Sunspots 36

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Blog post that claims that the conventional wisdom, that the date of Christmas was selected to counter a pagan holiday, is wrong. (A commenter says that the conventional wisdom is correct.)

A post on nudity and Christianity. The poster says there there are "Christian nudists." (He's not one of them.)

A new object, some 500-1000 kilometers in diameter, has been found beyond Pluto. Its orbit is at an angle to most of the rest of the objects in our solar system.

There's a new sound in the official international phonetic alphabet. The sound is found in several african languages, and a faith-based organization proposed that it be adopted as a recognized sound and symbol.

Something I didn't spot was the 235th birthday of Beethoven, on December 16th. Sorry.

Harper's has published excerpts from a math book, published by Bob Jones University, which combined Christian doctrine with mathematics. The most interesting quote in the excerpts: "Ambiguous means open to multiple interpretations. Some people say that you can interpret the Bible in any way that you want. However, there is no ambiguity in the Bible."

Someone named Ashley Hepp commented on one of my posts, but I can't figure out which one. If she (or he) sees this, and wants further contact, please comment again, with a note on the date or subject of the post, or some indication as to how I might reach you. Thanks.

There was an ice storm in the Carolinas. A couple of the bloggers I subscribe to, both associated with Southern Wesleyan University, were able to blog without electricity in their homes. See here for scvff and here for Joy.

Sherilyn rants about the popular perception of heaven. (hint: it isn't about us)

Bonnie has begun a series on Christians and mental illness.

April, a friend and former student, who first blogged (very effectively, I must say) about her mission trip to Southeast Asia, is back in Southeast US, and posted, for the first time in several months.

This week's Christian Carnival is here. (For information on locating these Carnivals, see here)

Image source (public domain)