Windy City

I'm off in a few hours to visit one of my favorite cities:

If you don't know where that is, it's Millennium Park in Chicago! I've been to Chicago in August, September, and March... just never in the dead center of winter! Please pray that there will be no major delays and that my Southern California-weathered self won't get killed in the cold. In case you were wondering just how cold this city can get:

Mind you, that's without factoring the lovely wind chill. I think yesterday the temperature in Chicago read 20 degrees but said it "felt like" -1 degree because of the wind. Oh joy!

For all my fellow bloggers and friends that read this, have a very happy last week of the year 2009 and happy new year!

I'm yours?.....

I'm studying for my Ephesians final, but had to share this with you... pretty good guitar skills for a little guy!

NTS 2010 out and free!

Just found out that the new issue (Jan 2010) of New Testament Studies is out and it is available for free for everyone. Go check it out! Some articles:

'From John 2.19 to Mark 15.29: The History of a Misunderstanding,' Gonzalo Rojas-Flores

'The Claim of John 7.15 and the Memory of Jesus’ Literacy,' Chris Keith

'Erastus, Quaestor of Corinth: The Administrative Rank of ὁ οἰκονόμους της πόλεως (Rom 16.23) in an Achaean Colony,' John K. Goodrich

And many others.

HT: Nijay Gupta

Why are you throwing down your crowns?

Revelation 4:9-10 has a very interesting picture of the elders before the throne of God:

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne...

I've been reading through D.E. Aune's Apocalypticism, Prophecy, and Magic in Early Christianity, and he gives a few good quotations from Greco-Roman lit. that helps to understand this scene:

Embassies (πρεσβεῖαι) also in the meantime came from Greece, and their envoys (πρέσβεις) themselves crowned, came forward and crowned Alexander with golden crowns, as if they had come on a sacred embassy to honour some god (Anab. Alex.; LCL trans.)

The Italian cities sent delegations (πρεσβεῖας) of their prominent citizens dressed in white, wearing laurel wreaths and all bringing with them the statues of their local gods and any golden crowns that were among their dedications (Herodian 8.7.2; LCL trans.)

He ends this paragraph by stating, "The heavenly scene of the twenty-four elders throwing down their crowns before the throne has no parallel in Israelite-Jewish literature, and become comprehensible only in light of the ceremonial traditions of Hellenistic and Roman ruler worship" (Aune, 107).

Interesting!

Apocalypse now

I'm getting very interested in the 'genre' of apocalyptic literature... Does anyone have any particular advice on who is the "go-to" guy to get to know this topic? Right now I'm reading Aune's Apocalypticism, Prophecy, and Magic in Early Christianity and picked up John J. Collins' The Apocalyptic Imagination and VanderKam and Adler's Jewish Apocalyptic Heritage in Early Christianity.

Book review

Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul

Authors: Bruce J. Malina, John J. Pilch
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress, 2006
Paperback: x + 417 pps.

Amazon.com
Augsburg

Thanks to the great folks at Augsburg Fortress for this review copy! I'm quite interested in the 'world' in which the NT authors lived in (i.e., their socio-economic background, customs, worldview, attitude, etc.) and so this seemed to be a good book to look at to see how they understand Paul from that perspective. First, a quick caveat: they are adamant that only seven letters are Paul-authored and the rest are possibly second, third, or even fourth-generation "Jesus-group documents"! I'm not sure how I feel about that, but since this review is not dealing with that issue, I won't stir that hornets' nest. Therefore, this commentary only looks at those seven letters. Second, the writers are equally convinced that a phrase such as Ἰουδαῖος οὐδὲ Ἕλλην in Gal. 3:28 are not referring to racial distinctions between Jews or Gentiles, but refers instead to "Judeans," ones practicing Judean traditions, and "Hellenists," those civilized folk characterized by the use of the common Greek language.

