Though arguably just as poignant as The Good Place or Field of Dreams, the world of heaven's reception is a low-fi, short-form experience. And like most TikTok series, it's the imaginings of one person alone: Taryn Delanie Smith. (Olson, NPR)
Read MoreOver the opposition of Democrats and the loud protests at the Capitol this month, the Texas Legislature voted on Wednesday to approve a bill banning hormone and puberty blocking treatments, as well as surgeries for transgender children. The state is poised to become the largest state to ban transition medical care for minors. (Montgomery & Goodman, The New York Times)
Read MoreThe California megachurch—once one of the biggest in the denomination—plans to appeal the SBC’s move to disfellowship Saddleback for appointing women as pastors. Saddleback is among three churches that will make their case before Southern Baptists at their annual meeting in New Orleans next month. (Shellnutt, Christianity Today)
Read MoreAussies lose more than $25 billion a year to gambling, the largest per capita in the world, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Most is lost on poker machines (pokies) easily available in suburban pubs and service club restaurants, far beyond the destination gambling of casinos. (Kadlecek, Christianity Today)
Read MoreThey include: allegations of discrimination against women, people of color and the LGBTQ community; disturbingly close scrutiny of young adults’ sex lives; exploitation of volunteer labor; and church leaders’ extravagant personal use of donated funds. (Maloy, The Washington Post)
Read MoreIn recent years, Somerville, a four-square-mile city with 80,000 residents just outside Boston, has quietly turned into something of a haven for those who practice consensual nonmonogamy, an umbrella term for relationship styles that involve more than two people. (Safronova, The New York Times)
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