UnCrummy (Jan 26)

Building Trust Across the Political Divide

April Lawson, who leads Braver Angels' Debate and Public Discourse Program, wrote a piece in Comment outlining how their methods help organizations and individuals navigate political divisions. I appreciate her emphasis on embracing healthy conflict instead of avoiding conflict altogether. In an attempt to keep the peace, too often substantive disagreements can go unaddressed and then grow invisibly in scope and severity. Honestly, what she describes in her piece made me feel a bit uncomfortable (in a good way). Her methods rub against my desire to be "right" and are a helpful reminder how difficult these conversations are and how much intentionality is required to avoid finding your identity in a political ideology. 💬

The coming land rush in space

Interested in open-concept living? Governments throughout the world are trying to work through treaties and agreed-upon rules for mining in space. For the time being, no government can own land on any cosmic bodies, but it's clear that agreements like this are only as strong as Earthly political pressures allow them to be. Miriam Kramer of Axios lays out a brief overview of where things currently stand in the space resource race. 🚀

Someone to follow: Ryan Burge

Ryan Burge is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Eastern Illinois University and cofounder of Religion in Public. He shares statistics on religion, politics, American Christianity, Evangelicalism, and more. He's a great thinking prompt for me many days! 📊

Can Robert Bigelow (and the Rest of Us) Survive Death?

The New York Times ran a feature on the "maverick Las Vegas real estate and aerospace mogul" who is trying to figure out how to survive death. Robert Bigelow is a colorful character who has a lifetime fascination with U.F.O. research and "interdimensional" science. He's offering $1 million in an essay contest for those who can provide the best scientific evidence for afterlife. Honestly, nothing I could do to describe his efforts here are more interesting than the man and his mission, so I encourage you to go check out the article. 👽

Sexuality and Identity: A Pastoral Statement from the College of Bishops

The Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America offered a statement "regarding pastoral ministry to those who self-identify as Christians and who are same-sex attracted". I found the statement to be an insightful peek into the challenges facing clergy today as they help individuals sort out their own sexuality and guide the larger church in creating a culture that maintains a biblical vision of life transformation. ⛪️