As the title suggests, this is a commentary, so each chapter is devoted to each of the seven letters of Paul. The big plus for me in this book was the chapter that followed these sections, what they titled 'Reading Scenarios for the (Authentic) Letters of Paul' (Seemed like they really wanted to drive home this point...) This section focuses on anthropological themes that help to interpret the letters. Some of the topics mentioned are: challenge-riposte, purity-pollution, collectivistic personality, demons-demon possession, encomium, and patronage system. There's much more, but you get the idea. Again, this is a commentary, not a book meant to be read cover to cover, so I think it is a good supplement to understand some of the things that are going on the NT world. I'm sure I'll look at this book from time to time to see what social conventions might have been detected in the Pauline letters.

Recommended!

Zeitgeist

Nine eleven. Is there any other date in the 21st century that has been so world-changing as that day in 2001? Everyone that knows me knows that my memory is terrible, and yet I distinctly remember where I was, what I was doing, and can recall to this day watching all of it on TV in disbelief.

We just started talking about Zeitgeist in my class, which is a fancy German word for the 'Spirit of the age.' An example of Zeitgeist in the US would be the 'Sexual Revolution' of the 60s, the 'Red Scare' of the 40-50s, etc. There's been some other blogging about 9.11 by Nick Norelli and Brian LePort here, and I guess my attempt to add to that discussion is: how has that day altered the Zeitgeist of our world? Your country? Your life?

We will never forget.

New season begins with a pop... sort of.

College football season is back! Hoping my alma mater UCLA can do a little better this year and not be completely overshadowed by our crosstown rival. I know every year has its highlights and drama, but I've never seen a season begin with such a bang:



After Boise State romped Univ of Oregon 19-8, running back LeGarrette Blount, who in August claimed that his team "owe[d] that team an ___ whuppin'" gave in to his emotions, punching Byron Hout right in the jaw. Just about a day later, Oregon suspended Blount for the remainder of the season (bowl games included) which effectively ends his college football career.


If this is any indication of the level of intensity this year is going to bring, count me in! (minus the unsportsmanlike conduct.)

California dreamin'

When I talk to people outside of Southern California, they think sunny skies, palm trees, amazing weather, and the beaches. My friends from LA who move elsewhere always get the, "Why did you ever move out of there? It's so nice!" Oh, and they especially think earthquakes. Be that as it may, I think they forget, SoCal is basically a urbanized desert with a whole bunch of trees/shrubs that are ready to burn.

While the Florida Panhandle has the hurricane season, the Midwest has the tornado season, we got the fire season:

Not so dreamy now is it?

HT: Boston.com

Book review:

Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture

David A. deSilva, 336 pages
IVP Academic
ISBN: 978-0-8308-1572-2
~$20.
Amazon
IVP Press
Half.com

David A. deSilva is Trustees' Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. He has published numerous books already, and in this book he attempts to "provide a concise guide to some of the more prominent and prevalent aspects of the culture that gave birth to the early church", that is honor, patronage, kinship, and purity. The book is divided into eight chapters, in which deSilva investigates one particular aspect in the world at large in one chapter, then follows up that chapter with a look at how that is then applied throughout the New Testament.

Chapters 1 and 2: Honor & Shame
deSilva does a good job here to help the readers encounter the honor and shame culture that was the 1st century world. He also looks into the language of honor and dishonor in the first-century Greco-Roman world (in which the first century Jewish world would be a subset). He also brings to light the fact that honor was also tied to group values; that individuals tried to display virtues that found approval from the group and simultaneously avoided vices that brought dishonor and shame from the group. The second part of this section is deSilva's look into how honor and shame was formulated by the early Christians.

Chapters 3 and 4: Patronage & Reciprocity
Personally, I think these chapters were the most intriguing part of the book, as patronage is a concept that is very foreign to our world today, and yet, it is a concept that continues to draw my interest. Here deSilva overviews some relevant material in the Greco-Roman world that well portrays this institution that so dominated the first century world. deSilva focuses most of his attention in the NT chapter (ch. 4) on how God is our benefactor and the proper response Christians are to display to that beneficience.

