"Christians and the Internet" newsletter
CATI, Vol. 1, No. 1: January 7, 2000.
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. (To be
removed from the emailing list, also write to cati@traver.org,
but include "Remove from CATI List" in the Subject line.)
________________________________________________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCING THE EDITOR, BARRY TRAVER
2. FAMILY-SAFE INTERNET
3. SOME CHRISTIAN WEB SITES
4. FREE ENCARTA ENCYCLOPEDIA 2000 (AFTER REBATES)
5. INDEX OF REFRAINS FOR THE ORIGINAL TRINITY HYMNAL
6. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION FOR FREE NEWSLETTER
________________________________________________________________
1. INTRODUCING THE EDITOR, BARRY TRAVER
The editor Barry Traver is an ordained minister in the Orthodox
Presbyterian Church. He earned his M.Div. and his Th.M. in New
Testament from Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.
Currently he is serving as Teacher at Pilgrim Church (OPC),
Philadelphia, as well as teaching computer science part-time at
City Center Academy, a ministry of Tenth Presbyterian Church
(PCA), Philadelphia.
He has been involved with online services and the Internet for
many years. When he was active in the TI world (and had a
regular monthly column in MICROpendium, Computer Shopper, and
Vulcan's Computer Monthly and had programs and/or articles
published in such magazines as 99'er Home Computer Magazine,
The Smart Programmer, and Super 99 Monthly, in addition to
editing and publishing his own magazine-on-disk, the Genial
TRAVelER), he served as a sysop on the "TI FORUM" on CompuServe
and as bulletin board manager for the "TI RoundTable" on GEnie.
Later he became active in the IBM world and (while he was
working for a company called Infonautics) served as bulletin
board manager for all of the following: the Homework Helper
bulletin board on Prodigy, the Electric Library bulletin board
on MSN, the Research Zone bulletin board on AOL, and the
discussion area for the researchpaper.com Web site. He has
a special interest in "Christians and the Internet" and is thus
starting a free newsletter that will (hopefully) be helpful to
others interested in that topic.
________________________________________________________________
2. FAMILY-SAFE INTERNET
The Internet has much to offer, but it can also be a somewhat
dangerous place for families (including children and Dads). For
example, how does a Christian family avoid encounter with
pornographic material on the Web?
Happily, there are a number of ways the Internet can be made
safer for families. One way is to use "filtering" software
(such as CyberPatrol or Net Nanny or any of a number of such
programs) to "filter out" objectionable material. Another way
is to sign up with an Internet Service Provider or "ISP" (such
as FamilyClick.com, ifriendly.com, or Hisnet) that "filters
out" such material.
An alternative approach is to do "monitoring" rather than
"filtering." Monitoring does not prevent access to certain
sites, but it does keep a record of what sites have been
visited.
My discussions with other pastors have convinced me that this
is an issue that is affecting many congregations. Much helpful
material is fortunately available, however. Here are some
addresses that you may find useful:
One Good Source of Parental Control Software
http://tucows.epix.net/parent95.html
Some Filtered Internet Software Providers:
American Family Online:
http://www.afo.net/
ChristianISP.net:
http://www.christianisp.net/
CleanNet:
http://www.flash.net/~remay/isp/ordclean.htm
FamilyClick:
http://familyclick.com/
HISnet:
http://www.hisnet.org/
ifriendly.com:
http://www.ifriendly.com/
Integrity Online:
http://home.integrityonline.com/
Rated G Online:
http://www.rated-g.net/
safeplace.net:
http://www.safeplace.net/home/
This.com:
http://www.this.com/
World Christian Online:
http://www.worldchristian.net/
You'll find further information and references to many more
resources in this area at the following Web site:
http://traver.org/cgi/discus/showreformed.cgi?14/243
________________________________________________________________
3. SOME CHRISTIAN WEB SITES
The World Wide Web is a huge library of diverse resources.
Since the Web is so large, however, it is not always easy to be
aware of Christian sites that may have a particular interest to
us.
Following you'll find a list of Christian Web sites, some of
which you may like to check out further. Some of the sites on
the list are "Reformed" in perspective; others are more broadly
evangelical in viewpoint.
Obviously, this list is not a complete list of Christian Web
sites, nor does inclusion of a particular Web site on the list
necessarily imply endorsement of that site. You should,
however, find some here that may be of interest to you that you
may not have seen before.
Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
http://www.alliancenet.org/
American Association of Christian Schools
http://www.aacs.org/
American Family Association (Donald E. Wildmon)
http://www.afa.net
American Tract Society
http://www.gospelcom.net/ats/
American Vision
http://www.avision1.com/
Andre Kole
http://www.andrekole.org/
Antithesis
http://www.reformed.org/webfiles/antithesis/
ApologetiX (That Christian Parody Band)
http://www.apologetix.com/
As for My House
http://www.gcp.org/ministries/as_for_my_house.htm
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
http://www.arpsynod.org/
Baker Book House
http://www.bakerbooks.com/
Best of the Christian Web
http://www.botcw.com/
Bible Gateway
http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?
