A Few Good Reads

“Theological Triage and the Doctrine of Creation”

Bring up the age of the earth around a group of Christians and you are sure to get a heated debate. Writing at The Gospel Coalition, Samuel Emadi analyzes Genesis 1 and shares the truths about creation on which all people who take the Bible seriously can agree. In doing so he provides a great example of how to sort through first-order, second-order, and third-order issues. “many American evangelicals can get a bit touchy when it comes to creation. Speaking generally (and therefore running the risk of alienating just about everybody), young earthers look at old-earth cosmogonies as a little too flirtatious with Darwinism—a sure path to the complete embrace of liberalism. Old earthers, in turn, see young-earth arguments as driven more by fear of evolution than genre-sensitive exegesis and thus as intellectually shallow—a sure path to the shackles of fundamentalism.”

“A former Stanford dean explains why helicopter parenting is ruining a generation of children“
We need to acknowledge the reality of the phenomenon many call “helicopter parenting.” Attempting to give our children every chance to succeed and hoping to minimize any potential trouble they might face, we hover over them and their activities constantly. The Washington Post introduces us to Julie Lythcott-Haims and her concerns about the current state of parenting. She gives parents some important diagnostic questions to ask about our interactions with our children and the adults in their lives. ““If you’re arguing with teachers and principals and coaches and umpires all the time, it’s a sign you’re a little too invested.”

“The Lost Art of Cheap Recreation“
We seem to have forgotten how to entertain ourselves and enjoy the company of others without shelling out wads of money. Brett McKay at The Art of Manliness provides us with a long list of fun, inexpensive activities. “First, according to the Bureau of Labor statistics, since 2003 the amount of time Americans spend either attending or hosting social events has declined by 30%. And the drop is even steeper amongst the younger generation; those aged 15 to 24 are spending 40% less time hosting and attending social events than they did a decade ago. At the same time, the number of hours we spend both attending and participating in sports, culture, and arts-related events has held steady.”

“Lecture Me. Really.“
As a pastor who typically preaches around 45 minutes on an average Sunday, I keep an ear out for the latest trends in learning and education. For years experts have been saying that people need interactive learning and do not learn from lectures, but writing in The New York Times Molly Worthen implores us not to give up on the lecture. She cites the need to learn to listen to argumentation and synthesize thoughts as some of the reasoning behind the necessity of the lecture in particular disciplines. “Holding their attention is not easy. I lecture from detailed notes, which I rehearse before each class until I know the script well enough to riff when inspiration strikes. I pace around, wave my arms, and call out questions to which I expect an answer. When the hour is done, I’m hot and sweaty. A good lecturer is ‘someone who conveys that there’s something at stake in what you’re talking about,’ Dr. Delbanco said. Or as Ms. Severson told me, ‘I’m a pretty shy person, but when I lecture, there’s a certain charisma. This stuff matters to me — it saved my life.'”

How to Read Job by Tremper Longman III and John H. Walton
Tremper Longman’s series of volumes on how to read individual Old Testament books continues by helping readers know how to understand Job. While this book has been the subject of much mystery and puzzlement over the years. Longman and Walton give the reader some useful background and advice for reading this rich Old Testament book. (This series also contains volumes on Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, and Proverbs.)