Chapters 5 and 6: Kinship
If chapters 3 and 4 were the most interesting, chapters 5 and 6 were the most fulfilling to read. I just recently wrote a paper that talked about elements of kinship language found in the Thessalonian correspondence, so these chapters were a good review again of this great aspect of NT culture. deSilva looks into how kinship is reconstituted in the Christian community and in his conclusion he states,

"Our churches will be better equipped to serve as vessels of God's love and favor as we adopt and help one another in the church keep before their eyes the "ethos of kin" that Jesus, Paul and the other New Testament voices instruct Christians to take up toward one another. Many Christians are less than kin and less than kind to one another. Violations of the spirit of unity and of the command to put the interests of the other ahead of a person's own interests need to be addressed gently but forthrightly in the context of the vision the New Testament gives us of what the church could be..."

Chapters 7 and 8: Purity
In these sections, deSilva looks into the concept of "pollution" and how the concept of "holy" and "pure" has been skewed in our post-Reformation, post-Enlightenment era. He does an excellent but brief survey of Jewish material that helps to understand how early Christians understood the concept of "sacred space" and how some lines regarding purity and holiness have been redrawn in the Christian community.


Final thoughts:
All in all, this is an excellent survey of four important aspects of NT culture that may be overlooked often in our readings of the NT. My only wish was that he included more primary sources in his book, but my guess is that he aimed this book to be semi-academic; so as not to be so esoteric that it is beyond the grasp of serious readers of the Bible, but not so elementary that it would be overlooked as a serious work of a scholar. Highly recommended!

Out of Africa

After getting on 10 planes on 4 different airlines, 3 continents, and unending security checks, I've returned from Kenya!

Some pictures:









I have so much more, but I guess this is it for now! I am very exhausted/jetlagged, so goodbye for now.

Off to Africa.

For a few weeks, I will be gone to: Kenya/Zanzibar! For those of you that are unfamiliar with where in the world that is:

















Very excited to spend some time in the Maasai Mara reserve:




So in the meanwhile, please read my other posts and talk to you all when I get back!

Paul and the Roman Imperial Order

Richard A. Horsley ed., ix + 198 pages
Trinity Press International
ISBN-13: 978-1563384219
About $30.
Amazon
Half.com
Continuum

Richard Horsley is the Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and the Study of Religion at the University of Massachusetts Boston. As the title would suggest, this book approaches Paul with the understanding that Paul was not merely concerned with religious systems (primarily Judaism), but that he was also concerned with the political-economic life. So here is a short overview of the book:
Introduction: Horsley lays out the shift from "standard NT scholarship" that have focused the bulk of its attention on Paul and Judaism toward the Roman Empire. The book is basically a publishing of the session at the 2000 annual SBL meeting with some additions.
Chapter 1: Robert Jewett, "The Corruption and Redemption of Creation", Reading Rom. 8:18-23 within the Imperial Context.
Jewett overviews Greco-Roman understanding of nature, looking at Hesiod, Virgil, Horace, etc. He then looks specifically at Romans 8 to discover the "implications of Paul's formulation against the foil of the imperial context." He does a pretty thorough job walking through the relevant section in Romans 8 to see Paul's view of fall and redemption of creation.
Chapter 2: Abraham Smith, "Unmasking the Powers", Toward a Postcolonial Analysis of 1 Thessalonians.
Having just finished working through 1 Thessalonians in my Greek exegesis class with Dr. Arnold, this chapter was particularly interesting to me. He believes that this book contains Paul's resistance to the empire and as such he has a section on resistance among Judean-Israelites and different philosophies, a section on the Pro-Roman elites, and a section on Paul's criticism of Thessalonian aristocracy to strengthen his argument.
Chapter 3: Neil Elliott, "The Apostle Paul's Self-Presentation as Anti-Imperial Performance".
Elliot argues that while the imperial imagery and cult were ritual representations of power, so was the performance of Paul's presence, through his language of triumph, afflictions, and war-imagery.
Chapter 4: Rollin A. Ramsaran, "Resisting Imperial Domination and Influence", Paul's Apocalyptic Rhetoric in 1 Cor.
Ramsaran argues that "how Judean apocalyptic traditions inform or possibly provide the backbone to Paul's argument have not been adequately examined." Here, Paul is seen as an 'apocalyptist' who uses Greco-Roman rhetoric in 1 Cor.
Chapter 5: Efrain Agosto, "Patronage and Commendation, Imperial and Anti-Imperial".
This was a good chapter that overviews various forms of patronage and commendation seen in the Roman world, especially making note of the "letters of recommendation" as one principal means by which this imperial patronage system was propagated. Agosto then focuses his attention on commendation in four of Paul's letters (1 Thess. 5; 1 Cor. 16; Phil. 2, 4; Rom. 16), concluding that Paul's commendations are "almost diametrically opposite" to the imperial system.
Chapter 6: Erik M. Heen, "Phil. 2:6-11 and Resistance to Local Timocratic Rule", Isa theo and the Cult of the Emperor in the East.
Heen focuses most of his attention on isa theo in Phil. 2:6b, seeing how such terms were used by Greek urban elites to honor the emperor and views the Christ hymn of Phil. 2:6-11 as direct resistance to the imperial cult.
Chapter 7: Jennifer Wright Knust, "Paul and the Politics of Virtue and Vice".
Knust sees Paul's rhetoric of virtue and vice as not just a typical polemic from a well-taught Hellenistic Jew, but even as a "pointed attack" toward outsiders, including the emperor himself. While others piled on virtue upon virtue in their description of emperors, Paul's description of outsiders as idolaters given up to impurity and dishonor cannot be ignored as mere stereotypical polemic.
Chapter 8: Simon R.F. Price, "Response".
Some final thoughts from whom Horsley deems as an important figure in opening up the discussion of the imperial cult and its relationships.

