Saturday Good Reads

As Coronavirus (or Covid-19) seizes hold of the world’s imagination, and fear, a number of writers are asking questions, specifically about what should Christians do? David Beauchamp at Mere Orthodoxy asks that precise question. Terry Mattingly notes that, during times of panic and plague, priests do what they are called to do (and, it should be added, we are a priesthood of believers). Matthew Hosier at Think Theology in the U.K. reminds us that we have been here before. Eric Geiger looks at the 180-degree-different responses from Bill Gates and Elon Musk, and has some words of advice for church leaders. Andy Crouch has even more words for church leaders. And Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper puts a human face on the virus, with a poem about a Washington, D.C.-area Church rector.

In the 15^th and 16^th centuries, the world dealt with what was called “the sweating sickness.” It was a strange illness in that it was particularly a problem for the upper classes, who presumably had better diets and health. Most people died with 18 hours of coming down with it. Henry VIII’s older brother Arthur was likely a victim of it. Ann Boleyn apparently survived it. Mortality rates are estimated to have been as high as 36 percent. Kaushik Patowary at Amusing Planet has the story.

It’s a question that drives progressive Christians, Washington Post columnists, and a number of my Facebook friends crazy: why would conservative Christians vote for President Trump? Andrew Walker at National Review offers one of the more insightful explanations. It isn’t about who they’re voting for as much as what it is they’re voting against. 

More Good Reads

Writing and Literature

Flannery O’Connor vs. the Marvel Universe – Jessica Hooten Wilson at Church Life Notre Dame.

Life and Culture

Uyghurs for sale: ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang – Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

Classical education is countercultural. It’s time to bring it back – Matthew Walz at America Magazine.

Missing the Heart of the Story – Andrew Bunt at Think Theology.

Call Me Lucifer – Matt Stewart at Front Porch Republic.

Poetry

Snowdrops – Martin Rizley at Society of Classical Poets.

The Deep Power of Joy: On Wordsworth's 'Tintern Abbey' – Glenn Arbery at The Imaginative Conservative.

Let Us Tune Our Instruments – James Matthew Wilson at Benedict XVI Institute.

To J.R.R. Tolkien – Donald T. Williams at An Unexpected Journal.

Faith

Train hard, fight easy – Andrew Roycroft at Thinking Pastorally.

What I Didn’t Learn in Business School – Ken Eldred at the Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics.

A Psalm of David, When He Fled From Absalom His Son – Dan King at BibleDude.

American Stuff

George Washington on Religious Liberty versus Religious Tolerance – Dr. Daniel Dreisbach at the Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics. 

Autumn in Banff

Painting: A Reading Girl by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919).