[Note from the Proprietor: In case you're wondering what it's all about, well, we're smack in the middle of BLOGAPALOOZA! Hey, you're welcome to join in the fun if you like! All ya gotta do is click that cute little link and read all about it!]

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Guest post by Dan King who writes over at BibleDude.net

2008 was an amazing year at BibleDude.net… Not only for the blog itself, but also for the companion group on Facebook that was started later in the year. Throughout the year, there have been so many amazing posts and discussions, but here is my list of my favorite posts for each month of the year:

• Life is short – Early in the year I lost a friend, and this post was one of my greatest outlets for me to deal with some of the things that I was feeling. I still think about this post and this young man from time to time.
• Bible evidence :: bahr yusef – One of the things that I set out to do in 2008 was to focus on things that historically support the Bible. This ‘discovery’ was one of my favorites.
• Getting uncomfortable – One of the biggest events of 2008 for me was a mini-conference that the young adults ministry that I led organized called ‘Get Uncomfortable’. Preparing for this event has literally reshaped how I think about living out my faith.
• The name of God – Another one of the things that I had always set out to do more of in 2008 was to focus on Bible interpretation, and this post is a cool look at some perspectives on the translation of the word ‘God’ in the Old Testament. It is still one of the most hit posts in my blog.
• Commentary on Mark:: John baptizes Jesus – Continuing in a theme on Bible interpretation, this is part of an effort that I launched mid-year. I set out to create a sort of ‘commentary’ on the Gospel of Mark as I studied through it. This is also still one of the more popular posts on the site.
• Social action :: starting the conversation – From that ‘get uncomfortable conference’ that I mentioned earlier, this is the first presentation from that event as taught by myself. This is an important message for all Christians to hear.
• Wordless Wednesday :: dying of malaria in Africa – An image that I still cannot seem to shake, and still one of the more popular posts on the site. The question remains… What are we going to do about it?
• Legal abortion AND pro-life? – Picking just one from this month (August) is a tough one, because there were a few from this month that qualify as being among my favorites. However, this one represents some of the hard questions that I’ve tried to deal with. It gets to the heart of how Christians should respond to the world…
• The apostle Paul in Arabia – This one is based on another actual teaching that I did at my church. It features a short, five-minute video lesson in which I did a character study on the Apostle Paul, and left the audience with a bit of a challenge…
• Do all gods point to the same god? – Another one of the more popular posts and another one of my favorites that deals with specific comments/questions that have come up in response to other posts. This post addresses one of the important questions that all Christians should understand how to respond to, but few do.
• Children of microfinance: Esther in Indonesia – This is one of my favorites because it started a series by a guest blogger who works for an organization that is fighting poverty around the world using microfinance. These stories really touch your heart, and show the power of the efforts to change lives in the name of Jesus.
• In defense of Christian marriage – My final pick is actually my last post of the year. In this post, I share the results of a recent study that actually supports Christian ideals! Imagine that… a scientific study that reinforces something that the church has known all along…

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It was an amazing year, and I really enjoyed learning and growing with the readers of BibleDude.net. I look forward to an even better 2009, but I hope that you’ve enjoyed this look back at some of the things that I would highlight from the past year.

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[Further note from the Proprietor: Hey, if you're interested in having your own "best of 2008" posts highlighted right here at the Middle Zone, then by all means, click on this link: (BLOGAPALOOZA: What I Learned From 2008) and read all about it! BLOGAPALOOZA will be open for entries from now until Sunday, January 25.]

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