Good morning, and welcome to your weekend reading!  It’s a beautiful Fall day, and I have a few articles, videos, blogs and books that you might enjoy.

Let’s get started…

Since I last wrote in this space, we’ve seen some extraordinary changes to the Presidential race. I don’t like to devote a lot of time in my writing to the stories that you’ve already seen though.  So let me do some bullet points of items that you may not have seen since the Trump sex scandal, and the Clinton WikiLeaks revelations…

Details of a past speech from Clinton surfaced in which she said those with religious beliefs that ran contrary to her conviction that reproductive rights (read “ability to kill babies whenever its convenient”) needed to have their beliefs “changed” to fit her contemporary vision.   The speech video here.  I can’t emphasize enough the importance of this video and the worldview from which these sentiments sprang. These were carefully chosen and thoughtfully delivered words. They aren’t words from the ancient past, but rather very recent sentiments from a speech given before she launched her Presidential bid.

Make no mistake about it, if you are a Christian, if (when?) Hillary Clinton is elected you will not have a friend of religious liberty in the White House.

Because I want to address another matter in length, here is a quick summary of a few articles/videos you might enjoy:

Interesting: Russian Government Officials Told To Immediately Bring Back Children Studying Abroad………

Federal Courts actually doing their job for once: The Unconstitutional Mr. Cordray

A few good points here: The Cheapest Way to Score E-Books and More

Challies this week: You, Me, and the ESV

New Star Wars Rogue 1 Trailer…looking good!

James K.A. Smith says we need to think more clearly about all this “revolutionism” going on in America.  He asks the question, “…what if unbelief is precisely the problem? What if it is precisely the secularization and naturalization of our political life that ends up absolutizing it, engendering an intolerance and reign of terror for any who violate its orthodoxy?”  There’s a lot of stuff in here, but I think he has some thoughtful points we ought to consider – even if he does hide them amongst some pretty thick intellectualism! (h/t Nick N. who urged me to check these guys out).

This was awesome: 4 Reasons Spurgeon Died Poor. 

Stephen Nichols: Does Even the Smallest Sin Deserve Eternal Damnation?

Just…Odd: Charlie Rose interviews…a robot?

In case you missed it: GARY JOHNSON SAYS HIS FAVORITE FOREIGN LEADER IS OBI-WAN KENOBI

Also – FYI – Wayne Grudem rescinded his endorsement of Trump. 

Now, I want to depart from the news links for a moment and conclude with some thoughts about what has been occurring at Liberty University, and how this might inform the way we think and talk about the difficult choices we face in November. 

Jerry Falwell, Jr., an ardent Trump supporter and defender, was dealing with dissenting students at the university this week who were tired of having their institution associated with Falwell’s personal (though very public) endorsement and now DEFENSE of Donald Trump. Let’s discuss this by examining a few excerpts from the article.  First, what the students are saying:

“Donald Trump does not represent our values and we want nothing to do with him,” the statement said. “… He has made his name by maligning others and bragging about his sins. Not only is Donald Trump a bad candidate for president, he is actively promoting the very things that we as Christians ought to oppose.”

Further, the students explain their reasoning for why they’re speaking out:

“Because our president has led the world to believe that Liberty University supports Donald Trump, we students must take it upon ourselves to make clear that Donald Trump is absolutely opposed to what we believe, and does not have our support,” the Liberty students wrote. “We are not proclaiming our opposition to Donald Trump out of bitterness, but out of a desire to regain the integrity of our school.”

I am struck by the humility and clarity of purpose from their statement. But I am not mainly concerned about the students here, but of the University’s leader.

Now, here is Falwell’s (condescending) response:

“I am proud of these few students for speaking their minds but I’m afraid the statement is incoherent and false,” Falwell said in a statement. “I am not ‘touring the country’ or associating Liberty University with any candidate. I am only fulfilling my obligation as a citizen to ‘render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s’ by expressing my personal opinion about who I believe is best suited to lead our nation in a time of crisis. This student statement seems to ignore the teachings of Jesus not to judge others but they are young and still learning.”

I want to set aside the man it issue, Donald Trump, and focus on Falwell for a moment – and for good reason. After all, this is one of the largest (if not the largest) institutions of higher learning in the country – certainly if enrollment is any guide.  It’s leader is a powerful figure in Christian circles, in political circles, and in academic circles. That makes this worth examining closely.  After all, many people have thought of Liberty University as a special and safe place to ensure their children get a quality education, and my belief is that’s quite still possible. That being said, it is worth considering that any school who has for its head such an ignoramus, might be lacking the moral courage and intellectual firepower to execute its high calling successfully.

Falwell’s response tells us two things about himself. First it shows his arrogance, and second it shows he is not a great biblical scholar (or perhaps worse, someone willing to twist Scripture to fits his own means). Unfortunately arrogance and ignorance usually go together, and produce a odious stench that is off-putting to those curious about the truth claims of Christianity, not to mention it dulls the ears and pains the hearts of The Faithful.

Falwell’s arrogance is seen in the statement “This student statement seems to ignore the teachings of Jesus not to judge others but they are young and still learning.”  He makes it seem as though the student who wrote the statement was a single voice crying in the wilderness, when that is obviously not the case. Second, he hasn’t listened to the humility in which the students’ (note where that apostrophe is located) presented their case or the reason for their concern. Instead he chalks it up to their immaturity – “they are young and still learning.”  There is nothing in the student’s statement that hints at immaturity, and I’m reminded of what Paul said to Timothy in the midst of his urges that Timothy focus on holding fast to the gospel and good doctrine:

Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:11-12 ESV)

Next, Falwell shows himself either a poor interpreter of Scripture, or someone willing to twist Scripture to fit his own means. I’ll let you be the judge.  He seems to be sticking with an earlier line of reasoning, which was posted in an editorial for WaPo earlier in the year:

Jesus said “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” Let’s stop trying to choose the political leaders who we believe are the most godly because, in reality, only God knows people’s hearts. You and I don’t, and we are all sinners.

Falwell is quoting from the Sermon on the Mount, the beginning of the 7th chapter of Matthew where Jesus is coming to the final stretch of his teaching.  Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the great English preacher of the 60’s has long been thought of as one of the most insightful preachers of the 20th century – especially when as it regards the Sermon on the Mount. In his day he was speaking to a culture not unlike our own – a culture that says “the truly Christian man should never express an opinion about others.”  Further, “This is not a time for these particular judgments , they say; what is needed today is unity and fellowship. We must all be one together.”

But as Llyod-Jones points out, this is a misinterpretation of the text. You can’t even make sense of verses which come shortly after with this mindset – as in verse 6, how can you not “cast your pearls before swine” without making a judgment as to who the “swine” are?! And how can you beware of false prophets (vs. 15) without exercising judgment?  You can’t; its impossible. The reason is that Falwell misunderstands the way in which Jesus is using the word “judgment.”  

Lloyd-Jones even says, “We must go further and put it like this: the Scripture itself teaches us that judgment has to be exercised in connection with the affairs of the State. It is Scripture which teaches us that judges and magistrates are appointed of God and that a magistrate is called upon to deliver and pronounce judgment, that it is his duty to do so.” He goes on to say judgment must also be used in the church and also in matters of doctrine.

