As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
I’ve written previously about the role of good sources in the exercise of discernment. To flesh them out, I’ve also offered some practical tips: closest is best, deprioritize opinion, and look past headlines.
Here we consider three more tips for better use of sources.
“For many Christians, taking precautions to avoid catching and spreading COVID-19 is embracing not a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” - Lifeway
“…most people obtain their worldview by unconsciously absorbing it from the culture rather than consciously adopting it from Scripture. Identifying and mastering the components of the biblical worldview will strengthen the faith of any believer, help us to detect and refute error, and live consistent with the way the world really works.” - P&D
“If your ‘news’ sources know what you believe and like (and they do) and you believe what you like to hear, then it should be no surprise that you are presented with more of it, magnified and deepened.” - Ken Brown
“We live within a society (and sometimes even attend churches) that views law as intrinsically negative. Commands equal negative restrictions. … But, a proper distinction between the law and grace does not conclude that the law is negative – only that it is insufficient to save us.” - Zach Dietrich
(Posted in July of 2020)
My thoughts below predate COVID-19, masks, hydroxychloroquine, or churches defying public health emergency orders. Last fall, different controversies were exposing problems in how believers evaluate conflicting claims and decide what to believe.
But those problems are still with us, and the current raft of controversies is exposing them even more painfully.
“Social media is a wonderful thing – IF you have the knowledge and skills to control it. Say what you like, but most people don’t have those skills and we’re seeing the deterioration happening in our culture every day.” - Cooke
“In the essay, Lewis does eventually explain the reasoning behind his position. Before he does, however, he spends the first part of the essay explaining what moral reasoning is and how it works. In other words, he puts on a Moral Reasoning Clinic” - DesiringGod
“…counting our blessings and conjuring an attitude of to-whom-it-may-concern gratitude, Pollyanna-style is not enough. What do we do when cancer strikes — I have two children battling it right now [2005]— or when loved ones die, when we find ourselves in the midst of brokenness and real suffering? That … is where gratitude gets radical.” - Breakpoint
“…as we live with opened eyes, we will see that we are most truly never without beauty, if only we will accept its fleeting nature, if only we will cease lamenting the past and look to the present.” - Challies
Discussion