On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. The disclaimers are especially relevant for many of today’s links.
- This first section is a lot — buckle up if you’re interested. Two pastors recently debated guns — both are very thoughtful and are skillful debaters. Here is the conversation so far. All the posts are pretty short.
- Q Denver (Doug Wilson)
- The Bible On Self-Defense: A Response To Doug Wilson (Preston Sprinkle)
- The Apostle Peter and Open Carry (Doug)
- The Only Way To Stop A Bad Guy With A Gun Is A Good Guy With A Gun (Preston)
- Who You Gonna Call? (Doug)
- The Only Way To Stop A Bad Guy With A Statistic Is a Good Guy With A Statistic (Preston)
- Ring Up The Devil? (Doug)
- The Killer At The Door (Preston)
- Guns and Covenants (Doug)
- Nonviolence: In Brief (Preston)
- Your 2am NPR Voice (Doug)
- The Mercy Girls (Jennifer Miller, Slate): a very interesting piece about a Christian counseling ministry. One significant bit buried within it: “Ninety-four percent of respondents on 2013 surveys (commissioned by Mercy and conducted by independent firms) answered ‘yes’ to the question, ‘Did Mercy Ministries help you transform your life and restore your hope?’ Eighty-two percent said they were ‘well adjusted to life’ after leaving the program. And 85 percent said they had spent time at other treatment centers before Mercy, without long-term results.” Those statistics should have been even more central to the story.
- Spirituality May Help HIV Patients Survive Longer (Emma Green, The Atlantic): interesting. The last paragraph is a reminder that one’s assumptions greatly influence one’s interpretations.
- Why Has There Been An Exodus Of Black Residents From West Coast Liberal Hubs? (Aaron Ren, LA Times): “Though results vary to some extent, the broad trend is clear: West Coast progressive enclaves are either seeing an exodus of blacks or are failing to attract them. Midwestern and Northeastern urban areas are attracting blacks to the extent that they are affordable or providing middle class economic opportunities. And Southern cities are now experiencing the most significant gains.” I expect wildly divergent reactions to this. I found it very interesting. A related line of thinking: why colleges are the way they are.
- Amusing:
- College Kids Say The Darndest Things: On Identity (Joseph Backholm, YouTube): “It shouldn’t be hard to tell a 5’9” white guy that he’s not a 6’5” Chinese woman, but clearly it is. Why? What does that say about our culture? And what does that say about our ability to answer questions that actually are difficult?”
- I have been addicted to the Babylon Bee lately. They’re killing it. Here are a few faves:
- King Of Saudi Arabia Really Getting a Kick Out of Apple Lecturing North Carolina
- Man Feeds The Hungry At All Times, Uses Food When Necessary,
- Jesus Was A Social Deconstructionist Feminist, Claims Social Deconstructionist Feminist Scholar
- Powerful Time of Worship Draws Woman Closer To Her Emotions Than She’s Been In A Long Time
Why Do You Send This Email?
In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chron 12:32). In a similar way, we need to become wise people whose faith interacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.
Disclaimer
Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey’s agenda and we are not about the elephant’s agenda — we are about the Lamb’s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass the ideological Turing test and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say “I agree” or “I disagree” until I can say “I understand”) and may at times share articles that have a strong partisan bias simply because I find the article stimulating. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with everything an author says in an article I mention, much less things the author has said in other articles.
Also, remember that I’m not reporting news — I’m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There’s a lot happening in the world that’s not making an appearance here because I haven’t found stimulating articles written about it.
Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links (you can also have your non-Stanford friends sign up to receive them at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/subscribe)