Good morning!  I’m in the middle of a daddy-daughter campout, and being as I’m the first one up, I thought I’d send you an abbreviated version of the weekend reading.  Tons of interesting stuff this week, so let’s get going…

The big news that most folks already read about was BREXIT.  Although its a complex situation, and I can see good arguments on both sides, I’m glad that the British decided to leave.  I wouldn’t want my country beholden to the spinelessness of unelected commissioners in Brussels, no matter what the economic benefits. But that’s just me – actually its me plus 52% of Britain!

As a follow up to that: Dispensationalists Frantically Adjust End-Times Charts To Include Brexit Vote (h/t Parris and Alex W.).  Pretty darn funny.

Similarly important news: Issue Of Playboy Magazine Apologizes After Being Spotted In Picture With Jerry Falwell, Jr.

More bad news for the Olympics: Rory McIlroy Says He Won’t Attend Olympics Over Zika Concerns

On Capitol Hill this week: Escaped ISIS sex slave tells Congress of horrors – note how Liberal Dem Carper tries to put words in this young lady’s mouth…disgusting

Live Long and Prosper: Trump Is Surrounding Himself With Evangelical Pastors

This is a big problem: Donald Trump Starts Summer Push With Crippling Money Deficit

AUDIO: Post-Orlando this is a great Christian perspective from R.C. Sproul 

MORE AUDIO: This is really really interesting stuff from Al Mohler. He dives into how one of the big scholars of the Harvard Divinity school has been exposed for some major error she’s been pushing. It’s really fascinating stuff surrounding the topic of whether Jesus was married.

MORE MORE AUDIO: Powerful Stuff: Does Netflix Make Christ More Precious to You?  Tid-Bit:

Counting all things loss means that I always deal with things in the world in a way that shows the world they are not my treasure. How do you do that? Well, figure that out. The world is watching you at work for what your treasure is.

One of my favs from the week – Ray Ortland, Jr. on his father: 10 Unforgettable Lessons on Fatherhood From the post:

He was not impressed with worldly success and going to the right schools and all that pretense and bluff. He wanted something better for me, something I had to find on my own. But I never doubted how urgently he desired for me a clear call from God on my life. And I did receive it, partly because my dad didn’t intrude himself into it but cheered me on as I followed the Lord myself.

That’s all I have time for today – enjoy the weekend!

PJ

 

 

Good morning!  After a week on the road, and a little break from the weekend reading, I’m back with a few articles for you this week.

But before I go much further, I want to honor a fellow weekend reader who unexpectedly passed away this week. Andy Frank and I were not especially close, but I know his brother Ben, a great man of integrity who I admire and who is grieving for his brother. Please lift him up in your prayers. Even though Andy and I weren’t especially close, I appreciated his inquisitive mind, his good natured emails, and his kind words. Andy, you will be missed.

One of the stories I saw a few weeks back and wanted to make sure people saw was this one: Ancient teeth and bone point to the origin of our mysterious ‘hobbit’ cousins.  Now, everyone who knows me well knows I’m a HUGE fan of J.R.R. Tolkein, however, the ‘Hobbit’ moniker is not why I wanted to post this story.  Archeologists are struggling to put together the timeline of when this creature/human lived and how it came to be so small. They think it lived just thousands of years ago, but similar skeleton diggings in Africa are labeled at 2million years ago. As they say “the facts just don’t add up.”  But what is particularly instructive is the conclusion of the WaPo journalist, which goes like this:

And for all of us, it is a reminder that human evolution is not a linear march toward bigger bodies and brains. We exist as we are because that’s what turned out to be advantageous; under different conditions, we might be entirely different creatures.

The comment springs forth from certain underlying assumptions – assumptions shaped by a worldview that believes in survival of the fittest, random selection, large scale macro-environmental evolution, and especially a lack of a larger guiding hand behind the metanarrative of life (this last point would be a non-starter). Hence the comment, “We exist as we are because that’s what turned out to be advantageous.” This worldview allows for now outside direction, no God in heaven directing the symphony of life, no specific reason why anything would happen. I’m not saying that nature and environment don’t shape micro-adaptations, but I am saying that when you refuse to acknowledge the main actor behind life, then you will never find the right answers to your scientific inquiry on a macro-level.

