The Friday Update - Civil Inattention

Happy Friday,

The Enlightenment promised to unmask our superstitions and banish our fears. The opposite happened. Superstitions morphed into conspiracy theories and fears grew into an anxiety epidemic. Much of our present restlessness is a spiritual miscalibration. Indeed, the fear of the Lord — not a crippling dread, but an awe-inducing and life-redirecting understanding of who he is — is the beginning of wisdom. Just as we need to rightly order our loves, we must rightly order our fears.

WOTW

Honorable mention goes to epistemic tribalism (the tendency of group members to align their beliefs with the group rather than with the evidence), and both Job-ageddon (what some believe AI will bring) and job hugging (how some fearing Job-ageddon are responding. Hint: it’s the opposite of quiet quitting). Full honors go to civil inattention (acting like you’re on the phone to avoid interacting with the stranger next to you — e.g., on a plane.) Note: when I want to be left alone on a plane, I simply let the person next to me know that I’m a pastor.

Hard Conversations

Acts 19:8f makes it clear that Paul engaged in hard conversations. Indeed, he pursued them. To be clear, these start with listening. Per Covey, we must “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Why not invite a friend with a different political (or cultural) view to explain what they believe and why they believe it — without any expectation that they will reciprocate? Your goal is to listen well so you can better understand.

Without Comment

1) The price of coffee is up 22% this year, the greatest spike of any government-tracked food item.

2) The addition of lasers to Israel’s Iron Dome drops the cost of shooting down incoming missiles from tens of thousands per rocket to $2 (and also gives Israel an “endless defense magazine”).

3) As Americans have fewer kids, we’re spending waaaaaay more on pets.

4) 100 Walmarts are preparing to start drone delivery.

5) 28.5% of Gen Z women identify as bi-sexual.

6) The average American consumes 17 teaspoons (≈ 71 grams) of added sugar per day (men average 19 and women 14).

7) The percentage of Americans with a passport climbed from 5% in 1990 to 48% in 2023.

8) Islamic militants burned churches and beheaded 30 Christians in Mozambique last week.

Pareto is Alive and Well

1) 97% of the political posts made on X are made by 10% of the people.

2) The wealthiest 10% of Americans own 93% of all US Stocks.

3) 90% of internet searches go through Google.

4) 1% of musicians account for 90% of streams.

5) 100 companies generate 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

6) 20% of scientific articles receive 80% of the citations.

IS2M

1) Much of my thinking is an exercise in discovering something, only to later realize that C.S. Lewis was there long before me, saw it more clearly, and explained it in a children’s book.

2) It’s not just embarrassing to say “thank you” or “please” to Siri (and her cousins), it’s a bit unsettling. 

Question of the Week

How many of the Ten Commandments can you name? I ask because many who claim to live by them can’t name more than four. (BTW, although 82% of Americans think that “God helps those who help themselves,” that is not one of them. Nor is it anywhere else in the Bible.)

Quotes Worth Requoting

1) "The measure of how Christian we as a society remain is that mass murder precipitated by racism tends to be seen as vastly more abhorrent than mass murder precipitated by an ambition to usher in a classless paradise." — Tom Holland

2) "Human beings will put surprising amounts of energy into avoiding the reality of God." — Rowan Williams

Overheard

1) We need more leaders who can “absorb chaos and radiate hope.”

2) Master of Divinity sounds like a Marvel comic character.

3) Spiritual formation is not you becoming like Jesus, but you becoming what Jesus would become if he was you.

4) “Knowing your story” and “understanding yourself” are not the same thing. Many can rehearse the first but lack the second.

5) It’s past time to tack a sin tax on social media.

6) Marriage is the art of learning to forgive over and over and over again.

7) The internet is a vast disenchantment machine. 

Last Week(s)

1) I mistakenly described KPop Demon Hunters as a Netflix show about a Korean Boy Band. It’s actually about a Korean Girl Band. Be assured that I fired the Foreign Desk’s entire fact-checking department.

2) In response to my plug for theological Latin, some asked why I failed to mention their favorite Latin phrase, Illegitimi non carborundum. Well… for starters, it’s not real Latin.

Resources

Click here to hear the fifth message in the Revelation series. It’s about a Church that remained faithful amidst persecution, but couldn't root out some common, yet devastating sins. Click here to listen to my interview with Dr. Dana Harris — a New Testament professor writing two books on Revelation. I'm willing to bet you will learn at least 5 new things about Revelation. I did.

Closing Prayer

“Holy Lord Jesus, the heavenly Vine of God's own planting, I ask you, reveal yourself to my soul. Let the Holy Spirit, not only in thought, but in experience, give to me all that you, the Son of God, are to me as the true Vine. Amen.” (Andrew Murray - 1828-1917)