CHICAGO, IL (July 8, 2016) — Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos 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.

All That Had to Go Just Right to Reach Jupiter

When you think how hard it is to have a “successful” one-week family vacation a thousand miles away from home, NASA’s feat of sending a spacecraft to Jupiter is all the more remarkable. How can you not marvel? Be sure to keep scrolling to the preceding articles.

From the article: “In effect, NASA achieved to throw a tiny object through 1.7 billion miles of space into an area that is only about tens of kilometers wide. It’s like throwing a basketball from London to New York and managing to hit the backboard perfectly to land the ball in the basket.”

Flood of Guests Expected at Noah’s Ark Theme Park Opening

Answers in Genesis has built an ark to the size and dimensions identified in the biblical account. Features include zipline cables, a two-story restaurant, and a zoo.

From the article: Ken Ham, president and CEO of Answers in Genesis said, “When people say, ‘What are you really doing here? What statement are you making?’ well, you know, in a world that we see becoming very secularized before our eyes, it’s really time for Christians to do something of this size, of this quality, that competes with the Disneys and the Universals to get a message to the world.”

Charismania & Discipleship: Or Why I’m Still a Charismatic…

When we talk about life in the Spirit, what do we really mean? This is a well-written article that acknowledges the potential for excess but offers clear presentation of a charismatic theology.

From the article: “So I get that the charismatic church is messy, and can be off putting. That’s why I love 1 Corinthians. Just when you think Paul should have just shut the crazy Corinthian charismaniacs down, he tells them to ‘Eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy’! He was brave. I take heart from that. But in addition to this early example of Paul releasing a church into spiritual gifts, as long as the practices are drenched with loving Christ-like behaviour, there isn’t a good theological reason not to be a charismatic.”

How Do Recent Supreme Court Decisions Impact Churches?

The court ruled on abortion limitations, immigration, and affirmative action. It declined to rule on mandated contraception coverage of birth control for employees of faith-based organizations. With the Supreme Court, even not deciding on an issue can be a major decision.

Lawsuit Forces ChristianMingle.com to Add Options for Gay Daters

There are many issues raised in this case, but two mentions in the article were surprising. Self-described “atheist activist” who is pro-LGBT David Smiley declared the decision unjust, asking, “Since when can the government tell us what products or services we must offer to future customers?…Every atheist, every liberal, and every business owner needs to fight for ChristianMingle’s rights to offer the products or services they choose, even if we disagree with their practices or philosophy behind it all.” In addition, the statistics about people who already use ChristianMingle are attention-getting.

From the article: “ChristianMingle profiles feature details about denominational affiliation and church attendance, but members represent a range of beliefs and practices. A 2014 survey found that 61 percent of users would have sex before marriage and 34 percent would be open to marrying outside the Christian faith.”

Are We at the Start of a Tech World War?

Technology continues to prove its usefulness in promoting much that is good in the world, but it also is tearing us apart and has the potential to do worse. The author recalls hearing a former spy speak at a conference who shared a doomsday scenario that increasingly seems quite possible if not likely.

From the article: “During the past couple of decades, most of the world’s private and public infrastructure had become predominantly digital. And that the next major war could decimate that infrastructure. Water-treatment facilities, oil pipelines, dams, electrical grids, telecommunications platforms, food shipments, public and private transportation, traffic lights, prisons, every single drip of media—and a long, long list of other things we need for survival but take for granted—would all be vulnerable.”