Bible League
http://www.bibleleague.org/
Bible Study Hour (James Montgomery Boice)
http://www.icrn.com/The_Bible_Study_Hour/
Billy Graham
http://billygraham.org
Boston Homepage (Thomas Boston)
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Den/1548/index.html
BreakPoint (Charles Colson)
http://www.breakpoint.org/
C.S. Lewis and the Inklings
http://personal.bgsu.edu/~edwards/lewis.html
Campus Crusade for Christ
http://www.ccci.org/
CCM Magazine Online (Contemporary Christian Music)
http://www.ccmcom.com/
Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics (CRTA)
http://www.reformed.org/
Center for the Advancement of Paleo Orthodoxy
http://capo.org/
Chalcedon Foundation
http://www.chalcedon.edu
Christian Answers Network
http://www.ChristianAnswers.net/canhome.html
Christian Book Distributors (CBD)
http://www.chrbook.com/
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
http://ccel.wheaton.edu/
Christian Coalition
http://www.cc.org/
Christian Computing Magazine
http://www.gospelcom.net/ccmag/
Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF)
http://www.ccef.org/
Christian Schools International
http://www.gospelcom.net/csi/
Christian Scholar's Review
http://www.hope.edu/resources/csr/
Christian Teens.Net
http://www.christianteens.net/
Christians United for Reformation (CURE)
http://capo.org/cure/cure.html
Concerned Women for America
http://www.cwfa.org/
Contra Mundum
http://www.visi.com/~contra_m//cm/
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (D. James Kennedy)
http://www.cr-online.com/
Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW)
http://www.cbmw.org/
Covenant College
http://www.covenant.edu/
Covenant Media Foundation
http://www.cmfnow.com/
Covenant Theological Seminary
http://www.covenantseminary.edu/
Credenda Agenda
http://www.credenda.org/
Desiring God Ministries (John Piper)
http://www.desiringgod.org/
Escondido Tutorial Service
http://www.gbt.org/
Family Research Council
http://www.frc.org/
Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
http://www.fca.org/
Fire and Ice: Puritan and Reformed Writings
http://www.puritansermons.com/index.htm
Focus on the Family
http://www.fotf.org/
Geneva College
http://www.geneva.edu/
Gideons International
http://www.gideons.org/
GOSHEN (Internet Christian Resource Directory)
http://www.goshen.net/
Gospel Communications Network
http://www.gospelcom.net/
Gospel Communications International
http://www.gospelcom.net/gf/
Great Commission Publications
http://www.gcp.org/
Hall of Church History
http://www.gty.org/~phil/hall.htm
I.C.E. FreeBooks
http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/sidefrm3.htm
Institute for Creation Research (ICR)
http://www.icr.org/
International Bible Society
http://www.gospelcom.net/ibs/
International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES)
http://www.ifesworld.org/
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
http://www.gospelcom.net/iv/
Into the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
http://cslewis.DrZeus.net/
Jews for Jesus
http://www.jewsforjesus.org/
JonathanEdwards.com
http://www.jonathanedwards.com/
Journal of Biblical Ethics in Medicine
http://capo.org/jbem/intro_pa.htm
Knox Theological Seminary
http://www.knoxseminary.org/KTS_main.asp
L'Abri Fellowship (Switzerland)
http://www.labri.org/
Legacy: WWW Reformed & Puritan Christian Literature
http://www.iserv.net/~mrbill/Legacy.html
Ligonier Ministries (Renewing Your Mind with R.C. Sproul)
http://www.gospelcom.net/ligonier/
Logos Research Systems
http://www.logos.com/
Michael Card
http://michaelcard.com/
Mid-America Reformed Seminary
http://www.m-ars.com/
National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)
http://nae.net/
Navigators
http://www.gospelcom.net/navs/
NetCentral
http://www.netcentral.net/
New Horizons
http://www.opc.org/new_horizons.html
Ordained Servant
http://www.opc.org/OS/Ordained_servant.html
Orthodox Presbyterian Church
http://www.opc.org/
P & R Publishing
http://www.prpbooks.com/
Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
http://www.pcanet.org/
Presbyterian Youth of America (PYA)
http://www.newcitymedia.com/pya/
Prison Fellowship Ministries
http://www.pfm.org/
Promise Keepers
http://www.promisekeepers.org/
Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
http://www.heritagebooks.org/seminary.html
Reformed Bible College
http://www.reformed.edu/
Reformed Church in the United States
http://www.rcus.org/
Reformed Episcopal Church
http://www.recus.org/index.htm
Reformed Network
http://www.reformednet.org/refnet/index.htm
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America
http://www.reformedpresbyterian.org/
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS)
http://www.rpts.edu/
Reformed Theological Seminary
http://www.rts.edu/
Renewing Your Mind with R.C. Sproul (Ligonier Ministries)
http://www.gospelcom.net/ligonier/
Rutherford Institute
http://www.rutherford.org/welcome.asp
