Your weekly installment of what we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.
Video of the Week
How Can We Depict the Beauty of Complementarity?, Jackie Hill Perry, Sam Allberry, and Rosaria Butterfield. Many in our society consider the idea of submission (and complementarity) ugly and backwards. It seems so obviously opposed to the image of the powerful, strong woman. So how do we celebrate complementarity in a society like this? Does submission mean that women are weak? Does complementarity perpetuate an abuse culture? This is an insightful conversation dealing with critical questions like this. Perry, Allberry, and Butterfield show us that complementarity is not an uncomfortable truth, but a beautiful one.
Articles of the Week
The Jihadi Who Turned to Jesus, Patrick Kingsley, New York Times. This is an incredible and encouraging story about a former jihadi coming to faith in Christ. Kingsley isn’t a Christian, so while he tells the story of Bashir Mohammad beautifully, he admits that he’s not entirely sure why a jihadi would become a Christian at all. For those of us who know the gospel, the answer is rather obvious: Mohammad is yet another example of the simple testimony of the gospel’s power. Kingsley seems determined to explain this away as a subjective experience. What I (Chris) love about Bashir Mohammad, however, is that he makes the “subjective” claim look rather silly. Explaining why he left Islam to follow Christ, Mohammad points to the generous nature of Christian prayers, the welcoming atmosphere of Christian churches, and the gracious nature of the Christian God—all very objective claims that place the gospel in stark contrast to Islam.
Why Politics Won’t Save Us, Bruce Ashford. Any article that mentions the Right Reverend Lesslie Newbigin is worth your time. (While we’re at it, Lesslie Newbigin is worth your time. Start with Signs Amid the Rubble and thank me later.) Anyway, this isn’t actually about Newbigin. It’s about a Canadian fellow you haven’t heard of—David Koyzis. Ashford, channeling his inner Koyzis, fires a few shots at the political idols in your life. Be warned: Many of these will strike close to home. For instance, liberalism and conservatism are two of the bogeys that he wants to kick off of the throne of your idolatrous heart.
God Does Not Answer “Selfie” Prayers, H.B. Charles. Ouch: “Who knew that for most people the most special thing they can capture in a picture is themselves.” This article is a simple and confrontational look into our prayer lives. Far too often, our prayers are the religious equivalent of pulling out our iPhone and snapping a selfie. So let’s stop with the selfie prayers. (Bonus points for those of you wishing to go the extra mile: let’s stop with selfies, too?)
The Three Myths of Cohabitation, Andrea Palpant Dilley and Bradford Wilcox. For the type-A among you, we’ll give you the three myths up front, all of which are arguments used to defend cohabitation. The myths: (1) Cohabitation is less stable just because poorer people are more likely to choose it; (2) Cohabitation becomes more similar to marriage as it becomes more widespread; and (3) Where cohabitation has been a long-standing alternative to marriage, it’s not bad for children. A new study out of the University of Virginia shows, unsurprisingly, that all three of these claims are bunk. More than education level, more than income level, more than religious affiliation, more than nearly anything else, the welfare of children is tied to whether the parents are married.
On the Lighter Side
Synonym Rolls. I’m not even sorry for the patently nerdy nature of this. It’s just that delightful.
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.”
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