As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Between 2003 and 2020: Social isolation increased 24 hours a month for the average person. Social engagement with friends dropped by 20 hours. Companionship dropped by 14 hours per month.” - Ryan Burge
“social media, newsletters, podcasts, YouTube, and more have given consumers the ability to curate their information sources to their exact ideological preferences. And yet, many people report lower trust in the information they get.” - The Dispatch
“…in our day everything is political and that all of society’s structures and institutions are being made subservient to political ends. …Second, it affirms that in our society self-definition is considered unassailable so that a person’s individual defining of a word must reign over a dictionary’s.” - Challies
“the film ultimately advocates a wrongheaded central message under the guise of empowerment: embrace who you are, even your reckless vices and dangerous impulses, and don’t let anyone stop you.” - TGC
“In 1979, sociologist Christopher Lasch wrote The Culture of Narcissism, arguing that as the bonds of religious identity and family erode, Americans were increasingly looking inward for security and meaning. In such a culture, feelings and subjective experiences aren’t just considered the most important thing in the world: They’re considered the most accurate view of the world.” - Breakpoint
“Ayn Rand’s plot and unsubtle message were so relentless that reading the book, the essence of her Objectivist philosophy, was much like being struck repeatedly over the head with a rolled up copy of, say, Foreign Affairs, annoying but not bad enough to cause actual pain or loss of consciousness.” - Acton
“Authority and submission are difficult concepts in a society that’s fully committed itself to individual autonomy. … Dr. Bruce Ashford explains the unrivaled authority of God, and those authorities He has established throughout the created order.” - Breakpoint
“ ‘Do I exist for God or does God exist for me?’ That’s the question that I think animates Dean Inserra’s new book, Getting Over Yourself: Trading Believe-in-Yourself Religion for Christ-Centered Christianity” - TGC
“Our post-truth age pitches the individual self as the primary source of truth: ‘follow your heart,’ ‘live your truth,’ and so forth….Institutions now exist to merely affirm us, not to form us.” - Brett McCrackin
When it comes to church participation, it is tempting to label the unenthused as probably unregenerate. Although this may be the case, it might be that professing believers who have lost the desire to come to church are simply socially anxious, isolated, and fearful of commitment. What I call “socially disconnected.”
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