Dave Black weighs in

Dave Black has a contribution to our LOTR and What Glorifies God? discussions. He broadens the scope of what we've been talking about and offers some great insights. I agree with him wholeheartedly...the question is not "How close can I get to the world and still be a Christian?" but "Lord, how can I know You more? How can I serve You? What do You want from my life?"

Dave also provides some thoughts on Christian women sharing their thoughts via blogging, via Steve Atkerson:

Obviously, women should not take on the role of authoritative instructors of doctrine, nor should they take on roles that would put them in positions of authority reserved for men in the church (e.g., the position of elder, judging prophecy, disputing with a teacher, making decisions by consensus). On the other hand, that a woman is not to teach does not mean that men have nothing to learn from women. The many prophecies given by God to women illustrate this (Ac 2:17; 1Co 11:3-16). Often my wife has shared with me her insights into Scripture – insights I had never before seen and which helped me in my understanding of a text. Although people do 'learn' from prophecy (1Co 14:31), “prophets” are not fundamentally 'teachers' (1Co 12:28-29). Even singing can be a form of teaching (Col 3:16) if we learn from the lyrics, but a singer is not really a teacher. An informal sharing of insights and thoughts does not place either person in the official role of 'teacher.' While not permitting women to teach or the have authority of a man, we must be careful not to limit other ministries that are completely open to women. The church would be severely crippled without their input!

I am thankful for all of my friends here--I've rarely seen a discussions like these that did not devolve into namecalling or useless wrangling about hurt 'feelings'. I appreciate the caliber of our talks here, and the kind spirit that everyone has brought to the table.