Links with Little Context

"The Wrong Train" by Andree Seu Peterson, World Mag

Somewhere along the line, Western civilization boarded a train called Secularism and is now running on philosophical fumes. 

"Anne Bradley Reflects on New Zondervan Edition of ‘For the Least of These’"

For the Least of These has helped me learn that this is a matter of stewardship. We don’t get to choose the “how” in how we care for the poor. We have to do it the right way, because lives hang in the balance. 

We can’t just agree to disagree about the best means for caring for the poor. If we do it wrong, two things are going to happen: 

We will waste precious resources, and we can’t do that because we don’t have unlimited resources and thus we must steward them wisely. 

We may end up hurting the very people we are called to help, the people we care for so deeply. 

We know we can’t do that. We have to fight against anything that harms the poor and keeps them in poverty.

"No Differences? How Children in Same-Sex Households Fare (2014)" The Witherspoon Institute

Published in leading, peer-reviewed journals and supplemented by easy-to-read summaries of each academic article, the essays in this volume help clarify crucial points of debate regarding the “no differences” claim, including the weaknesses of the gay-parenting studies affirming the children are doing just fine; the comparative strengths of the academic research that finds the opposite; the actual setbacks children from same-sex homes suffer; and hypotheses as to why the children experience the negative outcomes. Ultimately, the researchers argue that the instability in same-sex parented homes, the loss of one or more biological parents; and the unequal gender distribution of the parents are among the likely channels by which children from these homes suffer harm.

"Does Attending Church Online Count?" by Kevin Ott, Vital Magazine

Some people are zealous for the cyber church movement. They see it as the inevitable future. 

Yes, the social features of virtual church - live chatting, Skyping, not having to wear a tie - can still make meaningful relationships possible. Some virtual churches supplement their online gatherings with in-person events - even mission trips. 

But here's a question: Does it affect the quality of a community when we give preference to cyberspace over physical space - when in-person meetings become an occasional add-on? 

Absolutely. 

After spending the last 15 years in the same church, I will say this: The depth of fellowship I've experienced in that little sanctuary could never be duplicated in a virtual environment.