My thanks goes to Reformed Free Publishing for sponsoring the blog this week with news of their excellent new book that shares bite-sized readings on the great doctrines of the Christian faith.
Today’s Kindle deals include some older books and some newer ones. I noticed that The Coddling of the American Mind is on sale; it’s not a Christian book, but still a very important one. (I also noticed that they’ve got printed (i.e. non-Kindle) books for kids on sale today.)
(Yesterday on the blog: Things I Did My Kids Never Will)
Rod Dreher Is Not Pessimistic Enough
Rod Dreher’s book Live Not By Lies is the talk of the town! (See my review here.) In this review Perry L. Glanzer responds to charges of Dreher’s pessimism by saying he’s actually not pessimistic enough! “Dreher does not mention one of the most important ingredients that would allow American elites to turn soft totalitarianism into hard totalitarianism—the increasing concentration of political power in American life.”
How to Hold Your Tongue About Politics And Thereby Not Split Your Church Over Things the Bible Doesn’t Talk About
Greg Gilbert offered a one-emoji article, then followed it up with this much more thorough alternative. “I was talking with a friend the other day, and we both lamented that neither of us could remember the last time we had a conversation that wasn’t about pandemics, protests, or people pining to be president—all of which, of course, is patently political.” Yes, and that’s true even here in Canada!
The Real Cost of Using Social Media
Chris Martin has been doing some great writing on social media. “When the attention economy first started, the goal was to learn as much about user behavior as possible so that advertisements could be placed in front of the most interested eyes. Today, the goal of the attention economy is not just to learn about human behavior, but to influence or, often more maliciously, to manipulate human behavior.” (If you’re interested in the subject, you may enjoy his Terms of Service newsletter.)
I Lift Up My Eyes to the Fields
This was an enjoyable read.
Is It Acceptable to Interpret Adam as an Allegory, Not a Historical Person?
I always enjoyed R.C.’s answers to questions like this one.
10 Guidelines for Christian Voters
Brian Najapfour offers some guidelines for Christian voters.
Pastor to Pastor
Nick Batzig follows a controversial tweet with a thorough explanation. “When we think about exegetical theology, systematic theology, biblical theology, hermeneutics, homiletics, etc., a man preparing for pastoral ministry needs not only the scientific tools to learn the multi-variegated aspects of theology–he also needs the skill of experienced men to teach him how to weave them into the fabric of his ministry to a congregation.”
Flashback: How Can You Balance Life and Ministry and Your Passions and Hobbies?
At a recent event in India I was asked two interesting questions on a common theme: “How should a pastor balance his life outside of the church with his calling to ministry?” and “How should a pastor think about passions and hobbies outside of ministry?” These are issues I’ve thought about a lot and attempted to provide a helpful answer.
The real victory of faith is to trust God in the dark and through the dark.
—Theodore Cuyler
