Americans’ views of immigrants marked by widening partisan, generational divides
In our latest national political survey, released in March, 59% of the public say immigrants strengthen the country, while 33% describe them as a burden. In 1994, opinions were nearly the reverse: 63% said immigrants were a burden and 31% said they strengthened the country.
Tenn. Gov. Vetoes Bill to Make the Bible the State’s Official Book
In a letter to lawmakers, the governor spelled out his reasons for vetoing the measure, saying:
“In addition to the constitutional issues with the bill, my personal feeling is that this bill trivializes the Bible, which I believe is a sacred text. If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then we shouldn’t be recognizing it only as a book of historical and economic significance. If we are recognizing the Bible as a sacred text, then we are violating the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Tennessee by designating it as the official state book.”
Bruce Springsteen says he won’t perform for North Carolina, as long as the state upholds its recently passed law regarding gender and public restrooms. Springsteen is doing what millions of Americans are taught, in classrooms and in culture, to do: Standing up for his conscience, and drawing lines accordingly. But in our era, the question becomes: If this is counted to Springsteen as righteousness, why is it counted as sin to North Carolina?
Is God Dead? No, but belief has declined slightly
To be sure, the share of people in the United States who say they believe in the Almighty has dropped a bit recently, from 92% in 2007 (when the Center’s first Religious Landscape Study was released) to 89% in 2014. And among the youngest adults surveyed (born between 1990 and 1996), the share of believers is 80%.
It is easy to judge parenting choices and children’s behavior, so simple to say, “If I were you, this is what I would do…” But we are rarely able (or willing) to fully step outside, or even recognize, the experiences that have formed our perspectives.
I’m thankful my tutor was willing to help me understand the circumstances at school for her daughter. Now, when a woman I respect and know to be a good mother, makes a statement I don’t understand or makes a choice for her children that I might not make, I am much more likely to trust her instincts. I might ask questions but these come from an attitude of wanting to learn. Rather than make assumptions about her parenting or her relationship with her children, I’ll seek to understand their actual context.
Anyone who picks up Basic Christianity today will do so because he wants something altogether different from the products available in his own age. He wants something from the past. What he gets instead sounds almost as if it were composed yesterday: chatty, choppy, bereft of much difficulty, with an improbable hint of political correctness.
BLESS Missional Practices as a Sideways Step into Evangelism
How are we doing that? We are pursuing five missional practices. We call them BLESS.
<li>Begin with prayer.
- Listen.
- Eat.
- Serve.
- Story.
We want every person to imagine evangelism as “blessing” others. So many people think of evangelism as pressuring people. So we don’t even use the word. We ask them to “bless” others in order to help them find their way back to God.
Do You Really Need Email on Your Phone?
Are you truly creating value with your emails? Or are you feeding a stream of worthless communication that only serves to limit the action of others in your absence?
Are you jumping at each and every message that comes across? Interrupting your work and life to the point that you don’t know which is which.
Most emails are worthless. Inane back-and-forth about silly and simple topics. Topics that would be better served with less action. Things that can wait.