On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom.
Things Glen Found Interesting
- How Can I Learn To Receive — And Give — Criticism In Light Of The Cross? (Justin Taylor, Gospel Coalition): “A believer is one who identifies with all that God affirms and condemns in Christ’s crucifixion. In other words, in Christ’s cross I agree with God’s judgment of me; and in Christ’s cross I agree with God’s justification of me. Both have a radical impact on how we take and give criticism.” This is based on a longer article (4 page PDF).
- The Watchmen (Alan Jacobs, Harpers): this essay takes a while to get going, but once it does it is quite good. And this response piece by Jake Meador is even better: Francis Schaeffer and Christian Intellectualism.
- Report: Average Christian’s Strategy To Fight Sin Comprised Of Binge-Watching Netflix Shows (Babylon Bee): Babylon Bee is, of course, humor. This one was so real I decided to put it under the news section. On a related note, see America’s Lost Boys.
- The End of the Liberal Tradition? (Mark L. Movsesian, First Things) and Trump’s Good Political Timing: Younger Americans Are Shunning Democracy (Catherine Rampbell, Washington Post): this is, frankly, terrifying. Probably also an inevitable consequence of our culture abandoning the Christian belief in depravity.
- What The Hell Is Wrong With The National Media? (Rod Dreher, The American Conservative): I was in Louisiana when the rains came. It was shocking how much water fell in a short time. The scope of the disaster is staggering, and it is surprising that it took media organizations so long to notice it. Sean Illing at Salon has a similar article up: Louisiana’s Quiet Crisis: Cable News and the Folly of Disaster Porn Coverage. Articles like this are beginning to multiply, but attention is still scant (although it seems to be slowly turning around). For an even saltier read, consider Dreher’s more recent column. I include these links in part because they are a useful reminder that what appears in the media is not what is happening, but rather what media personnel are (a) aware is happening and (b) deem important.
- Prostitution Is Not Sex Work (Kat Banyard, Aeon): “Men who pay for sex are not helplessly reacting to uncontainable sexual urges. Nor does the prostitution trade represent ‘a place of last resort’ for them. A study of 6,000 UK men by University College London in 2014 revealed that those most likely to have paid for sex were young professionals with high numbers of sexual partners.”
- In defense of Rudyard Kipling and ‘The Jungle Books’ (Michael Dirda, Washington Post): this is a good piece.
Things Glen Found Amusing
- Which Is Stronger: Logic or Emotion?
- The Implications of Genesis 2:22
- What If I Never Existed?
- Bible Lacking Sinners’ Prayer Returned For Full Refund (if this is a mystery to you, read a brief history of the sinners’ prayer)
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 (although if I strongly disagree with something in the article I’ll usually mention it).
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.
If you have a non-Stanford friend who might be interested in these emails, they can sign up at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/subscribe, and if you want to view the archives they are at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.