Pew Forum | Tim Høiland

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Repaso: Easterly on institutions; Springsteen’s latest; Christianity in the Americas; Undocumented.tv interview; famous last words; FLW’s unbuilt projects; Half the Sky film

March 30, 2012 — Leave a comment

1. Easterly on the roots of hardship
Bill Easterly, economics professor at NYU, has a review of a new book on development economics in the Wall Street Journal, emphasizing the critical role healthy and inclusive institutions play in overcoming poverty. In what he says here (and particularly the part where I’ve added italics), I see this as a huge challenge for Latin America:

The arrival of “Why Nations Fail” is thus a hugely welcome event, since economists Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson take on the big questions and in doing so present a substantial alternative to the dominant thinking about global poverty. For Messrs. Acemoglu and Robinson, it is institutions that determine the fate of nations. Success comes, the authors say, when political and economic institutions are “inclusive” and pluralistic, creating incentives for everyone to invest in the future. Nations fail when institutions are “extractive,” protecting the political and economic power of only a small elite that takes income from everyone else.

2. Springsteen’s “Wrecking Ball”
Last weekend my buddy Matty (who’s also a remarkable singer-songwriter and music guru in general) let me know I ought to check out The Boss’s new record, Wrecking Ball. “I got a sneaky feeling you’d really like it,” he texted. I got it and he’s right: it’s great. Here’s what Roger Nelson at ThinkChristian.net had to say about it:

Originally written as acoustic folk tunes, Springsteen took this collection of songs to producer Ron Aniello, who pushed them into new sonic territory. Using samples, drum loops, trumpets, choirs and the guitar solos of Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, Wrecking Ball has a glossy and varied musical texture. Lyrically, it stands in a direct line with Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad, but this collection is an eclectic-electric mash-up of gospel, blues, Irish stomps, protest songs, big-stadium rock anthems and even a little rap. What was conceived in the tradition of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger is transformed into a post-modern pastiche.

3. Christianity in the Americas
In December, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life published the latest data on the size and distribution of the Christian population in the Americas. There’s a cool interactive map and a couple of charts, in case you’re a nerd like me when it comes to these kinds of things.

4. Mexico’s evangelical shift
Speaking of Christianity in the Americas, PRI’s The World took a look at the changing religious demographics of Mexico, with a visit to the town of Zongozotla in the central highlands:

It was once unheard of in Mexico to consider not being Catholic. But here in Zongozotla, where different faiths are gaining ground, spiritual shifts are possible—and underway. And while some members of the Catholic Church stress that change is needed to compete with the evangelical presence, it’s unclear whether Catholicism’s centuries-old traditions and hierarchies will be flexible to reverse its losses here.

5. Evangelicals on the rise in Latin America
How about one more while we’re at it? This is from Al Jazeera English, ahead of the Pope’s visit to Mexico and Cuba. This piece by Chris Arsenault provides some helpful background on the history of religion in the region, including Pope John Paul II’s visit, the liberation theology movement during the Cold War years, and recently, the rise of evangelical churches throughout Latin America.

6. Interview with undocumented student
In case you missed it last week, here is part one and part two of my interview for Undocumented.tv with Ricardo, an undocumented college student here in Phoenix.

7. Last words in Texas
Texas, as well all know, sends a lot of people to death row. Of the 1289 people who have been executed in the United States since 1976, over a third of them — 481 – have been in Texas. Another 317 are on death row in that state. Whatever you think of the merits of capital punishment, GOOD has an infographic with the most common last words said by death row inmates.

8. Frank Lloyd Wright’s unbuilt projects
Katie and I recently got to see the FLW exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum. It was really interesting, and while it’s cool that he lived in this area and some of his projects were built here, I really don’t know why I never visited Fallingwater when I lived in Pennsylvania. At any rate, we were both curious about the fact that so many of the renderings on display were for unbuilt projects. Lo and behold, the polis blog (a Repaso favorite, as you may have noticed) has a post taking a look at three of Wright’s unbuilt projects.

9. Half the Sky: The Movie
I’m looking forward to watching the Half the Sky documentary when it airs on PBS this October. I read the book a couple of years ago, and had this to say about it. Here’s the trailer for the film, laden with celebrities.

Repaso is intended as a thought-provoking compilation of news and commentary from the past week related to the intersections of faith, development, justice and peace. As always, I welcome your thoughts on any of the links and ideas in this roundup!

[Photo credit: thepolisblog.org]

Repaso: Josh Garrels, poverty and progress in LatAm, Barna’s top trends, global Christianity, Honduras nativity, Hemingway’s Cuba, Psalm 146

December 23, 2011 — Leave a comment

1. “Love & War & The Sea In Between”
Congrats to Josh Garrels for his “Album of the Year” honors from Christianity Today for Love & War & The Sea In Between – which, as I’ve pointed out repeatedly (proof), is still available for free at JoshGarrels.com! Here’s an interview to accompany the award.

