Wisdom For Your Weekend: your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading around the web.
Book Review of the Week
Jesus or Nothing, by Dan DeWitt. Reviewed by Russell Moore. “Most of us want to slay atheism with a set of ‘can’t argue with that’ syllogisms. But that’s not how people leave atheism for Christ. I have yet to meet someone who says, ‘Oh! So there’s archeological evidence for the existence of the Hittites? The Bible must be true…what must I do to be saved?’ Instead, most people come to Christ the same way most of us did: by hearing in the gospel story a Voice calling our Name. ‘Adam, where are you?’ ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ This book shows how the gospel upends everything the atheist wants to be true, and yet fears is true, about the universe.”
Articles of the Week
3 Ways to Recognize Bad Statistics, Ed Stetzer. I do a fair share of research, and nothing makes me want to pull my hair out more than popular (and untrue) statistics. Stetzer’s advice here is well needed: “we need to be more skeptical when it comes to statistics.”
10 Reasons Why the KJV Is Still the Most Popular Bible Translation, David Murray. Speaking of statistics…I was wary of this when first I heard it, but the research seems to bear it out: the King James Version is still the dominant Bible translation among Americans. (The NIV and NKJV are vying for a distant second.) Personally, I don’t know any Christians who prefer the KJV. So what gives?
I Reject Christianity Because _______, Matt Smethurst. “Don’t impose your exclusive views on me. How can you believe in a God who’d allow so much senseless evil and suffering? On what basis do you believe Jesus rose from the dead—besides blind faith, of course? No religion has the whole truth—including yours. Whether couched as questions or assertions, we’ve all encountered objections like these.” Smethurst poses these questions to author and professor James Anderson, who gives us a winsome example of apologetics.
Dear Haters: I’m Sorry, Jon Acuff. “Dear haters, Over the last three years I’ve written a lot about haters. I’ve done this in part because it’s weird to have strangers hate you. It’s strange that people who have never met you, talked to you, texted with you, skyped with you or had any other personal interaction with you attack you personally. . . . But there’s a problem, one that’s been pointed out to me by a few people. People who disagree with you are not always haters. Most of the time they are just people who disagree with you.”
On The Lighter Side
It’s the oldest rule of event crashing. Look like you know what you’re doing, and dress the part, and you can go pretty much anywhere:
How a UVA fan bluffed his way onto UVA’s bench during the ACC Championship Game, Deadspin. (Little known fact: this is precisely how I got into Duke University.)
