As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Investigating the traditional ‘deaths of despair,’ Ruhm finds that a one standard deviation increase in poor mental health increases drug deaths by about 2.5% and alcohol deaths by 3.4%; suicide deaths, surprisingly, increase by only about 0.6%. …large predicted increases in other causes: heart disease, lower respiratory disease, and homicides.” - IFS
“Christian music is having a moment. In the first half of 2024, it was the fourth fastest-growing music genre, fueled by surprisingly large gains among younger listeners.” - TGC
“That is the argument I make in the new edition of my book (October 1) The Collapse of Parenting: namely, that the problems American kids are experiencing are not solely due to smartphones per se, but to an increasingly toxic American youth culture.” - IFS
“About one in three U.S. adults now rate the Secret Service’s performance as ‘excellent’ (8%) or ‘good’ (24%), while 25% say it is ‘only fair’ and 36% ‘poor.’” - Gallup
“Public skepticism about national unity isn’t new. Surveys by Gallup and others dating back to the 1990s show that Americans typically have seen the country as divided on key values.” - Gallup
“Pop culture and the pop style of music in general has infiltrated and reshaped much of the thinking, writing, arranging, and performing of Christian music, even within much of ‘conservative’ Christianity.” - Taigen Joos
“As marriage rates continue to decline, the social sciences are documenting how robust the benefits of marriage are for adults and their children.” - Daily Citizen
Ronald Reagan was elected president when I was in sixth grade, then reelected when I was a sophomore in high school—serving until my sophomore year in college.
In my naiveté, I guess I thought he’d be there forever—either him or, at least, someone much like him. How dreadfully wrong I was.
Reagan’s story has now come back to life on the big screen and reminded us once again of this larger-than-life portrait of Americana.
“While there was a temporary rise in church attendance, the numbers soon returned to pre-9/11 levels. The immediate increase in attendance did not translate into a sustained commitment to religious practices or beliefs.” - Church Answers
“Evangelical rage makes for great TV; infantile evangelical leaders coming unhinged attract a lot of clicks. It is thus no surprise that the bulk of media attention has been trained on evangelical fits of outrage, victimhood, and lament over the emergence of a post-Christian America.” - Christianity Today
Discussion