For anyone in California out there or who has a familiarity with commuter life in L.A., I wanted to draw your attention to Freakonomics' latest series on facts and fiction about commuting in L.A.
Most people think of L.A. as the smoggiest, over-freewayed, crappiest-public-transportation-having quagmire in the world. Maybe so, but maybe not. Here's the last installment in the series (that also provides links to the previous articles) to let you know how things really are.
Enjoy.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Lessons from the Future of Evangelical America
The Christian Science Monitor put out an article (thanks, Drudge, for calling it to my attention) regarding the potential demise of mainstream Evangelical Christianity in America.
The author predicts that "millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline.... The grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close."
It's a bit bleak but brings out some interesting premises that I'd like to put out there:
1. Too much attention to causes can drive the focus away from the faith. The author cites attention to gay marriage and pro life and other cultural/moral issues as a significant cause for a generation to be able to articulate their religions on viewpoints such as these but still be unable to succinctly explain their faith.
I personally struggle with the line between proper expression of the cultural application of moral viewpoints with a need to merely exemplify correct principles and allow for a measure of agency in those around me, particularly as doctrinal tenets become a question of public policy.
2. A certain measure of orthodoxy is required for a religion to have any kind of roots. Joseph Smith's comments that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things will never generate faith sufficient unto salvation comes to mind.
I'm always grateful that I grew up in a faith that holds its youth to high standards while never slacking on the teaching of scripture and basic doctrine. I never felt that, for example, being encouraged to wear white shirts on Sundays and not drink Coke overpowered instruction on faith, the Atonement, and scripture.
The author predicts that "millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline.... The grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close."
It's a bit bleak but brings out some interesting premises that I'd like to put out there:
1. Too much attention to causes can drive the focus away from the faith. The author cites attention to gay marriage and pro life and other cultural/moral issues as a significant cause for a generation to be able to articulate their religions on viewpoints such as these but still be unable to succinctly explain their faith.
I personally struggle with the line between proper expression of the cultural application of moral viewpoints with a need to merely exemplify correct principles and allow for a measure of agency in those around me, particularly as doctrinal tenets become a question of public policy.
2. A certain measure of orthodoxy is required for a religion to have any kind of roots. Joseph Smith's comments that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things will never generate faith sufficient unto salvation comes to mind.
I'm always grateful that I grew up in a faith that holds its youth to high standards while never slacking on the teaching of scripture and basic doctrine. I never felt that, for example, being encouraged to wear white shirts on Sundays and not drink Coke overpowered instruction on faith, the Atonement, and scripture.
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