Five for Friday: Singing the Hymns, Most Christian Nation, Wisdom Teeth

hymn singing necessary
CHICAGO, IL (January 29, 2016) — 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.

9 Reasons Every Church Needs to Sing Hymns
One reason listed here is certainly bound to be controversial. Yet the video accompanying it represents a number of such events that are being held around the country. A Facebook post explains the reason: “We are striving to embrace the energy and community of the pub that Luther, Calvin, Lewis and Tolkien had while also trying to put these hymns in a different context with the hope of discovering them in a new way.”

Aside from that teaser, check out the entire blog of the poster of this list. He has a strong traditionalist leaning, but he rejects the specious arguments many make that malign contemporary worship. He makes room to acknowledge that contemporary worship is important for some people. His is an interesting voice, even if you find yourself unable to harmonize with it.

church in china

China on Course to Become World’s Most Christian Nation
The use of the words “Christian nation” and what they mean are problematic, but this writer’s point is that within 15 years, there could be more Protestants in China than in the United States. Millions of worshipers attend state-approved churches, while by some estimates millions of others attend illegal underground churches.

The Communist government appears conflicted on what to do about the growth of Christianity. On one hand, the church provides many needed social services, but the subversive nature of the Christian faith could make it a threat to the government.

One professor who has studied the spread of Christianity in China states, “There are people in the government who are trying to control the church. I think they are making the last attempt to do that.”

100 Times a White Actor Played Someone Who Wasn’t White
The announcement that white actor Joseph Fiennes will play Michael Jackson in an upcoming British TV comedy shocked a lot of people—okay, nearly everyone who heard it. After all, there already are ongoing protests about the racial makeup of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. This article illustrates just how common it has been for whites to play people of color.

Two examples from the article:
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” 1961: “If you can think of an offensive stereotype related to Japanese people, Mickey Rooney probably employed it in his portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi. Yellowface? Check. Buckteeth? Got that too. Outrageous accent? Yup.”

“21,” 2008: “Virtually every actor in this movie was racially miscast. The nearly all-white cast was composed of Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess and Jacob Pitts, among others, but almost everyone involved in the real-life card-counting scheme that inspired the movie was of Asian descent.”

wisdom teeth Basic_panoramic_radiograph
Why You Might Think Twice about Having Your Wisdom Teeth Pulled
The author describes his experience of being forced to have his wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, pulled when he was 15, after which he suffered a lot of pain. “I have never been sicker in my life,” he writes. Now he’s not happy that millions of other people are perhaps needlessly suffering the same way.

After World War II it became routine to remove impacted molars, but now some experts are arguing that the risks of the surgery outweigh the potential benefits. After learning of studies that argue against the widespread use of the procedure, the author writes, “I am now convinced that the wisdom teeth industry is probably a scam.”

Video Demonstrates 15 Uses for Binder Clips
Who knew that these objects that clutter up desk drawers could be so useful beyond holding thick documents together.

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