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Articles by Timothy R. Butler

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A Close Look at OakTree’s Accordance, Part I: Basic Bible Study

By Timothy R. Butler | May 26, 2009 at 12:14:25

Bible software is a funny category of software. It is the type of software that for many users is not exactly an obvious purchase. The Bible – even in modern translations – can be easily read online for free. Why would someone buy a program like Accordance in a world where the same content can be had for free? Is it worth paying for a Bible program if all one wants to do is participate in a Bible study or do a little personal Scripture meditation?

The Horror We Confess: He Was Crucified

By Timothy R. Butler | Apr 10, 2009 at 21:28:47

“He was crucified,” the Apostle’s Creed declares. As the Church has confessed these three words pointing back to a day that seemed anything but “good” two millennia ago, we recall the most unjust, horrid execution of all time.

The Triumph of Acts

By Timothy R. Butler | Feb 25, 2009 at 21:57:24

“A poem should not mean, but be.” So said one of the great poets of the twentieth century, Archibald MacLeish. Meaning is important – direction and description are crucially important to life, but few people are motivated by “meaning” alone. The cliché about actions speaking louder than words gets at the heart of it. Luke seemed to know that quite well and he applied that lesson in the Book of Acts. As we begin the Lenten season today, it seems an appropriate time to meditate on the growth of the Early Church.

See, I Told You So (or, A Sad Tale of Satellite Radio)

By Timothy R. Butler | Feb 11, 2009 at 20:34:43

Anyone who spends years of his or her life writing for public consumption, particularly when that writing is commentary, faces two distinct truths. First, you will get things wrong. Second, you will get things right. When a story from the back catalog beckons as being proven more and more right, it just must be pulled out again. The Sirius XM merger was a bad idea, I said in February 2007, and as the combined company allegedly teeters on bankruptcy, my point is being proven.

Inauguration Day Hope for a Real Change

By Timothy R. Butler | Jan 21, 2009 at 0:39:33

The record at Open for Business is already clear on my positions concerning Election 2008. I did not support President Obama’s run for the presidency. But, on this Inauguration Day the matter of what might have been must be set aside for what is. And, what is – admittedly – is pretty spectacular.

Fewer Bars in More Places: AT&T Network Upgrades Degrade Service for 2G Phones

By Timothy R. Butler | Jan 2, 2009 at 22:45:2

In an act affecting owners of 2G cell phones on AT&T Mobility’s network, including the highly visible, and originally highly expensive first generation iPhone, Open for Business has learned that AT&T has been quietly sacrificing 2G signal strength in an effort to speed up the build out of its next generation 3G network. The first generation iPhone was trumpeted by the company as recently as seven months ago; many 2G phones continue to be sold by the Dallas-based company today.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Culture War

By Timothy R. Butler | Dec 16, 2008 at 23:53:51

Few gestures can be as delightful as a hearty “Merry Christmas” this time of year. Yet the phrase has become embroiled in a “culture war,” the most recent salvo of which came from the pro-Christmas American Family Association, which sought to get its members to turn against retailer Costco, after Costco started favoring “holiday” over “Christmas.”

Problematic Holidays

By Timothy R. Butler | Nov 25, 2008 at 23:22:56

Every year, Americans gather around their dining rooms to have holiday dinner. Unlike other special days of the year, however, this holiday is a holiday of intolerance and division. Surely you know the day I refer to, don’t you? Thanksgiving!

Worshipping the Mirror

By Timothy R. Butler | Nov 17, 2008 at 10:15:46

For centuries, the holy grail of a certain segment of the elite has been to boil down religion into something common to all faiths, thereby eliminating what is seen as one of the “major negatives” of religious belief – sectarianism and fighting between religious groups. Now, members of the TED Conference, at the behest of author Karen Armstrong, want to give it another go with the “Charter for Compassion.” Inevitably, it will fail.

Obama Passes 270

By Timothy R. Butler | Nov 4, 2008 at 22:10:41

DEVELOPING: With California reporting its results, it appears that Sen. Obama is now President-elect Obama. Votes are still coming in, but OFB believes that the senator from Illinois has already clinched the presidency.

The Danger of Peacemaker

By Timothy R. Butler

Here is a story. The leaders of a church have a personal agenda against someone and want to quiet him, exact revenge or what have you. They not only come at him within their church, they continue by following him outside of that church to any other church he seeks refuge at and any place he works, making a wreck of his life in the process. That is the sort of thing that only happened in the past, in dusty tales of witch-hunts in Salem or the Inquisition in Spain, right? Wrong: it is happening today, perhaps at a seemingly normal church near you.

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Tap the Power of
Snow Leopard

Looking to get acquainted with Apple's latest operating system? Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible, the definitive Mac OS X reference, features OFB's own Timothy R. Butler alongside Galen Gruman and Mark Hattersley.

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