"Christians and the Internet" newsletter
CATI, Vol. 1, No. 37:  September 15, 2000.
_______________________________________________________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF BACKUPS TO GET YOUR SYSTEM "BACK UP"
2. MODERN REFORMATION: UPDATE ON NEW ISSUES AND ARTICLES
3. MY NAPARC-PLUS WEB DIRECTORY, PART EIGHT: PCA CHURCHES, T-Z
4. COMICS UPDATE: REORGANIZATION OF KING FEATURES WEB SITE
5. 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. THE IMPORTANCE OF BACKUPS TO GET YOUR SYSTEM "BACK UP"

One thing that I emphasized to my students in the computer
science courses that I taught at City Center Academy (an
urban multiracial Christian high school, a ministry of Tenth
Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia) was the vital importance
of backing up important files.  This lesson, however, is one
that perhaps most of us learn only the hard way.  That is,
sadly it is sometimes only after valuable files have been
lost forever that the importance of backups is realized.

I have greater hopes and expectations for readers of CATI (and
this means YOU!), but you will need to put into practice a
specific plan to protect important material on the hard drive
of your computer.  Whether it be putting important data files
(such as significant word processing documents) on floppies
or backing up your hard drive onto Zip disks, another hard
drive, or even CD-ROMs (more about that in a moment), you need
to decide (if you have not done so already) how you want to
safeguard the important information on your system.

We live in a fallen world, and that "fallenness" applies also
to computers (you may have seen the slogan, "To err is human,
...but it takes a computer to really mess things up").  We as
Christians ought to recognize the fallenness of creation and
plan accordingly so as to minimize the harm we may experience
as a result of the fact that, for example, hard drives - given
enough time - will crash.  It's not a question of "whether":
it's only a question of "when."

Listen to these comments from Fred Langa:

"...hard drives fail more often than many people think. Some
users are lulled unto a false sense of security when they see
that, say, their hard drive has a MTBF or 'mean time between
failure' of something like 25,000 hours in normal service.
Sounds impressive, no? But 25,000 hours is only 2.8 years, and
'mean time' means that half the drives will fail *sooner* than
that. With just a little bad luck, you could be looking at a
drive failure in just a year or so."
  http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-10-16.htm#2

When that takes place (or perhaps when lesser drive mishaps
take place, such as the corruption or deletion of particular
files), you'll be glad that you have backups.  At the very
minimum you should back up important data files (such as
word processing documents), but some CATI readers may want
to go beyond that to back up their hard drive in such a way
that they can restore their entire system if necessary
rather than having to re-install everything from scratch.
 
Here are the steps you can use to back up a hard drive, if you
are running Windows 95 or Windows 98 (taken from the Web site
at eHow.com):

"eHow to Back Up a Hard Drive by Andrew Nunn....
1. Connect a drive with a disk that can hold the information
you want to back up (such as a Zip drive, a CD-RW drive [a
CD-ReWritable drive, although a CD-R or CD-Recordable drive
will also work] or a second hard disk drive).
2. Open the Start menu and select Programs.  
3. In the submenu that appears, click Accessories, then System
Tools.  
4. Click Backup to run Microsoft's Backup program.  
5. Answer the questions presented to you by the Backup Wizard
for the easiest backup experience. (The wizard will ask you
what you want to back up, where you want to store the backup,
if you want the data to be verified and/or compressed, and
what you want to name the backup.)  
6. Click Next after you answer each question.  
7. Click Start to commence the backup....
To restore a disk from a backup, open the Tools menu in the
Backup utility and select Restore Wizard."
  http://ehow.com/eHow/eHow/0,1053,2459,00.html

Suppose you're running Windows ME (Millennium Edition) instead
of Windows 95 or Windows 98.  Here's advice from David Pogue:

"Windows Me comes with free backup software called Backup, but
you'd never know it.  Backup isn't installed by the Windows Me
installer, nor does the program appear as a component you can
add with the Add/Remove Programs control panel.  Instead, you
must install it manually from the Windows Me CD, like this:
1. Insert your Windows Me CD-ROM.  When the welcome window
appears, click Cancel.... 2. Click Browse This CD.... 3. Open
the 'add-ons' folder, then the 'MSBackup' folder. Double-click
the 'msbexp.exe' icon.  An installer whirls into action."
  --David Pogue, Windows Millennium: The Missing Manual (Pogue
      Press/O'Reilly, 2000), page 334.