My thoughts…Stories like this remind me of the issue with scientists today: they aren’t even intellectually honest enough to ask the right questions! This is sad, but also it is exasperating. True intellectuals would question everything, and then throw out assumptions that do not lead to viable answers. The science of observation and honest analysis has long since been abandoned for the illogical religion of Darwinism. Every discovery is checked up against the dogma of this religion, and when the “facts don’t add up” no one bothers to question the underlying assumptions. Even though the tenets of Darwinism have long since been disproven, it lives on as pure fideism in today’s scientific community and our children’s textbooks. Reading stories like this that has led me to believe that today’s scientists are the most intellectually dishonest in a generation.

Maybe you heard about this, but I found it one of the biggest stories of the year: Theft of Trump files raises eyebrows.  I’m not sure how to even add commentary to this because it really speaks for itself. We live in a dangerous world, and not much seems to have changed in our relationship with Russia since the days of the cold war.

If you’re desiring to watch the U.S. Open this weekend, its at Oakmont, and the live video can be found here. 

Eyebrows Raised: Starbucks has more customer money on cards than many banks have in deposits

I found this piece by fellow weekend reader Gregg Keller insightful: How the Insurance Market Is Responding to Obamacare.

This little ditty was making its way around social media: Canada’s Supreme Court Issues INSANE Ruling On Sex With Animals.  It might be slightly alarmist…but then again…

Post Orlando Fallout: Reddit Bans Users, Deletes Comments That Say Orlando Terrorist Was Muslim

Roger Cohen takes some stabs in the dark about the affects of Orlando on the political landscape.  I don’t totally agree, but he might be on the right track with a few items.

Blogger Stephanie Gray takes on the new movie ‘Me Before You’ and does it well (h/t my Kate).  Here’s a key quote:

 When someone is despairing so much that they can’t see they can choose their attitude, it’s the job of people who care to help them see this, not to feed into despair.

As I mentioned earlier, this week I was on the road.  I spent the week at Yale Divinity School taking a class (with my mom – we had a great time!) on Jonathan Edwards. If you’re into Edwards, or simply want to learn more, check out some of the links from our class material here.

During the week away, and in between assigned readings, I finished a few books. The first was Nathaniel Philbrik’s ‘Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex.‘  The second was C.S. Lewis’ classic allegorical work ‘The Great Divorce’.  I learned a lot about Nantucket history and whaling in the first – it was especially helpful that the my kids and I had already read about Nathaniel Bowditch.  In the second, I got new insight into people in a way only Lewis can draw out. This man knew the human mind and its’ tendency toward a works-based theology VERY well.

The ‘Read Scripture’ guys have a new video (that I haven’t watched yet), this one is on Ecclesiastes. 

Al Mohler has his summer reading list posted now. I found it a little heavy on military history. But I won’t complain too much because the last time I read a book he recommended it was REALLY good. 

Speaking of books, several people liked this article from a few days back: Read Like a Reader. Doubtless you’ve seen me post articles like this in the past, where the art of reading is extolled, and some handy tips are given. I will keep posting them because I think so many of us (at least this goes for me and others I’ve spoken to) get bogged down in our reading and need reminded of truths like this one: 

This practice also brings liberty. Not every book is a textbook. Some works are best skimmed, sampled, or (GASP) abandoned.

Finally, on the book front, my mom introduced me to P.G. Wodehouse this week and I couldn’t help by sharing the link to what we were listening to. This was hilarious…and I mean…really funny stuff. Turn of the century (the last one) English slang is pretty awesome. Someone should compile a small dictionary just for all the nonsense this guy is spitting out.

I found this fascinating: The app boom is over: Your phone is full of apps, and you’re done downloading new ones — unless they’re Snapchat or Uber.  And the more I got to think of it, the more I agreed by jove!

I don’t think I already posted this, but its really good: Humility is Not Always Nice.  Check this part out:

Humble people view other people as God’s marvelous image-bearers, windows to God’s glory, not as mirrors that enhance or diminish their own self-image. But this also means they aren’t absorbed by how others view them. So they aren’t worried about reading the “right” books, seeing the “right” movies, listening to the “right” music, living in the “right” home, having the “right” job, being seen with the “right” people, etc. That’s a mirror mindset. They view these things as windows to see and savor God’s glory.

