Weekend Links 1-12-18

A ton of links of interest in this week's roundup:

I am at heart a frustrated writer. Part of the reason for resurrecting the blog was to get myself to write again even if it's no more than these Weekend Links posts I put up every Friday. I'm fascinated by people who are successful writers particularly when they've tried something else and given it up to be a writer. That's probably why this interview with Robert Kurson caught my attention. I haven't read his books yet but they will be going on my to be read list right away. 

From Barnabas Piper, ways to become a more curious person. Lots of great food for thought in this article.

This seemed very timely given events in the news of late: Why repentant pastors should be forgiven but not restored to the pulpit. Wise words from Johnathan Leeman.

Season 2 of The Crown on Netflix explores Queen Elizabeth's faith and a meeting she had with the Reverend Billy Graham. The question is whether any of it is true. Sarah Pulliam Bailey has the answers.

In the film Darkest Hour the producers went to great lengths to make Winston Churchill's secret war rooms look as realistic as possible. 

This is a story I had never heard: the Swiss man who saved thousands of Jewish people from the Holocaust during World War II.

Russell Moore answers the question of whether we are living in a post-Christian society.

Where I would say that we're a post-Christian society is that we're a post-pretend-Christian society. There was a previous era when people had a certain basic understanding of biblical truths and some connection to the church. That brought some benefit because, in many cases, there was some sort of stable understanding of morality. But, it also brought a lot of drawbacks because a nominal Christianity doesn't save.

Often what a nominal Christianity does is the worst possible thing: leave people in lostness but convince them that they're reconciled with God. I do think we're moving beyond that kind of Christianity. That's going to mean a lack of cohesion in the country and in some communities.

Be sure to read the whole thing.

Good to know: how winter weather affects your car and what you can do about it.

Baseball season is almost upon us. Safe to say I will be checking this opening day countdown clock regularly. 

Speaking of our national pastime, this is an amazing piece of baseball history:

9/23/1908: Two outs, bottom of the 9th inning @ the Polo Grounds. 1-1 game and a dead heat for the pennant. Fred Merkle takes his lead off first base as Frank Chance holds him on. Moments later, Merkle's life would forever be changed.

(Cubs 1, Giants 1) #MerkleGame #NYC pic.twitter.com/8WtmoVP8Rh

— Alex Cheremeteff (@AlexCheremeteff) January 6, 2018

Merkle's mistake would help the Chicago Cubs advance to the 1908 World Series. Despite the infamous miscue, Merkle would go on to have a very nice twenty year career in the major leagues including four years with the Cubs.

Book of the week: The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books.

What's more fun than a book about books? This particular book traces the history of the Golden Age of Crime Fiction in Britain through 100 different novels. These are books which are considered to be ones that made the greatest contribution to the crime drama genre. It's no surprise that as a result of reading this book my to be read list has grown a whole lot longer. This is a great resource for anyone who wants to dive into the crime genre but isn't sure where to begin.

Daily Links 11-4-13

Do reporters report the news or invent it? What should we make of the fight between Mark Driscoll and John MacArthur? Are we raising a generation of wimps? Answering these and more of life's important questions in today's roundup of links.

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The Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals first met in the World Series in 1946. The final game ended in controversy when Johnny Pesky of the Red Sox held on to the ball hit by Harry Walker to drive in Enos Slaughter to win the series. The problem with this story? It didn't happen that way. The sportswriters altered the facts to create more drama. 

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Barnabas Piper is discouraged by the fighting between Mark Driscoll and John MacArthur in the aftermath of the Strange Fire Conference. What kind of message does this send to young evangelicals?

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Are we raising a generation of wimps? Well, yes. We need to do something about it.

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What do they teach kids in schools these days? That is not merely a rhetorical question meant to criticize the state of public schools.

A Pennsylvania woman set out with a video camera to learn what college students in her state know about the Holocaust — and discovered an incredible lack of knowledge not only of the genocide of the Jews, but of basic facts about U.S. history and World War II. 

Rhonda Fink-Whitman visited college campuses in Pennsylvania this fall, including the venerated Ivy League institution the University of Pennsylvania, where she was repeatedly faced with a remarkable ignorance about events that took place in the last century. 

Students didn’t know where Normandy was, why U.S. forces landed there, why the U.S. even entered the war or who was president at the time. (Wilson, Eisenhower and JFK were among the guesses.)  One student didn’t know who Anne Frank was, because he said he never read the book.

Be sure to watch the video at the link for the full story.

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How do you set your priorities and make decisions? Following these guidelines from President Eisenhower can help.

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Kirsten Powers shares how she became a Christian. It's a fascinating article.