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.
To that end, on Fridays I’ve been sharing articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links
Without further ado, I give you the interesting things:
- Paying, Praying It Forward (Houston Chronicle, Maggie Gordon): an inspiring story — also not very long. If you just want a boost as finals draw near, read this one and skip down to the quick links.
- San Bernadino Victim Was Upfront About Politics and Religion — With Farook Too (LA Times, Veronica Rocha): one of the shooting victims had been witnessing to one of the shooters in the days before the carnage. See some reflection on this issue at Another First Amendment Ghost: Did Debate With Evangelical Trigger Farook? (GetReligion, Terry Mattingly).
- Why The Pro-Life Movement Opposes Violence (NY Times, Ross Douthat). “Given anti-abortion premises, why is it not obviously reasonable to take up arms against abortion providers? Why isn’t the pro-lifer who shoots an abortionist just like a man or woman who uses deadly force against a would-be child murderer — a vigilante, yes, but also a heroic one?” See also Russell Moore for a more theological approach in Is Pro-Life Rhetoric Deadly?
- Related to the stories that inspired the pieces in the two previous bullet points: How Many Mass Shootings Are There, Really? (NY Times, Mark Follman). It turns out that there’s not a commonly accepted way to quantify the data. I found this piece fascinating. Follman is the national affairs editor of Mother Jones.
- Who Influences Whom? Reflections on U.S. Government Outreach to Think Tanks (Brookings Institute, Jeremy Shapiro): this is an engaging peek behind the curtains at a world some of you will wind up entering.
- Why The Public Can’t Read The Press (The Atlantic, John Heltman): this piece is a bit long for my taste, but the subject is important. There’s a lot of good journalism you will never be given the chance to see.
- Quick Links:
- Dating Is Brutal. Ouch.
- Lion vs Giraffe. Don’t mess with giraffes.
- This soccer shot. I reject your physics and substitute my own.
- How political talk shows work.
- Pics from our Christmas party — follow us on Instagram @xastanford
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.