Friday's News & Ideas - 8/9/2024

After a slew of controversies, the SBC turns to a lowkey leader to keep things cool
Religion News Service: Clint Pressley does not have a national following or a big social media presence. As SBC president, his goal is to tone down the acrimony.

Andrew Young returns to south Georgia city where he first became pastor for exhibit on his life
The Associated Press: Andrew Young began his career as a pastor of a small Black church in Thomasville in 1955 — years before he became a civil rights leader beside Martin Luther King, Jr., a U.S. congressman, United Nations ambassador and Atlanta mayor.

I’m agnostic. Here’s why I went back to church
Sojourners: In my adult life, I thought that if I found a church I morally aligned with I would feel at home and Christianity would make sense, Elisa Rowe writes.

Remembering the longest journey to Auschwitz – the deportation of Rhodes’ Jews decimated a small but vibrant community with centuries of Mediterranean history
The Conversation: The fate of the Jews on this remote island is testament to the scale and reach of the Holocaust, how the genocide of Jews remained a Nazi priority to the end, and the range of Jewish cultures decimated during the war.

An ancient revitalized monastery becomes hub of Christianity in Syria
National Catholic Reporter: Mar Musa Monastery, near the city of Nebek, has become a modern beacon of hope and resilience in a country marred by conflict.

The Spark

Coming to America
Layan Albaz is one of thousands of Palestinian children who have lost limbs in Israeli air strikes — and one of the very few evacuated* to the US for medical care, Atavist Magazine writes.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers