"Christians and the Internet" (CATI, 1/36)
"Christians and the Internet" newsletter
CATI, Vol. 1, No. 36: September 8, 2000.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: CATCHING UP WITH CATI AGAIN
2. BOOK REVIEW: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE INTERNET....
3. MY NAPARC-PLUS WEB DIRECTORY, PART SEVEN: PCA CHURCHES, N-S
4. A NEW CANADIAN RPCNA CONGREGATIONAL WEB ADDRESS
5. "A 21ST CENTURY PURITANISM": A NEW WEB ADDRESS
6. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION FOR THIS NEWSLETTER
_______________________________________________________________
Unless otherwise indicated, all material in this newsletter is
Copyright (C) 2000 by Barry Traver, All Rights Reserved. For
permission to reproduce material from this newsletter, contact
Barry Traver at cati@traver.org. Permission is hereby granted,
however, to pass along this issue to others, provided that (1)
no changes are made and (2) it is passed along in its entirety.
To subscribe, write to cati@traver.org, including "Subscribe to
CATI" in the Subject line and including in the body your real
name and the email address to which you wish CATI sent.
_______________________________________________________________
1. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: CATCHING UP WITH CATI AGAIN
Yes, CATI is still in publication (D.V.), but once again it's
behind schedule. The main problem this time was a bad crash
of my main computer, a crash from which it has still not fully
recovered. I did what I thought was a full backup the week
before, but some of it won't restore properly.
So some of my programs, for example, need to be re-installed
brand-new. This isn't always simple to do. For example, I
know where my FrontPage 98 upgrade CD is, but in order to use
it I need to locate my original FrontPage 97 CD. Until I find
that CD, I'll need to figure out a different way to update the
CATI Web site.
A more frustrating problem is that -- although I have been
able (I think) to reconstruct my latest CATI mailing list --
I have not been able to access the earlier messages in my
Pegasus email database from the backup. I haven't given up
on this, but for now I'm unable to access earlier email sent
by and to subscribers.
Therefore if you haven't heard from me on something, please
send me another note. In the meantime, I'm going to continue
to work on seeing whether there's a way to reconstruct that
Pegasus database. (Pegasus, by the way, is my email program.
For email, other people may use some other program, such as
Microsoft Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, or Eudora.)
Fortunately, I was at least ahead of schedule so far as the
NAPARC articles were concerned (a rather major undertaking in
terms of time and effort), so I'm hoping that CATI may still
get out 52 issues by the end of the year (Lord willing, of
course). If that doesn't happen (say, because of continued
health problems), I hope that you will continue to find CATI
to be useful and enjoyable (even if it's not always right on
schedule!).
Thank you for your patience, your support, and your prayers.
--Barry Traver, Editor of CATI
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2. BOOK REVIEW: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE INTERNET....
The Ultimate Guide to the Internet for the Christian Family
(Barbour, 2000) is the complete title of this helpful book by
Christopher D. Hudson, and it's available from Amazon.com at
this time for $4.47 plus shipping:
The Ultimate Guide to the Internet for the Christian Family
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1577487311/travertabletalk
The title is a bit misleading, because rather than being a
general guide (much less an "ultimate" one) to the Internet,
the book is primarily sort of a "yellow pages" guide to Web
sites that are family-friendly (and mostly Christian-friendly
as well). A more accurate description is given on the back
cover of the book:
"At last, here's a comprehensive web site guide for the
Christian family. If you've been wanting to tap the Internet
for its educational, recreational, and spiritual benefits,
this is the book for you."
After a two-page welcome or introduction, a three-page "FAQ"
or "Frequently Asked Questions" section, and one page of "Tips
for Safe Surfing," the book is divided into three parts. Here
is how the book describes them on page iii:
"The FIRST PART (pages 1-14) presents overviews of a handful
of the best Christian Internet communities. For some readers,
this will be the most important section of this book. These
sites are so complete, some Christians use only these sites
and the pages they link to.
"The SECOND PART (pages 15-401) is an A-to-Z guide of the most
popular subjects to many Christians. Sometimes we wrote brief
descriptions, sometimes we let the sites speak for themselves.
We've tried to bring the best information to you, whether
it's from a Christian site of not. As Crosswalk.com says,
we've provided 'information FOR Christians, not just FROM
Christians.'
"Finally, the THIRD PART [pages 403-428] concludes with a
glossary and index to help you navigate and enjoy it even
more."
Note that 387 pages are devoted to the SECOND PART, while
only 14 pages are devoted to the FIRST PART and only 26
pages to the THIRD PART.
Thus, as you can see, most of Hudson's book is devoted to the
"A-to-Z Guide." To give you an idea of the range of the book
(as well as something of the range of material available on
the Internet), here's a list of the subjects covered in this
section of the book:
A:
Academics; Advice; Animals, Insects, and Pets; Anthropology
and Archaeology; Art; Auctions; Automotive; Awards
B:
Beauty; Bible; Bilingual; Books
C:
Career; Chat for Kids; Chemistry; Children's Health;
Classifieds; College; Comics; Computers; Consumer Reviews;
Cooking; Crafts
D:
Desktop Customization; Diet; Distance Learning
E:
Education; E-Mail; Embassies and Consulates; Employment;
Engineering; Entertainment; Environment and Nature; Ethics;
Ethnic Studies; Etiquette
F:
Family; Family Safety; Fashion; Finance and Investment; First
Aid; Fitness; Food; Foreign; Free Stuff; Fun for Kids
G:
Games; Genealogy; Geography; Gift Buying; God and Theology;
Government; Graphics; Greeting Cards
H:
Health; History; Hobbies; Holidays; Home and Garden; Home
Pages; Homeschooling; Humor
IJK:
International; Internet 101; Internet Broadcasts; Issues and
Causes
L:
Lodging; Long Term Care
MNO:
Magazines; Maps; Mathematics; Men's Health; Military;
Missions; Movies; Museums, Galleries, Centers; Music
PQ:
Pharmacy
R:
Radio; Real Estate; Reference; Relationships; Restaurants;
Reunions
S:
Science; Search Engines; Senior's Guide; Shopping; Ski
Reports; Small Business; Social Research; Space and
Astronomy; Special Education; Sports
T:
Taxes; Teaching; Telecommunications; Telephone Directory;
Today's News; Traffic and Road Conditions; Travel; Trivia; TV
UV:
Usenet (Newsgroups)
WX:
Weather; Women's Health; Women's Issues
YZ:
Yellow Pages
The extent to which the sites are Christian-friendly depends
partly on the topic covered. For example, note what the book
says about the Women's Issues section on page 394:
"Most of these sites are not Christian-based and many might
be antagonistic to Christianity. They are, however, sites
with lots of information on the study of women in the United
States. Use your discernment as you surf."
Such a topic is an exception rather than the rule, and some
of the sections in this second part of the book include sites
that are not only FOR Christians, but also BY Christians (and
are identified as such by an appropriate icon).
Although thick, the book is not large (the cover is about the
size of a 5" x 8" index card), so it's easy to carry around
for easy reference, and it does contain a lot of worthwhile
information. Some sections are not as helpful as others (for
example, I found the Home Pages section disappointing), but
any book of this type must be somewhat uneven in nature.
I wish that the book had devoted more attention to Web sites
that are specifically Christian in nature (the first part is
rather skimpy compared with the second part) and that the book
had pointed out more weaknesses as well as strengths of the
sites listed (probably a quibble on my part, because, after
all, it is a collection of recommended sites), but I do think
that Christopher Hudson has done a commendable job, and I do
recommend the book with some enthusiasm.
Where topics overlap with CATI articles, in general you will
usually find more thorough coverage (including more critical
analysis) in CATI (he said rather modestly ), but in
Hudson's book you'll find much material not (yet) covered by
CATI, so you may want to consider adding Christopher Hudson's
The Ultimate Guide to the Internet for the Christian Family
to your family library.
One caution: my copy of the book lists $9.95 as the suggested
retail price, so check the price before you buy.
_______________________________________________________________
3. MY NAPARC-PLUS WEB DIRECTORY, PART SEVEN: PCA CHURCHES, N-S
(continued from previous issue)
I'm in the process of putting together a directory of churches
in conservative Reformed denominations (primarily those in
NAPARC) that have Web pages. In addition to the six NAPARC
denominations, I also intend to include in my own directory
congregations that belong to the United Reformed Churches of
North America, a denomination which holds similar convictions.
The seventh installment to the Web directory of churches is
the third part of a list of congregations in the Presbyterian
Church in America which are on the Internet. (Please notify
me of any errors that need to be corrected or additions that
should be made to the list. Thanks!)
Here's the denominational home page for the PCA:
Presbyterian Church in America
http://www.pcanet.org/
Here's where you'll find a directory of congregations in the
PCA:
Presbyterian Church in America: Church Directory
http://216.5.214.50/directory.asp
Some PCA congregations do not yet have a Web page, but here
are some I know of that do (N-S, by state):
UNITED STATES
NEBRASKA
Grand Island
Covenant Presbyterian Church, Grand Island
Pastor: Rev. Todd Bowen
http://www.theindependent.com/ads/covenant/
Lincoln
Zion Church, Lincoln
Pastor: Rev. Stuart L. Kerns
http://www.zionpca.com/
Omaha
Harvest Community Church, Omaha
Pastor: Rev. A. Glenn Durham
http://www.harvestpca.org/
NEVADA
Las Vegas
Spring Meadows Presbyterian Church, Las Vegas
Pastor: Rev. Carl Robbins
http://home1.gte.net/smpc/
NEW JERSEY
Bridgewater
Grace Community Church, Bridgewater
Pastor: Rev. Raymond D. Cannata
http://www.cometograce.org/
Chester
Hope Presbyterian Church, Chester
Pastor: Rev. Mark R. Wellman
http://www.realhope.org/
Flemington
Locktown Presbyterian Church, Flemington
Pastor: Rev. Keith Graham
http://members.aol.com/Lc9967707/index.html
Wall Township
Calvary Presbyterian Church, Wall Township
Pastor: Rev. Craig DiBenedictis
http://www.crln.com/calvarypc/
NEW MEXICO
Almogordo
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Alamogordo
Pastor: Rev. Rick L. Steele
http://www.zianet.com/wpcpca/
NEW YORK
Ithaca
New Life Presbyterian Mission, Ithaca
Pastor: Rev. Steve Froehlich
http://www.newlifepc.net/
Schenectady
First Presbyterian Church, Schenectady
Pastor: Rev. Michael R. Alford
http://www.1stpreschurch.org/
NORTH CAROLINA
Cary
Peace Presbyterian Church, Cary
Pastor: Rev. Stephen D. Bostrom
http://users.vnet.net/peacepca/
Charlotte
Sovereign Grace Presbyterian Church, Charlotte
Pastor: Rev. Stephen E. Jackson
http://www.sovereigngrace.org/
University City Presbyterian Church, Charlotte
Pastor: Rev. Wayne W. Zaepfel
http://www.ucpc.org/
Hendersonville
Covenant Presbyterian Church, Hendersonville
Pastor: Rev. James W. Phillis
http://www.brinet.com/~covenant/
Lexington
Meadowview Reformed Presbyterian Church, Lexington
Pastor: Rev. Gary R. Cox
http://www.MeadowviewChurch.org/
Matthews
Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church, Matthews
Pastor: Rev. Tom Henry
http://www.christcovenant.org/
Mooresville
Harbor Presbyterian Mission, Mooresville
Pastor: Rev. William C. Heard
http://www.harborchurch.org/
OHIO
Aurora
Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, Aurora
Pastor: Rev. Scott R. Wright
http://www.crpc1.homestead.com/
Cincinnati
Faith Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati
Pastor: Rev. Daniel H. Perrin
http://www.faithpca.org/
Columbus
Christ Covenant Reformed, Columbus
Pastor: Rev. Max A. Forsythe
http://www.tulip.org/
Hudson
Grace Church, Hudson
Pastor: Rev. Zachary W. Eswine
http://www.gracechurchpca.org/
Loveland
North Cincinnati Community Church, Loveland
Pastor: Rev. Walter W. Wood, Jr.
