Welcome to your weekend (almost)! Here’s what I read this week, and what I hope you’ll find interesting.

Let’s begin overseas. From Foreign Policy Mag: (Russell Moore quoted) Congress sits by as Christians are besieged by the Islamic State. Last August, President Barack Obama signed a bill creating a special envoy charged with helping Iraq’s Christian communities and other minority religious groups targeted by the Islamic State. Seven months later, the post is still vacant, and Congress seems in no rush to fill it.

Along similar lines…a piece I’m just now getting to by Thomas Madden that addresses (and adds perspective) the old trope of “Christians are just as bad as Muslims because, you know, the Crusades and stuff” (h/t Lisa Wenzel).

Meanwhile, Boko Haram has sworn allegiance to ISIS...I don’t think anyone is really clear about how big of a deal this is yet, but both groups seem to have the same affinity for killing Christians, Jews, and Muslim unwilling to be apart of their Charming Caliphate Club.

I assume everyone saw that 47 GOP Senators sent a letter to Iran, which basically undercuts the Obama Administration’s effort to reach a deal with said country re: NUKES. I’m not sure this was the wisest course of action, but when you’re dealing with the worst (and weakest…and I mean, he is a weakling) president in the history of our country (by far), wisdom can become more difficult to discern. I see the GOP leadership trying desperately to pull the country back from the brink of Chamberlain-like appeasement. I, for one, am glad at least some people are willing to stand up to evil in the world.

Closer to Home: Stumbled on this from a few months ago. Jen Wilkin writes about what moms should do when their husbands don’t actively disciple their kids. NOTE: Dads you would also do well to click through.

2 Articles this week from Jon Bloom over at Desiring God that are worth reading. The first is called ‘Don’t Follow Your Heart’ and the second is called ‘Jesus Will Not Leave You Alone.’

Hilarious rant on how Baby Boomers are the ‘Laziest Generation’ – all spurred on by the revelations that many politicians of this generation don’t use email. I don’t know if they are the laziest generation, but the argument has a certain aroma of truth to it…

Of course that boomer story washed up in the wake of hurricane HRC.  Emailgate (has anyone coined that term yet?) has been the obsession of news outlets for the last week (and rightfully so). Assuming you’re not living under a rock I won’t post links on the basics. But here are some fun peripheral links: Did Time Mag give Hillary Horns? And a hilarious line by line edit of Hillary’s disastrous presser put together by the Federalist. Lastly, this is going to be hilarious if they end up doing it…

Back to real life…if you’re visiting a church, Kevin DeYoung makes a few great points about how to get started there on the right foot. This is a perspective we don’t think much about when “church shopping.”

If you’re not a baby boomer and actually interested in technology (JUST KIDDING!), then maybe you’ll enjoy this article on class anxiety that the new Apple Watch might cause. If they’re right, then $100 says Mr. Class Warfare never says a word – namely because 1. Apple’s customers are young, and so are Mr. Class Warfare’s supporters and 2. Tim Cook is gay, and Mr. Class Warfare wouldn’t want to slander a company whose captain likes sleeping w/boys. Frankly, this is just Apple looking to do what all companies aim to do: make money! If you’re against that, then you ought to pickup the Socialist Pig’s memoir. I picked it up this week, read some of it, put it down, and washed my hands thoroughly.

Now a more sobering article. This one is an interesting look inside the decisions that haunt soldiers post-war, and it aims (I think) to give more clarity on the moral dilemmas that soldiers deal with and how they live with those dilemmas the rest of their lives. Secondly, I think the goal here is to more correctly discern these moral struggles instead of lumping them all under the PTSD category. What to do with a conscience seared by war and evil one faces in the midst of it?  I believe the gospel offers the answer – one such example here. (h/t my Kate)

LASTLY….Interesting popular science article…I’m sure this just happens randomly for no apparent reason, and by pure luck actually helps our planet. Right…that’s it…

Have a great weekend!

PJW