Llyod-Jones concludes with several pages of explanation which could be summed up this way: Jesus is not saying not to use judgment in the selection of our leaders, but to avoid a spirit of condemnation, of delivering in our hearts and subsequently by our mouths, a “final” sentence of condemnation. This final sentence is one we arrogate to ourselves, but which in fact only belongs to God.  Put more succinctly, when we say “go to hell!”, we are doing what Jesus told us not to do.  Those three words sum up the heart attitude Jesus was preaching against.

Let’s also take a moment to note that the second part of Falwell’s statement, sandwiched in between the statements on judging, is that we shouldn’t try and choose political leaders who are “godly.” This is a logical absurdity. We all know that we aren’t voting for a priest or a pastor. However, this statement betrays a lack of intellect and/or thoughtfulness. We all have a worldview, and the Christian worldview is shaped by the idea that there are ultimate moral rights and wrongs. These ideas find their basis in the character or person of God Himself. They are revealed in the Word of God, the Scriptures. From this Word we can see the moral shape of God’s character, and His desire for man to be holy as he is holy. We are called “image-bearers”, after all.  Therefore, we don’t need to give up realism about the nature and general character of political leaders in order to be informed by how we measure their character. We measure all men by the yardstick of Christ, so to speak. And though we all fall woefully short, that doesn’t mean we chuck the yardstick, and therefore dispense with all forms of rational and coherent thought!

Unfortunately, the student’s seemed to have come to the scriptures with a much clearer head. Their logic is hard to deny, and the Post concludes its’ story by including the end of the student statement:

The students at Liberty University ended their statement by noting that “while everyone is a sinner and everyone can be forgiven, a man who constantly and proudly speaks evil does not deserve our support for the nation’s highest office.”

In summary,  Christians are called to look at the character of a man, and how he measures up and what he says with his mouth, and make decisions (judgments) based on what we see.  But we are not to condemn any man as if we were the final arbiters of that man’s soul.  Falwell jumps to this second use of the word “judgment”, misapplying our Lord’s words in order to condescendingly dismisses the critical thinking of his students, and those working to make an informed decision.

Why did I spend so much time discussing this?  Because I want to show that we have to be thoughtful about the choices we have to make in November. There is a solid, and fair case to be made that voting for Donald Trump is a vote to protect religious liberty (as seen above). But an equally fair argument is that Donald Trump is a pervert and sexual miscreant who has said he doesn’t need forgiveness, and seems to have been drunk on power more than once in his life – is that the kind of leader we want making decisions for the country?  The choice isn’t easy – and it isn’t as though Americans aren’t (for the most part) aware of 1. what’s at stake and 2. the lackluster nature of our choices.  That is why I want us to examine what religious leaders like Falwell say very closely. It is during such times as we’re living in, that the minds of leaders are revealed to us, and we can discern better who they are and what they are about.

That’s all I have for this week, I know that a longer-form discussion on this seems off the beaten path for me, and I appreciate your patience. These are big issues of our day and they take discernment and prayer and discussion within community. I certainly have my own opinions – I’m not trying to be unbiased. But I also hope you understand my heart, and that I don’t want to steer anyone in the wrong direction. Rather it is my goal to illuminate issues of concern and provoke thoughtfulness and discussion.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

PJW

Good morning and welcome to the weekend!  I apologize for missing last week, and hope you weren’t too disappointed.  I did receive a few emails, but here’s the situation – I blog every week mainly because its fun and gives me a good outlet to write some thoughts down. If you don’t get an email, its not because you were taken off the list or because anything is wrong.  I am not a professional writer, so from time to time I take a break and don’t post anything.  Today’s blog will actually be pretty short. I’m supposed to be taking in the Word at my church’s men’s retreat, but instead find myself sidelined by illness.

So, a brief post now follows about the week, what I read, saw, heard and what’s worth passing along…

The biggest “news” of the week hit yesterday when old (recordings?) of Donald Trump leaked out to the press.  They feature extremely lewd comments (probably not endorsed by Jerry Falwell, Jr….we think).  I get the question on a regular basis “have you decided whether you’ll vote for Trump yet?”  Just when I think I’ve convinced myself, and I’m around 95% read to pull the trigger and “safeguard our supreme court” (hahaha), something like this happens and makes it all the more odious to even enter the voting booth. He isn’t making it easy, is he?!

Shifting gears, this is a bit of philosophical mumbo-jumbo, but in an interesting piece posted on the American Conservative, and reposted by Mohler later in the week, you can see some intramural outrage among liberal (communist?) philosophers over one man’s opinion on homosexuality. I think the point here is not that the guy they’re denouncing is correct as much as it is that whenever someone argues anything opposing the liberal dogma on homosexual behavior, they are denounced violently and not simply argued with in an academic manner. The merits of an argument are no longer considered or dealt with, they are simply denounced as hate-filled homophobes who must be tossed from their philosophy chairs. It is intolerance in the name of tolerance.  Of course I saw this in my own undergrad days in many a philosophy course. So nothing surprising, but here we’re seeing it spill over into the public discourse, and its not simply a professor shouting down an intelligent student, its prof. vs. prof.   The response by the left is seen as possibly communist because of the manner in which rationality and true arguments are tossed to the wind. Two legs bad, four legs good! 

This is a perfect segue: France plans ban on pro-life websites.

From the Wall Street Journal: Ohio State Is Showing a Historic Lack of Mercy. Pretty interesting stuff here statistically.  I’m not even a big football guy, but as a sports fan in general, stuff like this is fascinating to me.

Speaking of fascinating, this one caught my attention for you weekend readers: Younger adults prefer to get their news in text, not video, according to new data from Pew Research.

In what was probably one of the best blogs of the week, Ray Ortland is blunt: Sunday Soccer and Small Christianity.  Here’s an excerpt:

Christian conversion is not God sprinkling his pixie-dust blessing on our typical routines. It is a paradigm shift for the whole of our lives, with new categories and new capacities. We see this throughout the New Testament.

Book Reviews: Tim Challies looks at Sarah Young’s new sequel to Jesus Calling. 

Tomorrow night is debate number two between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Here’s the SNL from last time. People seem to think Mike Pence won the VP debate, and since no one really cares, the libs in the media were fine conceding that one. They did not, however, concede it based on the principle of arguments and what the men expressed – it was all about how they expressed it.  Kaine was said to have interrupted so much that he shot himself in the proverbial foot. Pence was said to have dodged all the questions that would have forced a defense of the indefensible GOP nominee.

From the Twitters:  A century of presidential elections, in one GIF

And, because I missed the week where I’d get to blog on the Ryder Cup, check this one out (ICYMI): Ryder Cup heckler makes putt to win $100 bet – video

Also ICYMI: Glenn Beck apologizes for endorsing Ted Cruz

NOSTALGIA: Photos: BlackBerry Over the Years: Smartphone maker will stop making its own phones as sales dwindle

Last week Ligonier released their ‘STATE OF THEOLOGY’ (in America).  It’s a very well put together large sample of people’s opinions and thoughts on theology and doctrine in America. Of course there are a few shocking things in here, and others not so shocking. For those of you who think we’re basically a Christian nation, well, you might have a hard time getting through it.  This basically shows that not only are we not basically a Christian nation, but that most of those who are self-proclaimed evangelicals don’t know the first thing about what they believe.

