Don’t Be Engulfed – This is a brilliant quote on both the allure and danger of so many of our new technologies. It begins this way: “I would suggest that modern technology and entertainment have done great damage to young people’s sense of vision and purpose–especially among young men. I’m not anti-technology. But never before in the history of the world has triviality and mind-numbing shallowness been so tantalizingly seductive and so pervasively omnipresent.” (In a similar vein, you may like to read this article by Seth Godin.)
Reading Luther Wisely But Well – I enjoyed reading Carl Trueman’s article on Martin Luther. This line is pure brilliance: “Does it not seem only yesterday that Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion, was being trumpeted by evangelicals as ‘the greatest outreach opportunity of the century’? In retrospect, The Passion surely stands somewhere between A Muppet Christmas Carol and Dave and the Giant Pickle in the honour roll of celluloid contributions to world evangelisation.”
Our Messy Individualism – There are some very interesting thoughts in this article. “I’ve been looking into adoption numbers over the last several decades, and there’s a general pattern across Australia, the UK, and the US. The numbers and dates are slightly different in each country due to differing legislation, although the overall trends are similar.”
Joy in the Task – This is a little off the beaten path for A La Carte, but interesting nonetheless. “Even the finest restaurants are serving coffee made with capsules. Have we completely lost faith in the human touch?” Turns out those machines crank out pretty good coffee.
A Roomful of Yearning – The New York Times has a powerful article about the awful cost of an affair. “What you don’t know, or perhaps what you don’t allow yourself to think about, is that your life will become an unbearable mix of yearning and regret because of it. It will be difficult if not impossible to be in any one place with contentment.” (HT)
You Can Change Our Culture’s Mind – From Stand to Reason: “Making the pro-life case is completely within your ability, I promise you. You just need to arm yourself with some information, a game plan, and some tools to help you get started. So I’ve put together a short list of resources, chosen for their simplicity, clarity, and accessibility.”
Works make not the heart good, but a good heart makes the works good.
—Stephen Charnock
