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Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 6:20 AM
Transferring Your Blog Subscription
Posted by Jenny Rae Armstrong in
Okay, I think I transferred the feed correctly, so if you subscribed to this blog, you should be auto-subscribed to the new one. I think. However, it would still be a good idea to re-subscribe to the new site, and delete your old subscription. Much cleaner.
I am also quite certain that Feedburner did't transfer the feed before I made my first new post on that blog. So, subscribers, if you missed it, here it is: http://www.jennyraearmstrong.com/2011/09/22/is-it-controversial-that-im-not-down-with-killing-people/
Bye for now--see you on WP!
I am also quite certain that Feedburner did't transfer the feed before I made my first new post on that blog. So, subscribers, if you missed it, here it is: http://www.jennyraearmstrong.com/2011/09/22/is-it-controversial-that-im-not-down-with-killing-people/
Bye for now--see you on WP!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 10:10 AM
This Blog Is Moving!
Posted by Jenny Rae Armstrong in
After much hemming, hawing, and whining about complicated back-end systems, I have decided to combine my blog and website, and move the whole kit and caboodle over to Wordpress. From here on out, I'll be blogging at http://www.jennyraearmstrong.com/ Go on over and take it for a test drive--click through the posts, try leaving a comment (please--I want to make sure my comment settings are working right!!!), and let me know what you think!
If you've subscribed to This Glorious Mess by RSS or email, I think I will be able to transfer your subscription to the new site. But I'm not entirely sure. So you may want to keep an eye on that and resubscribe if you're missing posts.
If you haven't subscribed, you can do so on the new site--either click the RSS megaphone at the top of the site to get posts delivered to your favorite reader, or enter your email in the space provided, below "recent comments" and above the picture of moi (to quote one of my favorite Muppets). If you subscribe by email, don't forget to check your inbox (and quite possibly your spam box) for a confirmation email, or--no blog for you! Feedburner is a stickler that way.
So sayonara Blogger--you've been good to me, but I just feel like I need more options. See you all on the flip side!
If you've subscribed to This Glorious Mess by RSS or email, I think I will be able to transfer your subscription to the new site. But I'm not entirely sure. So you may want to keep an eye on that and resubscribe if you're missing posts.
If you haven't subscribed, you can do so on the new site--either click the RSS megaphone at the top of the site to get posts delivered to your favorite reader, or enter your email in the space provided, below "recent comments" and above the picture of moi (to quote one of my favorite Muppets). If you subscribe by email, don't forget to check your inbox (and quite possibly your spam box) for a confirmation email, or--no blog for you! Feedburner is a stickler that way.
So sayonara Blogger--you've been good to me, but I just feel like I need more options. See you all on the flip side!
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 3:55 PM
Why Christians Lie
Posted by Jenny Rae Armstrong in
This morning, as I was continuing my purge of my tiny office, I came across a dusty magazine that someone had passed on to me a couple years back. I was about to toss it in the trash can, when I noticed a prominent Christian leader's name on the cover, beneath a headline that peaked my curiosity. I opened it up and began to read.
The article was an interesting and compellingly written piece, but it left me shaking my head. The content was, frankly, fanciful, building irrational, extra-biblical arguments that rested on a very particular interpretation of one passage of scripture. (The topic was "natural evil," if you're curious.)
While I had no problem with this author or the view he represented (even though I found his conclusions improbable), it got me thinking about how we as Christians handle challenging questions. It seemed to me that this author was trying to build a case out of the ether--he ignored obvious inconsistencies, leaving huge, gaping holes in his argument. All of this to defend a very particular understanding of a marginal doctrine that has little to no influence on a believer's daily life or walk with God.
While the author's view was harmless, in my opinion, his methodology was anything but. I've had one too many friends leave the church because the community they were in responded to genuine questions about everything from creation to Christmas trees, atonement to tattoos, with a horrified gasp, followed by impassioned arguments that lacked not only grace but intellectual integrity. As a result, they came across as either ignorant or disingenuous. And while ignorance may be excusable, "disingenuous" is just a fancy way of saying or dishonest or deceitful.
It's one thing for a person to leave the church because they disagree with what we're saying. As much as it grieves me, I can deal with that. It's another thing for people to leave because they think we're hypocritical liars who would rather be "right" than honest, like corrupt district attorneys who ignore the evidence in the defendants favor because are only interested in winning their case. That makes me feel queasy, like we've failed our questioning friends horribly. And again, this is not a victimless crime--I have friends who have abandoned Christianity (or refused to consider it in the first place) because of this arrogance on our part. I bet you do too. Or maybe you are one of them.
Obviously, the debate about creation vs. evolution (thiestic or otherwise) springs to mind when this topic comes up, but that's not the only arena where this comes into play, or even the most important one. I mean, seriously--the average American doesn't spend a lot of time agonizing about what happened to the dinosaurs, past age seven or so. Politics, however--not to mention relationships, gender issues, social problems, and doctrinal divides--we can get pretty worked up about those issues, defending our side at all costs, even when it compromises our character. We close our eyes, ears, and hearts to what our "opposition" has to say, villainize or mischaracterize their position so we can make a mockery of it and them. I'd say we learned this unscrupulous behavior from political pundits who butter their bread by raising our blood pressure, but honestly I think it's just part of our fallen nature. It's plain old-fashioned pride, the opposite of the gentle humility with which Christians are supposed to express their faith.