For 200 pages, this is definitely a good book to get started on the discussion of Paul and the Roman Empire.

φυσικὴν χρῆσιν?

Today, I read part of another chapter in J. Paul Sampley's Paul in the Greco-Roman World titled 'Paul, Families, and Households' by David L. Balch. So far it's been very interesting and good read overall, but I knew somewhere down the line I would run into something that would raise my eyebrows and today was it:

"Another key text for understanding Paul's attitude toward sexuality is Rom 1. Focusing on Greco-Roman philosophic and literary ways of conceptualizing sexual matters, Fredrickson concludes that 'in Romans 1:24-27 Paul points to the problem of passion without introducing the modern dichotomy of homo-hetero-sexuality.' Like his contemporaries, Paul writes about 'natural use' (φυσικὴν χρῆσιν) and 'unnatural use' (χρῆσιν … τὴν παρὰ φύσιν) of sexual desire (1:26, 27), which was thought to be analogous to the natural use of hunger. The pleasure of sex, then, is to be limited by satisfaction, just as a wise person with a full stomach limits eating. As we saw above, this use of 'natural' does not raise the question of the gender of either the subject or the object of sexual desire. Plutarch (Advice to Bride and Groom 144B) also refers to the wife's 'use' of the husband, to which Paul probably refers in Rom 1:26... which is not then a reference to lesbian sexual activity... Fredrickson agrees with Martin: by 'against nature', Paul means not 'disoriented desire' but 'inordinate desire.'" (Sampley, 277-278)

While the argument seems cogent enough, it seems to me that if we properly read Rom. 1:25 that establishes the Διὰ τοῦτο ("for this reason") in 1:26, it cannot be understated that the indictment found in this section is rooted in creation (e.g. serving the creation more than the Creator). Here's what a few people have said regarding this paragraph:

C.E.B. Cranfield, Romans: A Shorter Commentary, 35:

"By 'natural' and 'contrary to nature' Paul clearly means 'in accordance with the Creator's intention' and 'contrary to the Creator's intention', respectively. It is not impossible that Paul had some awareness of the great importance which 'nature' had in Greek thought for centuries; that he was aware of it use in contemporary popular philosophy is very likely. But the decisive factor in his use of it is his biblical doctrine of creation."

