Neither N. T. Wright, author of major original theological research such as The Resurrection of the Son of God or The Climax of the Covenant, nor Tom Wright, author of the popular series . . . for Everyone (including two slim volumes, Acts for Everyone), needs any introduction. The current volume springs from a series of lectures first delivered in Oxford in 2023 and elaborated in Houston, Texas, during that summer. It is typical of the author’s informal and cheerful spoken style; the reader experiences him challenging, correcting an imaginary audience, almost singing the occasional musical illustration.

Clearly the product of wide learning, the book is not itself a work of scholarship, but, as it claims, a challenge. There are brilliant nuggets, such as the bracketing of Acts at beginning and end by emphasis on the Kingdom of God restored to Israel or the critical sketch of the Church at Corinth, “arrogant, puffed up, casual, chaotic, soft” because they avoided persecution, or the claim that worship of the gods then was like electricity today: no household could function without it. But the real joy of the book is its confident, free-ranging suggestions for further explorations: e.g. a new Temple theology.

Read it all.

(2009 [London] Times) Tom Wright–The Church must stop trivialising #Easter https://t.co/QRZfgvbKEq #easter2019 #anglican #theology #apologetics #21stc pic.twitter.com/iJmw4MoY9g

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) April 22, 2019

The viewer first recoils at this dystopian society’s upside-down standard of beauty. “Eye of the Beholder” asks us to think about where we get our standards of beauty in the first place. But more importantly, the show invites us to recoil even more at what they do with those who fail to achieve their standard. 

The Christian knows that God offers sure and true answers. But what is the Christian to do in response to those who have different answers? Who don’t know the truth? That question was settled by the founders of this country when they wrote the U.S. Constitution and its First Amendment, but that foundation is being undermined by Christian nationalists who seek to “merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy.”

The original audience Serling sought to challenge were communist sympathizers and Cold War-era dictators and all who would fall for the false comforts offered by such. That challenge is recurring. 

Janet offers timeless wisdom when she cries out to her physician: 

“Who are you people, anyway? What is this state? Who makes up all the rules and the statutes and the traditions? The people who are different have to stay away from other people who are normal. The state isn’t God, Doctor.”

Today, those advocating Christian nationalism might heed Janet’s words.

Read it all.

A good one from @KSPrior:

“Who are you people, anyway? What is this state? Who makes up all the rules and the statutes and the traditions? The people who are different have to stay away from other people who are normal. The state isn’t God, Doctor.”https://t.co/xgKwAHsFG3

— W. David O. Taylor (@wdavidotaylor) January 24, 2025

‘[Note the]….high honour our Lord places upon marriage. By his presence at the marriage feast, the Son of God said, ‘This is an honourable thing’ (Genesis 1:28; 2:18–25; Hebrews 13:4). One of the first steps toward moral decadence in any society is a low esteem for this ordinance of God. Where there is no sanctity of marriage, there is no regard for God or his law, no regard for moral decency, and no regard for human life. These things stand and fall together!

–Quoted by yours truly in last Sunday’s sermon from Don Fortner of Grace Baptist Church of Danville, KY, who pastored there for over 40 years and died in 2020

The only way for one of God’s elect to become unaccepted is for God to reject his own Son, for we are in him! Until God rejects Christ, he cannot, and will not, reject those who are in Christ. This is our blessed security! ‘He hath made us accepted in the beloved.’ Don Fortner. pic.twitter.com/GtkiuwyJB9

— The High Calvinist. (@SavedbygraceIII) May 23, 2024

President Trump’s landmark executive order designating major drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) marks a watershed moment in America’s approach to national security and strategic competition against China. This reclassification acknowledges an uncomfortable truth: the fentanyl crisis is not merely a law enforcement challenge but a sophisticated form of irregular warfare targeting American society, with cartels serving as proxies in a broader strategic campaign orchestrated by China against U.S. interests.

The devastating impact of this proxy warfare is reflected in stark statistics. According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, were responsible for over 70,000 deaths in 2022. The Drug Enforcement Administration has meticulously documented how Mexican cartels have industrialized fentanyl production using precursor chemicals sourced predominantly from China, creating what amounts to a chemical weapons supply chain targeting American communities. These aren’t merely crime statistics – they represent casualties in an irregular war being waged through proxy forces, with networks stretching from Beijing through Sinaloa and into every major American city.

The Brookings Institution has documented how this crisis disproportionately impacts working-class communities, creating zones of social instability that strain local governments and emergency services – precisely the type of internal disruption that aligns with China’s strategic objectives. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates the economic burden of the opioid crisis exceeds $1 trillion, representing a significant drain on American resources and societal resilience. This continued deficit reduces our ability to reinvest in competition with China, while contributing to the ballooning national debt.

Read it all.

https://t.co/T0XizEzRfs

— Small Wars Journal (@smallwars) January 22, 2025

O God, Who clothest Thyself with light as with a garment, and makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to praise Thee: mercifully grant that, as by Thy created light we perceive the wonders of Thy universe, so by the uncreated light of Thy Spirit we may discern the adorable majesty of Thy being; and that, our hearts and minds being illumined by His presence, we may walk in Thy paths without stumbling, until at last all shadows flee away, and in Thy perfect light we see light; Who with the Son and the Holy Spirit art God for everlasting.   

–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951) 

Morning everyone I hope you are well. Definitely breezy on my earlier dog walk, with gusts expected of 70 MPH +(higher on the fells). Staying low level and local. The beautiful 17th century Rydal Grot. Have a great day.#LakeDistrict pic.twitter.com/n2aXuWTnsL

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) January 24, 2025

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),  “that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth.”  Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

–Ephesians 6:1-4

Calmer days🥰💙

Hope everyone survived the storm last night 😱😱 The wind was ferocious 🌬💨

Happy Friday all🩷🩷#windmill #BlueSky #nature #NatureBeauty #naturelovers #photooftheday #photography #ThePhotoHour #Friday pic.twitter.com/cgZUsm7uP0

— Gill (@GillianLouiseD) January 24, 2025