By the way, if you're running Windows Me, here's where you can
find more information at Amazon.com on Pogue's helpful book:

  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/059600009X/travertabletalk

If you have a Mac, you may want to check out the advice from
Doctor Mac:

How to... Back up your hard drive
  http://www.doctormac.net/Questions/backup.html

As I already said, you may want to do more than back up your
important data files:  you may want to back up your system
itself.  Fred Langa makes an important point here:

"Backups are usually file-by-file copies. That's fine for data
files--- the word processing documents, spreadsheets (etc.)
that you create on your system. With a backup of these files,
if the live copy on your hard drive gets lost or munged, you
can replace it with a good copy from your backup set.

"But standard backups aren't so good for helping to restore
system files. That's because a standard Windows-based
file-by-file backup can't access any files that are in use
when the backup is being made (and this usually includes
Windows' system files). Because those files can't be backed
up, they can't be restored from the backup if such a file
becomes corrupted and causes instability and crashes. Your
data is safe, but you may still have to rebuild or reinstall
the OS [Operating System] itself."

  http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-10-16.htm#1

Thus Langa recommends "drive imaging," which can be done to
either another hard drive or to a CD-ROM (if your hardware 
includes a CD-Recordable or CD-ReWritable drive):

"...drive imaging is a low-level sector-by-sector copy of your
hard drive--- all files, no exceptions. Thus, a drive image is
an excellent way to restore not only data files, but also
system files and all your system settings, tweaks, and tunings
-- everything, no exceptions. Drive imaging also copies the
structure of the drive contents--- the way the files are laid
out. So,...when you restore that image, you'll get what you
started with....

"Any backup is better than no backup. But drive imaging is a
kind of 'ultimate' backup that goes far beyond what ordinary
backups can do. In my opinion, imaging is about as good as it
gets."

  http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-10-16.htm#1

To do drive imaging, you'll need either another hard drive
or (Langa's recommendation) a CD-Recordable drive, which is
a hardware device that can make CD-ROMs in addition to
reading them:

"The best answer for long-term storage of image files is a
CD-R system, and if that sounds exotic, well, here's a clue:
Even WalMart and K-Mart, those bastions of mainstream America,
now sell CD-Rs and blank CD-R disks. By definition, if you
can buy stuff there, it's not exotic anymore!

"CD-Rs also aren't expensive: You can buy a CD-R drive
(including the required software) for under $100, and the
blank CDs cost about 50 cents each when you buy them by the
pack (or 'spindle'). A spindle of 30 blanks CD-R discs might
cost you around $15 and will let you store over 19,000
megabytes of data. There's no cheaper way to do it."

  http://www.winmag.com/columns/explorer/2000/20.htm

You may find the average prices to be perhaps twice those
suggested by Fred Langa, but it can still be a bargain.  Not
all CATI readers will want to go into drive imaging, but you
should know the option exists, in case it is something that
you would like to do.

The main point is this:  you can restore what you back up.
You have to decide what it is important for you not to lose.
If you back up important documents, you'll still have them if
(when?) your hard drive crashes.  If you back up more than
that, then you will have saved more that can be restored.

The choice is up to you, but it is the rare person who has
nothing of value on his hard drive that he or she would not
mind losing.  The importance of backups is that they help
protect important files (word processing documents, etc.)
and/or help you get your computer "back up" and running if
you have problems with your hard drive.

You don't have to read all the Web pages that are mentioned
here:  obviously there's no need for that.  I just want to
give you some choices, so that if you don't find one to be
quite what you're after, you can try another.

