Every week I compile a list of interesting articles from around the web. Here is this week’s list, check it out:
1. “The Myers-Briggs Personality Test is Pretty Much Meaningless” by Rose Eveleth
The popular test is based on unproven assumptions, and reveals a reductionist perspective on human personality.
2. “John Wilson and Books & Culture” by Alan Jacobs
I was deeply saddened to hear about the end of this wonderful magazine. Alan Jacobs writes a sweet eulogy for the magazine, and specifically his producer John Wilson. He says:
For twenty-one years, Books and Culture has been one of the most consistently interesting magazines in the English-speaking world.
Many of us are still holding out hope that someone with deep pockets will fund the project.
3. “The Counsel of Eric Metaxas” by Alan Jacobs
Jacobs had another good article this week interacting with an op-ed piece that Metaxas wrote in The Wall Street Journal, defending voting for Trump. He raises a number of concerns but the point at which I found him most interesting was his pressing on Metaxas’ fear of Clinton. He notes that Metaxas, like many others, have this tendency to predict the demise of America under Clinton’s leadership. This prediction is dramatic but not usually honest, realistic, or reasonable (not that I am, in the least, a Hilary advocate).
4. “The Patriarchy Movement: Five Areas of Grave Concern” by Matt Holst
This is a great corrective to the trends, temptations, and weaknesses of the patriarchy movement. It highlights the distorted perspectives and emphases of the movement, and encourages a greater focus on the whole of Scriptural teaching and especially the gospel. A great article for a serious problem within the church!
5. “N.T. Wright Reconsiders the Meaning of Jesus’ Death” by Michael Horton
Horton reviews and interacts with Wright’s newest book. As with most of Wright’s work, there is much about it to love, and a few points of contention that are worthy of discussing.
6. “How to Restore Civility in the Public Square” by Tim Keller
Keller walks readers through the reality of our vitriolic public discourse and turns attention to the key factors of humility and tolerance to help cultivate a genuinely pluralistic society. We don’t have to agree with one another, but we have to treat one another with respect and dignity. This is a good piece from a respected public thinker.
7. “Five Ways Worry Can Be Helpful” by Tim Lane
There is a big difference between constructive concern and sinful anxiety. Tim Lane walks us through some of the ways that we can view worry as an opportunity. We discuss the same distinction in our new and forthcoming anxiety DVD curriculum from Cornerstone Counseling.
8. “5 Common Mistakes in Marriage Counseling” by Winston Smith
Marriage counseling is always difficult. In this piece Smith offers some real keen insight to help us navigate the challenges of relational counseling.
9. “How Churches can Minister to the Divorced” by Russell Moore
Moore’s podcast discusses that issue in some detail. It’s thoughtful, sensitive, and Biblical.
10. “You Don’t Need More Parenting Advice” by Paul Tripp
This post comes as a big-picture glimpse of Tripp’s new book on parenting. He calls us here to stop looking for strategies and tips, and instead to have our parenting captured by the gospel. Tripp lists 14 Scriptural themes that, he says, should influence our parenting.
11. “The Drug Industry’s Answer to Opioid Addiction: More Pills” by Ariana Eunjung Cha
Opioid painkillers are a $9 billion dollar a year industry, which is creating a whole series of sub-markets for more billion dollar industries. Among those sub-markets are “addiction,” “overdose,” and “side-effects.” The continued development of more and more drugs to solve the problem of over-prescribing opioids is its own epidemic. We compound our nation’s addiction problem with these developments, but because addiction creates a profit for pharmaceutical companies it won’t end.
Pastor Dave Online 