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.
#1 - Conversing: Richard Mouw on Political Civility - Podcast (37 Mins.)
"Conversing" is a new podcast by Fuller's president, Mark Labberton. In this opening episode he speaks with Dr. Richard Mouw who has made a career on inspiring political civility, also authored a tremendous book, Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World, that is certainly worth your time. On this podcast, Labberton and Mouw discuss the importance of civility, particularity during a heated election cycle like we have never seen. Really good thoughts here in regards to the role of the church. Also, should be noted that episode two is very much worth your time as well, should be able to find it on the same web page.
#2 - Fact Check & Full Transcript of the Final Presidential Debate - npr.org (Long Read)
Last night was the final presidential debate of the 2016 cycle. And as NPR always does, they put together an interactive transcript that fact-checks both candidates within the text. It is a good resource to revisit the claims made by each candidate.
#3 - On Avoiding Manic-Depressive Christian Engagement with Culture - David Gushee - religionnews.com (Short Read)
Gushee writes, "But the enduring temptation in this culturally engaged form of Christianity, whether on the left or the right, is to assume that we here below have the capacity to interpret the small and large events of history in some kind of trustworthy and authoritative way. When we think we see kingdom progress, we rejoice; when we think we see kingdom defeats, we grieve; and we constantly claim to know what God is doing in and through historical events." Gushee challenges the church to look beyond influence within the political realm, which he postulates leads only to "manic-depressive" engagement, but to return back to faithful Christian witness outside of political circumstances, which requires humility and dependence on God.
#4 - Breaking the Cycle of Lex Talionis - Richard Foster - renovare.org (Short Read)
Reflecting on the non-violent movement of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Foster calls us to reconsider the reasons for King calling his movement a "spiritual movement." Certainly, Dr. King is a needed prophetic voice for our divided world today, and we would do well to reinvigorate the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount regarding a non-violent revolution of the Kingdom of God.
#5 - The Danger of a Single Story - Chimamanda Adichie - TED.com (19 Mins.)
Chronicling her own stories, Chimamanda beautifully demonstrates the "danger of a single story." All of us are shaped by stories, contexts, cultures around us. These shape our thinking and vision for others, and ultimately it shapes our worldview. Our world is far more complex to simply believe in single-story narratives, consequently, we must continue to dive into the mess, into the complexity seeking first to understand. "When we reject the single story," says Chimananda in closing, "when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise."