Links to Your World, Tuesday August 26

“A lap dancer, a lesbian, and a lapsed Christian with a pregnant girlfriend are among the participants on the U.K.'s newest reality show, Make Me a Christian, where Christian leaders attempt to bring a group of unlikely candidates to the faith. The show's premise is to find out if Christianity can help repair the moral fabric of British society.” But Christians are complaining: Malcolm Smith, director of Youth for Christ in Gillingham, said, “They have edited a warped view of evangelical Christianity. There seems to be very little mention of Jesus, and little mention of love. The program portrays that you can't be a believer or follower of Christ until you get [the rules] sorted out. Surely that goes against 'whilst we were still sinners Christ died for us.'” (Read the story at Christianity Today)


Be sure to see the brief article and photos about Art Starrat’s WW2 experience. Starrat is a church member, and father of Caral Morgan.


“A shocking trend is gaining ground in teen dressing: modesty.” (CNN; related, this ABC News story, quoting modesty advocate, Wendy Shalit. Check out the websites at the end of the article.)


“"For pure enjoyment, the Bible has got some of the greatest mysteries, love stories, soap operas of any book ever written," he said. "... It's probably the greatest book on life and leadership ever written.’” (Krispy Kreme's latest CEO, Jim Morgan)


Now that the Olympics are over: “‘You’re talking about people who have trained for years, almost every day, and made huge sacrifices,’ in their relationships, career, all of it, said Charlie Brown, a sports psychologist. ‘And for some of them, once they have this huge, intense experience, it’s a very fragile situation afterwards.’ Psychologists have conducted a string of studies of Olympians’ transition to working life. Researchers found that only 17 percent made the transition to the workplace without significant emotional distress, including substance abuse and depression.” From a fascinating NY Times article, “After Glory of a Lifetime, Asking ‘What Now?’”


“One of the great things about being forced to go to church services is that we’d sing all these big songs. That’s partly why I’m obsessed with getting everyone to sing along at our shows. It makes me feel like I’m a part of something.” Coldplay's Chris Martin, in Rollling Stone (HT: Creation Project).


“As to the question when human life begins, the answer to which is above Mr. Obama's pay grade, oh, let's go on a little tear. You know why they call it birth control? Because it's meant to stop a birth from happening nine months later. We know when life begins. Everyone who ever bought a pack of condoms knows when life begins.” (Peggy Noonan)


Jacob Weisberg in Slate says there’s only one reason you won’t vote for Obama: racism. G-a-a-ah!


There are three rules for Fight Club: (1.) Know your sin, (2.) Fight your sin, (3.) Trust your Savior. Read more of this excellent article here. Jonathan Dodson is an Austin church planter.


“Many scientists and philosophers are convinced that free will doesn’t exist at all. Should we worry? If people come to believe that they don’t have free will, what will the consequences be for moral responsibility?” Read this Scientific American article.


“What's wrong with me? One of the classic highbrow defenses of videogames is that they allow you to experience new personalities -- to, in the words of Sherry Turkle, create a "second self." This is considered supremely healthy, because self-exploration is generally a good thing. But what happens if the second self you create inside videogames turns out to be a total d**k? (from Clive Thompson’s commentary in Wired magazine)


Back-to-School, Part 1: “Those first days of a new school year I looked forward to wearing my new school outfit, meeting new friends and new teachers, but the most meaningful and surely the most memorable moments were when I hurried to the breakfast table to see what my father had written to me that morning. I keep these letters in a special binder and read them every year about this time. have since passed this tradition on to my own children. The words are different as I have all boys, but the love, pride and well wishes for the coming year are the same. Tonight, I have placed three letters by three cereal bowls at our breakfast table” (From my sister’s blog, reflecting on letters she received from Dad on the first day of every school year.)


Back-to-School, Part 2: The NY Times ran an interesting story about the dicey task of teaching evolution in high school science classes. It opens with this story:

On the projector, Mr. Campbell placed slides of the cartoon icon: one at his skinny genesis in 1928; one from his 1940 turn as the impish Sorcerer’s Apprentice; and another of the rounded, ingratiating charmer of Mouse Club fame.

“How,” he asked his students, “has Mickey changed?”

Natives of Disney World’s home state, they waved their hands and called out answers.

“His tail gets shorter,” Bryce volunteered.

“Bigger eyes!” someone else shouted.

“He looks happier,” one girl observed. “And cuter.”

Mr. Campbell smiled. “Mickey evolved,” he said. “And Mickey gets cuter because Walt Disney makes more money that way. That is ‘selection.’ ”

Would that make Walt Disney, um, the intelligent designer in this process?