Southern California Center for Christian Studies (SCCCS)
and Bahnsen Theological Seminary (BTS)
http://www.scccs.org/
SovGrace (Sovereign Grace Theology Resource Center)
http://www.dallas.net/sovgrace/
Spurgeon Archive
http://www.spurgeon.org/
Still Waters Revival Books
http://www.swrb.com/
Summit Ministries
http://www.ChristianAnswers.net/summit/sumhome.html
The Lighthouse electronic Magazine (TLeM)
http://tlem.netcentral.net/toc.html
Thornwell Hall
http://www.thornwellhall.org
Unravelling Wittgenstein's Net - A Christian ThinkTank
http://www.webcom.com:80/~ctt/
Westminster Bookstore
http://www.wts.edu/bookstore/
Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia)
http://www.wts.edu/
Westminster Seminary California
http://www.wscal.edu/
Wheaton College
http://www.wheaton.edu/
White Horse Inn (Michael Horton)
http://www.icrn.com/The_White_Horse_Inn/
World Magazine
http://www.worldmag.com/
Wycliffe Bible Translators
http://www.wycliffe.org/
Young Life Ministries
http://www.younglife.org/
Youth for Christ (YFC)
http://www.gospelcom.net/yfc/
Zondervan Publishing House
http://www.zondervan.com/
Again, the list makes no pretense of being complete nor is
there an implied full endorsement of every site included. I
trust, however, that you will find at least some of the sites
on this list of interest or useful to you. (Further details on
various sites are planned for future issues of the newsletter.)
________________________________________________________________
4. FREE ENCARTA ENCYCLOPEDIA 2000 (AFTER REBATES)
This offer is good only in the United States and ends January
15, 2000, but you can get Microsoft's Encarta Encyclopedia
2000 on CD-ROM (almost) for free (after rebates) right now from
Beyond.com, one of the better software stores on the Internet.
If you're interested, here's the place you can go for further
information:
http://www.beyond.com/PKIN147917/prod.htm
Basically, you pay $35 for the product and later get back $25
from Microsoft and $10 from Beyond.com. Encarta is one of the
better secular encylopedias on CD-ROM, and you can't complain
about the price. (Incidentally, you will end up paying about
$5 for shipping, but it's still a great bargain.)
________________________________________________________________
5. INDEX OF REFRAINS FOR THE ORIGINAL TRINITY HYMNAL
If you're trying to locate a hymn in the original Trinity
Hymnal and remember some of the words, you should be able to
track it down by using a useful online tool found on the
Orthodox Presbyterian Web site, viz., the Trinity Hymnal online
search engine at the following address:
http://opc.org/books/TH/index.html
If you remember the first line of the hymn, you can also locate
the hymn by using the index at the back of the hymnal, of
course. But what if it's a hymn with a refrain and you
remember the first line of the refrain but not the first line
of the first verse (and you do not have immediate access to the
Trinity Hymnal online search engine)?
For some unknown reason, the original Trinity Hymnal refrained
from including the first lines of refrains in its index of
hymns. For example, if you want to find the hymn containing
the refrain "Up from the grave he arose ...," you'll find it
easy to find the hymn in the revised Trinity Hymnal but not so
in the original Trinity Hymnal (unless you happen to remember
that the first verse begins, "Low in the grave he lay...").
For the sake of those who are still using the original Trinity
Hymnal, I compiled an index of refrains to make it easier to
find certain hymns. You can access it online at the following
address on the OPC Web site:
http://opc.org/books/TH/refrains.html
You'll also find it in two different formats suitable for
printing out (Microsoft Word and PDF) at the following
address:
http://traver.org/downloads/trinity/
After you print out the Trinity Hymnal refrain index, you can
fold it in half and place it inside the back cover of the
Trinity Hymnal. By the way, if you do not own Microsoft Word,
it's good to know that Microsoft has made available a free
utility that you can use to view or print out Microsoft Word
documents. Here's the place to go to get a copy:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/
________________________________________________________________
6. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION FOR FREE NEWSLETTER
This is the first 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"). If you are not yet a subscriber and would like
to become one, send an appropriate note to cati@traver.org.
Privacy policy: The information in the "Christians And The
Internet" mailing list will NOT be sold, rented, or given to
others. (Let them make their own lists! <grin>)
________________________________________________________________
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. (To be
removed from the emailing list, also write to cati@traver.org,
but include "Remove from CATI List" in the Subject line.)