Blogroll Browsing: The Apologists

Well, the snow is piled six-feet high on either side of the driveway, and the Patriots are going to the Big Game once again. Just another New England winter, I suppose!

Today I want to spend some time just browsing the blogroll, and tipping you off as to some of the really fine new bloggers on the list (and a few not so new). This is an obligation of Christian blogging, I think, and I do it because it's a way to walk out (blog out?) the Chestertonian (and Biblical) principle of my tagline above: "Nothing taken for granted; everything received with gratitude; everything passed on with grace."

So, in that spirit, we move on to "The Apologists." These are the "defenders of the faith." They always do so with grace and spiritual sensitivity, avoiding the bitter invective that is sometimes the curse of this type of endeavor. First up, have a nice long look at21st Century Reformation. Brad is the co-recipient of Adrian Warnock's already-coveted blogging award, the Warnie. A good example of his work can be found in a recent post on sanctification, and then its excellent sequel, The Mediated Life, in which he calls us to "a militant attitude toward the obstacles to our spiritual advance." Good stuff, that.

The other winner of Adrian's Warnie is a blogger who's been on my blogroll almost from the beginning, Tim Challies. Funny thing, I don't always agree with Tim, but I read him almost every day. I have great respect for him as a blogger and as a Christian. For a really fine recent example of his work, read The Soul's Thirst.

The Irvins is a new blog on my list. Like many others in the Apologists category of my blogroll (Tim, Rebecca, David, and Doug), they take a strongly Calvinistic approach. That's not my background, but I admire them for their consistently high view of Scripture. The Irvins have really blessed me with their recent series on the names of God. Actually, these posts have been profoundly timely for me. Thanks, Irvins.

Another blog that's new to my list is It Takes a Church. Todd Bolsinger, its chief-cook-and-bottle-washer, is another pastor blogger, joining David, Mark, Buzz, and Milton. All of them thoughtful and tender-hearted. Oh, and did I tell you Todd was also an author. His recent book is called, Show Time: Living Down Hypocrisy by Living Out the Faith. Hmmm, interesting concept!

There are many other fine bloggers in the Apologist category, but I can't perp them all here. I do want to draw your attention, though, to OneLife. This is hardly a blog at all, since it's only posted to maybe twice a month, but the posts are well written acts of practical encouragement. For a taste of his approach, try this on for size:

Whether your soul is dying without God, or dying for more of God, there is only one remedy: a bigger vision of Christ and him crucified. And today, when ‘bestsellers’ are so light and empty; and God’s sovereignty is mocked; and his glorious foreknowledge is apologized for; and Christ is nothing but a gentleman caller asking for a dainty dance, rather than a mighty firefighter who can revive you to life and effortlessly carry you from a burning building before it crashes down all around you; when Christ isn’t able to save, only able to offer; when Christ isn’t an almighty Lord and Master of Creation but a candidate running for spiritual office over your life—it’s simply no wonder we’re starving!

Well, I'm running out of time, so it looks like this review of the the blogroll is going to require a second post, and perhaps even a third. Still, I want to point you to a couple more "apologists" before I'm out of here. Mark Loughridge at 3:17, for one. In his most recent post, Your God is Wise, you'll find Mark's elegant description of heaven: "the greatest possible pleasure for the longest possible time." So cool!

I still haven't mentioned the passionate aintsobad, the scholarly Leithart, the new Daddy reasons why, the truly devoted To be Least, and the redoubtable Jared at Mysterium Tremendum. Worthies, one and all.

And that's all for now. Up next (in a day or two), a similar review of "the diarists" on my blogroll.

Oh, yeah, and "Go, Pats!"