Or maybe it's not just pride. Maybe there's a heaping helping of fear fueling our arrogance. Maybe questions scare us, because deep down inside, we're asking them too.
Maybe we're afraid our views won't hold up to the truth. Maybe we think close investigation will prove us wrong. But I truly believe that God is big enough to hold up to our questions. God is truth. And even if we are wrong about some point of doctrine (and being human beings with puny little brains, we can't possibly understand everything perfectly), that doesn't mean that God is wrong. Just us.
And that's okay. After all, we don't get into heaven by passing a spiritual geography test on which we map out all the points along the Romans Road. We get into heaven by following Jesus there, by grace, through faith. Many aspects of Christianity are complicated, but that is not one of them.
Just for the record, I'm not saying that doctrine and theology are unimportant. If I thought that, I wouldn't be spending thousands of dollars and hours going back to school to study it, to dive deeper into the Word and get a better understanding of what it says and what it means. I'm just saying that we should avoid getting our panties in a bunch about what lions ate before the fall and other such things, and we definitely shouldn't be giving friends whose opinions differ from ours theological wedgies!
So maybe I'll leave it there, before my metaphors get any weirder. (Can you tell I'm on cold medicine right now?!) Don't give your friends theological wedgies, especially if there are holes in your own underwear.
The article was an interesting and compellingly written piece, but it left me shaking my head. The content was, frankly, fanciful, building irrational, extra-biblical arguments that rested on a very particular interpretation of one passage of scripture. (The topic was "natural evil," if you're curious.)
While I had no problem with this author or the view he represented (even though I found his conclusions improbable), it got me thinking about how we as Christians handle challenging questions. It seemed to me that this author was trying to build a case out of the ether--he ignored obvious inconsistencies, leaving huge, gaping holes in his argument. All of this to defend a very particular understanding of a marginal doctrine that has little to no influence on a believer's daily life or walk with God.
While the author's view was harmless, in my opinion, his methodology was anything but. I've had one too many friends leave the church because the community they were in responded to genuine questions about everything from creation to Christmas trees, atonement to tattoos, with a horrified gasp, followed by impassioned arguments that lacked not only grace but intellectual integrity. As a result, they came across as either ignorant or disingenuous. And while ignorance may be excusable, "disingenuous" is just a fancy way of saying or dishonest or deceitful.
It's one thing for a person to leave the church because they disagree with what we're saying. As much as it grieves me, I can deal with that. It's another thing for people to leave because they think we're hypocritical liars who would rather be "right" than honest, like corrupt district attorneys who ignore the evidence in the defendants favor because are only interested in winning their case. That makes me feel queasy, like we've failed our questioning friends horribly. And again, this is not a victimless crime--I have friends who have abandoned Christianity (or refused to consider it in the first place) because of this arrogance on our part. I bet you do too. Or maybe you are one of them.
Obviously, the debate about creation vs. evolution (thiestic or otherwise) springs to mind when this topic comes up, but that's not the only arena where this comes into play, or even the most important one. I mean, seriously--the average American doesn't spend a lot of time agonizing about what happened to the dinosaurs, past age seven or so. Politics, however--not to mention relationships, gender issues, social problems, and doctrinal divides--we can get pretty worked up about those issues, defending our side at all costs, even when it compromises our character. We close our eyes, ears, and hearts to what our "opposition" has to say, villainize or mischaracterize their position so we can make a mockery of it and them. I'd say we learned this unscrupulous behavior from political pundits who butter their bread by raising our blood pressure, but honestly I think it's just part of our fallen nature. It's plain old-fashioned pride, the opposite of the gentle humility with which Christians are supposed to express their faith.
Or maybe it's not just pride. Maybe there's a heaping helping of fear fueling our arrogance. Maybe questions scare us, because deep down inside, we're asking them too.
Maybe we're afraid our views won't hold up to the truth. Maybe we think close investigation will prove us wrong. But I truly believe that God is big enough to hold up to our questions. God is truth. And even if we are wrong about some point of doctrine (and being human beings with puny little brains, we can't possibly understand everything perfectly), that doesn't mean that God is wrong. Just us.
And that's okay. After all, we don't get into heaven by passing a spiritual geography test on which we map out all the points along the Romans Road. We get into heaven by following Jesus there, by grace, through faith. Many aspects of Christianity are complicated, but that is not one of them.
Just for the record, I'm not saying that doctrine and theology are unimportant. If I thought that, I wouldn't be spending thousands of dollars and hours going back to school to study it, to dive deeper into the Word and get a better understanding of what it says and what it means. I'm just saying that we should avoid getting our panties in a bunch about what lions ate before the fall and other such things, and we definitely shouldn't be giving friends whose opinions differ from ours theological wedgies!