http://home.fuse.net/ncccpca/
Medina
Harvest Presbyterian Church, Medina
Pastor: Rev. Michael E. Van Arsdale
http://www.harvestpca.com/
OKLAHOMA
Lawton
Beal Heights Presbyterian Church, Lawton
Pastor: Rev. John O. Butler
http://www.bealheights.org/
Tulsa
Christ Presbyterian Church, Tulsa
Pastor: Rev. David M. O'Dowd
http://www.cpctulsa.com/
OREGON
Gresham
CrossWinds Church, Gresham
Pastor: Rev. Jeffrey Doerr
http://home.integrityonline.com/crosswindspca/
PENNSYLVANIA
Bryn Mawr
Proclamation Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr
Pastor: Dr. Peter A. Lillback
http://www.proclamation.org
Carlisle
Carlisle Reformed Presbyterian Church, Carlisle
Pastor: Dr. David T. Myers
http://www.crpc-pa.org/
Glen Mills
Covenant Presbyterian Church of Concord, Glen Mills
Pastor: Rev. Daniel Scott Kiehl
http://users.snip.net/~covenantpca/
Glenside
New Life Presbyterian Church, Glenside
http://www.newlifenet.com/glenside/
Hanover
Hanover Valley Presbyterian Church, Hanover
Pastor: Rev. R. Drew Derreth
http://www.hanovervalley.com/
Harleysville
Covenant Presbyterian Church, Harleysville
Pastor: Rev. Stephen B. Ford
http://www.covpreschurch.org/
Harrisburg
The City's Gate, Harrisburg
Pastor: Rev. Steve A. Heinbaugh
http://www.thecitysgate.net/
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg
Pastor: Rev. Thomas L. Myers
http://community.pennlive.com/cc/trinitypca/
Lansdale
Lansdale Presbyterian Church, Lansdale
Pastor: Rev. Thomas G. Keane, Jr.
http://www.lansdalepca.org/
Monroeville
New Hope Presbyterian Church, Monroeville
Pastor: Rev. C. Scott Parsons
http://www.nhpca.net/
Newtown
Bucks Central Church, Newtown
Moderator: Rev. Dr. Bruce. R. Finn
http://www.buckscentral.com/
North Huntington
Calvin Presbyterian Church, North Huntingdon
Pastor: Rev. Robert C. Weeber, Jr.
http://www.calvinpca.org/
Philadelphia
Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia
(Former Pastor: the late Dr. James M. Boice)
http://www.tenth.org/
Third Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia
Pastor: Rev. Frank D. Moser
http://www.ForMinistry.com/19154TRPC
Pittsburgh
First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh
Pastor: Rev. William H. Smith
http://members.aol.com/firstrpc/
Quarryville
Faith Reformed Presbyterian Church, Quarryville
Pastor: Dr. John P. MacRae
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Byte/7033/faith_church/
Shippensburg
Hope Reformed Presbyterian Church, Shippensburg
Pastor: Rev. David J Fidati
http://www.innernet.net/hopechurch/
Valencia
Gospel Fellowship Presbyterian Church, Valencia
Pastor: Rev. Nick E. Protos
http://www.wpanet.com/gospelfellowship/
West Chester
Reformed Presbyterian Church, West Chester
Pastor: Rev. Stanley D. Gale
http://www.rpcwc.org/
York
Providence Presbyterian Church, York
Pastor: Rev. Andrew C. Phillips
http://www.starinc.com/ppca/
SOUTH CAROLINA
Anderson
New Covenant Presbyterian Church, Anderson
Pastor: Rev. T. David Rountree
http://www.newcovanderson.org/
Columbia
Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, Columbia
Pastor: Dr. K. Eric Perrin
http://www.cornerstone-pres.org/
Rose Hill Presbyterian Church, Columbia
Pastor: Rev. Gary A. Bainton
http://www.midnet.sc.edu/Rosehill/
Easley
Covenant Presbyterian Church, Easley
Pastor: Rev. William P. Laxton
http://www.covenantpc.com/
Greenville
Calvary Presbyterian Church, W. Greenville
Pastor: Decherd C. Stevens
http://www.calvarypca.com/
Horizon Church, Greenville
Pastor: Rev. James F. Stephenson
http://www.HorizonChurch.org/
Greenville Area
Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church, Simpsonville
Pastor: Rev. Carl Robbins
http://www.wrpc-pca.org/
Mount Pleasant
Eastbridge Presbyterian Church, Mount Pleasant
Pastor: Rev. Samuel B. Joyner, Jr.