Along with all these links, there were a few that looked really fascinating, but because I was traveling, reading them just didn’t happen. They include:

• The Man Who Seduced the 7th Fleet
• Obama’s Apology Complex
• X-rated medieval doodles reveal our ancestors had a sense of humor
• What we know about the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails
• The Transgender Conversation You Need to Have With Your Family

I DID watch this, and enjoyed it: Pixar – What Makes a Story Relatable 

This was interesting…‘A Bearish George Soros is Trading Again’ 

Uh Oh….Priebus probes state GOP leaders over anti-Trump push

….and finally…I know this isn’t a brand new album, but I’ve been enjoying it nonetheless and maybe you will also!

That’s it!  Have a great weekend!

PJ

Good morning – and welcome to the weekend reading!  I hope you enjoyed the short week, and are able to catch your breath a little this weekend. I didn’t read a ton of articles this week, but here’s what I found more interesting in a nutshell:

CULTURAL ALERT: Jared Diamond, history author and liberal prof, discussed religion throughout the ages, and thinks that a revival of religious sentiment could be in the offing in the near future. I link to the article because it’s a classic example of the kind of thought you find on university campuses, and its good to read and think about what these folks are saying because it keeps me sharp. Notice the title of his talk, ‘a dispassionate look at religion over the course of history’.  No one is dispassionate about religion – least of all atheists. Everyone has assumptions and baggage that they take into the great topics of life – especially religion. But professors like Diamond will claim a sort of high ground that they have no right to hold, because: 1. They likely have personal history that shaped their views and 2. They aren’t always experts on religious thought. Find their assumptions, and you’ll find their conclusions – they’re all tired and well-trodden, believe me.

I found this article from Sinclair Ferguson on the Ligonier blog pretty interesting: Satisfaction and Contentment

CHINA, CHINA, CHINA: I didn’t get a chance to link to article last week, but its amazing stuff that’s going on over in China: Decapitated Churches in China’s Christian Heartland:

On a four-day journey through this lush swath of China’s Zhejiang Province, I spoke with residents who described in new detail the breathtaking scale of an effort to remove Christianity’s most potent symbol from public view. Over the past two years, officials and residents said, the authorities have torn down crosses from 1,200 to 1,700 churches, sometimes after violent clashes with worshipers trying to stop them.

TECH: And this stuff is so fascinating (to me at least): Tech Firms Plan the Highest Capacity Atlantic Data Link.  ALSO: Jeff Bezos thinks we need to build industrial zones in space in order to save Earth

COMPETITION! Wal-Mart to test grocery delivery with Uber, Lyft — key excerpt:

The world’s largest retailer said it would begin test deliveries within the next two weeks in Denver and Phoenix. Wal-Mart’s warehouse unit Sams Club began a pilot in March with startup Deliv to dispatch groceries to business customers in Miami.

HOT WATER: Golfer Phil Mickelson’s Gambling Entanglements Put Legacy on Line

Super Cool Stuff Here: Why You Should Try That Crazy Virtual Reality Headset – try it from your phone…

HILARIOUS: Man Mistakes Indigestion For Pastoral Call

The NBA Finals are going on, and Look! Cleveland is competing! (sort of)

This is heartbreaking: Hundreds feared missing from capsized boat in Mediterranean

Some powerful stuff here: The Day I Dug My Daughter’s Grave

Two Items I didn’t finish:

1. VIDEO: How Budget Airlines Work
2. CHALLIES: The Transgender Conversation You Need to Have With Your Family

That’s all I have for you!  Have a great weekend!

PJW

Good morning, and welcome to the (holiday!!!) weekend! Here’s what I thought were the most important and relevant items to check out. It’s supposed to rain where I am (Dublin Ohio) today, so if your day is like mine, sit back and scan through some good articles!

Let’s start with some news. James Hohmann had a really helpful and interesting column about how young this electorate is.  Meaning this: there are a ton of people who will not really know much about the Clinton era and the 90’s. The youngest voters this year will have been born in 1998…does that not blow your mind?  So, what that means is that a lot of the Clinton era scandal is completely foreign to younger voters (and reporters).  I still remember where I was the morning Vince Foster was reported dead…I guess I’m getting old!  The consequences of this younger electorate having missed out on the Clinton scandals, can be seen on both sides of the aisle – that’s what Hohmann discusses. BUT – if you read that column, be sure to scroll down to see this headline ‘The superbug that doctors have been dreading has reached the U.S.‘ It’s like the fourth story down…interesting and terrifying stuff.