Douglas Moo, Romans (NICNT), 114-115:

"Paul generally uses the word 'nature' to describe the way things are by reason of their intrinsic state or birth, and in these cases there is no clear reference to divine intention. Some scholars in recent years especially, noting this, have argued that Paul does not here brand homosexuality as a violation of God's will... But Paul's use of the word 'nature' in this verse probably owes much to Jewish authors, particularly Philo... Sexual sins that are 'against nature' are also, then, against God, and it is this close association that makes it probable that Paul's appeal to 'nature' in this verse includes appeal to God's created order.

I'm just very skeptical that Balch is pushing for Paul's reference to Plutarch over against Philo and other Jewish writings...

What do you guys think?

Coincidence?

I'm currently working through C.K. Barrett's The New Testament Background: Selected Documents, and I have to say, it's been very good so far as he gives a very good overview of a lot of primary sources. Today I came across a section titled "Heretics," and here's what he said:

"A word commonly used to describe a heretic or sceptic is אפיקורוס ('appiqoros). The origin of the word is uncertain, but even if it was derived from a Hebrew root the coincidence of its sound with the name of the Greek thinker Epicurus must have played no small part in the development of its meaning."¹

Is this a coincidence?

While it may be a bit anachronistic and taking things out of context, Elie Wiesel once said, "In Jewish history, there are no coincidences."

¹C.K. Barrett, The New Testament Background: Selected Documents, (New York: Harper & Row, 1989), 210.

A Tale of One (Two) Poets?

Do you know these two famous poets:

I'm currently reading through Paul in the Greco-Roman World edited by J. Paul Sampley, and I'm in Chapter 7, "Paul and Greco-Roman Education" written by Ronald F. Hock. Pretty good so far, and I just noticed this last night:

A line from famous poet #1:
πρὸς δ' ἐμὲ τὸν δύστηνον ἔτι φρονέοντ' ἐλέησον
Have pity on me, the unfortunate one, while I am still alive. -- Homer the Greek

Awe factor: Greek scholiasts recognized that this line from the Iliad represented each of the eight parts of speech! πρὸς is a preposition, δ' is a conjunction, ἐμὲ a pronoun, τὸν an article, δύστηνον a noun, ἔτι an adverb, φρονέοντ' a participle, ἐλέησον a verb. I have not read up enough on Homer to know if this is accidental or intentional, but I am currently standing with the latter choice.

A line from famous poet #2:
I've always wondered if there was a god. And now I know there is -- and it's me. -- Homer the Simpson

Awe factor: In this one line, Homer succinctly sums up the core of humanity since the Fall.

Is Homer Simpson Ὅμηρος reborn?

PS: On a related note, does anyone know of any good textbooks to learn Classical Greek and Latin?

!semaG

Last night, a bunch of our church friends helped Janice move in to her new apartment, and as a housewarming present, one of the guys bought her Cranium:

I've never played Cranium before, but it was so fun! It was like Taboo, Pictionary, Schrades, and Jeopardy all rolled into one.
One particular challenge I thought was really neat was "Team Gnilleps," in which your team has to spell a certain word backwards. Sounds easy, right? So did I, until they give you words like "amphibian" and "adrenaline."

Do you enjoy boardgames? What other games would you recommend for small gatherings?

Ab excessu divi Augusti

"Following the death of divine Augustus."

This is the supposed title of the book, Annals, of Roman senator/historian, Tacitus, as he outlines the reign of four Roman emperors that followed Caesar Augustus. I was reading through C.K. Barrett's The New Testament Background: Selected Documents and read an interesting portion of Tacitus' work:

BookXV (regarding the Great Fire of Rome in AD64)

"...But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed."

I just found it fascinating that even from a secular writer, there seems to be a hint of compassion and sympathy for what happened to the early Christians regardless of the way he feels about their "superstition."

A picture is worth....

I really enjoy visual aids, and this one in particular is a very good one. Just makes me wish I received a bail-out.

