CHICAGO, IL (April 27, 2018) – Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement by the Covenant of any views expressed.
How Yo-Yo Ma Became God
The apostle Paul, who was Jewish, wrote to the people in Philippi that, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
In this article, writer Jeffrey Salkin, who is also Jewish, doesn’t make what he calls an “admittedly outrageous conclusion,” but rather points to an evening in which the famed cellist exercised humility in a way that was god-like, as Paul calls us to be.
From the article: “God had to ‘shrink’ in order to make room for the world to exist. In a similar way, leaders must make themselves ‘smaller’ in order for their followers to actually do the right thing. It is true of teachers, coaches—and especially parents. In modern psychological terms, we must limit our ego in order to let others grow.”
Fury in Germany as Rap Duo with Anti-Jewish Lyrics Gets Award
Now for a different kind of music-related story. Even members of punk rock bands were angry when a hip-hop duo received an Echo Award, Germany’s equivalent of a Grammy. The award was given in part because their album had been so successful. Some award recipients said they are returning their prizes in protest.
From the article: “Allegations of anti-Semitism have dogged German hip-hop for years and were even the subject of a recent documentary, ‘The Dark Side of German Rap.’ One song by the rapper Haftbefehl mentions a conspiracy theory about the Rothschilds, a Jewish banking family, and the video for another features images of Orthodox Jews carrying suitcases of money and diamonds over the lyrics ‘money, money rich.’”
Too Many Men
China and India are suffering through a major crisis. In China, there are 34 million more men than women. In India, the gap is 37 million. Those numbers include 50 million males under the age of 20.
As a result, tens of millions of men will have no chance at marriage partners. There has never been a time in human history that approaches that those kinds of gaps. The gaps are the result of devastating policies rooted in social, political, and moral choices.
From the article: “The imbalance creates a surplus of bachelors and exacerbates human trafficking, both for brides and, possibly, prostitution. Officials attribute this to the advent of sex-selective technology in the last 30 years, which is now banned but still in widespread practice.”
He’s Been Bitten by Three Predators in Three Years
Don’t ever go hiking or swimming with Dylan McWilliams. What are the odds of being bitten by a bear, shark, and snake in three years? 893.35 quadrillion to one.
From the article: “McWilliams just chalks all this up to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He encourages everyone to experience the outdoors. ‘I still go hiking, I still catch rattlesnakes, and I will still swim in the ocean,’ he told the BBC.”
Is Rural America Getting Tired of Tough-on-Crime Policies?
In recent years, the majority of growth in prison and incarceration rates has occurred in rural areas. Now rural communities—among the most conservative voting blocs in the country and most likely to support law-and-order agendas—are saying changes have to be made.
From the article: “Sixty-one percent of all rural residents believe that constructing more prisons doesn’t actually reduce crime, compared with just over two-thirds of the general population. And only 27 percent of people in rural areas believe crime in their immediate vicinity to be a major concern.”
