What books do you need in your theology and culture library? How can social media damage your empathy? What did Tim Challies have to say about a new book on money? How should we respond to increased efficiency in the workplace? And how did two senators use a religious test against an evangelical Christian in a confirmation hearing?
Get answers to these questions and more from Bruce Ashford, Emma Green, Tim Challies, Laura Thigpen, Jonathan Edwards and Spence Spencer in today’s #FaithandCulture Reading.
7 Sets of Resources for Building Your ‘Theology and Culture’ Library
Want to build a ‘theology and culture’ library? Here are some suggestions from Bruce Ashford. Here’s a sample:
Richard Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture is a minor classic in 20th century theology; it provides a historical classification of typical Christian views of the relationship between “Christ” and culture. Read More>>
Women of the Word – Unplugged
This week, Laura Thigpen published an important article about grief. In addition, she also wrote this important challenge to “go rogue” this summer — by unplugging your devices. Here’s an excerpt from her article at Women’s Life:
Technology, and certainly social media, elicits addictive behaviors from us, and never satisfies. It’s understandable why the Instagram Bible, Community or Church is alluring: it’s quick, easy, already prepared, requires no commitment, holds no accountability, and requires no labor — it’s cheap. Read More>>
Authentic Community: How Online Substitutes Damage our Empathy
Speaking of social media, Jonathan Edwards reflects on how online substitutes to authentic community damage our empathy in this article for The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He writes,
The more we tether ourselves to our devices, the more untethered we become from our hearts. If we connect with one another but lose our ability to process and show emotions in the process, what good are we? Without empathy, we become the people Isaiah spoke of; honoring God with our lips via our social media posts/rants while our hearts are far from treasuring Christ and his people. Read More>>
The Money Challenge
Last week, we interviewed Art Rainer about his new book, The Money Challenge. This week, Tim Challies gave the book a glowing review. He says,
The Money Challenge is an excellent, short, readable introduction to a biblical view of financial management. It may be an excellent first choice for those who have never read a book on money, and it may be an excellent refresher for those who have. Read More>>
Is There More Value to Work than Efficiency?
With increasing specialization, workers sometimes don’t see how their jobs contribute to the greater good. Does this mean that specialization and efficiency are bad? Spence Spencer addresses this question in an article at The Institute for Faith, Work and Economics. Here’s an excerpt:
Understanding the positive impact our work has on other people is important. It is good to make well-engineered bolts that hold together bridges and keep people safe. We need people to invent and safely manufacture medical widgets to help people heal. However, ultimate purpose is found not in flawless, ever more-efficient service to other human beings, but in serving the God of heaven and earth. Read More>>
Bernie Sanders’s Religious Test for Christians in Public Office
Over at The Atlantic, Emma Green reports on a recent confirmation hearing in which two senators questioned a nominee’s faith. She writes,
This is the danger of relying on religion as a threshold test for public service, the kind of test America’s founders were guarding against when they drafted Article VI. But that danger did not stop Sanders or Van Hollen from focusing on Vought’s religious beliefs during his confirmation hearing. Read More>>
What are you reading this weekend?
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