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NewsSaturday Selections – October 17, 2020
What color is the balloon? (2 min) “The funny things about truth is, it’s true…whether you believe it or not.” Teens did surprisingly well in…
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Movie ReviewsFree film: Genesis Impact
Docudrama 68 minutes / 2020 RATING: 7/10 This is a very good…something. The topic matter is plain enough – human origins – but what’s less…
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AnimatedLarryboy and the Fib from Outerspace
Children’s / Animated 30 min / 1999 RATING: 7/10 Larry-Boy is no ordinary hero: first off, he’s a cucumber, and secondly he’s got super suction…
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MagazineSept/Oct 2020 issue
WHAT’S INSIDE: Ready to reason: is apologetics even necessary? / I believe in “theistic evolution” / Black Lives Matter – the slogan / Why we’ll…
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Book ReviewsThe Plot to Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero
by Patricia McCormick 184 pages / 2016 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Dietrich Bonhoeffer was the youngest son in a large, loving, and intellectual family. When he, at a…
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NewsSaturday Selections – October 10, 2020
3.5 billion miles of DNA in just little ol’ you (6 min) We each have enough linear length of DNA in us to stretch to…
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Science – GeneralPluto: Déjà vu all over again
Until the summer of 2015, we knew very little about Pluto. We knew that it was far away, 5 billion kilometers. We also knew it…
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Apologetics 101When Lewis says it brilliantly: 7 key quotes
C.S. Lewis wasn’t always orthodox (as Dr. Bredenhof explains in his article “C.S. Lewis’s Apologetics: a Reformed assessment“) but what he got right, he expressed…
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DocumentaryLong Shot: The Kevin Laue Story
Documentary 91 minutes / 2012 Rating: 7/10 This is the amazing story of how a one-armed young man beats the odds to make it onto…
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NewsNo, looting is not defensible
The first week after Vicky Osterweil’s book In Defense of Looting was published, its initial media coverage was positive, via an interview with US public…
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Adult fictionChasing Fireflies
by Charles Martin 340 pages / 2007 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give This is part murder mystery, part adoption story (times two), and part…well, superhero epic. The murder mystery…
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NewsSaturday Selections – October 3, 2020
What is hate speech, and why should we be leery of banning it? (5 minutes) Most everyone agrees that some sorts of speech need to…
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PoliticsWhat is “political success”?
Stephen Harper’s mistaken understanding changed him from a principled conservative to a power-focused politician **** People get involved in politics because they’re concerned about the…
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NewsVancouver ads presume big families hurt the planet
Ads popping up around Vancouver, BC encourage couples to reconsider any plans for having a big or even medium-sized family. Some of the ads read:…
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DocumentaryUncle Tom: An Oral History of the American Black Conservative
Documentary 2020 / 106 minutes Rating: 8/10 “Uncle Tom” is an insult thrown at blacks by other blacks for supposedly being too eager to get…
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Apologetics 101Not all T-shirts are created equal
Green is not my color, and I’m not a real fan of fedoras either so if someone wanted to get me the worst birthday present…
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Adult non-fictionKilling Calvinism
by Greg Dutcher 2012, 111 pages We can thank God that many “young and the restless” Christians are turning to Calvinism to find the rest…
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NewsSaturday Selections – September 26, 2020
A Christian take on Jordan Peterson the man, and the phenomenon (5 minutes) There’s much to admire about Jordan Peterson…but we don’t want to leave…
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Science – EnvironmentEnvironmental Extremism: a one-world view
Christians know there is another Earth coming **** No intelligent and dedicated Christian wants to dispute the idea that we ought to be judicious about…
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HistorySlip sliding away: a very different chapter in Dutch history
You can download or listen to the podcast version (5 minutes) here. **** Paul Simon once sang that the nearer your destination, the more you keep slip…
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DocumentaryA Lego brickumentary
Documentary 93 minutes / 2015 Rating: 7/10 If you have kids who are too young to watch anything with tension then that limits your viewing…
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Adult non-fictionChosen by God
by R.C. Sproul 1986 / 187 pages While most Christians joyfully acknowledge God’s sovereignty in His providence – his protective care – many are less…
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NewsSaturday Selections – September 19, 2020
Chickens are fearfully and wonderfully made too! (4 minutes) This incredible video shows how a fertilized egg becomes a chicken and it is amazing! Should…
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Apologetics 101C.S. Lewis’s Apologetics: a Reformed assessment
Many Christians admire C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) and enjoy his writings. I was introduced to C.S. Lewis through my Grade 4 teacher who read The Lion,…
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Culture ClashesBlack Lives Matter – the slogan
Since Christians must oppose the abortion-supporting, LGBT-agenda pushing Black Lives Matter organization should we still be embracing the Black Lives Matter slogan? The death of George…
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Adult fictionRide Sally, Ride
by Douglas Wilson 294 pages / 2020 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give This might be the weirdest bit of fiction I’ve read, but the author’s point is that…
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In a NutshellTidbits – September 2020
When the pastor fell asleep Maybe you already knew that Charles Spurgeon was called the “Prince of Preachers,” with more than 3,500 published sermons. But…
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NewsSaturday Selections – September 12, 2020
Who has measured the heavens with His fingers? (2 minutes) This video unpacks what’s contained in an area of space that you can cover with…
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MarriageIs the Proverbs 31 wife an unrealistic supermom?
In his article “On being a Titus 2 young woman” Rev. Bouwman made a statement that likely had some readers blinking in surprise. He said of…
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Pro-life – AbortionShould we ask God to forgive Canada for all the babies being aborted? No.
A few years back I was busy preparing for a cross-country series of pro-life presentations. My research had me digging through some articles on what…
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Adult non-fictionSong of Songs: The Greatest Love Song
by Matthew H. VanLuik 210 pages / 2015 Way back in 1979, Victor Kiam coined a phrase in a Remington electric razor commercial: “I liked…
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NewsSaturday Selections – September 5, 2020
Well-intentioned racism is racism still (5 minutes) Uncle Tom is a new documentary about how American black conservatives are ridiculed as being traitors to their race….
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Science – GeneralA sixth sense? Yup, it’s true!
We all know about the standard five senses – taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing – but did you know some of God’s creatures have…
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ParentingSpanking on trial: how to make a public defense
If spanking were to be put on public trial how would the jury rule? In countries like the Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand and more than…
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AnimatedThe Secret World of Arrietty
Animated / Family 2012 / 94 minutes RATING: 8/10 This is a Japanese animated adaptation of the much loved English book series, The Borrowers. Arrietty is…
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Book ReviewsKitten Construction Company: meet the house kittens (2 books)
by John Patrick Green 70 pages / 2018 Rating: Good/Great/GIFT The author of Hippopotamister is back with another charming treat for early readers. The story…
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NewsSaturday Selections – August 29, 2020
50 Christians around the world sing Amazing Grace together This is something special, a glimpse of what it might sound like when “from every nation, from…
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Amazing stories from times pastArchbishop Ussher and being fully known
It is a very special thing to be known, to have someone look at you and understand you and love you simultaneously. My father lost…
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Science – GeneralWhy we’ll never run out of things to discover
A few years ago National Geographic published a provocatively titled article: “Opinion: Science is running out of things to discover.” Author John Horgan’s view is a rarity,…
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Christian educationShould a student’s peer group be so important?
**** Let me tell you the tale of four students. Danny The first, Danny, had decided to better himself and become more flexible in the…
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FamilySpace Buddies
Children’s film 2009 / 84 minutes RATING: 7/10 If the sequel is never as good as the original, then what kind of expectation should we…
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NewsSaturday Selections – August 22, 2020
Stirring up trouble on behalf of the unborn (20 seconds) This week a pro-life group flew a “Black Lives Matter” banner over the site of…
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Amazing stories from times pastThe Gift of Flight: Two brothers’ determined quest
As stories go, this one sounds as if it comes from Through the Looking Glass: and what Alice found there, the classic story by Lewis…
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HumorAre you a transkindophobe?
Doctor Clive Gledhill looked down at his watch – 4:30. Only half an hour until the surgery shut and then he could head off home…
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Apologetics 1016 responses to 1 very angry atheist
British scientist Richard Dawkins may be the world’s most famous atheist. And he has garnered his fame from, and used his fame for attacks on…
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Articles – BooksThis isn’t your parents’ Archie Andrews
Back in 2015, Archie Andrews and his gang were official re-imagined for a new TV series called Riverdale – the fun-loving flirtatious teens were now murderous,…
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Book ReviewsPro-life kids!
by Bethany Bomberger 48 pages / 2019 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give What I most liked about this book is that my kids just picked it up and…
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AnimatedThe Gruffalo
Animated / Family 27 min / 2009 Rating: 8/10 How can a mouse meet up with a hungry fox, snake, and owl, and live to…
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NewsSaturday Selections – August 15, 2020
Thomas Sowell on the benefit of the 10th Commandment While Thomas Sowell doesn’t mention the Bible, the point he makes here is a biblical one….