This was really thought-provoking:  Why I Don’t Use an Ad Blocker. 

More on where culture meets politics…Egypt: Muslim mob attacks Christians, parade naked woman…..AND, from a Weekend Reader, ‘The Spiritual Dangers of a Trump Presidency’ – this is pretty harsh stuff.  They key quote might be:

When much of the “evangelical vote” in some Republican primaries goes to a man so palpably misaligned with the character of the man we call “Savior,” it tells the world we’re not serious about holiness, or even minimal standards of civic decency. It sends the message that for us, the end justifies the means. It supports the world’s belief that hatred is a Christian value after all.

What made this an interesting column to me was that if one considers what folks in the Middle East must think of our culture here in America (if you care), then there are some relevant themes here. I think its probably a mistake to overestimate the number of evangelicals – true followers of Christ – here in America, no matter what the perspective of those around the world might be.  I’m off topic a bit from where that guy was headed – but I begin to wonder what the more global consequences of a Trump Presidency would be in terms of how America is seen in the world. Have you pondered that? Do you care? (I’m not saying you should, just asking the question…)

And…because that isn’t enough controversy for one morning, check this one out: Why Your Pastor Should Say “No More to Beth Moore”  I like to keep track of this kind of thing.  This was linked off of Challies’ blog this week, and its worth scanning. What I found interesting was the premise laid out in the second graph:

For many years, Beth Moore’s teaching has raised eyebrows among pastors and leaders in conservative circles.  Although concerns have been raised through the years, Beth Moore continues to be welcomed into the study groups within local churches where women read her books, study guides, and watch her videos with limited, if any, oversight from the pastoral staff

That is the quote that provoked me to say “umm, ya, what is the deal with that anyway?”  NOW……..I am definitely not charismatic, but I didn’t care for how the author lumped in that descriptor in his third bullet point when discussing Moore’s ecumenicalism. To lump Olsteen and Joyce Meyer in with Christians who consider themselves charismatic isn’t fair. In today’s vernacular, one can be a Bible believing evangelical Christian and consider themselves charismatic. Meyer and Olsteen aren’t really preaching the gospel, so to consider them Christians or Christian ministers is a MAJOR stretch.  That being said, the author makes many other relevant points worth considering.

Let’s keep walking down that line of difficult topics in the church: Singing Songs from Questionable Sources.  Very thoughtful blog post by Bob Kauflin about an interesting topic.

One of the big political stories of the week was that in New Mexico Donald Trump held a rally where he lambasted the popular GOP hispanic Governor. Here’s the news story on that one. That story almost overshadowed the stories about him actually clinching the GOP nomination (from a delegate count perspective).

If you haven’t been watching the NBA playoffs, then you need to speed read this one: Draymond Green fined but not suspended for kick to groin.  I was actually on the golf course this week listening to a guy use Draymond Green as an adverb(???), “I just got Draymond Greened by that (golf) hole.”  So ya, that’s when I knew the story might have taken on more than a niche audience.

This was something out of a Sean Connery flick: Best Buy Bandits hit Alabama, tunnel in like movie villains, take $100k worth of electronics.

VIDEO: Interesting perspective and insight into Calvin and Hobbes. 

Also interesting: Obama visits Vietnam, eats with the only available expert on Vietnamese food, Anthony Bourdain

Read this a finally, and thought it was really interesting: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Islamic State

Hilarious: Everything Local Man Feels Led To Do He Coincidentally Really Likes

This one is longer than it should have been, but I found myself commiserating big time with this guy: Apple Destroyed My Will to Collect Music

Some interesting stuff here – with graphics that are the main attraction of the article: The Changing American Diet…(do I really believe Americans eat so much veggies???)

