Summer listening: June: @ianharber and 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 July: Emily Harrison of Dear Christian Parent (Substack) on what parents need to know about AI August: Robert S. Smith and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴

I've been sitting on this for a bit. I've joined @mereorthodoxy.bsky.social as the Director of Communications and Marketing. I couldn't be more excited. I wrote a little about it. www.backagainwords.com/p/something-...

"If faith only works when we, the people of God, are immune to the cruelties of the world, then the house of belief will crumble and fall." Read Jen Pollock Michel from CT's review of 'Walking Through Deconstruction' by @ianharber.bsky.social: www.christianitytoday.com/2025/03/ian-...

The subtitle of @ianharber.bsky.social’s 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 is 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩. Here he explains what such companions can expect:

“Suffering must be integral to our picture of discipleship. Alongside learning Scripture and doctrine, Christians should be prepared for trials. As a teacher of mine once said, ‘We do theology in the light so we can stand on it in the dark.’” @ianharber.bsky.social, 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

Completed Part 1 of @ianharber.bsky.social’s 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. Very good. Recommended it just yesterday to someone who told me their longtime friend recently announced that they no longer believe and they want to talk about it.

The valorizing of doubt is the theme of the morning. Read in @ianharber.bsky.social’s 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 in which he writes: “One of the first things you will find in deconstruction circles is the valorization of doubt.” (1/2)

“It’s only possible for someone to doubt one belief if they are weighing it against another belief that they aren’t doubting. Many doubts are born out of an implicit acceptance of another belief that hasn’t been recognized yet.” @ianharber.bsky.social

Tim Challies reviews @ianharber.bsky.social’s new book, 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. www.challies.com/book-reviews...

“Apologetics can be a good thing. We need to be able to speak intelligently about our faith. But apologetics w/o love, without character, without personal integrity, without a gracious & compassionate heart is nothing more than a clanging cymbal.” @ianharber.bsky.social 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Grateful to @ianharber.bsky.social for this!

“Do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone” is a hollow and dehumanizing way of life compared to “Love your neighbor as yourself” Aim higher.

Much of the peace we look for is found in accepting that the life you have is the life God has given you, and God has not made a mistake or forgotten about you.

“What I am to make my child I must first be myself.” — Andrew Murray

We need habits that help us bear life so we have the capacity to love. I wrote about a few of the habits I've implemented that help me do that. www.backagainwords.com/p/5-habits-t...

One thing that blows my mind when I think about it is how CS Lewis covers the 7 virtues in Mere Christianity—you know, one of the most widely read Christian books ever—and yet Protestants just… don’t talk about them.

Tell me what you believe about the Christ in “No creed but Christ!” and then I have a surprise for you.

“It will be weird when the exvangelicals who left the church for the culture in the name of justice are left by the culture for the church in the name of righteousness.” @ianharber.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/ianharbe...

“In him you also…” - Ephesians 1:13 The gospel is in the grammar.

The next stop after the liturgical recovery is the virtue recovery.

Three stories caught my attention over the past week. www.backagainwords.com/p/bibles-boo...

Announcing the winners of this year’s Christianity Today Book Awards! Congratulations to our Book of The Year: “What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church” by @gavinortlund.bsky.social Zondervan. Read more: bit.ly/3ZDOuQ8

Today is Giving Tuesday. Mere Orthodoxy exists to create media for Christian renewal. We hope to grow and expand in our capacity to accomplish that mission. If you have been blessed by the ministry of Mere Orthodoxy and would like to see us grow, consider supporting us today.

Walking Through Deconstruction has broken into the top 100 of Adult Christian Ministry books. Still a month and a half to go until release.

This is so so good. mereorthodoxy.com/constructing...

Instead of Christmas presents, my wife and I bought a home espresso machine and now I'm debating coming out of barista retirement and opening up a coffee shop in my home

Not sure how to say this but Dinx the Puppet is a pretty good apologist it's just kind of off-putting that he's a puppet.

Good advice from Blaise Pascal: “Let them at least learn what is the religion they attack, before attacking it.”

I loved this conversation so much.

Do you see the vibe shift yet?

It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way

I’ve heard one report of someone already getting their pre-order of Walking Through Deconstruction (a whole month and a half early!). Has this happened to anyone else?

We readily assent that no part of sanctification will be easy, but we often expect this particular part should be. If God wants me to know the Bible, why wouldn’t He make it easy for me to understand? The spirit of the age is instant gratification. The Spirit of the Lord takes the long view.

Saying the Bible isn't easy doesn’t mean we can’t grasp its main message. But the Bible makes demands of us. It calls for thought, patience, and devotion. The path to truly internalizing and digesting Scripture is rugged, intentionally so, for this is how the Spirit does his work in our lives.

Happy New Year, Christian!

Why aren’t you Boethius maxxing today?

God's word is not a textbook to be mastered, but a revelation from the God who masters our hearts. It is not a light to barely warm us, but a blazing fire to consume us. It is not a hammer we throw at others, but an ice pick that shatters the coldness we used to call holiness…

True story.

Probably the most underrated aspect of cultivating patience in your life is how it requires you to adopt a long time horizon for pretty much everything in your life. We should be thinking in 5-10 year spans at minimum and all of eternity at maximum.

Currently having a mild freak out

“A foundational test of our spiritual life is how deeply we can feel with people who are different from us.” — Dallas Willard

Wow. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/28/w...

This actually works. In the last two years I've met a not insignificant number of people I know from one online space or another. Some are friendly folk I'm glad I got to know, others are now friends.

Me in my echo chamber

Because belonging.

Ian is right. Listen to Ian.

I think I might start using RWUs (Real World Use) as a new unit of measurement.