CHICAGO, IL (February 20, 2015) — Many Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos with one another 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 One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life
A great article on how Twitter and other social aspects of the Internet can bring out the worst in us—not just in what we post but in how we react to the posts we read. One of the leaders in the attack on the woman featured in this article came under fire himself for a misinterpreted/miscommunicated tweet of his own. He eventually apologized and wrote about his experience on the other side. Unfortunately, this piece doesn’t mention those who actually suffer from AIDS, misogyny, or bullying and how they feel about their struggles being publicly derided—or the privilege that underlies the tweets about such topics that are seen as inappropriate or offensive.

The Myth That There Are More Black Men in Prison Than in College, Debunked in One Chart
Vox offers a good analysis of how numbers and statistics can be misinterpreted, especially when incomplete data is used in the first place. The article also touches on how such perceptions can be harmful, especially when applied to non-dominant culture groups that are already viewed through narrow perceptions or held to a different standard.

The Prophetic Voice of Leslie Knope
This is a great example of engaging Christian principles through a secular cultural lens. I loved these thoughts on community engagement and working with people who see the world differently than you, especially when you both are passionate about the same things.

5 Reasons Why Many American Christians Wouldn’t Like the First Ones
I always find it helpful to look at how Christians from other cultures understand what it means to follow Jesus. It opens my eyes to how the culture in which I live influences some of my assumptions about God. This article raised some helpful questions to consider—even though it’s hard for me to imagine that first-century Christians were as harmonious in their thinking as this author depicts. (If they were, I doubt there would be so many stories of conflict in Acts, or that Paul would have needed to write so many letters.)

The Real Problem with Bread (It’s Probably Not Gluten)
I found this theory on the gluten-free craze to be particularly timely as I’ve been making my own bread and pizza dough the last few months. It’s nice to have an excuse to turn on the oven when it’s so cold! (Not to mention when the heater breaks down.)