Aaron Armstrong

bloggingtheologically.com

Martin Luther King Jr

Weekend reading (4/7)

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Weekend Reading

Should We Give Up On Evangelicalism?

This is worth listening to.

Can Social Media Be Saved?

Kevin Roose:

You’ve probably experienced it yourself. Maybe it’s the way you feel while scrolling through your Twitter feed — anxious, twitchy, a little world weary — or your unease when you see a child watching YouTube videos, knowing she’s just a few algorithmic nudges away from a rabbit hole filled with lunatic conspiracies and gore. Or maybe it was this month’s Facebook privacy scandal, which reminded you that you’ve entrusted the most intimate parts of your digital life to a profit-maximizing surveillance machine.

Gospel Reflections from the Mountaintop

The videos of all the sessions from the MLK50 Conference are available to watch (requires sign-up). Having been in attendance, I found this to be one of the

On Pastoral Failings and the Fallout

Trevin Wax:

In recent months, we’ve seen a number of Christian leaders acknowledging their complicity in immoral or unethical behavior. In each of these cases, sinful patterns in the present have caused a reevaluation of ministry fruitfulness in the past. Tragic, isn’t it? Perhaps the evil one is not interested in sidelining older leaders because he wants to stop them from future ministry; instead, he wants to stain their reputation so that all the fruit from their past becomes spoiled as well.

What Happens the Sunday After Easter?

Michael Kelley:

Easter has come and gone once again. And probably in your house, as there was in ours, there was a big lead up to last Sunday.

In our house, we read through the last days of Jesus, starting with His entry into Jerusalem and then, on Sunday morning, the empty tomb. We prayed together that we would have a deep appreciation that week in particular for the sacrifice of Jesus and the significance of the resurrection. We bought new clothes, planned Good Friday services, and an Easter Sunday lunch with family.

Real Knowledge in an Age of Facebook Friends

Cole Delke:

1,800. That’s the number of people in my life that Facebook neatly categorizes as friends.

This is fascinating. Those who I disciple and my high school friends both fall under the same category: “friend.” Think of how odd this is. I spend time worshipping Jesus, reading the Bible, and confessing sins with those I disciple. On the other hand, I haven’t participated in a single substantive conversation or exchanged a single meaningful remark with most of my high school friends since 2007.

The tension of talking/not talking about your giving

A favorite from the archives:

I’ve seen a theme pop up again and again over the last several years when it comes to talking about giving, one that typically presents itself in one of two ways:

1. From those trying to motivate Christians into giving more: “Statistics show Christians are not generous! If they just gave X percent more, we could [meet budget/fund a church plant/end poverty/build a castle for the pastor/etc.].”

2. From revisionists who try to deflect inquiries and arguments from orthodox Christians: “If these so-called orthodox evangelicals spent half as much time caring for the poor and needy in the world as they do fighting about abortion and homosexuality, the world would be a better place.”

Notice the common theme:

You’re not doing enough, you’ve got the wrong priorities, and you need to do more. 

What I want our kids to know about racism

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We’re not good at speaking about racial divides. By we, I do mean “we,” Emily and me. This is mostly because we’re Canadian. Despite what you might hear, Canada has a pretty shady history when it comes to racism.1 But outside of the mistreatment (to put it mildly) of First Nations peoples, it seems rare to hear anyone talk about the problem at all.2

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the first one we’re observing. As we talked on Sunday, Emily and I agreed we should make sure our kids understood who this man was and why he matters still. In light of that, here are three things I want them to know:

First, I want them to know that this man’s ideal, his dream, was and is right. Regardless of the color of our skin or our ethnic heritage, all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God. And man-made social constructs that dehumanize a fellow image bearer are evil no matter how we might attempt to justify them (as has been said elsewhere, even the great theologian Jonathan Edwards was horribly wrong on this issue).3

Second, I want them to know that racism is more than a social issue. It is more than the fruit of errant social constructs. We need to address those, without question. But we need to do more. We need to address the human heart. For just as sin seeks to elevate the self above our Creator, it does the same to our fellow image-bearers.

The sin of racism is only destroyed by the transformative power of the gospel, and its demise has been assured. We have a day to look forward to when the sin of racism will indeed be put to death because Jesus’ kingdom will be incredibly diverse—”a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number” (Revelation 7:9, CSB).

Finally, I want them to know that it’s okay to ask questions. I hate the sin of racism. I hate when I’m guilty of saying something insensitive or stupid in this area, and I hate being afraid of saying something that might seem insensitive. And I really hate that I hesitate to ask questions because of it. And that’s the final thing I want our kids to know: it is always okay to ask questions if you want to understand someone else’s experience.

It’s easier to pretend like a problem doesn’t exist (some might argue that it’s the Canadian way). But that’s the kind of behavior that allows sin to fester and grow. And I can’t, in good conscience, allow that. My kids need to know that the sin of racism is real. They need to know that there is a real definite solution coming. And that as we wait for that day, we can fight against that sin with knowledge and humility.

Photo: Pixabay

 

  1. About a century ago, the government tried to restrict immigration of black men and women to Canada as they were of a race “deemed unsuitable to the climate and requirements of Canada.” Seriously. ↵
  2. Granted this could be limited only to both of our public school experiences. Others may remember things differently. ↵
  3. Note: to those who argue that marriage and gender traditionalists make the same point, there’s a key difference: marriage and gender are not mere social constructs. They were determined by God from the beginning (see Genesis 1-2). ↵
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