New Video and News of World this Week
My autobiography. Athanasius accused of murder! Mao's Red Guards. Harris vs. Trump Debate.
This Week
A lot of things have happened this week. I did a lecture on Romans 8 and instead of breaking into groups the students wanted “more.” Not because of my lecturing abilities, but probably because Romans 8 is rather awesome.
The Acton Institute published my autobiographical piece Bogan Elegy: A Survivor’s Guide to Escaping Suburban Poverty. Note, that “bogan” is Aussie slang for “white trash.” It’s a story of how I got out of the quagmire of suburban poverty and family dysfunction.
Check out N.T. Wright’s interview at CT on What Jesus Would Say to ‘Empire’ Today. Today, as the global church becomes “a community worshiping the one God and doing justice and mercy in the world,” this is a “sign to the caesars of the world that Jesus is Lord and that they are not” and a “sign to the principalities and powers that this is the way to be human.”
I signed A Call to Revival: Our Confession of Evangelical Conviction. Created by Skye Jethani of the Holy Post. It is the Barmen Declaration for the 2020s. The statement is a biblical, wise, and non-partisan affirmation. It is the antidote to any politician who assumes they have God on their side and the church in their pocket, whether conservative or progressive, worth a read. Now endorsed by Mike Bird.
My colleague Andy Judd has a YouTube channel about the OT. Do yourself a favor and subscribe!
New Video
Athanasius was accused of murder when some pro-Arian bishops alleged that they had the arm of the man whom Athanasius had killed. Athanasius was able to disprove the allegation of murder by producing the man … with both arms still attached.
News of the World this Week
Remembering the Death of Chairman Mao. “The accused were humiliated in daily “struggle sessions” in which their students and colleagues interrogated them and demanded confessions. The viciousness of these sessions rapidly intensified. Students beat, spat upon, and tortured—in horrifically creative ways—their often elderly teachers and professors. In one case, students demanded their biology professor stare at the sun with wide-open eyes. If he blinked or looked away, they beat him. Even middle and elementary school students participated in the struggle sessions, sometimes beating their teachers to death with sticks and belt buckles.”
Pope Francis in Singapore. Francis celebrated a Mass the Vatican said drew some 50,000 people to Singapore's national sports stadium, a venue that has also hosted performers such as Taylor Swift, who played six concerts there in March.
Who Won the Harris-Trump Debate? I watched the debate. It was nice they shook hands. There was a lot of factual errors, from both of them, but more so from Trump. The immigrants eating our pets thing was a kind of a “Uh, huh” moment. I’ll always remember the phrase, “I have the concept of a plan.” I still don’t think Harris is going to fix the US border crisis, but she performed 100x Better than Joe Biden.
Adelaide University says goodbye to face-to-face lectures. Students at the new Adelaide University will be offered “rich asynchronous digital activities” but not face-to-face lectures, formalising a shift to online learning.
Free audio commentary below!