This Week’s Good Reads

Every week I compile a list of interesting articles from around the web. Here’s this week’s list, I am sure you’ll find something of interest here:

1. “What I Learned About Lust and Beauty from a Flickr Voyeur” by Alan Noble

This is a surprisingly insightful piece. Not that Alan isn’t always insightful, you just have no clue where this piece is going to go when you see its title. But essentially Alan challenges Christians to consider beauty more carefully, suggesting that the Evangelical subculture has the same fundamental view of beauty that this Flickr voyeur does. Evangelicals just respond differently. He writes, “The church does well to fight against the abusive vision of sexuality promoted and profited off of by the world, a vision which is fundamentally violent. But we also need a richer theology of beauty and bodies, one which will allow us to preserve the purity of our thoughts and to delight in the beauty of God’s world.” This is a captivating piece.

2. ” ‘The Simpsons’ Unveils a New Springfield Public Transit Map” by John Metcalfe

I have been a fan of The Simpsons since, well, since I first snuck watching an episode as a young boy. It’s an often misunderstood show with a gift for brilliant satirical insight and cultural commentary. So, when The Atlantic runs a piece on The Simpsons, even one as silly as this, it gets my attention. Here Metcalfe discusses the urban layout and transit map system of Springfield and particularly notes its evolution from previous incarnations. Just some fun for fans.

3. “Measles is Spreading and the Anti-Vaccine Movement is the Cause” by Michael Hiltzik

Here’s an example of terribly biased writing. There’s no nuance of carefulness in this piece, but the information about the spread of measles, mumps, and whooping-cough is interesting. It is worthy of our note and consideration.

4. “Rethinking Shame” by Alan Noble

Noble discusses in this piece the ways in which Christians may “glory in our shame.” He writes to correct this tendency and point us again to the one who took our shame in our place. It’s a beautiful reminder.

5. “The Gospel of Interracial Marriage” by Trillia Newbell

“Segregated churches breed segregated lives.” In this personal piece Trillia discusses both her own experience as a black woman married to a white man and how growing Christians needs to expand their worlds, even their dating relationships, to include those of different ethnicities. She defends interracial marriage by looking at what Scripture says and argues that it reflects the beauty of God’s character and of the gospel.

6. “The Best Parenting Advice I Ever Received” by Amy Julia Becker

A beautiful piece on “responsive teaching,” applied uniquely to the author’s parenting of a child with Down Syndrome. The author, however, turns our attention to our relationship with God and helps us see how God is much like a “responsive teacher.” He “delights over us,” and calls us a joy. It’s a sweet thought written in a moving way.

7. “Urban Church Plantation” by Christena Cleveland

This confrontational piece challenges suburban churches with an interest in urban church planting to pause and consider how their privileged position may actually be misleading them in their efforts. Cleveland encourages them to consider how they might better serve urban centers by partner with existing urban churches/pastors who are already doing effective ministry but are deeply under resourced.

8. “Lesbian Sex, HIV, Esau, and Christ” by John Piper

Piper unpacks how these seemingly unrelated things are actually related. He discusses the insanity of sin, the Esau-like insanity of sin, and how Christ is the solution.

9. “What are We Going to Do?” by Alan Noble

It’s a Noble week. In this insightful piece Alan asks us to consider how the fundamental question of identity determines the answer the situational question “what are we going to do?” He explores the existential through the lens of Cormac McCarthy’s brilliant post-apocalyptic novel The Road. This is a short and provocative read, worthy of your time.

10. “Walking with the Dead: Not the Way Its Supposed to Be” by Dave Dunham

My latest piece over at CAPC explores the conflict of expectations and realities in a broken world – particularly the world of the television drama The Walking Dead. In the piece I note in particular that when things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be mercy is a possibility.