Friday Roundup (6/20/25)
In the goal of writing more consistently, my new plan is to try to have an article or devotional every Tuesday, and every Friday a roundup of some of what I’ve been reading, watching, or thinking about. Just bullet points of interesting things that y’all might be interested in too.
Rod Dreher Interview by Justin Brierly
Definitely recommend a listen to this interview of Rod Dreher by Justin Brierly. I’m going to write soon about Dreher’s book Living in Wonder. I think he is on to something very important about how the culture is shifting in regards to what people are seeking, the decline of atheism, and the rise of the occult. Everyone should subscribe to the Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, it’s top notch.
Wes Huff clip explaining hell. I’ve been really impressed by Wes Huff’s apologetic ministry on podcasts like Joe Rogan, just bringing the gospel to people who may never have encountered it. This clip of him on the Flagrant podcast is such a good model for how to talk about the more challenging parts of our faith to the unbeliever:
AI As Ouija Board & Familiar. Rod Dreher, again, a really fascinating article about how AI might open people up to encounter the demonic. It’s wild stuff, but I think important to read:
From the article:
Yesterday in Budapest, I met a man from another European country, friend of a friend, visiting the city. He is going through a painful divorce. He is a devout Catholic, and said his marriage fell apart when his wife of many years went down a rabbit hole into witchcraft. He is bereft. I won’t say more of what he told me, but it struck me as a story of an intelligent woman who was having a midlife crisis, and found solace in a feminist group that turned out to be into witchcraft. She embraced it wholly, and has now abandoned the faith, and cast her husband aside.
It’s real. I’m telling you, it’s real. The unwillingness of so many people, even Christians, to take this dimension of reality seriously is leading to a lot of destruction. There are a couple of chapters in Living In Wonder that talk about this. To be sure, the book is overwhelmingly about the goodness of God, and spiritual wonders — miracles, the way God speaks to us through Beauty, and suchlike. But you cannot have the godly wonders, and Christian “enchantment”, without acknowledging the reality of the shadow side.
Living In Wonder is meant to awaken Christians (and others) to the reality of the spiritual dimension, especially as it manifests to us materially — through the interpenetration of the spiritual with the material. (Above all, in the Incarnation of Christ, the eternal infinite God, as a time-bound, finite man of flesh.) But it also serves as a warning about how infernal spiritual powers can do the same thing, and are eager to do it to deceive and destroy us.
Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis. I’m re-reading for the dozenth time this classic, and I was struck anew by this passage, written what, 70 years ago? Still seems spot on:
First, as to putting the clock back. Would you think I was joking if I said that you can put a clock back, and that if the clock is wrong it is often a very sensible thing to do? But I would rather get away from that whole idea of clocks. We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. We have all seen this when doing arithmetic. When I have started a sum the wrong way, the sooner I admit this and go back and start again, the faster I shall get on. There is nothing progressive about being pig headed and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think if you look at the present state of the world, it is pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistake. We are on the wrong road. And if that is so, we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on.
Firebrand Summer Reading Ideas: Read here for some good theological recommendation for the summer. Happy to see that Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry was included in such a list; it’s professional malpractice if you are a pastor in Kentucky and have never read it.
Dr. Justus Hunter on PlainSpoken
My friend Justus Hunter gave an interview on PlainSpoken podcast about his Methodist faith and his conversion into Roman Catholicism. I love Justus, and appreciate his thoughts on the gift of the Wesleyan movement to the wider church, as well as Jeffrey for giving him an interview. Well worth listening to.
WATCH: The Most Compelling Argument Against Tech In Schools, by Sophie Winkleman
Highly recommend listening to this speech by Sophie Winkleman about the devastating effects of ed-tech in schools. It’s a really, really important conversation every parent needs to begin having with their teachers, principals, and legislators. This stuff is NOT GOOD for our kids, and we don’t have to accept it as is.
Christian apologist John Lennox interviewed by atheist Alex O’Connor
I think John Lennox is a wonderful apologist for the Christian faith, and his interview by atheist Alex O’Connor is a delightful example of what genuine dialogue should be like. Highly recommend this interview, as well as the other interviews O’Connor does—he is a great interlocutor to sharpen Christian thinkers.