On Mondays, I think we’ll take a look at a few interesting items and links from around the web…

         + If you are bringing up boys at home, it’s certainly worth a look at the Dangerous Book for Boys, It’s sort of a Boy Scout handbook meets Man Vs. Wild meets a club with “no girls allowed” posted on the door of the treehouse.  It covers things like making a great paper airplane, why you need a knife, how to skin a rabbit, the scoop on bugs and grubs, and the most dangerous thing of all – talking to girls.  Written with dry British viewpoint by two brothers (interviewed here), it’s at least a great conversation starter in a world where the “boyness” of boys (read: adventurous, curious and occasionally gross) is often stifled.

            + In the wake of all the NY Times best-selling atheistic works of the past year by Hitchens, Harris, and Dawkins comes The Atheist’s Bible.  In it, you find a collection of phrases and aphorisms from writers, entertainers and others intended to give lie to the idea of God. One review notes that the book is a primer on atheism for those who don’t want to wade through the others, and wonders if this will begin showing up in the drawers at motels. 

            + And since we’ve opened the door on blasphemy, stop by the Blasphemy Challenge site for a few minutes.  It will make you scream, spit, and feel sick. Then you will weep and ache for a generation that is increasingly clueless about the true greatness and kindness of God through Jesus. And then maybe you’ll pray that we’ll figure out a way to reach them.

            + If you ever wonder why some people (like those above) have trouble taking us seriously, check out this article by Lou Engle (founder of The Call prayer events) where he asserts that Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who is a prophetic word from God about the ending of abortion.  Horton is the prophetic Church, the kangaroo is the Supreme Court, and when the littlest Who cries “YOPP” so they can be heard, that stands for “young ones praying and prophesying”.

            I’m not making this up.

            + On a lighter note, this is an interesting view of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus, with pictures of a large model of the city from the Holyland Hotel in Jerusalem.  It was prepared by William Schniedewind, chair of the Near Eastern Culture and Languages Dept at UCLA.

            + From the ‘I’m Not Sure What It Means, But It Could Be a Sign of the Apocalypse” Department: Don’t have time to read all the books you think you ought to read?  Check out Squashed Writers and Squashed Philosophers, for versions of classics reduced to a length that will take a half-hour to read.