Here's where to find some relevant or related articles at
About.com:

How to Backup Your Data
  http://windows.about.com/compute/windows/library/howto/htbackup.htm

A Painless [or Pain-Free] Backup Strategy
  http://windows.about.com/compute/windows/library/weekly/aa030200a.htm

What Color Is Your Backup Drive?: Part 1: Backup for Document
    Managing and Archiving
  http://peripherals.about.com/compute/peripherals/library/weekly/aa102599.htm
What Color Is Your Backup Drive?: Part 2: Backup for Disaster
    Recovery
  http://peripherals.about.com/compute/peripherals/library/weekly/aa110399.htm
What Color Is Your Backup Drive?: Part 3: Backup for Beginners
  http://peripherals.about.com/compute/peripherals/library/weekly/aa111599.htm

(The preceding Web addresses need to be on one line to work
in your Web browser.)

Here's where you can find lots of comments from Fred Langa on
"bullet-proofing" your system (although his emphasis is on
drive imaging through using a CD-recordable drive or a second
hard drive):

"Bullet-Proof Your Windows Setup" (Winmat.com, 2000-09-25)
  http://www.winmag.com/columns/explorer/2000/20.htm

"Don't Wait Too Long To 'Bullet-Proof' Your System" 
    (LangaLists, 2000-09-28)
  http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-09-28.htm#1

"Free 'Bullet-Proofing'?" (LangaList, 2000-10-02)
  http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-10-02.htm#5

"Other 'Bullet-Proofing' Ideas" (LangaList, 2000-10-05)
  http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-10-05.htm#7

"Reader Q & A On Drive Imaging & Backups (LangaList,
    2000-10-16)
  http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-10-16.htm#1

"Alternatives to CD-R?"
  http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-10-16.htm#2

By the way, if you are interested in subscribing to Fred
Langa's LangaList, a free email newsletter that I find to
be very helpful, here's where you can do it:

  http://www.langa.com/newsletter.htm

Some of the articles may be too technical for you (they are
for me!), but you can skip over them and just pay attention
to what you do find helpful.  (The same approach can be used
with CATI:  some articles will be more helpful than others,
but it is hoped that you'll find at least one article in each
issue to be useful or enjoyable.)
_______________________________________________________________

2. MODERN REFORMATION: UPDATE ON NEW ISSUES AND ARTICLES

Modern Reformation is a magazine published by the Alliance of
Confessing Evangelicals, of which Dr. James Montgomery Boice
(of Tenth Presbyterian Church and the Bible Study Hour) served
as President before his recent death).

An index of Modern Reformation articles (including the many
available online on the Web) was published earlier in CATI:

MODERN REFORMATION ARTICLES, A-G BY AUTHOR
  http://www.traver.org/cati/archives/cati23.htm#3

MODERN REFORMATION ARTICLES, H-M BY AUTHOR
  http://www.traver.org/cati/archives/cati24.htm#2  

MODERN REFORMATION ARTICLES, N-Z BY AUTHOR
  http://www.traver.org/cati/archives/cati25.htm#2

You can find the three CATI articles combined at the following
address:

CATI on Modern Reformation
  http://traver.org/cati/misc/mrace.htm

Many of the articles "NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE" may be available
in hardcopy issues for purchase directly from ACE; check their
Web site for information:

Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals: Modern Reformation
  http://www.alliancenet.org/pub/mr/mr.html

Here are new issues and articles not included in that index:

NEW ISSUES:

2000

Jul/Aug 2000: Through One Man Sin, Through One Man
    Righteousness
  http://www.alliancenet.org/pub/mr/mr00/mr0004.toc.html
Sep/Oct 2000: Why Two Kingdoms?
  http://www.alliancenet.org/pub/mr/mr00/mr0005.toc.html

(The following Web addresses need to be on one line to work in
your Web browser.)

NEW ARTICLES:

Arand, Charles, and Michael Horton
"A Lutheran-Reformed Conversation on the Covenant of
    Works/Covenant of Grace Distinction"
  http://www.alliancenet.org/pub/mr/mr00/2000.04.JulAug/mr0004.cpa.msh.luthvsref.html

Baugh, S.M.
"Covenant Theology Illustrated: Romans 5 on the Federal
    Headship of Adam and Christ"
  http://www.alliancenet.org/pub/mr/mr00/2000.04.JulAug/mr0004.smb.TheologyIllus.html