Sometimes its good to keep in touch with what some of these movie/tv stars say and do, as a reminder of what worldview is behind their behavior. Such is the case here: Andy Richter Is ‘Eternally Grateful’ His Wife Aborted His Child.

Gosh darn it – why are those Honeycrisp Apples so expensive???!!  Basic economics, Watson!

For you book lovers: 13 Ways Book Lovers Make More Time for Reading.

Tim Challies defends video games – no really! 

In the past week, two prominent men died. Shimon Peres, the former Israeli PM, and Arnold Palmer, one of Golf’s greatest heroes.  You’ve likely read and watched videos all about this, but a few linked stories above in honor of their passing seemed fitting.

HAHAHAHA!  To save their sinking city, Venetians are dressing like pirates and chasing cruise ships

Interesting final bits……new bible series without anything but the text……uber is researching vertical takeoff vehicles……new archeological discoveries dating back to the reign of Hezekiah…that whole water thing on Europa……Similarly silly questions……the Weiner-in-Law (what a messed up family!)……Obama’s fancy headgear……cool interactive map of middle earth.

That’s it!  Go enjoy the weekend!

PJW

 

Good morning and welcome to your weekend reading, a summing up of my favorite blogs, stories, videos and books from the past week.

NOTE: There are newer weekend readers, and by way of explanation, I don’t always just post the big stories from the week here. That does seem to work out most of the time, but I sort of assume that you’ve seen or heard some of the obvious stuff.  So if I post something its because I felt it relevant to comment on, or worthy of your attention.  Many stories happened in the last week that everyone heard about (i.e. Brad and Angelina breaking up) but I don’t really care about all of them (i.e. Brad and Angelina breaking up).

Let’s start on the lighter side.  Challies reposted something from a popular grammar blog exploring the origin of the phrase “Roger That”.  I really enjoyed it because its a phrase I use pretty much every week.

And I finally got a chance to read ‘Dilbert Explains Donald Trump’ (h/t Dave B.) and enjoyed it.  Pretty funny stuff. If you’ve ever read Dave Barry, I read this interview in the same was I would if I were reading a Barry column. You pick up its flavors here and there.  Like when Adams (the Dilbert writer) says that he endorsed Hillary out of safety concerns:

He notes that detractors “have literally been comparing Trump to Hitler—an actual comparison to Hitler. . . . That is a call for assassination. There’s no other way you can [expletive] interpret that. . . . And you’ve seen how many Trump people have been beaten by crowbars for wearing his shirt, or beaten up [outside a rally] in San Jose, my backyard.”

Next up is a story sent to me by my Kate from the New York Post: It’s ‘digital heroin’: How screens turn kids into psychotic junkies.  This was a pretty startling, yet completely believable, article. Worth the read parents.

And a nasty little segue here: A Family Affair: How Incest will Expose the Philosophical Inadequacy of Contemporary Sexual Ethics.  I don’t care about the story itself, but rather wanted you to check out Trueman’s point about how the word/concept of “consent” isn’t strong enough to bear the weight of an entire county’s law on marriage and sexual relationships.

Candice Millard’s new book about Winston Churchill is out (my copy arrived this week!). The link above is to the Wall Street Journal book review.

Speaking of WSJ weekend reads, they had one that I have not yet read but intend to because it appeals to my sense of rebellion against the new normal: Get Your Children Good and Dirty.

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a Presidential Debate on Monday evening. National Review’s Rich Lowry thinks that the Dems have set themselves up for failure.  Maybe he’s right.  All I know is that it ought to be most entertaining…

Maybe I read too many alarmist kinds of stories this week, but this one simply confirmed why its good to have a water filter – from CNN: New report finds ‘Erin Brockovich’ chemical in US drinking water. From the story:

“Whether it is chromium-6, PFOA or lead, the public is looking down the barrel of a serious water crisis across the country that has been building for decades,” Brockovich said in a written statement Tuesday, blaming it on “corruption, complacency and utter incompetence.”

Incompetence, corruption, complacency…yup, sounds like the government to me.

And in another h/t to Challies for the able curation of cool content: Collecting the World: Inside the Smithsonian. 

Switching Gears: Has Rome Really Changed Its Tune?  This is a slightly long post from a former professor of mine about the Catholic Church, and whether they’ve really changed since the Reformation. It’s the 500th anniversary of the Reformation next year, and Allison (the author) looks at several key points where reformers had taken exception to the church’s teaching…have they changed?  Unfortunately, I think the answer is clearly “no”.  This is the kind of thing that I think is worth really pondering for my Catholic friends.  I understand the draw of the church, I really do.  Stability, beauty, community – and the knowledge that its not simply local but worldwide community. You can step into a parish anywhere in the world and hear the same mass, and feel at home. You’re part of a worldwide community.  The issue is that at its core, the Catholic Faith is broken, and broken badly. We see the results of this every day as the Pope flails about as he deals with the culture – sometimes adeptly, and sometimes very poorly.  The problem is there is no anchor to his teaching – the Bible, the truth of God’s Word, is no longer the only thing he must contend with. The church has elevated church leader’s words to the authoritative level of the Scripture, and now these Popes must navigate a hundred differing and evolving opinions from past ages. Therefore, the church has abandoned the fundamental principles which made it Christian years ago. The outward beauty and its forms of community remain, but they are a shell which covers a rotten core – a core without the gospel, and the absolute truth of the Word to govern everyday life.

My heart aches as I write this because I know how difficult it is to leave a church. To leave friends and familiarity and the warmth of community isn’t an etherial concept to me. But when the core principles which bond that community together are perverted beyond recognition, and men’s writing and traditions have stollen away all semblance of cogency from the initial Biblical designs, then a break must occur. Community and fellowship can only go so far when not rooted in absolute truth. As our Lord said the night before He died on our behalf:

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:14-17 ESV)

This sanctifying Word is no longer taught as singularly authoritative in the Catholic Church. It’s power has been covertly denied when the church subverts its authority with its’ own traditions, councils, and writings.

They say that people hate congress and yet love their congressman. I can equally say that I detest the Catholic Church, while loving my Catholic friends – each emotion strongly springing from a worldview shaped by Scripture, and a sinful heart transformed by Grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone, and for God’s glory.

Along similar lines, R.C. Sproul and Al Mohler did a question and answer session about the nature of Luther’s conversion, his affect on the church, and the coming anniversary of the Reformation.

This was pretty nifty: Archeologists are virtually unraveling ancient hidden texts that could rewrite biblical history. NOTE: I published this having read the story without seriously considering the headline. The headline is a bit deceptive. This story isn’t about re-writing Biblical history, its about technology. I’ve read enough to know that archeology has time and again proven, rather than disproven the history we’ve read about in Scripture. So don’t get the wrong idea!

The Chinese may hate individual liberty and freedom, but they love wine: The red planet: China sends vines into space in quest for perfect wine.

