Society & Culture

“In his letter to his protégé Timothy, the apostle Paul declared: ‘Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness’ (2 Timothy 2:23-24).” - Russell Moore

“…as practiced, it quite often creates a virtual irrebuttable starting presumption that ‘existing power structures’ can be accurately analyzed primarily (or sometimes exclusively) through the prism of race. The end result, ironically enough, is both reductive and complex.” - The Dispatch

“For the first time since 2013, Americans’ confidence in the institution of the church increased in Gallup’s annual tracking poll. The percentage who say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church climbed from 36% to 42%.” - F&T

“The results show that while 60% of U.S. adults held the view that religious belief is a matter of personal opinion in 2018, that number dropped to 54% in 2020.” - C.Post

“What fascinates me though, is some people’s propensity to send a link to a YouTube clip, news article, or Facebook post as the final word. Little is done to check its source or accuracy: ‘I saw this, and it contradicts what you’re saying, so you’re wrong.’ That’s their message over and over.” - Rob Buckingham

“…trying to use force to compel belief is both impossible (external pressure cannot change inner conviction, though it might bring external conformity that the person doesn’t really believe) and counter-productive (pressure and punishment turns people against the approved ideas).” - Veith

“…while there are some excellent names on Trump’s expanded list — Kyle Duncan of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is particularly impressive — there also are some people who may be impressive people but who aren’t legitimately ready for, or of the right legal background for, the Supreme Court.” - Hillyer

Many “evangelicals still believe the heresy of Arianism….Two-thirds of evangelicals (65%) affirmed the statement that ‘Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.’ This figure is lower than in the last two surveys (in 2018, 78% agreed; in 2016, 71% agreed).” - CToday

“… a number of states require only that mail-in ballots be postmarked by November 3, meaning that they will be received and counted. And some states have a deadline for receiving mail-in votes that is long after election day.” - Veith

“We are facing a ‘social recession,’ argues the Manhattan Institute’s Michael Hendrix, driven by a mix of stress over public health, economic anxiety, and the isolating effects of physical distancing. ‘Disasters often have a way of bringing communities together,’ he writes. ‘But not this pandemic.’” - Acton