Links for the Weekend (2023-12-22)

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

A quick programming note: this will be the last WPCA blog post of 2023. Look for a new links post on January 5 and a new original article on January 10.

Small Group Saved My Parents’ Marriage

This is a moving story about how some men from the author’s church intervened in her father’s life and helped to turn him around.

First, the gospel changes lives. My dad came to terms with how his anger and pride hurt the people he most loved for many years. Seemingly overnight, he changed from a man of anger to a man of patience and love. When he was confronted with the grace, forgiveness, and mercy of the gospel message, those traits infiltrated his life as well.

My Grandfather Died with Dignity

This article describes some of the concerning problems with Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), which is gaining popularity in Canada and some countries in Northern Europe.

The conversation around MAiD puts front and center the questions of what makes life worth living and, by implication, in what circumstances a life might no longer be worth living. In the modern Western ethos of entrepreneurial individualism, the cardinal virtues include efficiency and productivity. As Justin Hawkins reminds us, our cultural fixation on accomplishment and achievement has influenced the way we view the moral worth of those who cannot achieve or accomplish. Old age and chronic illness increase our dependency on others; each simple cold or stumble on the stairs can become a greater and greater battle for lesser and lesser recovery. The moral hazard here is for the suffering to view their struggles not only as a reduction in their own value and dignity, but for those charged with their care to take offense at being asked to sacrifice their autonomy and capacity in the service of those dependent on them. Those so affronted could be tempted to ask, as Canada’s healthcare system writ large is doing right now, “why should I forego what makes my life valuable for the sake of one whose life is becoming less and less valuable?” In the moral logic of accomplishment, efficiency, and productivity, giving someone the option to die eventually imposes upon them an obligation to die. 

A Harmony of the Birth of Jesus: Matthew and Luke

If you’ve ever wondered how the chronology of Matthew and Luke fit together surrounding the birth of Jesus, Justin Taylor provides a helpful chart.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.