Not
the “nones” (those who say they have no religion) but old-fashioned
nuns. As the subtitle of this Huffington Post article puts it,
“More
and more young women are being called to the religious life, after 50
straight years of decline. What on earth is going on?”
This
corresponds with some anecdotal evidence of conferences I’ve witnessed.
The ones that seem anxious to reach out to millennials, especially
those tempted to become a “none,” pull in 300–500 participants. And then
there is
The Passion Conferences, where 20,000 to 30,000 young people show up to praise Jesus with confidence and verve.
Getting Out Your Message in an Election Year.
It may not be through the evening news much longer.
While
the average person aged 65 and over watches 33 minutes of TV news a
day, this falls to just two minutes among people aged 16–24, according
the media regulator’s annual
news consumption report.
At
least in Britain, where the study was conducted. People are spending
more time watching Netflix and the like. And this may shape how
politicians have to shift their strategies:
The
shift could have major implications for British politics, given
services such as Netflix do not provide any news. Political parties have
traditionally considered the BBC’s 10pm news bulletin to be their most
important outlet for getting their message across to large swaths of the
public, which in turn can shape policies being proposed and how they
are presented.
The Poetry Key
Like
most Americans, I’ve had a formal appreciation of poetry but have never
spent long hours reading it. I need someone to hold my hand if I’m
going to get anything out of many modern poems. To help us better
appreciate not only poetry but the startling message of the Bible,
Christopher Benson, a fine writer I’ve worked with years ago,
analyzes three devotional poems from the book
Adam, Eve, and the Riders of the Apocalypse: 39 Contemporary Poets on the Characters of the Bible.
The review is not only an invitation to the book but also a lesson in
reading poems about Lot, Lot’s wife, and Lot’s daughters. As Benson puts
it:
Devotional
poetry is a vital way to become surprised by the Word again because it
awakens the mind’s attention from what Romantic poet Samuel Taylor
Coleridge calls “the lethargy of custom,” directing it “to the
loveliness and the wonders” of God’s self-revelation.
Noah in an Uber
Speaking of Bible characters, and speaking in lighter tones, here’s another
John Crist video: Noah is the first of many Bible characters who take a ride in an Uber.
Grace and peace,