And….if you haven’t seen this yet, you should.  Looks pretty incredible: Life-Size Noah’s Ark

The hits keep on rollin with Target: Target Is Suing Man After Saving A Young Girl From Being Stabbed To Death

Jon Bloom doing what he does best: Child-Like Humility Produces Peace

Thoughtful little piece from Tim Challies: 3 Priorities for Christian Parents

WHOOPS: Fitbit Trackers Are ‘Highly Inaccurate,’ Study Finds

The man who represents all the corruption of the Clinton machine is under federal investigation: Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe under federal investigation for campaign contributions

Whether you agree or disagree with the conclusions here, this is a fascinating article (h/t Alex W.): This Is What the Future of American Politics Looks Like

The 2016 race is a sign that American politics is changing in profound and lasting ways; by the 2020s and 2030s, partisan platforms will have changed drastically. You may find yourself voting for a party you could never imagine supporting right now. What will that political future look like?

NEXT UP: Corruption in the NFL??? NO!!  NEVER!!!

Also – be sure to check this out.  I really found it interesting: Is Rush Limbaugh in Trouble?  Of course the mainstream media has been asking this question for a long time, and they’ve been continually, well, wrong.  But its still an interesting look into the world of big time radio – a world that has drastically shrunk!

Finally, you might enjoy: 5 Themes on Providence from the Psalms

That’s it!  Enjoy your EXTRA LONG WEEKEND!!!

PJW

Welcome to the weekend, and an abbreviated version of the Weekend Reading!  Why not too many articles this week? I guess I simply didn’t read a lot that was worth passing along.  But here is what you might find interesting…

Donald Trump released a list of folks he would consider appointing to the Supreme Court if he were elected in the fall. The Wall Street Journal seems impressed…

Nothing is certain with Mr. Trump, but that’s far preferable to the certainty that Hillary Clinton would nominate a down-the-line liberal. The direction of the Supreme Court for a generation is up for grabs in November, and Mr. Trump’s list makes him far superior to Mrs. Clinton on that score.

This is sort of what I brought up last week, and what I think the dialogue needs to be around. I’m not certain I can pull the trigger on voting for Trump, nor am I saying you should vote for him, I am just saying that Christian conservatives need to wrestle with whether it is conscionable to vote for Trump based on the Supreme Court situation. That may seem overly pragmatic, but I think its at least worth wrestling with.

Speaking of the White House, someone was shot by the police this week while attempting to enter the secure building. Maybe I’ve watched too many Sean Connery/Harrison Ford/James Bond style action flicks, but I don’t think any of their daring break-ins to high security buildings involved forcing their way into the building in broad daylight…

This was new to me: ‘Why Do Old Books Smell So Good?’  – Maybe you’ll disagree with the “good” part, but at the very least you may find it interesting how scientists use book odor to determine its age.

There was a story on the BBC this week about how the biggest bank in China bought a place to story a bunch of gold in London. So what, right? Typical headline you might see in the financial section. But for some reason, this story struck me as pretty interesting. The adjectives “massive”, and “secret” were tossed around pretty liberally…

Were you worried about what might happen to the country if Hillary Clinton is elected President? Oh don’t sweat it! Turns out Bill will run the economy, so no worries…Sort of separately, Karl Rove had a column this week that wasn’t worth linking to, but asked the question “what if Clinton is indicted?” His answer is basically that the DNC will have to appoint Biden or someone in her place. No great revelations there…

Funny: In Effort To Woo Moderates, Trump Considers Not Building Wall Until Second Decade Of Presidency

One of the pleasures of being a dad of three small kids is that they ask great questions. This week one of them was ‘What’s the fastest car in the world dad???‘ Here’s what we stumbled upon. 

And what is the deal with this…it sort of reads like the Onion, but strangely enough I don’t think its a satire! ‘Jeopardy and Canadians: Lawyers stumped on reasons for ban’

Jonah Goldberg: Millennials embrace socialism, but do they know what it is? The answer? Obviously NO

Just a few headlines about this little Oklahoma situation: Oklahoma passes bill making performing abortions a felony. I’m not legal scholar, but I’m pretty sure that this comes into conflict with that whole federal law dealeo.  Hopefully this provides some kind of president which gets the ball rolling on overturning Roe V. Wade…but again, I’m no legal scholar…

Despite the condescending headline, I enjoyed this story: Golfers Join the Rest of World, Use Data

Probably the best blog I read this week was from Tim Challies called, ‘There Is No Place for Regret’. He’s quoting from A.W. Tozer, and here’s a good one:

The desire to be pleasing to God is commendable, certainly, but the effort to please God by self-effort is not, for it assumes that sin once done may be undone, an assumption wholly false.