You can form your own opinion about Donald Trump, but Erick Erickson has lost his marbles...have others?

War Zone Chicago: Homicides are spiking again in some big U.S. cities. Chicago has seen nearly half the increase.

Olive Oil can come in handy when your beach trip goes south…

The Daily Signal has a story on how more people are using medical sharing plans to take care of catastrophic health care coverage while avoiding Obamacare penalties. I can attest that this works pretty darn well if you don’t have a lot of reoccurring medical costs and simply need catastrophic coverage.

Sinclair Ferguson from a few weeks back: Endless, Bottomless, Boundless Grace and Compassion.

Books: This past week or so, I read: The Prince (old Niccolo) , Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings: A Guide to Middle Earth (Duriez), True Community (Bridges), Man’s Search for Meaning (Frankl).   I’m almost done with Ayn Rand’s ‘The Fountainhead’ which has taken up a lot of my time, and have been enjoying a dozen other books, including the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  Last night Chloe and I read ‘The Ancient Mariner’ and found it a little creepy, and yet still enjoyable!

That’s it!  I am especially thankful for the gospel this morning, and the fact that no confirmation or sunday school class, no sprinkling, no works, no words of mine will save me. Only the grace of God working through faith He gave me will save me and keep me. I am thankful that the Bible is both available for me to read, and transformative when I do read it. I’m glad it serves as a solid truth upon which I can base my morals, ethics, and daily decisions. These are reassurances which I treasure as we head into another crazy election season!

Go enjoy your weekend!

PJW

Happy Saturday!  This is your weekend reading; a list of my favorite blogs, videos, books and more from throughout the week (with some editorializing from time to time!).  Something that hit me this week during a discussion with a weekend reader was that you may not realize this is actually a blog post, and not simply an email.  You can see the original online versions by visiting http://www.pjwenzel.com.

Speaking of feedback…I’m actually looking for some input from everyone. Right now I send this email in separate groups through my native email client, but the list of folks is growing and that’s becoming more onerous. I’ve stayed away from blast email services like Mail Chimp because I want you all to know that this is not some impersonal newsletter, but rather its something between friends, and that you can always respond back with thoughts. Anyway, let me know what you think about that, one way or another, and in the meantime I hope you enjoy the post…

The Washington Post had a story this week about how literary reading is on the decline. I’m unsure I buy the results wholesale, but there are some concerning trends here. They sort of bury this bit at the bottom, but I think its what was so thought-provoking:

A number of recentstudies have demonstrated that fiction — particularly literary fiction — seems to boost the quality of empathy in the people who read it, their ability to see the world from another person’s eyes. And good works of literature, particularly novels, can grant you direct access to another person’s mind — whether it be the mind of the author, or of one of their imagined characters — in a way that few other works of art can.

Over at Desiring God a post was written by one Paul Maxwell called ‘The Price Isn’t Quite Right’.  If I were to talk directly with Mr. Maxwell I’d tell him that he needs an editor, and badly (its just not very well written).  BUT, the topic fascinated me because he was taking aim at entrepreneurs and their love of money and success.  I count myself as an entrepreneur, and I thought much of what Mr. Maxwell had to say was a good reminder.  Here’s one of my favorite parts:

Do we have the luxury to believe that our hearts are money-love-repellent? “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me” (Hosea 13:6, NIV). “Entrepreneurs” don’t struggle with greed — we are tempted by all the satisfactions we pursue through monetary accumulation: safety, worthiness, love, comfort.

And…

As Christians, it’s easy to be caught in an insane back-and-forth between feeling guilty for wanting money, and rabidly seeking financial gain. In that process, it becomes easier and easier to think that the laws of the market apply to God’s ways with us.

A little bit of brilliance by Kevin DeYoung this week: Stop the Revolution. Join the Plodders. There are some big things to digest before you even finish the first graph.  But he hits his stride here:

My generation in particular is prone to radicalism without followthrough. We have dreams of changing the world, and the world should take notice accordingly. But we’ve not proved faithful in much of anything yet. We haven’t held a steady job or raised godly kids or done our time in VBS or, in some cases, even moved off the parental dole. We want global change and expect a few more dollars to the ONE campaign or Habitat for Humanity chapter to just about wrap things up. What the church and the world needs, we imagine, is for us to be another Bono—Christian, but more spiritual than religious and more into social justice than the church.

From beginning to end, DeYoung is on to something here. If you’re a Christian, being part of the church isn’t just “a good habit” or “socially responsible” or something to do on a Sunday to make you feel better. It ought to be part of the very oxygen that keeps you alive. I’ll go one step further than DeYoung and say that Christians ought to cultivate and experience (to some degree!) a desire for it, a need for it, and enjoyment of it.

This was really funny: Nice Trash Can! Let’s See What the Bears Think

From Quartz: FAA on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7: Don’t turn it on, don’t charge it, don’t pack it in your luggage

The Presidential…this was all over the place this week: Inside the collapse of Trump’s D.C. policy shop.  Lot’s to ponder here about how the campaign interacted with these folks, and the seemingly tenuous relationship between NYC and D.C.  Others might wonder why all the work was done in the first place when it seems NYC wasn’t using it.

Fascinating: To Launch a Nuclear Strike, Clinton or Trump Would Follow These Steps

Breitbart: Confirmed: Obama’s $1.7B Tribute to Iran Was Paid in Cash to Circumvent Sanctions

New York Times: Evangelicals Ignore G.O.P. by Embracing Syrian Refugees.  I’m always interested in reading the depraved (and often very warped) perspective of the liberal media on Christian activity. But no matter what the writer was going for here, its cool to see the church being the church. What the author misses is that many Christians  who don’t think its wise to have these refugees come to America (by-passing the years-long immigration line), will still serve them like we serve everyone else because they’re people created by God in His image.

SIDEBAR: There ought not to be division of mind here, and I don’t think there is (despite what the NYTimes may suppose).  Christians – like many Americans – understand that its both unfair and potentially dangerous to allow a mass importation of refugees into this country. Yet, Christians follow a higher calling, even when politicians (read President Obama) do stupid and even lawless things. These truths go back to our nation’s founding in two ways. First, Christians recognize that there has always been a motive for coming to this great country – freedom and liberty. There Syrians aren’t coming here from a heart-swelling desire to assimilate into our great society. They don’t value our liberty, and they might even misunderstand it. Second, true Christians don’t see (ought not to see) a Syrian as someone less than human, less than an image bearer. Jesus radically broke down all national boundaries time and again in his teaching (think the Good Samaritan), and the church has always sought to make disciples of all people everywhere.

This is hilarious: Groggy, Bound Wayne Grudem Awakens In Warehouse To Discover Evil Twin Endorsed Trump In His Name.  Don’t get all worked up Mr. and Mrs. Trump supporter, I’m not bashing the GOP nominee here, just too funny not to post!

Well that was quick……..Fox settles with Gretchen Carlson for $20 million, Greta Van Susteren departs.

