The Daily Briefing highlights the news of the day and research that reveals the spirit of the day.
The Daily Briefing is a newsletter sent straight to your inbox every morning that provides biblical insight on today's news.
Top News
6. Obama derides social media 'clown show' in first comments since Trump's racist video post (NBC News)
“Former President Barack Obama called the kind of rhetoric coming from President Donald Trump and his administration “a clown show” in a podcast interview that aired Saturday. Obama did not directly address the video, but discussed Trump’s actions, rhetoric and his administration’s mass deportation agenda.
“I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” Obama said, speaking broadly about the administration’s behavior for the first time since Trump reposted the video. “It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction.”
“People around the country “still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness, and there’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television,” Obama added. “And what is true is that there doesn’t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office [of the president], right?”
Is this another Taft v. Teddy battle? Pres. Teddy Roosevelt supported and vigorously promoted William Howard Taft as his successor, believing he would carry on his policies. However, when Taft took office, differences quickly emerged, but Roosevelt held his tongue. In a letter to the new president, Roosevelt wrote: "I will make no speeches or say anything for two months. But I will keep my mind open. . . as I keep my mouth shut." But that silence didn’t hold, with Taft sharing with a friend: "It is very hard to take all these blows from Roosevelt. I do not know what he is trying to do, except to make my way more difficult. It is very hard to see a close friendship going to pieces like a rope of sand."
In her exceptional book The President’s Club, Nancy Gibbs chronicled the post-Oval Office lives of modern US presidents. She notes: “If the Presidents Club had a seal, around the ring would be three words: cooperation, competition, and consolation. On the one hand, the presidents have powerful motives—personal and patriotic—to help one another succeed and comfort one another when they fail. But at the same time, they all compete for history’s blessing.”
Our culture has accepted 2 huge lies, according to Rick Warren. “The first is that if you disagree with someone, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.” (Heb. 12:14)
5. Catholics, conservatives cheer ouster of ex-Miss California from WH religious panel after panel controversy (Fox News)
“The Trump administration swiftly removed Carrie Prejen Boller, a former Miss California winner, from a White House religious council amid accusations she worked to "hijack" a hearing on antisemitism, earning applause from religious leaders and conservatives. Prejean Boller was ousted from the White House Religious Liberty Commission after she worked to promote her "own personal and political agenda on any issue," according to chair of the commission, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
“Trump established the religious liberty commission in May via an executive order directing the Department of Justice to provide support to the newly formed body focused on upholding "Federal laws that protect all citizens’ full participation in a pluralistic democracy, and protect the free exercise of religion."
Panels shouldn’t be platforms, according to Yuval Levin. In his insightful A Time To Build, Levin persuasively argues that America’s most important institutions have come to be thought of as platforms more than molds. Instead of being shaped by an institution, individuals increasingly use institutions as platforms to extend their brand.
“When we don’t think of our institutions as formative but as performative… they become harder to trust. They aren’t really asking for our confidence, just for our attention.” He goes on: “We lose faith in an institution when we no longer believe it plays this ethical or formative role of teaching the people within it to be trustworthy.”
You don’t want to eat grass like an ox…One day, while walking on the roof of his royal palace, King Nebuchadnezzar looked out at his city and boasted to himself, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" Immediately, God moved Nebuchadnezzar from a palace in the city to a field outside the city. He ate grass like an ox and “his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.” In this instance, don’t get too big for your britches because, as Nebuchadnezzar found out, oxen don’t wear britches. (Dan. 4)
4. No clear path to ending the partial government shutdown as lawmakers dig in over DHS oversight (AP)
“Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise Sunday in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. A partial government shutdown began Saturday after congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump’s team failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the department through September. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis last month.
“Congress is on recess until Feb. 23, and both sides appear dug into their positions. The impasse affects agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”
Contrary to Foriegner, this does not Feel Like The First Time… We are currently in the 23rd actual shutdown since 1974. However, recently this has become not only a more frequent occurrence, but also each occurrence is lasting longer in duration.
Enter normalization. This doesn’t simply mean an expected occurrence, according to new research. Rather, normalization is a blend of statistical and moral notions. The study asked 2 related questions that look very similar to illustrate this dynamic: “What is the average number of hours of TV that people watch in a day? And what is the normal number of hours of TV for a person to watch in a day?” Essentially, normalization is the average of the typical and the ideal.
Transformed over conformed… Throughout the biblical narrative, we find stories of individuals conforming, being normalized to the ways of the world instead of being transformed by the creator of it: Solomon with his relationships, Peter at Galatia, the people during the time of the Judges with their interpersonal behavior, etc. etc. As it was then, so it is now; there are a host of reasons that can explain the behavior, but don’t excuse it. (1 Kings 11, Jer. 17, 21, Rom. 12)
Cultural News
3. Prison ministry baptizes over 50 inmates amid ‘paradigm shift’ in rehabilitation (WaPo)
“The baptism of more than 50 men and women was the first held inside the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections. The occasion had been in the making since Moving Forward Ministries launched inside the jail two years ago. Led by the director of corrections, Terence Clark, and pastored by Chaplain Keith Lynch, the nondenominational Christian ministry has grown from about a dozen people to more than 100 on average every service. While jails have long offered religious services, the church in the Prince George’s jail now also includes deacons, a choir and a drummer.
“Overall crime is down 18 percent in the county compared with this time last year, according to recent data from the Prince George’s County Police Department. Homicides have been down historically, but the county has seen more deadly violence in the first weeks of the year.
“If we don’t impact the lives of people, if we don’t give them an opportunity to do something different, then all we’re doing is just stockpiling people,” Bishop Anthony G. Maclin, pastor of the Sanctuary at Kingdom Square in Upper Marlboro, said in an interview. “This is a paradigm shift … a change is in the air, and it’s going to start here.”
Prisoners are the most unchurched population here in the US, according to God Behind Bars. 1.9 million people in the U.S. are affected by incarceration each year. While 14 percent of inmates are serving life sentences, the vast majority will be released back into society. And sadly, 27 percent of those will return to prison within 3 years, 82 percent within 10.
What about Mark? A fascinating study found that incarcerated people become more forgiving, accountable, grateful, and capable of self-control after taking an 8-week Bible study on the Gospel of Mark. The course, “The Prisoner’s Journey,” also decreased depression, anxiety, and anger among those enrolled.
It’s not how you start but how you finish… Recently, Dog the Bounty Hunter joined God Behind Bars at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, in Angola, Louisiana. He was a part of a program in which nearly 800 inmates heard the gospel, and more than 50 incarcerated men gave their lives to Jesus. While these men and women are paying the price for their crimes, some have realized that Jesus has paid the price for their sins. (Luke 23:42, Heb. 13:3).
News You Can Use
2. OLYMPIC CRAZINESS! Athlete skis over the line BACKWARDS for the win.
Watch it here. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7)
1. The most joyful girl on the internet
Watch it here. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Phil. 4:4)
