Around the Blogosphere…

Most Inspiring:
Joan Halifax at TED with “Compassion and the True Meaning of Empathy”
[I love that Halifax makes a distinction between compassion and pity.  I believe there is much that Christians can learn from Buddhists in this respect.]

Most Eye-Opening: 
“Libby Anne” at AlterNet with “My Life as a Daughter in the Christian Patriarchy Movement”
“Taken together, these beliefs comprise a comprehensive worldview that gives those within it a sense of purpose and provides simple answers to complex problems. It can be very attractive. While the world is a complicated place, Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull explain exactly what your role is and what you must do to please God and carry out his will. It provides you with a formula for raising perfect children and upholds order and hierarchy. You know what your role is, what you are to do, and where you are going."

Most Vulnerable:
Elizabeth Esther with “Apologizing to my Gay Neighbors”
“And I started weeping. I no longer need to appear Strong And Right. Love has freed me to let others see my vulnerability. I apologized for hurting them and asked them to forgive me.”

Most Helpful:
The Oatmeal with “Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling”

Most likely to make you wish you had this kind of free time: 
Hostess with the Mostess with “DIY Soap Bottle Aprons”

Most Practical (nominated by Anne Bogel)
Carol Howard Merrit with "7 Things Guys Need to Know about Post-Evangelical Women" 

Best Image:
Naked Pastor with “Are You Free Indeed?”

Best Conversation-Starter:
NPR with “Do New Voting Laws Suppress Fraud? Or Democrats?”
"A voter is more likely to be struck by lightening than they are to impersonate another voter at the polls."

Best Question:
Brian LePort with “Someone Define Inerrancy for Me, Please!”

Best Advice: 
XKCD with “Working”

Best Commentary (nominated by Bob Keeley):
Nathan Bierma at Think Christian with “It’s the Thought that Counts: Eugene Nida and Bible Translation”
“Since no two languages are identical, either in the meanings given to corresponding symbols or in the ways in which such symbols are arranged in phrases and sentences, it stands to reason that there can be no absolute correspondence between languages. Hence there can be no fully exact translations.” 

Bravest: 
Tamara Out Loud with “Twenty-Four Inches to Choose Truth”
“But in those moments, in that bed where I had lain captive to depression the long night before, I saw for the first time in three-quarters of a day that I finally had a choice. And if you do not know depression, I have to impress upon you this: The choice to fight it is a rare and precious gift.” 

Wisest:
Donald Miller with “The Best Writing Advice I’ve Ever Received”

Truest: 
Ray Hollenbach with “The Tension of Love and Mystery: Why We Don’t Have to Know it All”
“If you’re the kind of person who needs to figure everything out, perhaps the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not for you.”

Most Likely to Get a Superalative for Writing Against Superlatives (nominated by Darryl Schafer): 
Rodney Reeves with “The Trivial World of Superlatives”

Most Likely to Make Anti-Evolutionists Squirm:
Nicholas Wade at The New York Times with “New Fossils May Redraw Human Ancestry”

Most Likely to Keep the Conversation Going:
Two Friars and a Fool debate “Biblical Masculinity” in the context of my Biblical Womanhood Project

On the Blog…

Most Popular Post:
“Ask a Gay Christian”

Most Popular Comment:
In response to “Complementarians are Selective Too," Jonathan Guenther wrote,  “I find it particularly ironic that they use a quotation from Paul's letter to Timothy to support their worldview.  Who was it that was responsible for teaching Timothy virtually everything he knew about Christianity until Paul came along?”

What caught your eye online this week? And what’s happening on  your blog?

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