Boice, James M., Harry Reeder, and Joel Nederhood
"Our Promise Keeping God" (Excerpts from plenary addresses
    delivered at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformation
    Theology)
  http://www.alliancenet.org/pub/mr/mr00/2000.04.JulAug/mr0004.jmb.hr.jn.pkGod.html

Eberly, Don
"The Common Good and Common Grace: Christians at the
    Crossroads in the Public Square"
  http://www.alliancenet.org/pub/mr/mr00/2000.05.SeptOct/mr0005.eberly.common.html
 
George, Timothy
"Practicing the Two Kingdoms: The Baptist Ideal of a Free
    Church in a Free State"
  NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE (Sep/Oct 2000) 

Horton, Michael
"The Covenantal Summons: When God Gathers His People in
    Worship"
  http://www.alliancenet.org/pub/mr/mr00/2000.04.JulAug/mr0004.msh.covenantsummon.html
"Defining the Two Kingdoms: One of Luther and Calvin's Great
    Recoveries"
  NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE (Sep/Oct 2000) 

Monsma, Timothy H.
"The Eternal Kingdom -- Already Initiated in Christ, But Yet
    to Come in its Fullness"
  NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE (Sep/Oct 2000) 

Schaefer, Paul
"The New England Antinomian Controversy"
  http://www.alliancenet.org/pub/mr/mr00/2000.04.JulAug/mr0004.ps.neantinomian.html

VanDrunen, David
"Roman Catholics and Their One Kingdom: A Report on John Paul
    II's Ecclesia in Asia"
  NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE (Sep/Oct 2000) 
_______________________________________________________________

3. MY NAPARC-PLUS WEB DIRECTORY, PART EIGHT: PCA CHURCHES, T-Z

(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.  To 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 eighth installment to the Web directory of churches is
the fourth part of a list of congregations in the Presbyterian
Church in America who 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 (T-Z, by state, plus Canada):

UNITED STATES

TENNESSEE

Chattanooga

First Presbyterian Church, Chattanooga
  http://www.1stpresbyterian.com/

Mountain View Presbyterian Church, Chattanooga
Pastor: Dr. King Counts
  http://mtviewpres.freeservers.com/

TENNESSEE

Clarksville

Clarksville Presbyterian Church, Clarksville
Pastor: Rev. Dr. Curt McDaniel
  http://www.clarksvillepca.org/

Franklin

Christ Community Church, Franklin
Pastor: Rev. Scott W. Smith
  http://www.christcommunity.org/

Kingsport

Bridwell Heights Presbyterian Church, Kingsport
Pastor: Rev. Larry E. Ball
  http://pages.preferred.com/~wppca/BHPC1.HTM

Knoxville

Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, Knoxville
Pastor: Rev. John M. Wood
  http://www.cspc.net/

Lookout Mountain

Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church, Lookout Mountain
Pastor: Rev. Joseph V. Novenson
  http://www.lmpc.org/

Murfreesboro

Trinity Presbyterian Church, Murfreesboro
Pastor: Rev. E. Bruce O'Neil
  http://www.sitelodge.com/tpc/

Nashville

Christ Presbyterian Church, Nashville
Pastor: Rev. Charles E. McGowan
  http://www.christpres.org/

Covenant Presbyterian Church, Nashville
Pastor: Rev. S. James Bachmann
  http://www.covenantpres.com/

West End Community Church, Nashville
Pastor: Rev. G. Carter Crenshaw
  http://www.westendcc.org/

Signal Mountain

Wayside Presbyterian Church, Signal Mountain
Pastor: Rev. Marshall C. St. John
  http://www.waysidechurch.org/

TEXAS

Austin

Choong Hyun Presbyterian Church of Austin (Korean), Austin
Pastor: Rev. In Sung Lee
  http://www.choonghyunaustin.net/

CrossPointe Church, Austin
Pastor: Rev. Jerry R. Rahm
  http://www.crosspte.org/

Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin
Pastor: Rev. James Paul Hahn, Jr.
  http://www.redeemerpres.org/

Bellaire

Southwest Presbyterian Church, Bellaire
Pastor: Rev. David L. Wakeland
  http://www.swpres.org/