That’s it for today!  As I said, a short read, but I hope you enjoy it, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

PJW

Good morning to you all!  I apologize for this being later than usual, but I’m under the weather. If you’re new to this email/blog post, then what you’re reading is a summary of my favorite articles, books, videos, blogs and more from this past week. Let’s face it, I’m a nerd who reads a lot so you don’t have to. The way to read this is to scan the whole thing and just pick out what you find most interesting. Okay? Let’s go…

BATHROOMS! There was more heated debate over the North Carolina bathroom bill, and the King…errr…President decided to issue a decree throughout the land re: the bathrooms in schools. From the post above:

In 1972 when Congress passed Title IX of the Education Amendments, no one thought that “sex” meant “gender identity.” It didn’t mean it then, and it doesn’t mean it now. The Obama administration is unlawfully rewriting federal law. The term “sex” is not ambiguous, and is not subject to executive branch agencies redefining to now mean “gender identity.”

Furthermore, there was this headline: ‘Justice Dept. to N.C. universities: Break transgender bathroom law or lose millions in funding’  And…here’s the target CEO saying he’s standing by his decision. I’m not a huge fan of boycotting stuff. It usually doesn’t seem to work.  But in this case I’m seriously thinking about it because these people don’t ever seem to learn – maybe they’ll learn from the pocketbook…By the way – here’s the Gov. of North Carolina on FoxNews Sunday discussing the issue…

Shocking Stuff: ‘An Indian teen was raped by her father. Village elders had her whipped.’ – this is a longer story, and it doesn’t just involve the one situation from the headline, but gives some interesting perspective into the nature of the government structures, and the local battle for control over decision making on disputes and legal/social matters. In America, where culturally we have a history of understanding Christian morality (until recently), local control of social issues (schools, taxes, judicial disputes etc) has been seen as a good thing – a guard against government tyranny (see the story above!). But here, you start to see how superstition actually makes that a dangerous thing for individuals who are weaker in their society.  I’m not making generalizations – just find it interesting how topsy-turvey this is.

On a more encouraging note…A fellow named Geoffrey Thomas has a thoughtful post on Ligonier this week called ‘Growing in Humility’. There wasn’t a lot of gospel application in here, but what I did like was the awe and wonder factor – lots to contemplate about what Christ has done.

NERD ALERT: I was enjoying this summary of N.T. Wright’s latest book on Paul – this time the book focuses on the landscape of thought…what my buddy Jay knows we call “a commentary on the commentaries!”

Best News of the Week!!!  Benny Hinn Miraculously Removes Lump From Woman’s Purse

I don’t care if you like the NBA or not, this was saaweeet: Stephen Curry’s ultimate career mixtape – I really couldn’t look away. In fact, I got interrupted by a call or something in the middle, and I found myself angry that I had to pause the video!

Perhaps the biggest stories of the week on the GOP side of politics were 1. The meeting of Trump with Speaker Ryan (too boring to link to) and 2. The back and forth between Russell Moore and Donald Trump. Time captured the back and forth here. NewsMax Headline: Russell Moore on Trumpism: It’s an Embrace of ‘Reality TV Moral Sewage’….some of the twitter back and forth here.  And below is the tweet from Trump that I saved from earlier in the week…

One of the things that struck me this week about Trump was how revolting some of my non-Christian friends found him. In other words, they don’t even have the Spirit of God living within them, but were brought up by good parents, had certain ethical standards etc. and they can’t vote for him in good conscience. To you Christians who are over the moon for him – that ought to shame you a bit. What is missing in the discussion since Sen. Cruz dropped out of the race is whether or not voting/supporting trump can be morally defensible as a pragmatic way to try and keep the Supreme Court in the hands of (hopefully more) reasonable people and not activist judges. To me, that is the thing conservatives need to grapple with more than anything else….of course Russell Moore might disagree. My perspective is a little different, and its not firmly set, but I think there are likely moral ways to engage in the general election as a political operative or activist, without saying (in affect) “I agree with what Trump says and does”.  Some of you might disagree – some of you don’t work in politics. Admittedly, I’m still working through the matter mentally…

Some levity…The Simpsons on Two Party Systems!  (h/t Alex W.).

Speaking of Trump, I am willing to bet my libertarian friends were a little peeved at this monetary policy revelation. 

On the Democratic Side, the top headline came from the Wall Street Journal: Clinton Charity Aided Clinton Friends. When people refer to the “corruption” of the Clintons, this is the kind of thing they’re talking about (in case you were wondering haha!). One friend called this the ‘Clinton Crime Syndicate’ on his Facebook wall.

Also, on the Presidential front, and also from the WSJ, there’s an article about how Trump might be polling better in the key swing states than folks originally had thought. (h/t David B.) It’s still really early to bank on these numbers, but they are at least a little encouraging to those who’d rather elect anyone but Hillary.

Worth Considering: Carl Trueman has some thought-provoking items over at First Things. What really hit home to me was this line, “Thus democracy still exists—we thankfully still live in a democracy—but it is clear that we no longer have a democratic culture.” (emphasis mine)

This could be a thriller movie someday: The day we discovered our parents were Russian spies

Also for consideration, from WaPo: Unlike alcohol, it’s tough to set DUI limits for marijuana

This made the rounds on every social media platform BUT Facebook (I jest, I jest): Former Facebook Workers: We Routinely Suppressed Conservative News

What I didn’t get to read but will (hopefully) today: A Black Man’s Hope for Complementarians – big props to Taelor for making it to the big time with a post on DG!  Also, ‘What we know about the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails‘. And for you counselors and just normal peeps out there, Challies linked to this (hopefully helpful) post, ‘Should I Tell My Spouse about Struggles with Sexual Purity?’

From the Islands: Manny Pacquiao all but locks up seat in Philippines senate

Seriously??? category: VIDEO: Bernie Sanders Praising Bread Lines and Food Rationing. Dude…move to Russia or something.  And then there’s this pearl, ‘Serena Williams got really sick after sampling her dog’s food‘…are people really THIS bored? Oh – also there’s this gem from the NY Times, ‘Hillary Clinton Gives U.F.O. Buffs Hope She Will Open the X-Files’.  And then there…is this…‘Deputies: Deltona man finds bullet hole 3 days after shooting himself’ I bet that Deltona man was relieved to learn that at least Serena Williams doesn’t have his IQ – but what surprised me most about this story was how long it took him to CHANGE HIS CLOTHES!!!

Cool Stuff here: The Bible Project has a new video – this one’s on Proverbs. 

FANTASTIC:  Say Hard Things…from the blog…

Sometimes the most loving thing someone can do for us is point out an error or inconsistency in the way we think or live

One of my Favorite Articles of the Week:  Multitasking and Stewardship of the Mind – I really enjoy any article or book on how to get things done more effectively and efficiently.

Also from Desiring God (they had a lot of good ones this week): Do You Think About Your Death?  —- This is probably Francis Chan at his best. From the article, “The wise man doesn’t quickly move past funerals. His heart lingers in a state of mourning. The fool tells jokes as soon as the funeral ends, not realizing the damage it does to his soul. Fools do whatever is easiest.”

Last but not least, I want to thank many of you who read what I post, then engage (and correct and sharpen) me thoughtfully on the issues. To that end, I wanted to revisit an article I posted a week or so ago: In an Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat

The topic was income inequality. My good friend Ben F. pointed out that when it comes to income inequality, we are asking the wrong questions. He responded to the article I posted by saying that we need to approach this issue by asking the following questions (and I am paraphrasing some of his wording):

1. Does an American in this day and age, have opportunity to freely pursue and acquire wealth?  (It’s all about opportunity) 
2.  Does our system keep people down or enable them to move up, without regard to their birth situation (abroad, race, socioeconomics of their parents, school district and so forth) And what he’s getting at here is this: Are the rich wealthy at the expense of the poor?  Are they to blame?
3. What does “good” look like in terms of optimum income distribution? We have to ask, “Would it ever really look more ‘equal’?”
4. Are we hoping to attain an outcome of equal opportunities or equal outcomes?

And finally, he sent a helpful link to an interview with Thomas Sowell on the matter, which I commend to you now.

What an amazing privilege to learn from people who have thought these issues through, and can offer constructive and thoughtful responses to the articles I post!

