Good Links

A LifeWay Research poll indicates that 22% of Christians believe gender is fluid, not restrained to male as female as defined in the Bible: https://www.christianpost.com/news/1-in-5-evangelicals-reject-bibles-teaching-on-gender-report.html?fbclid=IwAR3aixMGTdRpyJAW7MU5PnROTngSJHvau-XvBG4Iq2cbyPlGWnJZD9ZrvWc Our culture is addicted to the sexualization of minors, and Cuties is a symptom of the problem: https://christandpopculture.com/cuties-isnt-the-problem-our-cultural-addiction-to-the-sexualization-of-minors/?fbclid=IwAR0yZgDjJuABvYrwnDR2sBWDick_YyCKRhvfkdm-nZe2OKbiasYi5-GNlnk The dilemma of social media revealed in new documentary: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/09/movies/the-social-dilemma-review.html One positive outcome of the pandemic […]

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies (obituary): https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/us/ruth-bader-ginsburg-dead.html Jason Whitlock talks about sports in America and the Black Lives Matter movement: https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/american-sports-letting-america/?fbclid=IwAR1nSjRX1iUwjvcpdzKfKDKqIRnkc8jzShIIX70gQA9_31XNyfcsweIhCeI Brandon Washington reflects on his experiences as a Black pastor in America:  https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2020/fall/confront-injustice-with-gospel.html?share=R9MQx%2BoRlGdi8ta0u%2BIIrv4VquXAJYv6&fbclid=IwAR0p0WDU2x3XrWfznEyKYy8W3djUORP3jfmKUittB_JHUzzdwmbndelz6As Samantha Shapiro addresses the issue of homeless children in America (more than 100,000 homeless children are in New York City): https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/09/magazine/homeless-students.html What’s […]

Stretch your mind and heart with this roundup of thought-provoking reads: Hannah Nation addresses the need for older women in churches, especially as guidance for younger women: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/older-women-young-churches/ Alan Noble writes about how the church can step in to help solve a cultural crisis in colleges today:  https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/september-web-only/alan-noble-christian-college-crisis-cccu-church.html Lucas Shaw predicts that Netflix will not […]

Controversy surrounds the new Disney film, Mulan: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/07/why-disneys-new-mulan-is-scandal/ Our penchant for spectacle turns to tragedy: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/08/us/el-dorado-fire-gender-reveal-update-trnd/index.html Has the church become anti-male in its view of sin and society, letting women off too easily? https://theopolisinstitute.com/conversations/the-manosphere-and-the-church/ NYT’s readers’ favorite candid photos from weddings beautifully celebrate marriage, family, and memories: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/fashion/weddings/readers-share-their-best-unexpected-wedding-photos.html Patricia Raybon reflects on her experience of deep engagement with Scripture […]

It's the final week of the summer season. Here are some thought-provoking links for reflection and conversation: MLK’s young granddaughter speak at rally commemorating the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington: https://www.ajc.com/news/yolanda-king-granddaughter-of-mlk-speaks-at-anniversary-of-march-on-washington/UTG5FMN6JJDHPF5RRLLWGCZ2VU/ “Influencers” come to Christian higher ed: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/welcome-the-covid-influencer Why do so many in Christianity long for power? An interesting look: https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/the-price-of-power?fbclid=IwAR17GYOnZ1y_GcGz-UgqoGXQYTZq8cL_0HJ3mBGTqr5jHHhc6w3See1ypBo. A woman who is the […]

A few thought-provoking links for your next Zoom conversation: James K. A. Smith offers some insight into why reconciliation is more appealing than justice to many: https://religionnews.com/2020/08/06/what-white-evangelical-christians-cant-see-when-they-see-racism/?fbclid=IwAR07XTBo_vj1pa63G8luMuzV4nmGIgdUd-V52qdxBOgPYXzvhvBSIxsHBro Hannah King discusses the why our bodies matter in our worship: https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2020/august-web-exclusives/preserving-our-body-and-bodies-for-worship.html?fbclid=IwAR3YorrzfjKKa-mt7zAdaXpA5S1_rU2h4hupdVu8mew9pV8Fzpl4p8_qD98 Spreading unfounded conspiracy theories about child sex trafficking doesn’t help—it hurts the cause: https://www.upworthy.com/trafficking-conspiracies?fbclid=IwAR1M6RXNr9d39dca070G8SdGWkTLtbZF13VvaxAlTrchpvTc-_uerRy7rBI Why do some Catholics think […]

Good food for thought, reflection, and conversation: The 88-year-old son of a slave shares his fascinating story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/07/27/slave-son-racism-george-floyd/ A New Testament scholar shows how the early church was mocked for being welcoming to women: https://www.michaeljkruger.com/how-early-christianity-was-mocked-for-welcoming-women/ A controversy over Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor’s racism erupts: https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/cancelling-flannery-oconnor Nostalgic for nostalgia: people used to pine for a simpler life. Now they’ve […]

Kathryn Freeman draws attention to hidden heroines of the faith: “In the proportion of evangelical lessons that reference women at all, we are more likely to hear about the faith of Elisabeth Elliot, Corrie ten Boom, Hannah More, or Ruth Graham than Jo Ann Robinson, Autherine Lucy, Ida B. Wells, or Fannie Lou Hamer. Even […]

Karen Swallow Prior reviews a documentary: “Such luminaries are indicative of the film’s high production quality. And indeed, Flannery serves up a feast for the ears and eyes, featuring original and traditional music on the soundtrack, archival film clips and photographs, and sumptuous camera shots of O’Connor’s rural home and personal possessions. The original animated segments that […]