Why you think you’re right, even when you’re wrong
In other words, if we really want to improve our judgment as individuals and as societies, what we need most is not more instruction in logic, rhetoric, probability or economics, even though those things are all valuable. What we most need to use those principles well is scout mindset. We need to change the way we feel — to learn how to feel proud instead of ashamed when we notice we might have been wrong about something, or to learn how to feel intrigued instead of defensive when we encounter some information that contradicts our beliefs. So the question you need to consider is: What do you most yearn for — to defend your own beliefs or to see the world as clearly as you possibly can?
Taxi Drivers, Refugees, and Other Good Reasons to Pray
Given the current climate of hatred and division in our nation, and of fear in the face of global terrorism, the church is living in the best of times to complete the task of the church by the power of his enduring love.
Yes, we are living in a unique time in the history of Christianity, when the kingdom of Heaven is showing up joyfully tutoring English, and living and working intentionally in our cities, showing love to an immigrant or refugee neighbor, providing a homestay or meal for an international student, and taking a taxi home from the airport.
Were Mary and Joseph Married or Engaged at Jesus’ Birth?
Returning to Joseph, he would have paid the bride price to Mary’s father at their engagement (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:27). Despite his misgivings, Joseph then obeyed the angel’s command to marry Mary (Matthew 1:20). The time of formal engagement, whether a full year or not, had passed between them. So Joseph and Mary had begun to live together except for sexual relations (Matthew 1:25). Luke’s understanding of mnēsteuō must be expanded to include both the betrothal/engagement as well as marital cohabitation.
Who will cast a stone at Jesus?
Of course, if Jesus is a sinner, he is without question the worst of them all.
If he is sinless, then he is the Divine Savior, and Eternal Judge of all men.
Here we are, 2,000 years later. The invitation to call him a sinner still stands.
Who will cast the first stone?
The secret to success in the marshmallow test of life and work is not about delaying gratification. It is about discovering gratification in every situation. It’s about leveraging the unparalleled ability of the human mind to find—and focus on—small sources of gratification in any set of circumstances.
Anton Chekhov: How to Become a Cultured Person
As Chekhov says, reading this letter (or books) is not enough. Getting from where you are to where you want to be is not easy. These eight conditions are not a checklist, but a guideline—a “true north” of sorts that reveals to us the direction we must go…
A Latina comes to the defense of a Muslim couple being verbally harassed on the New York subway
A young Latina then intervenes. She asks the older woman what nationality she is and where she is from and the woman says she is from Puerto Rico. The young woman, who says she is Chinese and Peruvian, pleads with the woman in English and Spanish to be respectful to the couple. But in the bizarre exchange aboard the moving E-line train, the older woman tells her to mind her own business and stop scolding her.
“I am not asking you to be quiet. I am asking you to please respect her,” says the young woman who Univision Noticias identified as Tracey Tong, 23, of Queens.
Grown-ups Are Stupid! How to Travel + See the World Like a Child
Consider the reasons:
- Everything is new to them
- They possess limitless curiosity + everything is a learning experience
- They live in a carefree bubble, without the worries of daily adult life (money, relationships, life and death)
- They love to create
- They don’t care what other people think
- They act with reckless abandon – doing “just because”
- Their default mode is “play”
- They live in the present
An Oxford Comma Helped Decide a Labor Dispute in Maine
If often seems as if the ongoing war over the Oxford comma is likely to rage on for as long as there is a written word. Proponents of it claim that the comma is necessary in order to cut through any confusion in a sentence (it’s also the side we here at mental_floss fall on). Critics, however, say that the comma is superfluous, clunky, and maybe even a little bit elitist. But one dairy company in Maine just found out that the Oxford comma isn’t just helpful—it could also keep you out of court.