Plus: Russell Moore on the Promise of TikTok
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CT Daily Briefing

Today’s Briefing

When the darkness of dementia descended on her mother, Jen Pollock Michel wondered what good could come from such a disease.

The government intervened in an ongoing dispute at a leading Protestant seminary in Pakistan, deciding which of the two rival boards was legitimate.

Russell Moore ponders: Will Tiktok save or destroy democracy

When one of the oldest books in the world—containing key texts of the early church—sold at an auction last year, scholars worried it would disappear from the public. But now the book is at the Museum of the Bible

A charismatic California church’s bylaws split members into two classes. And one class is not allowed to sue, a state court ruled last week.

How Kenya is facing a high rate of teen pregnancies

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Behind the Story

From news editor Daniel Silliman: Reporting on a contentious rift at a major Protestant seminary in Pakistan presented me with a few problems.

  1. The people involved disagree about many basic facts. The core of the dispute, actually, is a disagreement over which seminary board is the real board.
  2. The primary language is Urdu. I have no Urdu skills.
  3. Court documents are in English but are not available online. 
  4. Some of the disagreements are about standard ways of doing things, which vary by culture. Is it appropriate for someone to hire relatives? What is an invoice supposed to look like?
  5. People who are not involved but know something about the situation and could offer some needed perspective don’t want to talk on the record. The whole thing is messy. They don’t want to get involved.

At that point, it would have been easiest to quit. I pushed on anyway, thankful that CT has the resources, connections, and commitment to bring these stories to light. 

We believe church is important. The institutions that educate ministers are important. And telling the truth about conflicts in those institutions is a demonstration of our commitment to church and seminary and telling the truth, even when it’s difficult.

I hope readers will come away with a better understanding of the world and a burden to pray for the institutions that educate ministers—in Pakistan and everywhere.


In Other News


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Today in Christian History

August 7, 317: Constantius II, Son of Constantine the Great and Roman emperor from 337 to 361, is born. During his lifetime, he outlawed pagan sacrifice (see “The Emperor Strikes Back” in issue 57: The Conversion of Rome).

CONTINUE READING


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in the magazine

As developments in artificial intelligence change daily, we’re increasingly asking what makes humanity different from the machines we use. In this issue, Emily Belz introduces us to tech workers on the frontlines of AI development, Harvest Prude explains how algorithms affect Christian courtship, and Miroslav Volf writes on the transhumanist question. Several writers call our attention to the gifts of being human: Haejin and Makoto Fujimura point us to beauty and justice, Kelly Kapic reminds us God’s highest purpose isn’t efficiency, and Jen Pollock Michel writes on the effects of Alzheimer’s . We bring together futurists, theologians, artists, practitioners, and professors to consider how technology shapes us even as we use it.

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