News & Ideas

Monday's News & Ideas - 8/15/2021

  • DOJ investigating SBC
  • Salman Rushdie’s controversial work
  • Antisemitic backlash to Trump warrant
  • Gospel of Dungeons & Dragons
  • International students in Ukraine
  • Quitting a job & work-life balance

The DOJ is investigating Southern Baptists following sexual abuse crisis
Associated Press: Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said Friday that several of the denomination’s major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of its multiple problems related to clergy sex abuse.

Why Salman Rushdie’s work sparked decades of threats
NPR: The controversy began after Rushdie published his fourth novel, “The Satanic Verses,” in 1988, which reimagines parts of the Prophet Muhammad’s life and in one section suggests that the founder of Islam may have flirted with polytheism.
The Guardian: What it was like asking for Salman Rushdie’s work in a Pakistan bookshop

Synagogue of judge who approved Trump’s search warrant cancels Shabbat service
Religion News Service: The vitriol against Florida judge Bruce Reinhart is part of an escalation of antisemitic animus propelled by Trump’s fervent supporters.

The gospel according to Dungeons and Dragons
Christianity Today: The fantasy role-playing game’s theological dimensions can be spiritually formative.

From international student to refugee*
Christian Century: Fleeing Ukraine and resettling elsewhere has been difficult — especially for African nationals.

The Spark

How quitting a job changed my work-life balance
We asked people who quit their jobs* during the “Great Resignation” how it changed how they approach work, The New York Times says. This is what they told us.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers



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