God != Santa

Glen Scrivener and the good folks at Eastbourne have produced this nifty poem that contrasts the way many people view God as being a bigger version of Santa with what the God of the Bible is really like:

Which flat panel TV is best?

For quite a few years, Dad and I used to look at the large flat panel TVs in shops and, although I'm a sucker for shiny new technology, we both agreed that they looked pretty shoddy.

With the advent of HD I reckon that's changed a lot. But walking into a TV shop, not only are there different technologies available, but also a big variation in image and quality.

So what do you do? Well, in the case of my family you wait until they get lots cheaper and your CRT dies, but if you prefer to buy now, here's a handy article from CNET that tells you what to do.

Conclusion? If you watch in the dark, get Plasma, if you watch in daylight get LED LCD, if you want cheap and for your TV to look like the rubbish ones that we used to see, get the other kind of LCD. And if it's a good name manufacturer it will apparently be good whichever you get. As much as they look incredible in the shop with something like Avatar in HD playing on it, there's nowt wrong with waiting for the LEDs to get cheaper, they're still pretty new and expensive.

Balotelli's bib

I didn't see this at the time, but I was reading Henry Winter's football review of the year. It's a decent article, with another priceless quote from Ian Holloway (I hope Blackpool get promoted again soon, I miss him on MOTD), and this bit of video gold:



Not sure how you get to be a pro without being able to put one of these on, but after struggling with them at school, I sympathise.

As an extra reward for reading my blog for this long, here's a cracker of a goal involving every player in the Barcelona team (you'll want to start around the 1:50 mark), courtesy of the Daily Telegraph:

Have you heard of Tim Tebow?

For those of you who don't live in America, you may be unaware of the American Football phenomenon that is Tim Tebow. Despite being widely regarded as not actually that good in a conventional sense (just read the NY Times!), Tebow has spearheaded an astonishing success story at Denver Broncos thus far this season. They were 1-4 at the start of the season (that's 1 win, 4 defeats) when the coach, apparently in desperation, gave Tebow a start. The result? He's 8-2 in starts this season and they look like making the playoffs - an achievement that is astonishing given where they were. 

But the thing that's really getting Denver going is not only the wins but also the manner of the victories. The Denver offense has been pretty ineffectual for the first 3 quarters before pulling some magic out of the bag in the final quarter to win some pretty exciting games. Not only that, but the manner in which Denver has been playing, with some devastating rushing (watch the opening quarter against the Patriots, wow), and Tebow himself choosing to run as much as pass, makes them a very entertaining team to watch, if only for watching the way they make the purists tear their hair out. Analysts are struggling to identify how they're actually doing it - but it seems to have a lot to do with the inspiration the rest of the team draws from Tebow himself, and that man's sheer determination to win.

Tebow runs it again. Credit: USA Today

But Tebow has been an extremely polarizing figure. And it's not mainly because Denver have redesigned pro-level offense to suit his strengths and weaknesses (although they have), but rather the much bigger issue is religion. In a sport where a few players have been convicted of various violent crimes, no one has attracted quite as much vitriol as Tim Tebow. Why? Does he kill people? No, the reason is he has been saved by Jesus, has a relationship with Him, and he wants everyone to know it.

The thing is that religion, especially the Christian Gospel, tends to be a provocative and polarizing topic, and it is something that many people would rather is left out of entertainment & sport (esp. in America where politics and religion are taboo subjects for polite conversation). But Tebow has recognised, quite correctly, that without Jesus he would not be where he is today. His abilities are given him by God, if His team does well, it is because God has made it so - and he is just making sure that everybody else knows that too. He mentions Jesus in every interview (sometimes in nearly every sentence), and a lot of people wish he wouldn't. But why shouldn't he?

Tebow here explains his thinking - listen to it for yourself, he explains it clearly, articulately, and with reasons that I can given a hearty 'amen' to:

As the quarterback of an NFL team, Tebow has what an amazing platform he has to tell others about the Saviour that He loves. On the sideline he can often be seen kneeling for a few moments in prayer - something that has been noticed by others and even has its own name: "Tebowing". Isn't that kinda awesome though? A guy in the NFL is so open about his faith that people have actually started imitating it - I know it's all for fun, but the message is clearly getting across. When he was at college level, the rules permitted writing messages in the makeup that players wear to reduce floodlight glare. The result? 160 million people Googled it. Man, what a megaphone to have.

Tebow flashing Bible verses. Credit: Examiner.com

The thing I love most about Tebow though, is that as well as being courageously open about his beliefs, and making sure that God is given the glory for his successes, he really seems to be genuinely living it out. He hasn't been caught in adultery, he doesn't assault gay people, he doesn't burn copies of the Qu'ran - the most controversial thing he's done is appear in a TV ad for a Christian group that opposes abortion - he seems like a genuinely nice guy and that really shouts in his favour. It is like Paul says in Romans 12:17-21 or Peter in 1 Peter 2:12: even when people are being critical, there is a strong sense that he doesn't deserve the stuff that's been thrown at him and that despite his technical deficiencies he really gives 100% - and it makes his critics look churlish in return.

So keep at it Tim Tebow. Stick by your guns. And keep winning, cos the Broncos are properly entertaining at the moment. And Christians? Pray for him, he is just a man in a very public position, pray that God would keep him strong as a good witness and powerful voice, and that he would not fall into temptation. Praise God that he can put His people even in such places.

It's gonna take some saving before I can afford the shirt though.

Every Star Wars game ever

Great video from Gamespot with a very quick overview of nearly every Star Wars game ever that's worth noticing. Emphasis on nearly: they missed Masters of Teras Kasi (basically Star Wars Tekken), Shadows of the Empire (I never played it but supposedly brilliant), Republic Commando (shockingly), Bounty Hunter (again never actually played) and Force Commander (not the greatest but worth a mention).



Some of the criticism was a little harsh too - Racer on the PC was absolutely awesome, and Yoda Stories was one of the most fun time-wasting games I've ever played on the PC (maybe better as a casual desktop game than as a GBC game).

Still, all in all, a pretty good effort at covering the many many that have been made.

Book recommendations for the football tactics fan

I've recently taken up following a couple of football tactics blogs, and I find the analysis and explanation of why teams win/lose very interesting (I've actually always found the analysis part of MOTD good). At Zonal Marking you can find this list of their suggested books.

'via Blog this'

Furniture is heavy. Conversations while moving furniture can also be heavy.

I did a day's temp work yesterday shifting furniture at a local furniture shop - double beds, sofa beds, bookcases, wardrobes, that sort of thing. Turns out that a) they don't sell cheap and nasty mdf furniture, and b) real wood is really heavy.

I also spent a fair chunk of the afternoon debating belief in God with one of the other temps who was there that day. I used to do it loads at school in philosophy lessons, but I've been learning recently about the distinction between simply arguing generically for the existence of 'god', and actually pointing someone to Jesus. The problem with arguing in the abstract is that I'm not really trying to defend belief in 'a god', only belief in the one true God of the Bible. I'm not trying to say 'religion is good' - false religion isn't good - I'm actually kinda with Richard Dawkins on that much.
Ultimately the reason I believe in God, and think Him worth following, isn't because of the Design Argument or the Cosmological Argument (or even the Ontological Argument), it's because I believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus - who was God and man and died to take away my sin, rising again to prove that He had succeeded.

These are the most important questions to answer: who is Jesus? Was He really God? What did He do when He died? Did He rise again? And therefore - can I have a relationship with a God who loves me?
The Death and Resurrection of Jesus is the thing that the whole Bible hinges on - the Old Testament points towards it, and the New Testament exists because of it. All other apologetics are to some extent secondary, they are bridges to these questions - the identity and work of Jesus is of first importance. It is the proof of the validity of the whole Bible and it is the revelation of the character of the God of love and it is the way we can be reconciled to God. (For more on the love of God, check out the latest post on Denise's blog.)

How people respond to Jesus will govern how they respond to God ('if you've seen me you've seen the Father'). I still think apologetics questions are worth answering - but if you never come to the question of Jesus and the Gospel, you won't be coming to the true God.

I'm still learning how to effectively move a conversation from abstract intellectual stuff onto the Gospel - any thoughts? How would you go about that kind of conversation?

And what do you think of Jesus? Is He who He said He is - and why?