can’t choose to abandon them. You can’t choose to strangle them five minutes after they are born.

And “equal rights for women”—equal with whom? Equal with the irresponsible dad. Dad has sex and bears no responsibility for the baby. Mom should be equally able to have sex and bear no responsibility for the baby. Young people are looking at this and saying: Something is wrong with this picture. Maybe our lives are as broken as they are because our parents have twisted their hearts and minds so deeply to justify equality in irresponsibility.

Hillary Clinton opposes the Supreme Court decision because “the rights and lives of women must be taken into account.” Yes. That is mainly what this forty-page opinion of the court does. Read it. And it will be interesting whether Senator Clinton will have any opinion about moms and dads who want to abort their little girls, but not their little boys. I think the younger generation may ask the senator: Should the life of little women be taken into account, or only big women?

I pray that ahead and behind of the delegalization of abortion will flow waves of inner repentance as we awaken to the outrage of assaulting God’s image-bearers in the very moment of his knitting them together in their mothers’ wombs (Psalm 139:13).

May the python, indeed, eat its tail. Amen and Amen. I hope and pray (not nearly with the tears that I should) that abortion will one day be just as abhorable and reprehensible as slavery.

The Warnings of Jesus

As I have been reading through the Gospels lately, I have noticed that very often Jesus will issue a warning to his followers. These warnings usually take the form of "woe to you...," or "beware...," or "be on your guard...," or "watch out...," or something of this nature. As I looked at these warnings more closely, I noticed that most all of them fall into one of three catagories:

--Warnings against a love or strong desire for money and material possessions (such as Luke 6:24 – 25, Luke 12:15, Matthew 23:25)

--Warnings against a love or strong desire for fame, reputation, honor, prestige, and the praise of man (such as Matthew 6:1, Luke 6:26, Luke 11:43, Luke 20:46-47)

--Warnings against forgetting those below you...those in poverty, widows, orphans, etc. (such as Luke 11:42, Matthew 25:34-46)

It seems to me that Jesus' repeated warnings about these things should land quite strongly on us Westerners today because these seem to be exactly the things that our culture and society offer to us as things worthy of pursuit. This deserves quite a bit more meditation by each of us.

Free Tibet Protest at Everest Base Camp

(AP) Three Americans and a Tibetan-American were detained on Mount Everest on Wednesday as they called for independence for Tibet and protested against the Beijing Olympics, an activist group said.

The protest was organized by Students for a Free Tibet, which said three people were taken away after holding up a banner at a base camp on the Tibetan side of the mountain that said "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008." The fourth person detained by Chinese authorities was a cameraperson, said the group's executive director Lhadon Tethong. "One World, One Dream" is the slogan of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee will announce the route for the 2008 Olympic torch relay in Beijing on Thursday. Chinese officials have said they want to take it to the top of the world's tallest mountain on the border between Nepal and Tibet. "The Chinese government hopes to use the 2008 Olympic Games to conceal the brutality of its occupation of Tibet," Tethong said from the Nepalese capital, Katmandu.

Tethong said more than 70 Chinese climbers were in the base camp preparing for a trial climb to see if it is possible to take a torch to the top of 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) Mount Everest. "One of the key points for the Chinese in their Olympic propaganda is to show happy Tibetans. They are very much using the Olympics, so we are also using it to call for an independent Tibet," Tethong said.

China says it has ruled Tibet for centuries, although many Tibetans say they were essentially an independent state for most of that time. Chinese communist troops occupied Tibet in 1951 and Beijing continues to rule the region with a heavy hand. Taking the Olympic torch to the top of Mount Everest is seen by some as way for Beijing to underscore its claims to Tibet. "The International Olympic Committee has no business promoting the Chinese government's political agenda by allowing the torch to be run through Tibet," Tethong said.

Book Review: The Last Word by N.T. Wright

I must admit that I had nearly written The Last Word off before I even began it because of N.T. Wright's association with "The New Perspectives on Paul." Am I ever glad that I didn't. Though traces of the "New Perspctives" can be seen within the pages of this book, it has been one of the most thought provoking, eye opening, challenging, helpful, and pleasurable books I have read in a while. In fact, I declare it the best book that I have read this year.

Wright's intention with the book is to help reader's come to grips with what is meant by "the authority of scripture" and how disciples of Christ can live under this authority. Wright does a wonderful job of defending and defining this important piece of Christian life, and without giving too much away let me just say that he gives much more than the typical fundamentalist treatment of the subject. He finds a way that steers the dangerous course between fundamentalism and liberalism and actually gives us a doctrine of the authority of scripture that is robust, well thought out, helpful, and that makes use of Christian tradition. Also, Wright's understanding and analysis of contemporary and historical thought and its influence on culture is masterful. He may be the best cultural observer of our times who calls himself a follower of Jesus. If you only read one book about the Bible, read this one. If you read two, then add Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson. If you read three, then add Scripture Alone by R.C. Sproul.

Get it here.

To Some it Has Been Given

It is my opinion, that the following men are (in order) the best preachers/spiritual teachers of our generation (based on orthodoxy, orthopraxy, awareness of the culture and times, talent for public speaking, and giftedness in teaching) :

1. John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN.
2. Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, NY.
3. Matt Chandler or The Village Church near Dallas, TX.
4. Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seatle, WA.

If you are not familiar with these men, I commend them to you. They are a tremendous blessing to the church in America during this generation, and have been instrumental in my spiritual formation and growth.