2. Poverty and progress in Latin America
Although income inequality in Latin America is still a huge problem, as is a stubborn level of extreme poverty, and while the infiltration of drug cartels in Central America continues to wreak havoc on the citizens of those countries, The Economist has some good news: poverty levels as a whole are markedly lower than they were just a decade or two ago.

3. Barna’s top trends for 2011
The Barna Group has released its annual list of six trends that have shaped or characterized Christianity in the United States in 2011: (1) changing role of Christianity; (2) downsized American dreams; (3) Millennials rethink Christianity; (4) the digital family; (5) maximizing spiritual change; and (6) women making it alone.

4. Pew Forum on Global Christianity
While we’re on the topic of research about Christianity, the Pew Forum has released a definitive new report on global Christianity. Two top line findings: there are 2.2 billion of us, and no region or country can claim to be the geographic center of the faith anymore. Missiologist and researcher Ed Stetzer also summarizes the report’s findings here.

5. Honduras nativity turns heads
What does Christmas mean to Hondurans? This video from CNN provides a glimpse.

6. Hemingway’s house in Cuba
The Today Show got a rare glimpse inside Ernest Hemingway’s home in Cuba, where he did a great deal of his writing, and it’s fascinating (to me, anyway).

7. Walter Brueggemann reads Psalm 146
When asked by Krista Tippett from American Public Media’s On Being to read a meaningful passage of Scripture, this is how Old Testament scholar Brueggemann responded.

[Photo credit: Sasha Arutyunova via theseainbetween.com]

Repaso: Columbus Day, the Bible, toxic charity, topography of faith, and social media diplomacy

October 14, 2011

1. The people and the Black Book
This week we North Americans commemorated Columbus Day. I remember when this day came around in 1992, the quincentennial of Columbus’s landing in the “New World.” We were living among indigenous Mayan neighbors, and I remember learning, however vaguely, that not everyone considers Columbus a hero. Here’s a hauntingly beautiful and gripping piece written by Mark Buchanan, a Canadian pastor and wonderful writer. In it he tells of his First Nations neighbors and of the soul-searching required of Christians in light of the history we share:

The Tswassens have a prophecy 500 years old. One of their ancient holy men foretold that a people pale as birch would one day come from across the great water in large canoes. They would bring with them a Black Book. The Black Book was Truth, end to end, a gift of inestimable good. The people lived for many years awaiting the prophecy’s fulfillment. And then one day it happened. The big canoes— bigger than the Tswassens ever imagined—arrived. They teemed with people pale as birch. And, yes, they brought with them a Black Book. Then the killings started. The Tswassens became an obstacle to the pale men, and the pale men slaughtered them, and those they didn’t slaughter they enslaved. This is part of my history.

2. Read the Bible, become a… what??
LifeWay Research, an offshoot of the Southern Baptist Convention, has some interesting findings in a new study examining what happens to people who read the Bible:

Frequent Bible reading has some predictable effects on the reader. It increases opposition to abortion as well as homosexual marriage and unions. It boosts a belief that science helps reveal God’s glory. It diminishes hopes that science will eventually solve humanity’s problems. But unlike some other religious practices, reading the Bible more often has some liberalizing effects—or at least makes the reader more prone to agree with liberals on certain issues… Some of the most interesting findings relate to moral attitudes. “How important is it,” the survey asked, “to actively seek social and economic justice in order to be a good person?” Again, as would be expected, those with more liberal political leanings were more likely to say it’s very or somewhat important. And those who read the Bible more often were more likely to agree.

3. Bob Lupton on ‘Toxic Charity’
Grad school was a great time. I learned a lot and enjoyed most of it. But some books were more enjoyable than others. One of the best, most refreshingly different books I read during that year and a half was a slim volume from Robert Lupton called Theirs is the Kingdom: Celebrating the Gospel in Urban America. I was about to tell you it’s out of print, but apparently it was re-released just this week! Anyway, Lupton released a new book this week also, called Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It). Here’s an interview he did with the Religion News Service, published in the Washington Post. Read it for a taste of his perspective on why charity can become toxic.

4. Topography of faith
USA Today published an interesting infographic on the “topography of faith,” based on findings from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. You can see the religious breakdown of each state by passing your cursor over each one. The religious demographics of some states may surprise you.

5. Social media’s role in US foreign policy in Latin America
Liz Harper has an interesting post at the Americas Quarterly blog about the potential for US diplomacy in Latin America using social media:

Because governments that embrace new media technology are shown to be more responsive to their citizens and more transparent, the report argues, the U.S. has an interest in Latin America’s technological development… As Latin America is one of the fastest growing export markets for the United States, it makes sense for the U.S. to help encourage tech companies, like Google, Facebook and Twitter, to become more active in the region. The U.S. strategic interest in playing a “matchmaker” of sorts between the region and private companies is to promote Internet freedom and to ultimately use improved technological connectivity to advance our broader regional objectives, such as strengthening democratic values.

