Wednesday's News & Ideas - 7/19/2023

QAnon supporters are promoting ‘Sound of Freedom.’ Here’s why
NPR: ‘Sound of Freedom,’ a Christian thriller about a former federal agent rescuing children from exploitation, is this summer’s surprise box office hit. But the movie is also being criticized as a vehicle for conspiracy theories and misleading depictions of human trafficking — landing it in the middle of the country’s politically polarized culture wars.

Early Americans read the Bible in a way that nearly destroyed America*
Christianity Today: America’s failure to agree on what the Bible taught about slavery fractured the nation completely in the Civil War.

Guess who has spoken most frequently at the SBC Pastors’ Conference?
Baptist News Global: Because of the year-to-year nature of the conference — each year’s president has wide latitude to invite speakers and plan the program — seldom has anyone taken a wide look at the recurrence of preachers.

Living by kinship, not consumption*
The Christian Century: When I’m tempted to click “Add to cart,” I hear creation groaning.

She’s on a mission from God: Suing big oil for climate damages*
The New York Times: A lawyer started small with a creative tactic. It grew into an effort that could force fossil fuel companies to pay hundreds of billions in damages.

The Spark

See 10 dazzling space images from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards
From comets to nebulas to the Milky Way, the shots shortlisted in the annual competition capture the beauty of the cosmos from Earth, says Smithsonian Magazine.

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