The Friday Update - Not of Ourselves

Happy Friday,

President Kennedy famously said, “Our problems are man-made, therefore they can be solved by man.” As political rhetoric goes, this works. As religion goes, this works. But as the Gospel goes, this does not work. Not even close. The Bible teaches that the power unleashed by sin is not something we can overcome on our own. Therefore, God sent His Son, who came not simply as a teacher and guide, but as our Savior. He does for us what we cannot do on our own.

Lakelight

I’m guessing the last 90 days went by more quickly for me than for you – unless, that is, you were also on Sabbatical. Alas, it has ended and I’m back. As promised, with my return comes a slightly updated Friday Update. It: 1) has a new look and 2) while it remains free, we are offering some extras to those who sign up for one of our paid subscription plans.

My Sabbatical

While I’m excited to be back – and have new-found energy for the tasks ahead – I’m very much processing what I learned. In addition to lots of reading, a bit of writing and some travel, the time away included a journey into my heart – i.e., two silent retreats, more meditation, Scripture memory, and a digital fast (of sorts). I’ll have more to say on all of that in the days ahead.

Without Comment

1) Per this AEI report, 97% of people who follow the Success Sequence – i.e., who get at least a high school education, work full time, and marry before having children – escape poverty by their late 20s.

2) Per this WSJ piece, over half of single women – many who are now “resigned” to remaining single - believe they are happier than their married counter-parts.

3) Per this piece, Trump has the largest gap in approval ratings in 80 years – 90% of Rs like his work, while only 4% of Ds do.

4) Per this report, the US ranks 36th in literacy, with 54% of adults reading below a 6th-grade level.

5) Per this article, 70 Christians were beheaded in the the Democratic Republic of the Congo last month.

6) Per this article, Americans are not moving as before. In the ‘70s, 1 in 3 people was on the move in a given year. Last year only 1 in 13 were, a 50 yr low.

7) Per this Forbes’s article, Microsoft says passwords are out and passkeys are in, because there are now 7K attacks on passwords every second.

Overheard

1) You can fake your way to vice but never to virtue.

2) 50% of happiness is having something to look forward to.

Trends

1) Pew’s once-every-10-year study of US religion shows: the “Nones” have stopped growing; the generational divide continues to grow; few churches are growing (and those that are, are mostly in non-denoms); and men are returning to church.

2) Western Civ is much discussed these days, by both fans and haters.

3) People are swearing more.

4) Vanity Fair is reporting that Christianity is trending in Silicon Valley.

The Horseshoe Theory

Louise Perry – the British feminist now flirting with faith – just released A New Guide to Sex in the 21^st Century. As others have noted, her crusade against porn and her advocacy of life-long monogamy are a great illustration of the horseshoe theory – i.e., how “the extremes” often bend towards each other.

WOTW

Honorable mention goes to hyper-tasking (for those too (self) important to do merely multi-tasking), snappy casual (the zone between casual and business casual), Cali-sober (where alcohol is forbidden but psychedelics are OK), and CRINK (the latest acronym for our axis of adversaries. Think: China, Russia, Iran and North Korea). Full honors are being shared by a bevy of terms being deployed by reporters panicking over their inability to keep up with AI happenings. The list includes: cognitive whiplash, expertise erosion, insight fatigue and time compression. (The last refers to last month's breakthrough feeling like ancient history). 

Blue Books

Universities are responding to AI disruption by moving in the opposite direction at the same time. They are expecting – and in some cases demanding – that some projects be at least 20% AI augmented. (The thinking is that we are less likely to lose our jobs to AI than to a person using AI). Meanwhile, they are also holding in-person, tech-free exams where students must show up, paint their answers on a cave wall and write out their answers in a Blue Book, like I did years (and years and years) ago.

DebtDash

DoorDash - the gig economy food delivery service - now partners with a financing service to allow consumers to order today and pay tomorrow. Methinks few things portend fiscal disaster quite like “financing a pizza.”

Resources

Click here to read an article on Richard Dawkins and cultural Christianity I published in the Chicago Tribune last week. Click here to listen to a sermon I gave two weeks ago in North Carolina. Click here to get info (or register to attend) my lecture on CS Lewis on May 4^th in Tacoma, WA, or here to register for the same talk on May 5^th in Bellingham, WA.

Closing Prayer

O God, early in the morning I cry unto you. Help me to pray. And to think only of you. I cannot pray alone. In me there is darkness. But with you there is light. I am lonely but you do not leave me. I am feeble in heart but you do not leave me. I am restless but with you there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience. Your ways are past understanding, but You know the way for me. Amen. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer - 1906 - 1945)