Reads of the Week
1) The Shameful Neighbor: Food Stamps, Stereotypes and the War on the Hungry by David R. Henson
"And if one of God’s beloved children does not have their daily bread, we are not truly fed, either. Then, we too should feel hungry. Hunger anywhere is hunger everywhere, particularly in a country that sings of its amber waves of grain."
2) Real Talk and the SE Asian Sex Trade & The Big Ask: How Can I Help Fight Human Trafficking and Slavery by Jamie Wright
"It's real and it's huge. The scope of the problem is astounding. The sheer numbers of people for sale is shocking - and I'm not talking about reading statistics on the internet, I'm talking about what I saw, like, with my eyeballs – one hotel with 300 girls for sale, another with 500, and then another and another, karaoke bars with a hundred girls each, street after street of brothels and fronts for brothels."
3) Why I Can't Stay Angry (Even Though I Want To) by Rachel Held Evans
"A skeptic who is prone to cynicism, and a contemplative who is prone to indulgence, I find myself sinking into a state of bitterness from time to time. I lose hope—in myself, in others, in the Church, in God. I forget that we know the ending to this story and that it involves a lovely bride and a big banquet, and instead I assume the worst of other people, expecting the worst from this world."
4) Jesus as the Only Way to True Happiness? by Jared Byas
"So in order to maintain the belief that true happiness/fulfillment only comes from Jesus, we often do two very harmful things. First, we pretend we are happy when we aren’t. After all, if Jesus is the product that gives me happiness and I’m not happy, I have only three choices (1) say the Jesus product is broken (2) user error or (3) pretend I am happy so I can avoid numbers (1) and (2)."
5) Real vs. Fake Christian Persecution: How You Can Spot the Difference by Benjamin Corey
"We are so culturally programmed that there 'will be persecution' that we develop a persecution complex which causes us to look at any given ink blot and see an intriguing case of anti-Christian discrimination."
Honorable Mention
The Happy Ending by Justin Robinson
What Heresy Is (A Post for Rachel Held Evans) by Tony Jones
Killing Me Softly: On Privilege and Voice by Christena Cleveland
Tweets of the Week
"THE RIDER IS BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH. AND HE IS NAKED. HE WAVES A SIGN SAYING THE CHILD IS A BOY." - Maureen Johnson (@maureenjohnson) Note: If you didn't follow Maureen's Royal Baby tweets on Monday you owe it to yourself to check them out.
"For unto a child is born, unto a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulders. Sort of. The monarchy is just a figurehead." - Sharideth Smith (@sharideth)
"I peed next to Lou Diamond Phillips once." - Aaron Smith (@CulturalSavage)
On Pop Theology Week in Review
The Memory of Violence by Charity Erickson
"A few years ago, I worked at a coffee shop on a college campus. There was a German Masters student and first-year language instructor—a thick-necked, plaid-and-khaki-wearing bro if there ever was one—who liked to sit at the bar and chat up the younger baristas while “grading papers” (i.e. friending his female students on Facebook.)"
Tell Me a Love Story: Learning About Relationships From Strangers on the Internet by Ben Howard
"It's no secret to readers of this blog that I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic. I'm a sucker for romantic comedies and I even caught the Bachelorette bug for the last half of one season (Let's all have a moment of silence for Jef with One F)."
A Work In Progress by Ryan Hawk
"We are all a work in progress; that’s the true reality of sanctification. At no point do I ever fully understand the faith I claim or the church to which I belong."
Song of the Week
"Still a Believer" by Nataly Dawn
Peace,
Ben
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