So maybe I'll leave it there, before my metaphors get any weirder. (Can you tell I'm on cold medicine right now?!) Don't give your friends theological wedgies, especially if there are holes in your own underwear.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 8:02 PM
My Favorite Writing Resources
Posted by Jenny Rae Armstrong in
I've spent the last few months staring at the mountain of books that used to be my desk (and side table, and chair, and floor...), mumbling something about needing either a bigger office or more bookshelves. Ordering my schoolbooks for the semester pushed me over the edge--I finally bit the bullet and picked up four ginormous pressboard wonders from Wal-Mart, desperate to beat the Fed-Ex man's Amazon avalanche.
This means that I've spent the last few hours in the delicious task of going through my books, thinning out the collection I keep in my tiny 8x8 office, and banishing the rest to the new bookshelves. This process has made me very aware of my go-to books, the ones I grab on a regular basis, toss in my purse before heading out the door, or flip through when I need answers. So I thought I'd share them. Here are some of my favorite writing resources, books and otherwise.
Books:
Writer Mama by Christina Katz tops my list as the most useful, relevant, and likely-to-get-your-byline-in-print books. It worked for me--I pre-ordered Writer Mama based on the glowing reports of early reviewers, and sent out my first successful query letter before had I closed the back flap. I don't care if you're a mama, a daddy, a college kid, or an alien who crash landed in the Gobi desert--if you're a writer, and you want to get published in magazines, you need this book.
Another Christina Katz book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, is getting the most wear and tear of any of my writing books right now. There's a 50% chance that if you stopped me on the street, you would find it on my person. It's that good.
Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide is another book that I couldn't live without, although I'm embarrassed to say I had never heard of it until a few months ago. I used to rely on writersmarket.com to get information about magazines and find new markets, but Sally Stuart's guide simply has more of the publications in my niche, and is better organized.
Classes:
I love, love, love MediaBistro's online classes. They're very similar to college journalism classes I've taken--if your professor happened to be a former editor from Cosmo or Family Circle, and your classmates and critique partners were by-in-large media professionals with extensive real-world knowledge and experience. I'd read scores of books about writing, and published a few articles, but things really began to click during my first MediaBistro course. Sometimes, you just need someone to show you how it's done. And show you they do. MediaBistro courses are pricey, but way cheaper than college tuition, and well worth the investment if you're serious about making a living as a writer--or in any media profession, for that matter.
There's more, but it's late, and bed is sounding awfully good! I'll have to continue my list later. Stay tuned!
This means that I've spent the last few hours in the delicious task of going through my books, thinning out the collection I keep in my tiny 8x8 office, and banishing the rest to the new bookshelves. This process has made me very aware of my go-to books, the ones I grab on a regular basis, toss in my purse before heading out the door, or flip through when I need answers. So I thought I'd share them. Here are some of my favorite writing resources, books and otherwise.
Books:
Writer Mama by Christina Katz tops my list as the most useful, relevant, and likely-to-get-your-byline-in-print books. It worked for me--I pre-ordered Writer Mama based on the glowing reports of early reviewers, and sent out my first successful query letter before had I closed the back flap. I don't care if you're a mama, a daddy, a college kid, or an alien who crash landed in the Gobi desert--if you're a writer, and you want to get published in magazines, you need this book.
Another Christina Katz book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, is getting the most wear and tear of any of my writing books right now. There's a 50% chance that if you stopped me on the street, you would find it on my person. It's that good.
Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide is another book that I couldn't live without, although I'm embarrassed to say I had never heard of it until a few months ago. I used to rely on writersmarket.com to get information about magazines and find new markets, but Sally Stuart's guide simply has more of the publications in my niche, and is better organized.
Classes:
I love, love, love MediaBistro's online classes. They're very similar to college journalism classes I've taken--if your professor happened to be a former editor from Cosmo or Family Circle, and your classmates and critique partners were by-in-large media professionals with extensive real-world knowledge and experience. I'd read scores of books about writing, and published a few articles, but things really began to click during my first MediaBistro course. Sometimes, you just need someone to show you how it's done. And show you they do. MediaBistro courses are pricey, but way cheaper than college tuition, and well worth the investment if you're serious about making a living as a writer--or in any media profession, for that matter.
There's more, but it's late, and bed is sounding awfully good! I'll have to continue my list later. Stay tuned!
Monday, August 22, 2011 at 3:03 PM
Good News about the "Good News"
Posted by Jenny Rae Armstrong in
Somehow, I didn't discover Scot McKnight's books (other than the commentaries he edited) until a couple months ago. Same deal with Carolyn Custis James's work.
Now, I am morally obligated to buy any book either of them writes. Including this one, which is releasing in a couple weeks.
I am going to go broke on books. But it will be SO worth it!
Here's the video trailer for Scot's new book.
Now, I am morally obligated to buy any book either of them writes. Including this one, which is releasing in a couple weeks.
I am going to go broke on books. But it will be SO worth it!
Here's the video trailer for Scot's new book.