That’s it – I hope you have a great weekend!

PJW

Welcome to your weekend – and happy Saturday morning!  For those of you who are new to the weekend reading, this is a weekly compilation of all my favorite articles, blogs, videos and books from the previous week.

For you Christians, I was thinking about what it is like to be a Christian at tax time. If your bank account is like mine, then its a great deal lighter than it was last week at this time! But praise God that He has taken the greatest thing of all – my sin – and made me as light as a feather. Amazingly, when He took that, I don’t seem to mind anything anyone else takes in this world!  Indeed, even at tax time, I encourage you to recall the words of Paul in Philippians 3:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Doesn’t your heart just SING at those words??!!

Now…on to the news…I regret this will be shorter than usual. I spent the week at the Together for the Gospel Conference, and that consumed my full focus and attention. You can listen (soon) to the messages from that conference here.  My favorites were from John Piper, Thabiti Anyabwile, and C.J. Mahaney.

Speaking of John Piper, I read this blog called ‘The Root of Mental Health’ and really enjoyed it. Sometime I need to write a little about my own battle with anxiety (thanks Matt for that encouragement), but in the meantime this blog is a great little resource.

This was my favorite blog of the week: What are the books you come back to? – this is Joel Miller at his best. Though I have to say that what I like best is the concept and the principles here, some of the books he comes back to himself left me scratching my head for their obscurity. I ordered one of his favorite poetry books from Scott Cairns and read through most of it yesterday, and it wasn’t terribly impressive (thus far anyway).  So take that for what its worth…

As you probably know, Jordan Spieth won the Masters last weekend (and I think Jason Day is leading this weekend’s event as I type).  Kate sent me a puff piece that some Christian did on him. The tone is awfully fawning, but if you get through that, its still encouraging.

On to politics…

Donald Trump accidentally said something right about the Bible and politics. He said one of his favorite verses was an OT law quotation “an eye for an eye” and said so because he feels Americans are getting a raw deal from our international neighbors and that there’s a lot we can learn from the Bible.  Now, I think Donald Trump is a blind squirrel finding a nut here – so don’t attribute my praise to any semblance of Biblical or moral intellect.  But he’s right to apply this passage (as far as it goes) because that law in the OT was implemented at a time when the nations around Israel were unjust in all their ways. The whims of their sovereigns, and not true justice, were the order of the day. I’ll let you form the rest of your thoughts from here…

Even though I am supporting Governor Kasich, I think he had another wild week. In the first part of the week he was excoriated (on Wednesday) by Al Mohler for his lack of a Biblical stand on religious liberty issues – specifically on the North Carolina bathroom bill that’s been in the news.  Mohler is 100% correct – listen here (skip to the last 4 minutes or so to get the story).  Then, in the latter half of the week, the Governor met with potential victims of sexual abuse – young students – and was ridiculed by everyone in the leftist media for suggesting that young women at college stay away from parties with a lot of alcohol.  Fancy that – being pilloried in the press for using common sense!  But as Jennifer Rubin says, not only is this ridiculous, its not the whole story – now keep in mind that Rubin is Kasich’s more staunch opponent in the press. She has continually bashed him, and called for him to drop out. That should tell you something about the nature of this article, and how comical the press has become.

And – FINALLY! – the press is writing about how Donald Trump will likely have his high water mark on the first ballot at the convention in Cleveland. As you know, I have been talking about this for a while, but the media haven’t been articulating the obvious for a while – mostly to keep some kind of suspense (and ratings) around the race.

This is a problem for Trump, especially given the work the Cruz Campaign has put into rounding up the delegates necessary to win in Cleveland.  There’s a long story in the Post this week about just that.  And another one here titled ‘More Republican delegates chosen, more problems for Trump’

Of course the problem in all of this is still the fact that Gov. Kasich is still the only one who seems to have the chance to win in the fall – and not by a little. This was articulated again this week in a very large state by state study (linked above – another one focused on Cruz specifically here). Such is the quandary that conservatives find themselves in this year.

Finally, I got to read a blog post from Jen Wilkin this week titled ‘Why Hospitality Beats Entertaining’. This was really fantastic, because Kate and I love having people at our home, and I thought Wilkin’s words were well said.

That’s it!  Now go enjoy your weekend!

PJW