Links To Go (April 25, 2019)

Is It Wrong to Celebrate Religious Days Like Christmas and Easter?

I know of no principle, command, example, or implication of Scripture that is violated by observing special days in honor of the Lord. In fact, Scripture seems to specifically allow for this practice. But most importantly, we must be careful not to judge and despise one another over these things, but welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us (Romans 14-15).


Evangelism More Prayed for Than Practiced by Churchgoers

Most Protestant churchgoers say they are eager to talk to others about Jesus and are praying for opportunities to share their faith, but most say they have not had any evangelistic conversations in the past six months.


U.S. Public Has Favorable View of Israel’s People, but Is Less Positive Toward Its Government

A substantial majority of Americans – 64% – say they have a favorable opinion of the Israeli people. However, fewer than half (41%) have a favorable view of the Israeli government; a larger share (51%) views the government unfavorably.


Supreme Court to Decide Whether ‘Sex’ Includes Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

On Monday the Supreme Court announced it has accepted three cases involving homosexuals and transgender persons who claim they were discriminated against at work. The Court will rule on whether current federal anti-discrimination laws protect employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity.


Why Conservatives Are So Angry About Obama’s Reference to “Easter Worshippers”

By my count, Beto O’Rourke is the only major 2020 presidential candidate who used the word Christian in his tweet lamenting the attacks. That includes Trump, who mentioned the “attack on churches and hotels” but did not as of yet name the religious group who might have been worshipping in those churches.


Lost in Translation: Lessons from Language Can Help Us Share the Gospel

If translation and immersion go together, then those beyond the boundaries of our churches must not only hear us speak of it, but also become immersed in it through our relationships and through the life of our Christ following communities.


Chip Away at Your Children’s Spiritual Growth

God, in his mercy, has seen fit to impress one little truth upon another in their lives. Our tiny, but frequent (not perfect! not even daily!) investments are paying off. This is not to say—at all—that my girls have arrived. It is not to claim that they’ve made it to Christian maturity. There are still so many ways I look forward to seeing them grow. This is only to say that God has been faithful to us, in spite of our weak offerings, our imperfect skill, our laziness, our quick-get-this-done mentality at times.


Sizing Up Twitter Users

The analysis indicates that the 22% of American adults who use Twitter are representative of the broader population in certain ways, but not others. Twitter users are younger, more likely to identify as Democrats, more highly educated and have higher incomes than U.S. adults overall. Twitter users also differ from the broader population on some key social issues. For instance, Twitter users are somewhat more likely to say that immigrants strengthen rather than weaken the country and to see evidence of racial and gender-based inequalities in society. But on other subjects, the views of Twitter users are not dramatically different from those expressed by all U.S. adults.


Measuring the “Filter Bubble”: How Google is influencing what you click

Based on a study of individuals entering identical search terms at the same time, we found that:

  1. Most participants saw results unique to them.
  2. On the first page of search results, Google included links for some participants that it did not include for others, even when logged out and in private browsing mode.
  3. Results within the news and videos infoboxes also varied significantly.
  4. Private browsing mode and being logged out of Google offered very little filter bubble protection.

When can we finally get rid of passwords?

Passwords are the main system that keeps our digital lives secure, but they’re increasingly not up to the task. Most people reuse an endless series of easy-to-guess phrases, and the underlying technology is also vulnerable to a wide range of attacks. All a hacker needs to do is convince you that their dodgy website or email is from your bank or other online service, and they can trick you into revealing your password (a so-called “phishing” attack) and gain entry to your account.


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