5 Things Worth Your Time - Part 7

 Every Wednesday I post a handful of articles, blog posts, videos, columns, books or anything I find interesting and worth your time. Ranging from thought-provoking to funny to ridiculous, most are things I stumbled upon in the past week. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading along!

"Short Read" = 10 minutes or less. "Long Read" = 10 Minutes or longer.

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#1 - American Girls: How Social Media is Disrupting the Lives of Teenagers - Nancy Jo Sales - Time.com (Short Read)

Being a father of (soon to be) two daughters, my heart sank as I read this article. It sank, partly because it is something that I have been saying and witnessing for years during my time as a youth pastor, and partly because this brings validation to my thinking. For the first time in history, a generation is growing up in a world where they can quantify their social status, through likes, retweets, comments, hearts, shares, friends, followers, etc. Although I am a proponent of social media, we cannot avoid the effects it is having on young people and more specifically, as Nancy Jo Sales, points out, on girls. Sales writes a brief but direct article sharing her experience researching a book on this very topic. I want to share one quote from the article that articulates that the concern is not just with young people. "Kids today," writes Sales, "are often accused of being narcissistic, but they may be learning their exhibitionists ways from their parents. Accompanying the boom in selfie culture is a rise in competitive spirit, as well as a disturbing trend of sexualization. Likes, hearts, swipes - validation is only a tap away. And one of the easiest ways to get that validation is by looking hot. Sex sells, whether you're 13 or 35."

#2 - Three Views of Marriage - David Brooks - NYTimes.com (Short Read)

In a bit of a surprising Opinion piece for the New York Times, Brooks writes of the three prevailing lens' of marriage in today's culture. The psychological lens, the romantic lens, and the moral lens. I found Brooks' analysis or each lens to be accurate and instructive. The scope of the article is a challenge to view marriage beyond ourselves, and embrace a deeper understanding of the purpose of marriage.

#3 - How Reinhold Niebuhr Speaks to 2016 American Politics - David Gushee - Religionnews.com (Short Read)

I was first introduced to the work of David Gushee in an Intro to Christian Ethics class. He is the author of many books, most famously Kingdom Ethics, and is one of the countries leading Christian Ethicists. He regularly blogs at ReligionNews.com and here he offers a great post quoting six Reinhold Niebuhr excerpts that offer a fantastic look into our political system. After citing each quote, Gushee offers a "translation" and a commentary on each. Niebuhr offers a brilliant "analysis of human nature, especially as manifested in group political behavior."

#4 - The Man in the High Castle - Amazon Prime Video Series

Created by Frank Spotnitz, more commonly known for X-Files, the series offers an "alternative-history thriller," imagining an America where the Nazi's won WWII. The series is based on a novel by Philip Dick with the same title. Lindsey and I are about half-way through the first season, and both feel the series is both well written and well produced.

#5 - The Death Penalty Is a Pro-Life Issue Too - Shane Claiborne - relevantmagazine.com (Short Read)

"I began to realize," writes Claiborne, "that what is at stake around the death penalty debate is one of the most fundamental truths of the Gospel: No one is beyond redemption." I have long admired Claiborne's consistency and passion concerning issues of life, and this short article conveys both of those qualities. Claiborne writes with passion and conviction as he calls all, but the church specifically, to recognize the damage of the death penalty.