what I read this week

Spent an inordinate amount of time this week catching up on blogs, film and book reviews, and other pop culture things. A wee list of the good stuff:

Her.meneutics : Why 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' hurts women (a misnomer of a title, but an interesting discussion)

I’m not saying Salander (or the book or the movie) should be boycotted, rallied against, or tarred and feathered. As Christians, we too often fall into the twin traps of demonization or idolization.

Books & Culture : Talking about REAL marriage

Men are to be tough in business (there will be no questioning of American economic norms in this book) and tender with women and children, who are weak. Wives are "crystal goblets," beautiful and fragile; men are "thermoses," strong and protective.

Emerging Mummy : In which [love looks like] a real marriage

You follow when I step out to a new place and I know when to slide into your new turn as a shadow and you lead us both through but usually, it's just us...

Urban Faith : Forgiving Kim Jong-Il

When we asked him why he prayed in this particular way, he replied, “He’s a bad, bad man. I don’t love him. I hate him.”

Tall Skinny Kiwi : 9 reasons NOT to plant a church in 2012

The people most likely to join a new church plant are usually those with some kind of church background - the de-churched, pre-churched, ex-churched, which means ignoring really lost people and duplicating the ministries of existing churches.

(in)courage : Goals make us available, not perfect

But practical goals should never be the measuring stick that determines our worth.

Her.meneutics : Grieving a lost child

It connected us a thousand years into our past and a thousand years into our future, like a blueprint for a person—one who will never be repeated, never recreated.