Readable (27/4)

This week’s interesting links and articles:

The Hunger Games: A Mirror to the World (Martin Saunders, ChristianityMagazine.co.uk): “The Hunger Games is the most important narrative of this kind in recent years. If the film-makers continue to project the books’ heart onto the screen, a primarily teenage, Western audience will be forced to consider: what kind of world do I want to live in?”

Beliefs About God Across Countries (HuffingtonPost.com): “The report found that in 2008, Russia, Latvia and Slovenia showed the highest increase in belief in God, and the Netherlands, Spain and Australia showed the largest decrease. Belief in God has increased in 12 countries, while belief in God has decreased in 17 countries.”

A History of Darkness (LeadershipJournal.com): “Whether in the pillar of fire, the still small voice, or the incarnate Son, God has been Emmanuel: “God with us.” For a committed Christian, then, nothing is more devastating than divine absence, the experience of our prayers hitting a ceiling of brass. But such struggles can yield unexpected blessings.”

The New Conversion: Why We ‘Become Christians’ Differently Today (ChristianityToday.com): “Evangelical Christians are deeply concerned for those who have yet to experience conversion to Christ Jesus. And yet, evangelicals have always recognized that more is involved than questions that might be asked ‘in heaven’.”

How Silicon Valley Turns Obsessive Compulsive Traits into Cash (Damien Thompson, TheFix-Book.com): “How does tech addiction work? Part of the answer involves obsessive-compulsive traits. Most of us have them. And tech entrepreneurs are making the most of these kinks, even if they won’t admit it.”

The Gift of Service (Tim Keller, KellerQuotes.com): “Don’t think you know your real gifts and capacities until you do a lot of humble serving in many different capacities. Only as you do that will you come to understand your own aptitudes.”

And in case you missed it:

The Chuck Colson Interview (SheridanVoysey.com): “Former Nixon aid, prisoner reformer, and evangelical statesman Charles Colson has died. In this interview, one of the last conducted with him, Chuck and I discuss his part in the Nixon Watergate affair, the emotional events leading to his discovery of faith, and how the Christian worldview makes sense of life.”