Corpus Christi

Southside Community Church, Corpus Christi
Pastor: Rev. Michael P. Groves
  http://www.southsidepca.org/

Dallas

Park Cities Presbyterian Church, Dallas
Pastor: Rev. Joseph F. Ryan
  http://www.pcpc.org/

El Paso

Christ the King Presbyterian Church, El Paso
Pastor: Rev. Thomas R. Johnson
  http://www.ctkpca.org/

Flower Mound

Christ Presbyterian Church, Flower Mound
Pastor: Rev. David A. Sherwood
  http://www.ChristPresbyterian.org/

Fort Worth

Fort Worth Presbyterian Church, Fort Worth
Pastor: Rev. Michael C. Sharrett
  http://www.fortworthpca.org/

Gainesville

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Gainesville
Pastor: Rev. Darrell G. McIntyre
  http://www2.nortexinfo.net/wpc/

Houston

Christ the King Presbyterian Church, Houston
Pastor: Rev. Leo R. Schuster, III
  http://www.christthekinghouston.org/

Katy (Houston Area)

Christ Church, Katy
Pastor: Rev. John-Gregory Farrell
  http://www.christchurchkaty.org/

Midland

New Life Presbyterian Church, Midland, Texas
Pastor: Rev. Mark Spellman
  http://www.newlifepca.org/

Plano

Trinity Presbyterian Church, Plano
Pastor: Rev. Thomas H. Egbert
  http://www.trinityplano.org/

Richardson

Town North Presbyterian Church, Richardson
Pastor: Rev. David H. Clelland
  http://www.tnpc.org/

San Antonio

Oakwood Community Church, San Antonio
  http://www.OakwoodChurch.com/

Southlake

Lakeside Presbyterian Church, Southlake
Pastor: Rev. David S. Boxerman
  http://www.PCAchurchesDFW.com/

Spring

Spring Cypress Presbyterian Church, Spring
Pastor: Rev. Robert M. Ferguson
  http://www.scpca.edu/

Tyler

Fifth Street Presbyterian Church, Tyler
Pastor: Rev. Ronald J. Brady
  http://www.5thstpca.org/

Victoria

Christ Presbyterian Church, Victoria
Pastor: Mike Singenstreu
  http://www.victoriatexasonline.com/infocpc.html

Webster

Bay Area Presbyterian Church, Webster
Pastor: Rev. Jan Paul Sattem
  http://www.bayareapresbyterian.org/

The Woodlands

Grace Presbyterian Church, The Woodlands
Pastor: Rev. David J. Wilcher
  http://www.gracewoodlands.org/

UTAH

Layton

Grace Church of Utah, Layton
Pastor: Rev. Mike Howard
  http://www.GraceUtah.org/

Salt Lake City

New Song Salt Lake Church, Salt Lake City
  http://www.newsong.org/

VIRGINIA

Alexandria

Alexandria Presbyterian Church, Alexandria
Pastor: Rev. Thomas G. Holliday
  http://www.apc-online.org/

Arlington

Christ Church of Arlington, Arlington
Pastor: Rev. James M. Hutchens
  http://www.christchurcharlington.net/

Fredericksburg

New City Fellowship, Fredericksburg
Pastor: Rev. Bob Becker
  http://newcityfellowship.org

Hampton

Calvary Reformed Presbyterian Church, Hampton
Pastor: Rev. Kerry W. Hurst
  http://www.clearlight.com/~crpc/

Leesburg

Potomac Hills Community Church, Leesburg
Pastor: Rev. David V. Silvernail, Jr.
  http://www.potomachills.com/

Reston

Reston Presbyterian Church, Reston
Pastor: Rev. John B. Stringer
  http://www.restonpca.org/

Richmond

All Saints Reformed Presbyterian Church, Richmond
Pastor: Rev. Howard Griffith
  http://www.geocities.com/all_saints_23235/

West End Presbyterian Church, Richmond
Pastor: Rev. Steven T. Shelby
  http://wepc.org/

Roanoke

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Roanoke
Pastor: Rev. John R. Furman
  http://www.westpca.org/

Vienna

Korean Central Presbyterian Church of Washington, Vienna
(warning: long download for Korean text display support)
Pastor: Rev. Won Sang Lee
  http://www.kcpc.org/

