Pope Francis's family paper and the integrity of information
- Do people today twist words and take things out of context more than people did in the past?
The hosts discuss Pope Francis's sweeping paper on family issues (noting its conservative teaching on homosexual unions paired with a call to treat every person with dignity), recommending listeners read the whole document rather than headlines or partisan spin. That sparks a long reflection: were arguments of the past more trustworthy because information traveled slowly and verbally, or have people always twisted words for their own ends? The consensus: ends-don't-justify-the-means faithfulness matters now more than ever, with one host noting he keeps up with the pope's writings because they are genuinely thoughtful.
More on Media
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Dear LFTP: should meteorologists stop saying 'gloomy'?
- Should TV meteorologists stop calling rainy weather miserable, gloomy, or dreary?
A host reads a letter complaining that TV meteorologists calling rain 'miserable,' clouds 'gloomy,' and gray days 'dreary' is irresponsible toward emotionally vulnerable viewers.
From No. 492 · Show Me The Toes
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Declining faith and deaths of despair study
- Is declining faith fueling a rise in deaths of despair?
A host reads a Daily Mail article on a Wellesley College study linking rising 'deaths of despair' (suicide, alcohol and opioid abuse) among middle-aged white Americans to declining faith and church attendance.
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What kids face that parents misread: identity, media, truth in love
- What are kids facing today that their parents are not seeing correctly?
Asked what teenagers experience that parents do not see correctly, Jenny points to media and identity, including sexual and gender identity, which parents do not know what to do with.
From No. 480 · Youth Initiative
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Nathaniel's book-writing crisis, false teachers, and protecting what matters
- How much Christian writing about Jesus is gasbagging versus genuinely necessary?
- How do you identify false teaching?
Nathaniel is in a crisis after reading N. T. Wright's Simply Jesus, feeling like a dumb dumb next to eloquent writers, which opens a discussion of the hubris of writing books…
From No. 454 · Read, Protect, and Complain About Your Husband