The wrap

Hurrah for the Beeb for enabling me to at least follow some of the Olympics live on their website. The early story to have caught the imagination so far is following Michael Phelps on his quest for the highest gold-medal haul in history. I've managed to follow some badminton too, although I haven't seen any of the Malaysians in action.

However, while the Olympics and its emphasis on harmony show how the world ought to be, the war currently raging in Georgia sadly reminds us of how the world currently is. War and peace starkly juxtaposed, as the Guardian reminded us in its headline on Saturday. They've got a brief Q&A on the war, and Ian Traynor sets it in context.

The Economist has a feature on religious conversion, and Malaysia gets discussed a little bit, unsurprisingly, given that this is still a touchy issue as evidenced by the controversy over the Bar Council forum.

Paternoster editor and author of Worshipping Trinity Robin Parry now has a blog.

Although JollyBlogger tends to fly more under the radar these days, he's still a very good read. There's a very insightful post pondering on the question 'How do you maintain your desire for God?' with some perhaps surprising observations. There's also excellent book reviews of Do I know God? from Tullian Tchvidjian and Roger Olson's Arminian Theology.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing the globe today, and which ones should command our attention the most, especially from a cost-effective viewpoint? The Copenhagen Consensus gathered a team of economists to probe this very question. Here's a brief summary of their findings - Defeating Global Poverty: Bang for the Buck.

Don't know how many people saw this in CT a few weeks ago: The 30 Day Leviticus Challenge. In a nutshell, a church decided to try an experiment whereby they live out the laws of Leviticus as much as they can for a month. Fascinating, although it also begs the question of where exactly Levitical laws fit into the lives of Christians, post-Jesus, today.

Are C.S Lewis, JK Rowling and Philip Pullman overrated?

Tim Keller on theological training.

Sorry, couldn't resist. Going gaga over Emirates' new Airbus A380s.

Theo Walcott interview. Seems like a level-headed guy in the mold of Michael Owen.

The Wrap wraps up with some stunning pictures, speaking of haunting desolation. Silent World by Michael Kenna. The picture at the start of this post belongs to him.