Your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.
Infographic of the Week
Who Are the Main Characters of Genesis? Laura Kranz. Your Sunday School answers are useless! It’s not “Jesus,” “Bible,” or “gospel”! So who are the top ten most referenced characters of the Bible’s first book? I’ll admit: a couple of the folks on this list surprised me…as did a few (Adam? Noah?) that didn’t crack the top ten.
Articles of the Week
Eight Things Christians Need to Do More on Social Media, Neal Samudre. As Samudre points out, “The internet doesn’t have to be a terrible place.” Here are a few tips to help make it that way. (As a further benefit, read this article a second time…and apply everything toin person interactions. No surprise there: kindness, compassion, and wisdom aren’t just in short supply online. They don’t come naturally to any of us, regardless of the venue.)
What You Should Know About “Religious Freedom Restoration Acts,”Joe Carter. If you are the sort of person who cares about contemporary politics and only reads headlines (shame shame), you might be inclined to conclude that the governor of Indiana recently issued a “Final Solution” edict against all gays and lesbians. This is peculiar, considering what actually transpired this week. Let’s lay the vitriol down for a moment and consider, as Carter calmly does, what is actually going on.
How to Treat Gays with Dignity (While Respecting Religious Freedom),Trevin Wax. Carter offers some background on the Indiana law itself. But Wax gives a helpful perspective, reminding both sides in debates like these that their ideological opponents aren’t their mortal foes. This shouldn’t be a zero-sum game, in which we have to choose between religious freedom and legitimate dignity for those in the LGBT community. “We’re Americans,” Wax writes, “We’re better than this.” I pray he’s right.
Google: The Window to Your Soul, Aaron Earls. Google is watching, whether you find that truth terrifying or terrific. But whether we appreciate or fear this online behemoth, we have to agree that Google shows us a side of ourselves that we might not otherwise see. What do our Google searches say about us? (Quite a bit, actually.) And what exactly are we looking for? (Sadly, quite a bit more than Google can offer.)
On The Lighter Side
“Baby Got Book,” Dan “Southpaw” Smith. Anyone remember this 2005 throwback? Ah, the good ol’ days…
Wisdom For Your Weekend is presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with occasional guidance from J.D. Greear. This is our attempt to reflect Proverbs 9:9: “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”