Soooo….goooood……Treat Yourself to the Voice of God

Interesting: The McMansion’s day has come and gone

Spooky: Promoting Infanticide in Newsweek.  Excerpt:

But beneath that veneer, the infanticide message is the same today as it was in the 1920s and 1930s. We ignore the approaching darkness at our own peril.

My buddy Ben sent this little gem along: Thank God For Your Job (Doesn’t Matter What Your Job Is!)

Creepy and Startling from CNN reporting on a story from Ohio: This is the devastating effect of heroin that police want you to see

I haven’t finished reading this yet, but its critical of Andy Stanley, so it must be good (I jest, I jest): Andy Stanley’s Statements about the Bible are not Cutting Edge—They’re Old Liberalism

In case you missed it, this was a huge financial story this week: Wells Fargo to Pay $185 Million Fine Over Account Openings.

Nate “sometimes I’m wrong, sometimes I’m right” Silver:  Election Update: Clinton’s Lead Keeps Shrinking

Okay, I know there wasn’t a ton of politics in there today, but that’s all I have!  I hope you enjoy the weekend!

PJW

Good morning, and welcome to the weekend!  I read many interesting items this week, but as I combed over the stories and posts as a whole, I noticed a specific trend: MANY of them came from the Wall Street Journal, and many were NOT financial in topic. What that means is that while most people see WSJ as a source for financial/market information, they’ve done a great job diversifying into other topics. It also means that not every one of the stories I link to will be accessible for people on this list. For that I make zero apologies – it costs hardly anything to have access, and if you want to be informed, you won’t mind paying, right?

Now that disclaimer is behind us, in the words of Monty Python, let’s “get on with it”!

Let’s start with an opinion piece by Kimberley Strassel on the ever evolving Clinton email saga.  This was a big week (as WaPo details here), and Strassel makes the argument that the media have missed the point of the purpose of this private email server – it wasn’t intended to discuss classified intelligence offline, that was just a consequence. It was intended to allow Clinton to run a global pay to play operation. Though many of the stories I read this week from Politico and WaPo emphasize how donors to the Clinton Foundation never got much more than “access” to HRC, that also misses the point, and the essential confluence between the Clinton Foundation and HRC’s role as Secretary of State. As Strassel explains:

Mostly, we learned this week that Mrs. Clinton’s foundation issue goes far beyond the “appearance” of a conflict of interest. This is straight-up pay to play. When Mr. Band sends an email demanding a Hillary meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain and notes that he’s a “good friend of ours,” what Mr. Band means is that the crown prince had contributed millions to a Clinton Global Initiative scholarship program, and therefore has bought face time. It doesn’t get more clear-cut, folks.

The AP has a big story on this as well, and how the State Department refuses to release more details of HRC’s calendar until after the election. I can’t be alone in thinking that the American people deserve to know if their next President is going to sell access to the Oval Office the way that she did during her tenure at State.  Then again, this is nothing new for the Clintons – anyone remember the Lincoln Bedroom scandal? Anyone? I guess even liberal internet rag Slate still does. 

How does she wriggle out of it? One way might be to blame someone else: Colin Powell Says Hillary Clinton’s ‘People Have Been Trying to Pin’ Email Scandal on Him

Strassel sums this whole thing up nicely: 

What we discovered this week is that one of the nation’s top officials created a private server that housed proof that she continued a secret, ongoing entwinement with her family foundation—despite ethics agreements—and that she destroyed public records. If that alone doesn’t disqualify her for the presidency, it’s hard to know what would.

Along similar lines, from the National Review’s Editorial Board: Mrs. Clinton and Her Fixer. They start off with an intriguing sentence, “Huma Abedin must be a remarkable woman: She has held down four of the worst jobs in politics, several of them simultaneously: right hand to Hillary Rodham Clinton, fixer and patron-patronizer for the Clinton Foundation, an editor of a journal spawned by a major al-Qaeda financier, and wife to Anthony Weiner.”

This one falls in the “I never thought about that” category: This Alabamian owes the government a bunch of money because he won Gold in Rio.

More Olympics – here’s the medal count (U.S. DOMINANCE). AND – this was really funny: Katie Ledecky Is Dominant Everywhere Except the Little Falls Swimming Club.

Technology: I can’t think of any reason I’d ever NEED this per se, but its super cool! (if not a little dangerous)  Maybe Joel Osteen could use it in one of his “sermons” as part of the show?

Heartbreaking: At least 50 in Turkey killed at wedding in likely Islamic State attack.  Along similar lines: Kayla Mueller in Captivity: Courage, Selflessness as She Defended Christian Faith to ISIS Executioner ‘Jihadi John’. 

In case you missed it: New details show how ‘swinger’ Army general’s double life cost him his career.  Stories like this remind us of how important integrity is for leadership in positions of power.  Often people forget that their personal lives open them up to blackmail or worse, and put many other people and classified secrets at risk. Along similar lined: Fox News faces another sexual harassment lawsuit.

From my friend Rod who spotted this: Good Lord! Cop says Red Cross told him not to pray with flood victims.

When you read stories like the ones I just posted, you shake your head. Some folks respond that we need to shake up the government, replace everyone with someone new (no matter how crazy they sound), strip organizations like the Red Cross of government grants etc etc. Certainly some change is needed, and we ought to fight to make changes and push for reforms (this isn’t the first time I’ve seen ridiculous stories about the Red Cross BTW). But, for those of us who are Christians, I was reminded this week that Paul’s first solution wasn’t to “throw the bums out” it was this:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (1 Timothy 2:1-6 ESV)

This assumes a belief that prayer actually changes things – that it is God’s first and most prominently prescribed method of overhauling tyranny, and promoting peace.  I have caught an attitude of anarchy among many of my friends who claim to follow Christ. They seek a (sometimes violent) political solution alone for what is obviously a moral failing among our country’s elite leaders – and they do so preparing for (even wishing) the collapse of the economy and our government “if that’s what is needed.”  This last sentiment is contrary to what Paul is saying. It’s not an either/or situation, its BOTH prayer and active engagement in our world – including politics. But for many, prayer and the desire/heart for a peaceful life has been replaced by anger and impatience and an attitude of (quasi?) anarchy that I believe is antithetical to the message of Scripture.

Similarly, this week’s Piper (except he takes it a step further): Do You Pray Like a Nonbeliever?

How then do they pray? Generally, they do not ask God to do bad things. They ask him to do good things without asking him to do the best thing. They pray as though God were the giver but not the gift. They pray for protection, and shelter, and food, and clothing, and health, and peace, and prosperity, and social justice, and comfort, and happiness. All of these good things are things the world wants. You don’t have to be born again to want these or love these. And you don’t have to be a Christian to pray for them — for yourself or for others. Every religion prays for them, more or less. So do the non-religious, when things get scary enough.

Moving on…here’s a wacky story from this week: Citing terrorism, the French mayor of Cannes has banned Muslim women from wearing “burkini” swimwear.  I take Quartz stories with a grain of salt in that they are pretty liberal in their worldview, but getting past that, I honestly haven’t seen a cogent argument that tells me why Muslim women must be stripped down to fit the profile of all the other beach-goers.  Of course the irony of the FRENCH claiming any sort of conscience when it comes to beach attire (national security or not) is pretty amusing. To me, this stuff falls into the overreacting category…am I wrong?

And along similar lines: 8 in 10 Germans Want to Ban Burqas From Public Spaces

Switching gears a bit here…if you’ve ever been up North to Michigan’s Mackinac Island, then you’ll enjoy this write up (and the pictures!): The Mansions of Mackinac Island.

Commerce story to watch: Mobile Bank Heist: Hackers Target Your Phone

The malware typically gets onto a phone when a user clicks on a text message from an unknown source or taps an advertisement on a website. Once installed, it often lies dormant until the user opens a banking app.

The malware then creates a customized overlay on the authentic banking app. This allows criminals to follow a user’s movements on the phone and eventually grab credentials to the account.

Oh Boy! Spotted: A Self-Driving Uber in Pittsburgh!

Culture and Fashion: The Strange Journey of Cary Grant’s Suits

New Planet Discovery: Scientists just discovered humanity’s best shot at seeing life outside our solar system.

Speculation: Hillary Clinton Has Parkinson’s Disease, Physician Confirms.  MORE (from the left this time): Rudy Giuliani Told People To Ignore The Media And Google Conspiracy Theories

Fascinating: Can the Devil Read My Mind?

Technology: The Robots Are Coming. Welcome Them

MORE: The Magician Behind R2-D2…the Magician’s book: Cinema Alchemist

Sports (from a politico): U.S. Men’s Basketball Was the Best In 2016, But Not Greatest Of All Time.  I think he’s onto something here.  I mean, there will never be another “dream team” like the 1992 team.

More Sports: TIGER AND THE RYDER CUP VICE CAPTAINS AND just FYI: NBA moves all-star game from Charlotte to New Orleans over anti-trans bill

And then there’s this: Hero museum employee keeps using a fake news exhibit to make harrowing golf videos.  HAHAHAHA!  (h/t Adam J)

Oh so sad: Target Dims Outlook as Sales Struggle

Keep an eye on this one: More of Kremlin’s Opponents Are Ending Up Dead

Used extensively in the Soviet era, political murders are again playing a prominent role in the Kremlin’s foreign policy, the most brutal instrument in an expanding repertoire of intimidation tactics intended to silence or otherwise intimidate critics at home and abroad.

Secretive Speeches: As Clinton asks for cash, campaign pitch remains a mystery

Into the Weeds: Hope for Trump: GOP winning registration race in key states

YES!  Jared Wilson strikes again: TOP 10 THINGS I WISH WORSHIP LEADERS WOULD STOP SAYING

I didn’t get to check this out but Challies posted it this week and it looks SUPER cool: The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks.

I think I’ll have to end it there…there’s actually more (crazy right?!) but this is probably plenty.  Pick what you like, scroll through it, sip your coffee and enjoy the day that God provided for you and yours!

Have a wonderful weekend!

PJW

Good morning!  It’s a beautiful morning here in Dublin Ohio, and there’s lots to convey – lots of articles and videos and books that I enjoyed this week. For those of you who are newer to this email/post, I’m not attempting to cover everything in the news or culture. I’m just passing on what I (or what you who sent stuff my way) enjoyed most.  So here goes…

We can start with a story that folks sent my way, re: the media bias against Donald Trump.  This was posted on Drudge for a while, and makes some really good points. The most important is this:

These companies are engaging in activity that can quickly lead down a very dangerous slippery slope and this should concern all freedom-loving Americans—not just conservatives.

More Presidential – and this is crazy: Hillary Clinton has seizure when talking to reporters. There is some dispute from an AP reporter whose saying that, no way, it’s not a seizure. This event looks to have happened a month ago – which leads me to doubt why anyone would just now be looking at it.  Snopes says its unlikely she had a seizure. Regardless, of whether she’s just reacting in bobble-head fashion or not…its just weird…the whole thing is just weird. Judge for yourself.

If you watch Fox News, then you would have seen this story: Parents of 2 Benghazi victims sue Hillary Clinton for wrongful death, defamation.  But its worth watching the interview with ‘The Judge’ because he quickly dismisses this, and gives some good legal (and personnel) background. I’m reposting it here, because its pretty interesting stuff, and it caused my mind to think a bit about the kinds of headlines that peak my interest – human interest stories combined with politics. Those are going to get my attention!  Yet there’s nothing here – no substantive story. It’s the kind of thing you want to be on the lookout for and not allow the headlines of any news group to shape your viewpoint until you’ve read or watched the actual stories and weighed things for yourself.  Too often we’re quick to form opinions based on the scantiest of information!

Earlier in the week this story broke: WikiLeaks offers reward for help finding DNC staffer’s killer. The immediate assumption was that the Clintons were in some nefarious way connected with the death of this young (but rather prominent) staffer. Aside from the merits of this kind of speculation, ask yourself this question: Would President Obama, or Bush ever have faced this kind of speculation? My opinion is NO.  Over the years the Clintons have been involved in or just a few degrees separated from so many scandals (including ones involving untimely deaths), that this kind of speculation immediately crops up.

So that’s something to meditate on – especially when you think about certain Republicans endorsing Hillary Clinton.  It’s one thing to disagree with Donald Trump, or not want to vote for him, its another to endorse someone who has a pedigree of corruption.

The other angle on all of this is WikiLeaks, and its’ founder Julian Assange. They are offering a reward of $20k for anyone with information about the murder. What?!!  Of course this leads people to wonder if the murdered staffer was the one who sent all those DNC emails to WikiLeaks (the obvious conclusion), or whether the Russians are pressuring Assange to submarine Clinton’s campaign, or if there’s some other crazy agenda. It’s likely more complex that we’ll ever know. It’s bizarre – and worth keeping an eye on.

MEDIA WATCH: Wall Street Journal writer Bret Stephens absolutely pilloried Sean Hannity this week. I think its worth posting this here because in recent years Hannity has become more and more odious.  I can’t even watch those Fox or MSNBC shows anymore because its just a bunch of former C-level staffers turned “experts” yelling over each other (or getting yelled at by guys like Hannity).  I might agree with Hannity on 90% of his propositional statements (assuming he was speaking coherently enough to understand them, and you could make them out over all the shouting), but I simply can’t take the way in which those shows are conducted. Maybe its just me (probably is, given the ratings!).

Speaking of noise…check this audio clip out: Roger Scruton – The Tyranny of Pop Music. It’s not what I thought it was, he really spends a lot of time talking about the noise of music in the background of our life, and makes some startling good points.  Just this week I was at a diner which had indiscernible pop music in the background playing just loud enough so that I had trouble hearing the guy across from me. I was constantly leaning in, and asked him to repeat himself several times. This wasn’t a trendy place, it wasn’t normally known for its music. It was just a lot of people, and then this underlying noise of music that made everything very difficult. How can we have conversations this way? It really IS tyranny, and this Roger Scruton has some great points. NOTE: there are some explicit comparisons he makes between pornography and music that you’ll want to have discretion with if little ones are around. 

COOL: Tour the London of Yore With a Gigantic New Photo Map

Exciting: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer (h/t Alex W.)

