Wisdom For Your Weekend: your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading around the web.
Book Review of the Week
Joy for the World: How Christianity Lost Its Cultural Influence and Can Begin Rebuilding It, by Greg Forster. Reviewed by Tim Keller. “Within these pages, believers will get lots of ideas about how to ‘reason’ with people in the public square about the faith and how to engage culture in a way that avoids triumphalism, accommodation, or withdrawal. The Apostle Paul felt real revulsion at the idolatry of Athens—yet that didn’t prevent him from responding to the pagan philosophers with love and respect, plus a steely insistence on being heard. This book will help you respond to our cultural moment in the same way.”
Articles of the Week
Raising a Moral Child, Adam Grant, New York Times. Surveys indicate that parents are more concerned that their children turn out to be kind, compassionate, and generous than anything else (even successful). Yet we find a hard time cultivating these sorts of values in our children. So how do we do it? This article shows a bevy of research that helps answer the question—dealing with the difference between shame vs. guilt, words vs. actions, and the importance of identity. I found a lot of this rather surprising.
The Uselessness of Twitter Battles, Trevin Wax. “Twitter battles are like putting on a spectacle for the perverse pleasure (or dismay) of the Twitter audience. Has anyone watching one of these debacles ever said, ‘You know what? You convinced me! I’m wrong and you’re right.’ No one. Ever. I’ve declined to engage in most Twitter debates, but after jumping into the ring a time or two, I’ve decided not to do so anymore. I love conversing on Twitter, but once I see the conversation devolving into the battle, from this point on, I’m going to step out. Here’s why.”
The Song Jesus Sang on the Cross, Amy Julia Becker. “Just before Jesus died, he cried out in a loud voice, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ It could be that he was expressing the agony of his physical suffering. It could be that the agony of emotional and spiritual separation from God had pressed in upon him so severely that he needed to cry out. It could be the ultimate indication of his humanity, and of his willingness to bear the sin of the world on our behalf. . . . Or it could be that he was singing.”
Sleep your way to the top, David Murray. No, not like that. Literal sleep. We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, and yet we rarely consider what our sleep habits say about God. For most of us, the danger is to sleep far too little. (Approximately 1–3% of the U.S. population can legitimately get by on less sleep. Be honest: it’s probably not you.) Murray points out some of the growing research indicating that the appropriate amount of sleep isn’t just honoring to God—it’s also a key to health and happiness.
On The Lighter Side
Don’t Be Dumb, “Wicked Brainfreeze”
Not only is this informative, your host for Don’t Be Dumb (Josh) is supremely awkward.
