This Week’s Good Reads

Here are some interesting articles from around the web that I found this week, you may find one you’d like to read too:

1. “We Struggle to Imagine Because We Struggle to Remember” by Bethany Jenkins

Jenkins call us to remember the truths of the gospel that we have believed in order that we might be able to imagine the hope of restoration and transformation that God holds out to us. She applies this particularly to vocation. This is an interesting piece because of the connections it makes between imagination and memory. Even if the application of the concept is a little different for each reader, it can be an insightful piece.

2. “Why Does He Look At Pornography?” by Jonathan Holmes

Holmes examines here several reasons why people look at porn. You will note that no where on his list is the phrase “sexual desire.” It has been my own experience as a counselor that porn is rarely about sex. Holmes gives us a good list of potential motivators here. I made my own contribution to this discussion earlier this year at The Southern Ohio Pastor’s Coalition, you’ll note similarities in the lists because the motivators are common enough.

3. “On Football, Warrior Culture, and Manhood” by Owen Strachan

“I see the growing unease with warrior culture as an encouraging shift in our culture’s definition of masculinity” writes Strachan in this piece for TGC. I have long been frustrated by this sort of machismo culture that passes for Biblical masculinity. I wrote about it at Relevant and on my own blog. Owen is a friend and while we don’t often agree on some of these gender discussions, we do agree on this point: warrior culture as it has been developed and presented in American life is not healthy!

4. “Jonathan Edwards: A Missional Theologian” by Dave Dunham

This piece I recently wrote on Edwards has gained some traction, being picked up both by The Gospel Coalition and by Credo Magazine’s blog. In the piece I pull together a number of truths about Edwards’ life and thought to help contemporary missional Christians think more carefully about their goals and the theology behind those goals.

5. “Being Against Gay Marriage Doesn’t Make You A Homophobe” by Brandon Ambrosino

In a bold move this author, a self-identified member of the LGBT community, states plainly that it is unfair to characterize all those whose moral opinion is against gay marriage as being blatantly anti-gay. He will no doubt be lambasted for this, but I appreciate his honesty. This piece is well worth your time, but keep in mind the first rule of reading articles online: never read the comments. Best lines: It’s true that as a LGBT person, I am Otherized against the sexual norm. But at the same time, I have an ethical obligation to my Other—the people unlike me—as well. On this issue, my Others include conservatives, fundamentalists, and more than a few folks from the square states. If my primary ethical obligation to my neighbor is to allow and affirm his moral agency, so long as it does not lead him to commit acts of violence, then what happens when I take away his right to peacefully disagree with me?

6. Mark Driscoll is in “trouble” again, only this time it’s not over what he said, but rather over what he didn’t say. Driscoll has been charged with plagiarism and there are two recap pieces here with some thoughts on what the issue really is and how it should be addressed.

7. “The Resume of the People of God: The Church as a Community of Grace Sharers” by Bob Kellemen

Kellemen does a great job here reminding us that the church as a whole is responsible for the ministry of the church. I wrote about this same truth over at The Gospel Coalition, but I am thankful for its echo here in Kellemen.