Stop Excommunicating Christians Who Disagree with You
Once we’ve done the damaging work of kicking people out our lives, are we giving them the opportunity to come back in? If we, as Christians, can’t live out the Matthew 18 directive of conflict resolution, how will anyone else in our polarized culture know how to live differently? This Lent let us resolve to “pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” Romans 14:19.
Why Jewish Kids Don’t Have Peanut Allergies
It’s all a sign, according to both Sacks and Haidt, that it’s the parents who are nuts. Children raised in bubbles, not afforded the rigour of pushback, never taught bit by bit to be strengthened and tempered against a future in which their views are going to be challenged, inevitably succumb to the intellectual equivalent of anaphelactic shock.
When well-meaning people can’t see it the same way
Yes, there are a few people who are mendacious, who are not seeking what you’re seeking. And yet, most of the time, there are plenty of good people who disagree with you–they want a good outcome, but the narrative they bring insists on getting there in a very different way. They have different glasses on and are using a different map as well.
Switzerland has lots of guns. But its gun culture takes different path from US.
When it comes to guns, many sit somewhere in the middle, like Chris Völkle, who works in sales in Bern. The gun in his home would be counted in the surveys that put Switzerland at the top of global gun ownership. Having finished his military training in 2016, he still must practice shooting annually, so he keeps it at home for convenience. But following strict guidelines, the rifle is in the cellar, the firing pin is in the cupboard, and the ammunition is at a military facility. “I don’t look at it like a gun,” he says. “It’s like a long, heavy piece of metal. It’s useless.”
Industry Evangelicals vs. Identity Evangelicals
There are significant differences between the frames. The Industry folks see the changes in society over recent decades as more negative the positive while the Identity folks see the opposite. The Identity group felt that their denomination had been too cautious in responding to changes in society while the Industry group was mildly supportive.
Here’s the important point: Both groups are committed to remaining part of their denomination. Over 72% of the Identity group and 82% of the Industry group see it as important or very important to remain inside. This suggests that the changing frame is not a long term challenge to the institutional church.
Read the Bible with the Jewish Eyes of Jesus: An Interview with Lois Tverberg
I was raised in a devout Christian home. A little over 20 years ago I signed up for a church seminar on ancient Israel and the Jewish setting of the Bible, and Bible stories that were foggy and confusing became clear and deeply relevant to my life. I started hearing the words of Scripture through the ears of its ancient listeners, and it made all the difference in the world. Sayings of Jesus that were divorced of their context sounded like vague platitudes, but situated within the larger first-century conversation, their true brilliance became apparent.
Marriage Planning or Wedding Planning
Tips to Improve Your Marriage:
- Schedule Time for Each Other
- Pray for Each Other
- Stop Using the Word “I”
- Have a Devotional Together
No hugging: are we living through a crisis of touch?
In countless ways social touch is being nudged from our lives. In the UK, doctors were warned last month to avoid comforting patients with hugs lest they provoke legal action, and a government report found that foster carers were frightened to hug children in their care for the same reason. In the US the Girl Scouts caused a furore last December when it admonished parents for telling their daughters to hug relatives because “she doesn’t owe anyone a hug”. Teachers hesitate to touch pupils. And in the UK, in a loneliness epidemic, half a million older people go at least five days a week without seeing or touching a soul.
This House Can Be 3D-Printed For $4,000
In Austin, the team 3D-printed the first home in the backyard of a converted house that serves as shared office space for Icon and an architect and developer. Icon’s staff plans to use it as an office, so they can experience spending long periods of time in the space, and tweak the design as needed. The team will also make some engineering improvements to the printer, and test it for earthquake safety (the Austin house is already the first to be permitted to U.S. building standards). Later this year, they’ll bring the printer to El Salvador, print some test homes, and finally print a community of 50 houses.
Galveston teen receives sweet surprise after helping elderly customer at Waffle House
Her kind gesture went viral on social media, and on Thursday, it was returned with a big surprise for one Galveston teen caught in the act cutting up food for her customer at a Waffle House in La Marque.