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MagazineJuly/Aug 2020 issue
WHAT’S INSIDE: Keeping our kids safe online / Angry? But I’m not the type…right? / More birds than believers in church / The hidden meaning…
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Science – GeneralWe’ve all got rhythm – internal clocks in plants, animals, and people too
To my husband, the idea that all humans are able accurately to measure time without recourse to clocks, seems laughable. For if this is so,…
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Book ReviewsHenry says good-bye
When you are sad by Jocelyn Flenders edited by Edward T. Welch 32 pages / 2019 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give This book is part of an excellent series…
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Apologetics 101Ready to reason: is apologetics even necessary?
A surge of pious agreement overcame me the first time I heard someone confidently assert that: “The word of God no more needs defense than…
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AnimatedThe Boxcar Children
Animated / Children’s 2013 / 81 minutes Rating: 7/10 The Boxcar Children is the first title in a popular and still expanding children’s series of…
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NewsSaturday Selections – August 8, 2020
Our Kids Online: Porn, Predators & How to Keep Them Safe A new documentary making the rounds is an eye-opener and can be rented for $5…
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In a NutshellTidbits – August 2020
What would King Solomon do? A policeman arrested two men and confiscated a pair of loaded dice. In court, each man accused the other of…
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Recent ArticlesThe ethical issue of transsexuality
Editor’s note: though this is 25 years old, it is just as relevant today as when it was written. A correspondent recently requested that I…
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AssortedWas Saint Francis a Sissy?
One hundred and fifty thousand children had been on the brink of starving to death, but thanks to the kind gift of a very generous…
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Book ReviewsNoah: A wordless picture book
by Mark Ludy 60 pages / 2014 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Mark Ludy’s wordless account of Noah’s life will fascinate young and old. There’s so much to…
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AnimatedCurious George 3: Back to the Jungle
Animated / Children 81 Minutes / 2015 Rating: 7/10 We might wonder why it hadn’t happened sooner. The third film begins with the unflappable man…
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NewsSaturday Selections – August 1, 2020
Why this valedictorian regrets finishing on top (6 minutes) It took him a whole year to learn this lesson, and he’s happy to share it….
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Apologetics 101Four things you can do when someone challenges your faith
Have you ever felt “the big chill”? It’s the term I use for the cold shiver that runs up your spine when you’re confronted with…
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Book excerptsON PSALM 46: an excerpt from “Christ’s Psalms, Our Psalms – Study Resource”
What follows is an excerpt, on Psalm 46, from the new commentary “Christ’s Psalms, Our Psalms – Study Resource.” Written by pastors, it is meant…
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NewsNetflix’s “The Baby-Sitters Club” sells transgenderism to its preteen/teen audience
From 1986 to 2000, the more than 200 Baby-Sitters Club titles sold more than 175 million copies to a target audience of teen and pre-teen…
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Book ReviewsGood Pictures Bad Pictures Jr.
by Kirsten A. Jenson 2017 / 40 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Talking with our kids about pornography on the Internet is not a conversation any parent wants…
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FamilyAntboy
Family / Superhero 2013 / 77 minutes RATING: 7/10 Pelle is a 12-year-old boy who goes entirely unnoticed at his school…except when he ruins a…
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NewsSaturday Selections – July 25, 2020
Don’t agree with me? I know why! It must be because you want people to die! When the economy was shuttered it was presented as…
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Adult non-fictionThe hidden meaning of “The Chronicles of Narnia”
What if there was a secret cipher that unlocked a meaning behind C. S. Lewis’ beloved Chronicles of Narnia? What if Lewis used a concealed template…
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NewsMore birds than believers in church
This past Sunday I had the privilege of leading worship in my home congregation just outside of Hamilton, Ontario. I arrived about ten minutes before…
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DocumentaryOur Kids Online…how to keep them safe
Documentary 88 minutes / 2020 RATING: 8/10 Our Kids Online begins with a wake-up call: kids aren’t just seeing graphic, dehumanizing pornography online, many are…
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Book ReviewsGod made me unique
Helping children see value in every person by Joni Eareckson Tada and friends 32 pages / 2019 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Everyone is unique, but some of us…
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NewsSaturday Selections – July 18, 2010
Andrew Peterson’s Is He Worthy (5 minutes) When the words and music are perfectly paired… Learn how to defend the unborn (15-minute read) Apologist Greg Koukl…
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Amazing stories from times pastThe Son of the Clothmaker – a slice of the English Reformation
During the reign of Edward VI (1547-1553), Maurice Abbot, a clothmaker in Guildford, Surrey, England, and his wife Alice, became committed Protestants. And during their…
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HumorCall me Billy
I met a man the other day Who thought he was a goat He shaped his hair to look like horns And bleated from his…
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Book ReviewsIn Grandma’s Attic
by Arleta Richardson 1974 / 144 pages Rating: Good/Great/GIFT When Arleta was a little girl she would visit her grandma, where she’d play up in…
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Movie ReviewsSecrets of the Cell with Michael Behe: Season 1
When Darwin first published On the Origin of the Species, the science of his time saw the cell as an uncomplicated organism. That’s quite the contrast…
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NewsSaturday Selections – July 11, 2020
Miracles happen… John Barros has been walking back and forth outside an Orlando abortion clinic, reaching out to the mothers, long enough to wear a…
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SexualityAre bans on conversion therapy actually bans on religious conversion…in drag?
