John Beeson

October 3, 2019

Recommendations, Sexuality, Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Theology, Culture

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

October 3, 2019

Recommendations, Sexuality, Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Theology, Culture

1. Don't Let the Sexular Culture Leave Women as Also-Rans: Stephen McAlpine tells the story of a woman who was not awarded a prize in an Australian race despite being the first female finisher because of the organizer's attempt to be gender-blind. McAlpine reflects, " If it’s not bad enough that women are constantly the victims of testosterone-laden men off the sporting field, women are now becoming victims on the sporting field of testosterone laden men self-identifying as women. There’s real anger, but it has to be muted by women, lest the culture warriors who promulgate the Sexular narrative hunt them down."

2. Five Ways the Bible and Economic Principles are Connected: Shawn Ritenour makes the argument for why and how the Bible influences are understanding of economics.

3. Why Are Calvinists So Mean?: As a Calvinist myself (although I typically prefer to describe myself with different language because of this very reality), I appreciate Jared Wilson's diagnosis. He concludes, " And if we are frequently charged with treating others in uncharitable ways, the humility necessary to the doctrine ought to produce a humility in its doctrinaires to ask if our lives actually contradict the doctrine we preach with our mouths."

4. How You Have Been Training Artificial Intelligence for Free: Amazon and Google are two companies who have brilliantly (and perhaps mischievously) been using all sorts of ways to harness what we are already doing for their benefit.

5. The Weird World of Recycling: Oh man, I've read a handful of articles recently on the realities of recycling that make me so disappointed. Here's to hoping someone can figure out a solution to this issue.

John Beeson

August 22, 2019

Recommendations, Christian Living, Abortion, Parenting, Sexuality

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

August 22, 2019

Recommendations, Christian Living, Abortion, Parenting, Sexuality

1. 3 Reasons Christians Cannot Commit the Unforgivable Sin: Michael Bird handles the question of whether Christians can commit the unforgivable sin.

2. America's Science-Denying, Antiquated Abortion Law: Ardee Coolidge with a strong opinion on America's abortion law, " [D]espite these amazing advancements in science, technology, and medicine, we lag behind the rest of the developed world in one very important area: our abortion laws. In fact, one key aspect of abortion in the United States is so outdated that only six other nations ON EARTH agree with our position (and one of those nations is the forward-thinking paradise of North Korea)."

3. Do You Have a Child-Centered Home? This is a helpful questionnaire.

4. Don't Compliment by Comparing: Eric Geiger shares three reasons we shouldn't compare when we compliment and then concludes, "Compliment. Be liberal with encouragement. But work hard to offer compliments without comparisons. They are more effective and an indication of your maturing."

5. It Turns Out Sexual Liberation Isn't All That Liberating: David French concludes, " Faith and family aren’t guarantors of human flourishing (nothing is), but our nation certainly feels their absence, and our culture aches at their loss."

John Beeson

February 14, 2019

Recommendations, Nature, Comedy

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

February 14, 2019

Recommendations, Nature, Comedy

1. How Our Culture Justifies its Sexual Freedom: Michael Kruger engages the compelling argument progressives make to push sexual freedom further and further down the line. Ironically, that argument often goes something like this, "'We should care more about love and less about sex.' Of all the postmodern cliches that abound, this one may be the most common. And it’s quite effective, rhetorically speaking. After all, it tells people what they already want to hear. They want to hear that they have all the sexual freedom they desire and, at the same time, that they are good people who are just about “love.” It allows a person to keep their questionable behavior and congratulate themselves on their own moral superiority–at the same time."

2. Pharisees, Tax Collectors, and the Politics of Self-Righteousness: Duke Kwon says that while many have considered the issue of anger in the public square, there is a problem upstream to anger: "It’s what ties political rage to what’s right and “just plain wrong.” It’s what establishes the perceived “worthiness” of one’s indignation, transforming anger into a political virtue. I’m referring to self-righteousness. Allow me to wonder aloud: Have American Christians succumbed to a politics of self-righteousness?"

3. You Become What You Trust: Insightful post on the impact of idolatry from Brianna Lambert. She warns us, " The idols we create are blind, deaf, and mute, and if we continue serving them, we’ll eventually become the same. If left undisturbed and ignored, we may begin to lose our own sight, become deaf to others, and render our speech useless to the surrounding world."

4. National History Museum Photographer of the Year: What's particularly fun about this contest are the different age categories. It's fun to see the great photos young photographers are capturing.

5. When you Crave Chic-Fil-A on Sunday: Ha! Enjoy!