Kategoria now free on The Gospel Coalition

All the back issues of Kategoria are now available online for free via The Gospel Coalition website. I used to subscribe to Kategoria, but I don’t think I was smart enough to keep up. I think I’m slightly smarter now… so might give it another crack. My brother had an article in Issue 18. I’ll probably never be smart enough to understand it ;) Check it.

Kategoria was a quarterly journal published by the Matthias Centre for the Study of Modern Beliefs, a non-profit body established to research and critique the modern intellectual estate from a Christian perspective. For 31 issues, Kategoria provided a probing critique of the secular world and offered a reminder that Christianity holds the answers that so many are searching for. Although the journal has finished, Kategoria lives on in these resources of every issue of this acclaimed journal in Adobe PDF format. With articles covering science, ethics, law, philosophy, history and more, these resources are an indispensable tool for research and critical thinking.”

Steve Jobs + Apple

Steve Jobs, co-founder of technology giant Apple, died today aged 56. Jobs had an extraordinary impact upon our world. The internet (well, at least twitter) was almost in meltdown following the death of this godlike figure. I’m sure tributes will continue to flow.

Here are a few responses from some Christians:

Youcef Nadarkhani Could Be Executed At Any Time

The following is from 13:3. Used with permission. Pray for persecuted Christians.

Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is facing execution after refusing to renounce his faith during court hearings held this week.

In July, the Supreme Court instructed the Revolutionary Tribunal of Gilan Province to review his case to verify whether he was previously a practising Muslim. At the recent hearings, the court in Rasht ruled that Pastor Youcef was not a practising Muslim before becoming a Christian. However, he remains guilty of apostasy because of his Muslim ancestry.

According to sources, when Pastor Youcef was asked to repent in court, he said:

Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?

When judges told him to return to “the religion of your ancestors, Islam,” Pastor Youcef responded, “I cannot.”

Nadarkhani has used up all his chances in the court. “We hear some rumors that he could be executed literally this week – that he’s had now three days which is called for in Islamic law to reconsider his decision, and he could be executed at any time,” reports Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs USA.

MORE INFORMATION

Check out this news report for more information about Youcef’s case.

URGENT PRAYER NEEDED

Please share this story with your friends and family and ask them to pray for Youcef Nadarkhani and his family.

  • Please pray that Youcef will be faithful even to death so that he will receive the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).
  • Pray that Christians around the world will take swift and decisive action on Youcef’s behalf.
  • Pray that all charges against him will be dropped.
  • Pray for all Christians in Iran, that they will keep their eyes on Jesus and not be fearful. Pray that persecution will only increase their passion for Christ and their willingness to share their faith.
  • Pray that God will comfort Youcef’s family during this very difficult time.

Sources: Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Voice of the Martyrs USA

This article is from 13:3. Used with permission. Pray for persecuted Christians.

Music Appreciation Night – Song List

Row proposed that we have a night of square-dancing to finish our term together as a Small Group. Luckily we didn’t do square dancing. Instead we had a ‘Music Appreciation Night’. It was so much fun. Each person in our group had to have 2 songs prepared (with another 2 backups) to play for the rest of the group. It was cool to hear different songs and be introduced to music for the first time.

Before each song was played we introduced it to the group, made a few comments afterwards, took further questions or comments and then moved on to the next person. We basically did two laps of the room.

Here are the songs from each round:
Continue reading “Music Appreciation Night – Song List”