Funny! NYPD arrests man who scaled Trump Tower with suction cups

BOOKS!  Popular Stoic (yes, Stoic with caps, you read that right) writer Ryan Holiday has compiled a list of his top 58 books (h/t Nicole S!). Not every book is one I’m endorsing, but there are some good ones. FROM THE LIST: This week I listened to The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh, and really enjoyed it. 

Speaking of books, here’s what I read/finished reading this week (they’re all in chronological order and most have reviews attached – feel free to message me with specific questions about books).

HAHAHAHA: POLICE: TRAIN CAR DERAILS IN IOWA, HITS BAR CALLED DERAILED

Head Shaker: Money flows to man who ‘beat up Dylann Roof’ in Charleston jail shower ‘for job well done’

Eye Roll: France’s Socialist President Pays Nearly $11,000 A Month For Haircuts.  The waft of socialist hypocrisy is what you might be smelling here…

Speaking of hypocrisy, I don’t agree with everything this writer is saying, but the topic is interesting (and a little frustrating!): San Francisco Progressives Declare War on Affordable Housing

FASCINATING STUFF: Israel Proves the Desalination Era Is Here

MORE Interesting stuff….The chip card transition in the US has been a disaster – no kidding!  This was interesting because of some of the economic pressures behind the movement that I was unaware of.

SCIENCE (some interesting food for thought): The Ice Age and the Scattering of Nations.  I especially had thought this was interesting because a few weeks ago I finished reading Thomas Sowell’s ‘Conquests and Cultures’ and he alludes to some of the mysteries surrounding Indian habitation of N/S America.

Finishing Well: we don’t often talk about this kind of thing, but what is the environment going to be when you die? You going to sit and watch TV until you expire?  John Piper has an interesting post about this – and I can see why he’s stirred up over it. Anyone whose visited the hospital or longer term care facility can probably agree with some of his assessments.

Along similar, and very sad, lines: John Piper’s Funeral Prayer for a Family of Five (h/t KTW).

CULTURE: This is long article, but I thought there were a ton of good points: All of Us Sinners, None of Us Freaks: Christian Convictions for the Transgender Age.  From the article:

God could have designed human propagation in countless other ways, but he chose one way: two physically matured humans of complementing genders, each with unique DNA, forming a new family unity, and beget a child of the same human likeness — who will, upon conception, be given his or her own unique DNA and one of two genders, while still carrying the characteristics and likenesses of both parents.

One couple, following the pattern of millions of other couples in history, creates a family unit. Guided by a natural pattern, marriage calls men and women away from the immaturity of selfishly motivated casual sex and welcomes them into the selfless maturity of life as sexual beings living a story inside God’s natural pattern.

Now compare with WaPO: Do transgender athletes have an unfair advantage at the Olympics?  The obvious answer is YES.  Of course they seek to take you in another direction, and there’s some interesting science to back them up.  But note the phrase “science is science” in their article.  As if one study, or one experiment is sacrosanct. The general mindset of journalists is that scientists are the priests of our day, representing the god of science – they speak for the deity. And anything they say, no matter how preliminary, contrived, or speculative, is to be taken as sacred and absolute truth – just something to note as you read articles that intersect with science. Ask yourself “what kind of worldview would lead to writing that sentence?”

THEOLOGY: For the New Christian, the Christian looking for answers on a specific topic, or simply the curious observer wanting to understand Christianity better: Crucial Questions: 25 Free eBooks from R.C. Sproul.  These are very helpful. The one on Prayer was a foundational help to me personally several years back.

Daily Christian life stuff – this is Jon Bloom at his best: Lay Aside the Weight of Moodiness. 

…we are never “just” in a bad mood. Moods never come from nowhere. We may not always be conscious of what’s fueling our mood, but we can be sure something is.

That’s it!  I hope you enjoy your weekend – happy reading!

PJW

Good morning!  Unfortunately, this is going to be an extremely abbreviated version of the weekend reading – not due to lack of content, but due to the fact that I’m in the midst of a two-day golf tournament with my brother, and only have a limited amount of time (we’re having a great time, by the way! – it helps when he hits the ball 350 yards off the tee…).  On that note, here’s what I read and saw and listened too…

After a drama-filled week for Trump, he finally says he’ll endorse Paul Ryan.  I have no idea why he decided to do this. He had already shot himself in the foot big time, why not simply stand on “principle”?  I’ll tell you why – because this man switches his positions on every issue more than he changes his clothes.  But at least he’ll do some big tax cutting (until that’s unpopular).

Okay, that’s all I’m doing from a commentary perspective.  The man just blows my mind.  Normally I’d just blame campaign staffers, but this one is all him.

Speaking of Trump, this was interesting to me – I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what Ivanka did, in fact its cool that she has her own line of clothes.

Last week I posted about how Wayne Grudem made the moral case for voting for Trump. Others have been making the opposite case since.  After talking with folks, and getting a lot of feedback, I might have to write something more extensive on Grudem’s column because I think he’s right in some aspects, but dead wrong in others.

Wow: Donald Trump was rescued from a stuck elevator by Colorado Springs firefighters. Then he called out the fire marshal.

Take note you bibliophiles: THE BROTHERS KARAMZOV is the free audio book of the month over at ChristianAudio.com

Bravo to Tim Challies for this little gem: Jane Austen’s Prayer.  AND, for guys like Jim B. who, like me, loves the wry and witty writing of Austen, you’ll want to check this book out.

FASCINATING, from Judge Andrew P. Napolitano: Hillary and the DNC Hack – it isn’t Russian? 

AWESOME: See How an Insane 7-Circle Roundabout Actually Works

INTERESTING: Help Wanted: Bison Ranchers

SHAME: Nike Gives up on Golf

Some great food for thought: R.C. Sproul on God’s “Being” and Apologetics

CULTURE – ‘America’s Lost Boys’

HAHAHAHAHA: Did Bill Clinton Fall Asleep During Hillary’s Speech?

Disgusting: Biden officiates same-sex marriage

Video of the Week??? 

How to Watch the Olympics 

So….Funny: Help Lord–The Devil Wants Me Fat!

That’s it!  Enjoy, and have a wonderful weekend!

PJW

Good morning – and welcome to the weekend reading!  It was an interesting week of news this week, with Republicans officially nominating Donald Trump as their standard bearer, and Hillary Clinton selecting Tim Kaine as her running mate.

As a sort of programing note, I don’t even try to cover all of the obvious items in this weekly wrap up. My goal is to cover what I was most interested in, and what I got around to reading. So if I missed something and you want to send it along for the greater audience to enjoy, please do so!

I’m going to reverse the order and start with the books I finished this week…

The Romanov’s, Gulliver’s Travels, Animal Farm, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, The Invisible Man. Reviews of each book can be found here.  I really enjoyed each one of these, except Gulliver and the Romanov’s, both of which I didn’t even bother finishing. The former because I was reading it to my kids and it was simply too boring to finish at the moment, and the latter because I was so disgusted by the Russian cesspool of “Great” leaders that I couldn’t hack it anymore. Americans have Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Grant, Eisenhower etc. British folks have Churchill and Victoria and Marlborough, but what do the Russians have? Peter the Great and Catherine the Great? I know they have Frederick, and others as well, but the former overshadow all the rest in this book, and they are the most disgusting creatures I’ve ever devoted time to reading about. Well – at least I learned something, right?!