Virginia Beach

New Covenant Presbyterian Church, Virginia Beach
Pastor: Rev. Joseph A. Mullen, III
  http://www.newcovenantpca.org/

New Life Presbyterian Church, Virginia Beach
Pastor: Rev. Wallace E. Sherbon, Jr.
  http://www.newlifevb.org/

Woodbridge

Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church, Woodbridge
Pastor: Rev. James N. Spurgeon
  http://customers.doubled.com/~grpc/

WASHINGTON

Bainbridge Island

Cross Sound Church, Bainbridge Island
Pastor: Rev. Paul F. Schuler
  http://www.cross-sound.net/

Seattle

Green Lake Presbyterian Church, Seattle
Pastor: Rev. Michael F. Kelly
  http://www.GreenLakePC.org/

Spokane

Faith Presbyterian Church, Spokane
Pastor: Rev. Brian M. Abshire
  http://members.aol.com/faithpca/

Tacoma

Faith Presbyterian Church, Tacoma
Pastor: Dr. Robert S. Rayburn
  http://www.faithtacoma.org/

Vancouver

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Vancouver
Pastor: Rev. James E. Bordwine, II
  http://www.solochristo.org/

WISCONSIN

Merrill

Bible Presbyterian Church, Merrill
Pastor: Rev. Robert T. Smallman
  http://home.dwave.net/~smallman/

Wales

Lakeside Presbyterian Church, Wales
Pastor: Rev. Jeffrey Pennington
  http://www.lakeside-church.org/

Waukesha

Cornerstone Church, Waukesha
Pastor: Rev. Christopher P. Vogel
  http://www.execpc.com/~crnrstn/
  http://www.cornerstone-pca.org/cornerstone1.html

WYOMING

Cheyenne

Northwoods Presbyterian Church, Cheyenne
Pastor: Rev. David S. Kniseley
  http://www.frii.com/~kfollett/northwoodspca.html

CANADA

ALBERTA

Edmonton

Crestwood Presbyterian Church, Edmonton
Pastor: Rev. Herbert E. Gibson
  http://fn2.freenet.edmonton.ab.ca/~cwoodpca/

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Vernon

New Beginnings Community Church
Pastor: Rev. Dave Bootsma
  http://members.truepath.com/newbeginnings/
_______________________________________________________________

4. COMICS UPDATE: REORGANIZATION OF KING FEATURES WEB SITE

This is a follow-up to an article on comic strips published in
CATI 1/34.  You'll find that article here:

SOME GOOD COMICS ON THE WEB: WHERE TO FIND THEM
  http://www.traver.org/cati/archives/cati35.htm#1

Some of the links originally in that article no longer work,
since King Features sometime after publication of my article
reorganized its Web site.  Here are new working versions of
the King Features links (unless they reorganize their site
again, of course!):

King Features Comics
Links to The Amazing Spiderman, Apartment 3-G, Baby Blues,
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, Beetle Bailey, The Better
Half,  Between Friends, Blondie, Bobo's Progress, Buckles,
Claire, Crock, Curtis, Dennis the Menace, Dinette Set, Family
Circus, Flash Gordon, Funky Winkerbean, Grin and Bear It,
Hagar the Horrible, Hazel, Henry, Hi and Lois, Horrorscope,
I Need Help, Judge Parker, Katzenjammer Kids, The Lockhorns,
Mallard Fillmore, Mandrake the Magician, Mark Trail, Marvin,
Mary Worth, Moose & Molly, Mutts, The New Breed, The Norm, On
the Fastrack, The Phantom, Piranha Club, Pop's Place, Popeye,
Prince Valiant, Ralph, Redeye, Rex Morgan, M.D., Rhymes with
Orange, Safe Havens, Sally Forth, Sam and Silo, Sherman's
Lagoon, Six Chix, Slylock Fox and Comics for Kids, Steve
Roper and Mike Nomad, They'll Do It Every Time, Tiger, Trudy,
Tumbleweeds, Willy 'n Ethel, Zippy the Pinhead, and Zits.
Apparently Boner's Ark and Bringing Up Father are no longer
carried by King Features or, as far as I know, even available
elsewhere on the Web at the present time.  (By the way, note
that Moose Miller has been retitled Moose and Molly, although
that change is not consistent on the King Features site.)
  http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/comics.htm

