Saturday, September 26, 2020

Saturday Good Reads


A National Congregations Study by two sociologists (from Duke and Notre Dame) took a look at denominations and politics, looking to see which ones were the most politicized. And guess what they found? The most politicized denominations were the mainline Protestant groups, followed by non-Christians (Muslims, Hindu), Roman Catholics, and Black Protestants. Lagging at the rear were those crazy white evangelicals. Not exactly what you would expect from reading the newspapers.

British mystery writer Martin Edwards has been serving as the general editor for the British Library’s Crime Classics series. The series is republishing British mysteries from the Golden Age (1920s to 1940s) as well as the years on either side. They feature a number of forgotten authors and titles that deserve to be kept in print. Edwards has found a few more, and, for CrimesReads, writes about 10 Golden Age detective novelists who deserve to be better known.

I’ve seen recent posts by friends on Facebook, primarily those of a progressive Christian leaning, that evangelical Christians need to set abortion aside right now as an issue for the higher purpose of unity. Of course, it could also work the other way, but that is not usually mentioned. The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has highlighted an inescapable fact: abortion is back as a national political issue, although John Stonestreet at Breakpoint says it never really left. Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition considers an additional issue: there are reasons why confirmation hearings have become a politicized circus, and none of them are good. 

More Good Reads

Writing and Literature
Good and Evil in “The Lord of the Rings” – Keith Mathis at Light in Dark Places.

Agatha Christie’s Top 20 Novels – David Kern at Forma Journal.




Culture


The Nemeses of Cities – Edward Glaeser at CityJournal. 

Art

Raphael: Commoner with the divine touch – Michael Prodger at The Critic.

British Stuff


Faith


Of Girl Guides and Gramophone Grooves – Kelly Keller at Story Warren.

Becoming an Old Soul Christian – Jared Wilson at For the Church.


Poetry

Walking Each Other Home – Barbara Kingsolver at Literary Hub.

In the Midst of Life We Are in Death – Cynthia Erlandson at Society of Classical Poets.

Pandemic Poetry – Malcolm Guite & Andrew Roycroft at The Rabbit Room.

Lighting Candles by Starlight – Michael Stalcup at The Cultivating Project.

American Stuff

Snapshots Before the War: Saying Goodbye in 1944 – Paul Hendrickson at Literary Hub. 

Iceland – The Land of Fire and Ice


Painting: Man Reading, ink and color on paper, attributed to Qi Baishi (1864-1957).

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