Blogs That Make Me Think

I've been tagged. Julio Gurrea of Hispania Sancta asked me to post the five blogs that make me think. (If he'd e-mailed me, I might have known I was tagged earlier.) :) The instructions are:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think;
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme;
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

I enjoy reading a wide variety of online religious writers, and I take something away from each of them. However, the five blogs that most frequently make me examine or ruminate upon something deeper would be (in no particular order):

1. The Ochlophobist. Always insightful, he gets away with making longish posts, because each new sentence enlightens rather than grates. His recent, thoughtful exploration of contraception was a welcome change from the usual bloviation and angry condemnation that plagues the topic.
2. Qatl Qitl Qutl. Eric Jobe is a genuine scholar, and his linguistic insights help me see things from a new perspective. It's a snobbish retort to say, "Unless you understand the original languages, you can never fully understand the Bible"; Eric Jobe has never made it -- but he proves if you do know the original languages, that knowledge can add new depths to your faith.
3. Ad Orientem. Ad Orientem has the ability to make me think on every issue: politics, social events, church news, and theology. The blog defly traverses these, which would bog down any other commentator, with a skill and felicity rare on any specialized blog. If it weren't a sin, I'd be jealous. :)
4. Hispania Sancta. I'm not just saying this because he tagged me. :) Julio's rare posts help us focus on what's truly important: are we passion-filled hypocrites, expounding on high doctrine which indulging in low-living? His resources on purity and the deformities visited upon us by narcissism are most impressive.
5. Conversi ad Dominum. Fr. John W. Fenton of Holy Incarnation Church in Detroit (AWRV) renders his readers a valuable service in posting his sermons online, something every Orthodox priest consider doing. Moreover, his scholarship and knowledge of St. Maximos the Confessor (among many others) gives his regular posts a depth lacking in others. There is always much to contemplate.

Honorable Mentions: Ari Adams' two blogs (he just isn't posting as much anymore; real life taking him away from his readers), Orthodox Tidings, Glory to God for All Things, and Energetic Procession. Occidentalis (Subdn. Benjamin Andersen) and Fr. Matthew Thurman's blog used to rank high in the pecking order. RIV(irtual)P.

Tagging: Eric Jobe, Eric John, and Ari Adams.

Finally, I'll tag you: I'm always looking for a good read. What should I be reading? I'd genuinely appreciate your recommendations.

Off-Topic: The Bible As Tramp's Prop

Look who found the Bible? Paris Hilton. Yes, that Paris Hilton. In a transparent move to avoid paying the penalty of her misdeeds, copied by faux penitents from Manuel Noriega to vagantes everywhere, Hilton is toting the Good Book. The story's sickening, accompanying picture notes Hilton could find a Bible, but she couldn't find a bra.

Bp. MARK Pays a Surprise Visit to a Western Rite Parish

Fr. John W. Fenton, priest at Holy Incarnation Orthodox Church (AWRV) in Detroit, notes that His Grace Bishop MARK of Toledo dropped in for a surprise visit to his parish this past Sunday:

When he entered at the beginning of Lauds, His Grace was greeted with the chant Sacerdos et Pontifex. The Bishop presided from the bishop's throne during Lauds and Mass. At appropriate times during the Mass, His Grace blessed the thurible and sang "Peace be with you." At the end of the Mass His Grace gave the pontifical blessing and then was once again serenaded with Sacerdos et Pontifex during the retiring procession.

You'll recall Sayedna MARK also recently presided over a retreat at St. Mark's Orthodox Church (AWRV) in Denver. Eis polla eti Despota!