Happy Friday,
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.
Psalm 136:1
Every verse in Psalm 136 points to a truth listed elsewhere in Scripture. Its genius is the writer’s commitment to turn these truths into praise. Insight is not enough. Knowing about God is not enough. Obedience is not enough. We are called to worship.
FWIW: 1) When I was growing up, the prophets of doom feared nuclear war and overpopulation. As I got older, debt and acid rain became the woes de jour. Today’s “nattering nabobs of negativism” lament cyber warfare, rogue AI, climate change, pandemics, and run-away nanobots. (Oh, and nuclear war. I still occasionally see the bumper sticker that reads, “One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day.”); 2) While it’s popular to find faults with politicians, I continue to admire the resilience of many—e.g., both Clintons and DJT immediately come to mind. Many of us would benefit from their ability to get back up after being knocked down.
True or False: 1) The Church of England is dropping the word church in a quest for relevance; 2) A majority of Americans now believe that open marriages are acceptable; 3) Compliments are to relationships what oil is to an engine; and 4) Last year Japan had 2X the number of deaths as births.
WOTW: Honorable mention goes to brownout (a term for professional exhaustion, think: burnout lite), Mpox (the WHO’s new name for Monkeypox), collisions (the serendipitous meetings—in hallways and water fountains—that happen when people are back into the office); and Yen Carry trade (the highly leveraged financial hijinks that sent the markets into a dive two weeks ago). Full honors go to modern elder, which is developed in this TIME piece. Remember, not everyone who is old is wise.
Overheard: 1) The things we do, do things to us. 2) Modern society lacks a term for sin, so people are categorized as evil; 3) The test of what you believe is what you live. Some who talk left, live right. Some who talk right, live left; 4) Democracy gives people what they want, which means we need to do a better job of helping people want the right things; and 5) It’s very hard to move people out of the victim-victimizer mindset because it’s quite morally attractive.
Quote Worth Requoting: “In order for a moral revolution to occur, three things must happen: 1) Something that was nearly universally condemned is now nearly universally celebrated; 2) That which was celebrated is condemned; and 3) Those who refuse to celebrate are condemned.” Theo Hobson
Two Articles Worth Noting: This WSJ piece notes that Elon has joined Richard Dawkins, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Jordan Peterson, Tom Holland, Neil Ferguson, Douglas Murray, et. al. in saying nice things about Jesus. Remember, saying nice things about Jesus falls short of embracing an Apostles’ Creed understanding of Christ, but we should pray that the Lord draws them to himself; 2) In the NYT opinion, What I Want a University President to Say About Campus Protests, Bret Stephens reminds college presidents that higher ed depends upon free inquiry. I’m giving Stephens three cheers, but as others have noted, while the spirit of inquiry is important, the historic––and, for centuries, central––mission of American higher education is the pursuit of truth. (And initially, truth was understood to be grounded in Jesus.)
Answers: 1) Partly true. Per this Telegraph report, some COE churches are moving towards more “modern-sounding” words, such as community; 2) False. However, per both this Gallup poll and this 2023 YouGov poll, though the majority of Americans do not think open marriages are OK, a majority of Americans under 30 do; 3) Of course, this is true. Researchers found, that on the highest-performing corporate teams, members gave 5.6 compliments for every criticism, while on the lowest-performing teams, that ratio was upside down; 4) Yes, in 2023, Japan experienced 1.6M deaths and only 758K births.
Resources: This week at Christ Church, we started a new sermon series called Afterlife. In the introductory sermon, I argue that while life is short, eternity is not, and opportunity is now. I also repeat a line I use at funerals: “Please do not think XYZ has left the land of the living to go to the land of the dying. They have left the land of the dying and go to the land of the living.” You can access the sermon here. You can also sign up for the weekday 5-minute devotions here. During the next six weeks, I will be answering questions about the Afterlife.
Closing Prayer: Praise to you, saving sacrifice, offered on the wood of the cross for me and for all people. Praise to the noble and precious blood, flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ and washing away the sins of the whole world. Remember, Lord, your creature, whom you have redeemed with your blood. I repent of my sins, and I long to put right what I have done. Merciful Father, take away all my offenses and sins; purify me in body and soul, and make me worthy to taste the holy of holies. Amen (Ambrose, c.339 – 397).