An ongoing concern for international religious freedom advocates is the existence of laws banning conversion from one religion to another. For example, it is illegal…
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AssortedEven heroes carved in marble will have feet of clay
This afternoon I was driving my son home from his work at a garden center. His job is ½ hour away from where we live…
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Apologetics 101Two atheists walk into a bar…
If there is no God, can there be morality? I’m not asking whether atheists are moral people and do moral things. They do, but by…
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AnimatedWinnie the Pooh
Animated / Children / Family 63 min, 2011 Rating: 8/10 Our favorite silly little bear starts his newest adventure in bed, waking up only at…
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In a NutshellTidbits – July 2020
Translation that busts a gut “During my time of study in Amsterdam several decades ago, I personally experienced this challenge of translation. One day I…
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NewsSaturday Selections – July 4, 2020
Reformed College ad causes a wonderful fuss When a Reformed college put out the recruitment ad below – starring their small town’s newly built washrooms…
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Book ReviewsYellow & Pink
by William Steig 1984 / 32 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Sometimes one encounters a work of art, a poem, piece of music, figurine or painting which is…
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Culture ClashesAre you “blessed” or “privileged”?
**** A couple of years back a viral video showed a large group of older teens getting ready to race for a $100 bill. It…
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Science – GeneralYour head is fearfully and wonderfully made
“A little science estranges men from God, but much science leads them back to Him.” – Louis Pasteur or maybe Blaise Pascal or perhaps someone…
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FamilyPollyanna
Family 2003 / 99 minutes Rating: 8/10 Aside from a change of setting, this is a faithful adaption of the source book. Yes, moving it…
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Apologetics 101Can God create a rock so heavy He can’t lift it?
I have a theory that somewhere out there in this weird, wide world, there exists a laboratory, staffed entirely by atheists, the sole purpose of…
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NewsSaturday Selections – June 27, 2020
Is Critical Theory Biblical? (6 min) If you haven’t heard of Critical Theory, you’ve likely encountered aspects of it: wokeness, white privilege, identity politics, and…
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Apologetics 101Pro-life shirts that spark, spur, and speak
“Hey, what’s with the shirt? What’s Abort73.com?” “I could tell you, but better yet, why don’t you go online and check it out?” **** Fifteen…
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ReligionChristianity explains everything…even Reincarnation
How would you react if a Hindu told you that reincarnation was true? That isn’t something that would unsettle or anger you, is it? The…
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DocumentaryFREE FILM: Babies are still murdered here
Documentary 2019 / 102 minutes Rating: 8/10 If you were told the pro-life movement is made up of two groups that don’t always get along,…
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MagazineMay/June 2020 issue
WHAT’S INSIDE: When C.S. Lewis was an atheist / Why I’m religious, not just spiritual / Live-streaming: is it real corporate worship? / Solomon on…
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Adult fictionHidden: Stories of War and Peace
by Christine Farenhorst 303 pages / 2020 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give “I was a Stranger” is reason enough to pick up Christine Farenhorst’s newest short story collection. The…
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NewsSaturday Selections – June 20, 2020
Homosexuality vs. transgenderism This video below is fantastic, but there’s a lot packed in here, so the argument is worth writing out as well. What…
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Movie ReviewsDragnet Season 1 (1951) – 4 free episodes
TV series 1951 / 26 minutes each RATING: 7/10 In the 1950s fans of Dragnet could not only watch it on TV, but listen to it…
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Apologetics 101The case for bumper-sticker and T-shirt Christianity
We found the handprinted note tucked beneath the windshield wiper, as we returned to our car in the mall parking lot. “May you not be…
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Book ReviewsThe Green Ember
by S.D. Smith 365 pages / 2015 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give “Rabbits with swords” – it’s an irresistible combination, and all I had to say to get…
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DocumentaryAmerican Gospel: Christ alone
Documentary 2018 / 139 minutes RATING: 8/10 In one of the documentary’s many memorable moments Costi Hinn, the nephew of televangelist and faith healer Benny Hinn,…
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TheologyBill, and The Brothers Karamazov, on the Problem of Evil
“All right, so this passage shows Jesus’ lordship and control over all creation.” Bill glanced at his watch. It was already 3:45 and his class…