Blondie
  http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/blondie/about.htm    

Dennis the Menace
  http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/dennis/about.htm

Family Circus
  http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/familyc/about.htm

Henry
  http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/henry/about.htm

Hi and Lois
  http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/hi_lois/about.htm

Tiger
  http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/tiger/about.htm

These comics are not, of course, specifically "Christian" in
content, but -- as with the other comic strips mentioned in
the earlier article -- they do tend in general to represent
clean, wholesome humor.

By the way, you'll also find on the Web various sites devoted
to particular comic strips.  For example, if you are a Calvin
and Hobbes fan, in addition to individual sites there are a
number of WebRings specifically devoted to Calvin and Hobbes:

Calvin and Hobbes Conglomerate (33 sites)
  http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=calhob&id=26&list

Calvin and Hobbes Free-4-All Ring (25 sites)
  http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=free4all&list

The Best Calvin and Hobbes Ring (2 sites)
  http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=tras25&list

The Calvin and Hobbes Ring (37 sites)
  http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=calvinman&list

THE Calvin and Hobbes Webring (6 sites)
  http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=calhobarchive&list

The Great Calvin & Hobbes Ring (18 sites)
  http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=calfan&list

The Sleek Calvin and Hobbes Webring (64 sites)
  http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=calvin66&list

That's a total of 185 Calvin and Hobbes Web sites, and that
is just those included within WebRings.

And here are some WebRings devoted to Peanuts (Charlie Brown,
Lucy, Linus, Snoopy, Woodstock, and others):

Snoopy & Peanuts Webring (33 sites)
  http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=snoopy2&list

Snoopy Webring (24 sites)
  http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=goodgrief&list

Snoopy's Flying Ace Web RIng (19 sites)
  http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=flyingace&list

From these examples, it is very evident that some comic strips
have devoted fans.  Do comic strips deserve such a devotion?
"Devotion" is a term often used in a religious sense (such as
when we speak of meditative times before God as "devotions"),
and -- here as elsewhere -- we need to remember that there is
a certain devotion which only God ought to receive.

Indeed we may devote some of our time to various hobbies and
interests (including visiting or even creating the Web sites
related to them), since God has given us all things richly to
enjoy (and I think that even includes comic strips!), but we
need to keep in mind that our primary devotion should be given
to God alone.  As in any other area of life, we are to enjoy
the creation while giving glory to the Creator.  

So enjoy the time you spend with the comic strips (and with
the sites devoted to them), as long as that does not keep you
from spending appropriate time with your friends, with your
family, and with God.  And praise Him for man's creativity,
because the cartoonist (Christian or non-Christian) can only
be creative because the Creator God created mankind in His
own likeness (see Genesis 1), so that mankind (including the
comic strip creator) can also be creative.

What makes a comic strip "comic"?  Some have argued that the
essence of humor is the fact of discrepancy:  a difference
between what is expected and what is said or takes place, a
difference often between things as they ought to be and things
as they are.  If this is true, then humor may be one of the
bitter-sweet consequences of the fall.

If that theory of humor has any real merit, then Christians 
may be in a particular place to understand and benefit from
humor in addition to simply enjoying it.  The best humor does
not mock the sacred (such as the sanctity of marriage or of
life), but it may remind us of our shortcomings as limited,
fallen human beings as we stand before an infinite, holy God.
  
By the way, if you're not sure what a WebRing is, check out
these earlier articles on WebRings in CATI 1/4 and 1/5:

A CHRISTIAN WEBRING: REFORMED WOMEN SERVING CHRIST
  http://www.traver.org/cati/archives/cati04.htm#2

MORE ON WEBRINGS, CHRISTIAN AND OTHERWISE
  http://www.traver.org/cati/archives/cati05.htm#1

Enjoy!
_______________________________________________________________

5. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION FOR THIS NEWSLETTER 

This is the thirty-seventh 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
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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.