Sunspots 661

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A Relevant writer says that your relationship with God is what is most important in defining who you are.

Relevant also has an article debunking myths about charitable giving.


Computing: Wired on how Android apps track us. The article suggests an app source as an alternative to the Google Play store. (The article doesn't consider iOs systems much, but indicates that there are similar problems with Apple devices, too.)

Health: Wired tells us what's in Tide pods.


Politics:  National Public Radio reports that almost all of the National Park Service advisory board has resigned.

And Scientific American reports that dismissing scientific advice has become a hallmark of the Trump administration.

NPR reports that Irish immigrants are being deported, too, not just Hispanics.

Science: NPR reports that scientists are beginning to study the left- and right-paw preferences of cats.


Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 658

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Relevant lists five things we shouldn't say to our pastors.

Relevant also offers, and rebuts, several reasons why we don't volunteer.

Christianity Today reports that the government of Egypt is claiming that, for a Muslim, dying to protect a Christian church is worthy of martyrdom.


Computing: Wired has listed, with explanation, the most dangerous people (or groups) on the internet.

Health: (sort of) Listverse describes strange objects that have been removed from people's bodies. Very strange objects.

Humor: (or something) National Public Radio reports on Vanna White's 35th anniversary on Wheel of Fortune.


Politics: National Public Radio analyzes the number, and significance, of the laws signed by President Donald Trump, and compares them to laws signed by previous Presidents in a comparable period.

Science: Undark has posted an annotated list of misleading claims about science, by various politicians, during 2016,

Listverse gives summaries of the histories of 10 interesting numbers. I learned a number of things while reading this one.

I thank one of my brothers for suggesting some of these items!

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 647

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Christianity Today has published another essay on reaction to the national anthem and the US flag. (The previous two Sunspots each referred to another such essay.)

A Relevant writer says that pursuing physical fitness can be a form of idolatry.

Another Relevant writer asks whether God really wants us to be happy.

Ed Stetzer, in Christianity Today, writes about hypocrisy, and a couple of prominent current hypocrites.


Computing: Wired reports on how to give robots a sense of touch.

Food: Listverse describes some bad things (including dying) that can happen to contestants in eating contest.

National Public Radio reports on trendy (and expensive) non-alcoholic beverages.

Health: Listverse discusses 10 good things that coffee does for you.

History: Listverse describes some amazing accomplishments of self-taught people.

(and Philosophy) The History Blog discusses the story of what happened to the body and head of philosopher Jeremy Bentham. (Here's the Wikipedia article on Bentham.)

Humor: (or something) Listverse describes 10 really strange government agencies, from more than one country.


Politics: FiveThirtyEight says that gun control is about as polarizing issue as there is in the present USA.

Science: (and politics) Scientific American says that Congress has an anti-scientific attitude, and suggests a fix.

NASA will let you send your name to Mars.

NPR reports that a new weed killer is helping some farmers, but harming others.


Image source (public domain)

One way to drive potential converts away

"The evangelical posture toward modern science has missional consequences."

Indeed it does, and they are mostly negative. The attitude of many evangelicals toward science is causing many people who need Christ and salvation to shut off what evangelicals say. If, for example, we say that the earth is no more than 10,000 years old, because the Bible tells us so, why should a reasonably well-educated person who hasn't been brought up as an evangelical take seriously anything else we say that the Bible says, including what we say it says about Christ?

The statement quoted above is from a relatively brief post on the BioLogos Forum, and is by Ken Wilson. It is the first of three parts. The post must have struck a nerve -- so far, it has 160 comments, with, no doubt, more coming.

Thanks for reading. Read Wilson's article.