Early in his spiritual journey, Barber decided that his would be a complete transformation: “I made a promise to myself in that nasty, dirty, evil county jail, I was never going to become ‘a convict,’” he wrote to Gregory. “I made up my mind that when I left prison either on my feet or in a body bag I was going to be a better man than when I arrived.”(Bruenig, The Atlantic)
Read MoreThere’s something of a chicken-and-egg problem here: If church doesn’t ask enough of you to inspire real commitment, you won’t think it’s that important. But if you don’t think church is that important, it can’t realistically ask enough of you to make you really commit. (Kristian, Christianity Today)
Read MoreLaunched in July, Text with Jesus is the latest creation from Cat Loaf software, an app-development company in Los Angeles. The app replicates an instant messaging platform, with biblical figures impersonated by the artificial intelligence program ChatGPT. (André, Religion News Service)
Read More“Barbenheimer” — the twin release of blockbusters “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — may have broken box office records and brought people out to the theaters in droves, but it also highlighted a very real problem: Some people seem to have forgotten how to go to the movies, with widespread reports of drunken outbursts, rampant cellphone use and exhibitionism. (Andrade & Kingsbury, The Washington Post)
Read MoreA museum has airbrushed JK Rowling out of its hall of fame and Harry Potter exhibits because of her gender-critical beliefs. The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle, Washington, accused the author of holding “super hateful and divisive” opinions in a lengthy blog post explaining its decision. (Penna, The Telegraph)
Read MoreHeadlines gushed that she had given $100,000 bonuses to her crew. Politicians asked her to postpone her concerts in solidarity with striking hotel workers. Scalped tickets were going for $3,000 and up. And there were way, way too many friendship bracelets to count. These days, the center of an otherwise splintered music world can only be Taylor Swift. (Sisario, The New York Times)
Read More