This disgust with the Romanov book was contrasted neatly with my enjoyment of Animal Farm.  That was so funny, so well written and so pointed brutal in its critique of Communism, that I couldn’t help visualize Orwell’s bizarre final scene as the natural conclusion to the Romanov dynasty and the October Revolution – they all become pigs! Think about it!

Okay, on to articles…

Continuing with my theme of going completely out of order…here is a New York Times article titled ‘The Agency’ that I didn’t get to read but want to this weekend or in the week ahead (its a long one). It looks like the stuff of Bourne legend (next week the new movie comes out!) – not necessarily in topic, but in genre. Here’s the teaser:

From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia,
an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all
around the Internet — and in real-life American communities.

Thank you John Kerry and Barak Obama: AP Exclusive: Document shows less limits on Iran nuke work. There’s some rich irony that on the week Donald Trump is nominated (here’s the speech), its revealed that we’ve given Iran the keys to the kingdom, so to speak. These libs are the same one criticizing Trump for his (supposed) nuclear proclivities. Trump’s excerpt on this:

Not only have our citizens endured domestic disaster, but they have lived through one international humiliation after another. We all remember the images of our sailors being forced to their knees by their Iranian captors at gunpoint.

This was just prior to the signing of the Iran deal, which gave back to Iran $150 billion and gave us nothing – it will go down in history as one of the worst deals ever made.

 

Now, concerning the nomination of Trump, I have had so many conversations about him and his amoral nature, his crazy rhetoric, and his dangerous tendencies. But I think its worth listening to, or reading his convention speech in order to get a more solidified idea of where he’s going policy-wise in the next few months. It was probably his most substantive speech to date – that’s not saying much, I know.

I actually found myself cracking up laughing a few times from his critique of Hillary Clinton. Sure, not exactly what we’d like to see from the leader of the free world, but I’ve already covered all that ground here before and you all know how I feel about the man. If you find the speech too long (because it is), then just enjoy this part (it was my favorite):

Let’s review the record. In 2009, pre-Hillary, ISIS was not even on the map.

Libya was cooperating. Egypt was peaceful. Iraq was seeing a reduction in violence. Iran was being choked by sanctions. Syria was under control. After four years of Hillary Clinton, what do we have? ISIS has spread across the region, and the world. Libya is in ruins, and our Ambassador and his staff were left helpless to die at the hands of savage killers. Egypt was turned over to the radical Muslim brotherhood, forcing the military to retake control. Iraq is in chaos.

Iran is on the path to nuclear weapons. Syria is engulfed in a civil war and a refugee crisis that now threatens the West. After fifteen years of wars in the Middle East, after trillions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost, the situation is worse than it has ever been before.

He concludes with this zinger: “This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction and weakness.”

People ask me all the time why Americans would vote for this guy – this is one of the reasons. He’s absolutely savaging Hillary Clinton – on prime-time TV with all the liberal media forced to cover every minute and deal with every sentence. Even I enjoyed it immensely.

Earlier in the week Ted Cruz gave what some called a principled speech, others weren’t exactly rolling in the aisles with approbation, though. Here’s a story recapping. Before that, there was a big hubbub about Melania Trump’s speech being plagiarized. I’ve been really interested in the response from friends about this one. Because it seems like a lot of people steal quotes from other historical figures, there seems to be a ton of grace flowing into my text message app.  Maybe I’m not as well-researched on the matter, but it seemed pretty crazy to lift so much, but that is just me – apparently I’m in the minority!  Here’s the WaPo comparison, I’ll let you be the judge:

On to more fun items!  

Thanks to Marty G. for sending this little gem along: Move over, hovercraft: Bubba Watson has a jetpack for the Olympics.

Also, to keep you current on the Fox News situation, here’s the report from yesterday as written by the AP: RUPERT MURDOCH VOWS FOX NEWS WITHOUT AILES IS STILL FOX.  For those of you who missed it, Chairman of Fox News Roger Ailes has resigned in the wake of what could end up being a raft of sexual harassment claims.

Interestingly, Ailes is 76 years old and is temporarily being replaced by Richard Murdoch who is 85.  Quartz had a story this morning about how the average age of a Fox News viewer is 68!  You can come to your own conclusions on this, but it seems like they need to do some viewership studies and start going after slightly younger audiences – even if they’re just a little younger – in order to build for the future. Maybe the Ailes resignation will actually help them do that – it remains to be seen.

Speaking of Quartz, one story from them this morning is pretty interesting: Are we consuming too much? While living standards are increasing around the world, so is consumerism. Yet people’s incomes aren’t rising along with their habits – what is rising? Anxiety.  This isn’t at all surprising to me, but its an interesting thing to think about. Perhaps more than any other instruction that Jesus gave during his time on earth was “do not fret” or “don’t be anxious.” The reasoning was that God had everything taken care of because He knows our needs, that we were valuable to Him, and that our lives were not to be built upon sandy foundations of what we consume here on earth. Read Matthew 5-7 to learn more about how Jesus might respond to the Quartz story above.

VIDEO: This looks pretty cool: Lord of the Rings – the Art of Adaptation

My Most Fascinating Story of the Week came from the Wall Street Journal: The Fastest-Growing Format in Publishing: Audiobooks. Key excerpt:

Audiobooks are the fastest-growing format in the book business today. Sales in the U.S. and Canada jumped 21% in 2015 from the previous year, according to the Audio Publishers Association. The format fits neatly in the sweet spot of changing technology and changing behavior. Carrying around a pocket-size entertainment center stuffed with games, news, music, videos and books has conditioned people to seek out constant entertainment, whether walking to a meeting or sitting in a doctor’s office. For more multitasking book-lovers, audiobooks are the answer.

The reason I found this fascinating is the same reason people get excited when they find out they aren’t the only ones who aren’t alone in some personal obsession. It’s the classic “I’m not a freak?! That’s wonderful news!”  For the last several years I have been steadily increasing in my voracity of consuming literature through this medium.

My method is to simultaneously read and listen at the same time – only with books I want to refer back to, or find are important in some other way (I want my kids to read them later etc.). This way I can listen while on the go, and then sit down and highlight, and make notes later on (and I do this regularly). This is how I’ve been conquering classics like The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Nicholas Nickleby, Pascal’s Penses, and Machester’s Churchill trilogy. Thousands upon thousands of pages – too many for mere mortals like me to conquer without the help of Audible, LibriVox, and my local library’s Overdrive App.

Reading is probably my favorite thing to do in life, and listening to great (and sometimes not so great) literature has been a huge blessing for me. I pass this along simply because if you’re struggling to get through the classics, want to stay current on the best literature, or maybe some required reading for a course you’re taking, then you need to check out some of the apps I mentioned above.

Okay, that’s it for today!  Another programing note – I have a stack of articles from friends and family that I’m not ignoring! ……I just haven’t finished my audiobook yet!  (:

Have a great weekend everyone!

PJ