http://www.eastbridge.org/
Roebuck
Mount Calvary Presbyterian Church, Roebuck
Pastor: Rev. Robert (Bob) E. Baxter
http://www.mtcalvary.org/
White Rock
Faith Presbyterian Church, White Rock
Pastor: Dr. G. Fredric Mau
http://www.faithpca.net/
(to be continued...)
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4. A NEW CANADIAN RPCNA CONGREGATIONAL WEB ADDRESS
An earlier issue of CATI contained information on the Reformed
Presbyterian Church of North America, including a list of Web
sites for congregations in that denomination:
MY NAPARC-PLUS WEB DIRECTORY, PART FOUR: RPCNA CHURCHES
http://www.traver.org/cati/archives/cati33.htm#2
Here's a congregation that should be added to that list:
CANADA
Ontario
Bancroft
Cornerstone Reformed Presbyterian Church, Bancroft
Pastor: Rev. Andrew Stringer
http://www.geocities.com/cornerstonerpc/
Please let me know of any other additions or corrections that
should be made to any of the lists by writing to me at this
address: cati@traver.org. Thank you!
_______________________________________________________________
5. "A 21ST CENTURY PURITANISM": A NEW WEB ADDRESS
An early issue of CATI suggested some Christian Web sites with
comments, including A 21st Century Puritanism:
MORE CHRISTIAN WEB SITES, THIS TIME WITH COMMENTS
http://www.traver.org/cati/archives/cati03.htm#3
Here was my comment on A 21st Century Puritanism:
"Mitch Cervinka, a self-described '21st Century Puritan,' has
put together a wealth of information, including sections for
articles and books, information on conferences, and favorite
links, such as links to Christian sites that use RealAudio."
Recently I got the following email message from the Webmaster:
"Thank you for your gracious comments concerning my 'A 21st
Century Puritanism' website in your January 21st newsletter.
I recently moved the website to a new internet provider, and
I wanted you to let you know the new address so that you can
keep your bookmarks up to date."
Here's the new Web address:
A 21st Century Puritanism
http://www.planetkc.com/puritan
Enjoy!
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6. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION FOR THIS NEWSLETTER
This is the thirty-sixth issue of a free newsletter devoted
to "Christians And The Internet" ("CATI," pronounced "Katy,"
but spelled with a "C" and an "I" for "Christians" and the
"Internet").
To subscribe, write to cati@traver.org, including "Subscribe
to CATI" in the Subject line and including in the body your
real name and the email address to which you wish CATI sent.
Past issues: you'll find archives of past issues of CATI
available online at http://traver.org/cati/. ("It's not a
pretty site," but hopefully it may be a useful one.)
_______________________________________________________________
Unless otherwise indicated, all material in this newsletter
is Copyright (C) 2000 by Barry Traver, All Rights Reserved.
For permission to reproduce material from this newsletter,
contact Barry Traver at cati@traver.org. Permission is
hereby granted, however, to pass along this issue to others,
provided that (1) no changes are made and (2) it is passed
along in its entirety.