I’ve come to day 6 of my first 14-day quarantine. I’ve been writing lots, but also reading some excellent pre-pub books: Cynical Theories (Helen Pluckrose & James Lindsay), Live Not by Lies (Rod Dreher), and The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Carl Trueman). Each is compelling in its own way, and each helps explain the world we now live in.
I was able to track down just one Kindle deal today, but it’s a good one at least.
(Yesterday on the blog: Is White Fragility a Helpful Resource for Christians?)
How 2020 Is Taking a Toll on Your Soul
Alan Shelmon promises “I’m going to tell you something that will explain what you’re likely feeling about this turbulent year.” He includes this helpful quote, and reflects on it: “Could it be that God didn’t wire us to carry every event, taking place in every part of the world, at every moment, as if it were ours? Could it be that technology has produced a faux omniscience and omnipresence that is hurting mankind and not helping it?”
The Image of God Restored
It’s Sinclair Ferguson—enough said!
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Despair and Light from the Rubble of Beirut
Pastor Marwan Aboul-Zelof writes from Beirut. “Just a quarter-mile away, ours was the closest church building to the explosion. I was there today with some members, trying to see what was salvageable. Our building is destroyed. Blocks and blocks are simply destroyed. It looks like a war zone.”
Let Your Dream Church Die
Here’s Scott Hubbard with a good one. “For every ten disillusioned church members, perhaps only one should consider leaving. Meanwhile, the other nine of us need to remember that even the healthiest bodies have strange ticks and unseemly features: an unusual tapping of the foot, a frustrating tone of the voice. In fact, if our church body does not regularly try our patience and oppose our preferences, then we may not be close enough to our church body.”
Do Whites Need Corporate Repentance for Historical Sins?
Neil Shenvi and Pat Sawyer take on a pair of interesting questions: Are modern-day Whites guilty before God because of the sins of their ancestors? And do they need to corporately repent for these sins? “Our thesis in this article is that the answer to both of these questions is no. Whites are not corporately guilty for their ancestors’ racial sins (much less the sins of historical strangers) and do not need to corporately repent for them.” While you may have assumed that answer, you’ll still benefit from reading how they get to it.
The Gospel According to Hosea
My Bible-reading plan is currently taking me through Hosea, so I was glad to see this article.
On Hamilton, Criticism, and the Power of Creativity
I’d say this article from Trevin Wax is less about Hamilton and more about the disparity between the difficulty of creating and the ease of critiquing.
Flashback: Beware (and Embrace) the Power of Story
As we consider our culture’s widespread acceptance and celebration of this new gospel, we need to ensure we do not focus so heavily on theology that we leave ourselves unequipped when it comes to story.
The God of the Bible is too lovely to abandon for lesser pursuits.
—Jen Wilkin