Of course, the proliferation of social media has been instrumental in the pro-democracy movement in the Middle East. But as observers of that case might suggest, giving ordinary citizens in Latin America their own voice through social media doesn’t guarantee that we will like what they have to say. It cuts both ways, I suppose.

Repaso: Alternative justice, global evangelicalism, Guatemala’s geothermal jackpot, Mexico vs. Catholic Church, and more

August 5, 2011 — Leave a comment

1. Better Justice in Baltimore: A Community’s Approach to Crime
One of my professors from Eastern, Stan LeQuire, passed along a fascinating piece from the Solutions Journal about “community conferencing” for victims and offenders as an alternative justice system in Baltimore:

So why is community conferencing so successful? If there is a secret to its success, it has to do with our emotions. Community conferences allow—and even encourage—participants to express how they feel, something that our culture seems to discourage. It’s messy stuff, but our emotions motivate us more than our thoughts do. Just think…if someone gives a group a great intellectual solution to their problem, and they still walk out of the room hating each other, that solution will have no chance… In order for people to feel differently about a crime or conflict, they need to be able to address the incident on an emotional level before they can move forward. Community conferences provide a space and structure for people to do just that.

2. Global survey of evangelical leaders
During last fall’s Lausanne congress in Cape Town, the Pew Forum surveyed evangelical leaders from around the world and the report is now available. This is from the report’s introduction:

As the evangelical movement has grown and spread around the globe over the past century, it has become enormously diverse, ranging from Anglicans in Africa, to Baptists in Russia, to independent house churches in China, to Pentecostals in Latin America. And this diversity, in turn, gives rise to numerous questions. How much do evangelicals around the world have in common? What unites them? What divides them? Do leading evangelicals in the Global South see eye-to-eye with those in the Global North on what is essential to their faith, what is important but not essential and what is simply incompatible with evangelical Christianity?

3. Guatemala City’s geothermal jackpot
When I was maybe ten or so I climbed Pacaya, an active volcano in Guatemala, along with my dad, my brother and a group of friends. I remember eating my picnic lunch, watching lava flow down the side and having hot, tiny pellets of volcanic rock dropping around us. Now, according to GlobalPost (article and video) some folks are tapping into Pacaya for geothermal energy — a relatively clean type of alternative energy — to help power up Guatemala City:

The steam rising from the Pacaya volcano and the hills and rivers surrounding it on the outskirts of Guatemala’s captial city hints at a power source that could give the country the energy security it craves… But there are some barriers to entry for other companies hoping to join Guatemala’s geothermal race. The development of the geothermal fields is costly and risky – the plants themselves are also expensive to build and drilling doesn’t always turn up what’s expected. Despite those risks, Ormat plans to expand its operations in Guatemala.

4. Colombia’s best hope (PDF)
Adrienne Wiebe and Bonnie Klassen of Mennonite Central Committee have a good piece in The Ploughshares Monitor about the complexity of the ongoing volatile situation in Colombia and what ordinary Colombians are doing to work for peace. In the clash between government and military forces and rebel groups, they write,

The biggest losers are 45 million ordinary citizens, rural communities, and the environment. But it is with the ordinary citizens, the “losers,” that the best hopes and possibilities for peace in Colombia are emerging.

5. Mexico vs. the Catholic Church
There’s an interesting piece by Tim Padgett on Time Magazine’s Global Spin blog about a legal battle between Mexico’s Catholic Church and the country’s electoral tribunal, after the church hierarchy was sanctioned for making statements against political parties in favor of abortion and same-sex marriage. There are significant implications for both freedom of speech and freedom of religion in Mexico:

In its ruling, the [Federal Electoral Institute] tribunal insisted that it’s “protecting the secularism of the state.” But does a political proclamation by a religious group really threaten the secularism of a state? Does Mexico risk becoming Iran if it lets priests publicly criticize politicos? No. In reality, it’s the IFE judges, the PRD and other backers of Mexico’s outdated Religious Associations Law who may be undermining the country’s fledgling democracy.

6. The best 404 error message ever
Time Magazine’s Techland blog had a post about creative “404 error” messages, including one that’s actually a video. I was going to embed it here, but instead, click this link and see what you get.

Archives For Pew Forum

Repaso: Easterly on institutions; Springsteen’s latest; Christianity in the Americas; Undocumented.tv interview; famous last words; FLW’s unbuilt projects; Half the Sky film

Repaso: Josh Garrels, poverty and progress in LatAm, Barna’s top trends, global Christianity, Honduras nativity, Hemingway’s Cuba, Psalm 146

Repaso: Columbus Day, the Bible, toxic charity, topography of faith, and social media diplomacy

Repaso: Alternative justice, global evangelicalism, Guatemala’s geothermal jackpot, Mexico vs. Catholic Church, and more

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