Creed

I just recently came across this satirical piece from a British writer, Steve Turner, and thought it was pretty insightful:


We believe in Marx, Freud, and Darwin
We believe everything is OK, as long as you don't hurt anyone
to the best of your definition of hurt, and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before, during, and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin. We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy’s OK. We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything's getting better, despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated, and you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there's something in horoscopes, UFO's, and bent spoons.
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha, Mohammed, and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher though we think His good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same-at least the one that we read was. They all believe in love and goodness. They only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes the Nothing, because when you ask the dead what happens, they say nothing. If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then it's compulsory heaven for all excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Khan.

We believe in Masters and Johnson, What's selected is average.
What's average is normal. What's normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament. We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed. Americans should beat their guns into tractors, and the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good. It's only his behavior that lets him down. This is the fault of society. Society is the fault of conditions. Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly. The universe will readjust. History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth, excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds, and the flowering of individual thought.

If chance be the Father of all flesh, disaster is his rainbow in the sky, and when you hear:

State of Emergency! Sniper Kills Ten!
Troops on Rampage! Whites go Looting!
Bomb Blasts School!

It is but the sound of man worshipping his maker.

What does this mean to you?

One of the first things that they teach us at school regarding hermeneutics (principles of interpretation) is that by focusing on the question, "What does this passage mean to me?", we often miss the real meaning behind a biblical passage. At Georgetown University, Pres. Obama recently gave a speech titled, "Remarks by the President on the Economy," and in it he states:

Now, there's a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells the story of two men. The first built his house on a pile of sand, and it was soon destroyed when a storm hit. But the second is known as the wise man, for when "the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock." It was founded upon a rock. We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity -- a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad.

The section he's referring to comes from Matthew 7:24-27 which actually begins with Jesus' clear statement, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a a wise man who built his house on the rock."

It seems to me that the exhortation to build a house on the rock is not really about shrewd financial management, but rather, hearing and doing the word of God. What does this passage mean to you?

Are you stressed?

It seems to me that these days we spend much of our time surfing the web, watching something on youtube, downloading some other things from the 'net... all the while putting strain on our eyes/bodies, all the while not learning very much along the way. Can I give you one piece of advice? READ!

According to the Telegraph from the U.K., for reducing stress, reading worked better than listening to music (which reduced stress by 61%), drinking a cup of tea (54%), and even taking a walk (42%). Reading was found to reduce stress by a whopping 68%! Amazing.

So what are you waiting for? Buy some books and go relieve your stress!

Eat, drink, and.... count calories?

This new blog is making me want to post a lot... but anyway, I noticed that these days, knowing your calorie intake seems to be the "in" thing. Recently, they did some studies to find out America's healthiest fast food restaurants and the unhealthiest restaurants. I think you may be surprised to find such results:

Healthiest:
1. Panera (I don't like Panera, but they have free wireless, so ok.)
5. Corner Bakery (Their Pesto Cavatappi is so dang good, but friends keep telling me that I want to eat here too much)
8. McDonald's (Wow)

Unhealthiest:
D+: Denny's (But their buffalo wings are so good, especially at 12:30AM...)
D+: Carl's Jr. (I used to love the Western Bacon cheeseburger combo, but this place went down hill in my opinion... all this "deluxe" burger stuff, I never had it but it doesn't look good at all.)
F: T.G.I.Fridays, IHOP, Outback (They are on the "F" list because they have refused to give nutritional info on their food... one word: shady.)


Where have you been eating lately?

Spend your $... on me, for you?

On the widget below, I have a few recommended books that I think every Christian would benefit from. So go ahead and spend your money to buy these great books for yourself! As a caveat, I want to let you know that it is through something called "Amazon Associates," and I do receive some small compensation! But, if you are planning on buying these books anyway, why not spend some $ on me, for you?

I am planning to update the list every few weeks, so go ahead and buy it! And if you really insist on buying these books without spending it on me, I would still be very happy that you bought them so please go ahead and buy them at a bookstore of your own choice!