Scientific American: Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth

Self-esteem has been an obsession of the West for decades and many decisions regarding education, social policy, and interpersonal advice have focused on raising people's self-esteem. But it is becoming increasingly obvious that a many of our beliefs regarding self-esteem are just not supported by the research. The authors of the Scientific American magazine in the article, Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth describe the findings of their examination of the research literature on self-esteem and conclude that 'Boosting people's sense of self-worth ... [is] of little value in fostering academic progress or preventing undesirable behavior'. Read the full article here.

Book Review: "The Divine Conspiracy"

The topic of discipleship has been examined and re-examined for centuries. But Dallas Willard brings a fresh perspective to this topic and shows the practical relevance of following Christ by being part of the 'Divine Conspiracy' - God's plan to undermine evil with good. Meatiness and depth mark this book. It is essentially an applied exposition of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. The chapter on the Beatitudes is brilliant and worth the price of the book on its own. Be prepared for a radical shift in your understanding of them. In a couple of places the book gets a bit too mystical for me and his discussion of the nature of death is dualistic (but there are some valuable points). Overall, a practical and richly nuanced view of the life of following Christ. The challenge, of course, is to put it into practice!