The Weekly is a highlight of the work the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is doing to strengthen you and our churches for God’s glory.

Explainer: What the latest social media breach means for you

What just happened?

This week, Google revealed a data breach on it’s Google+ social network that uncovered private data for up to 500,000 of its users. The Wall Street Journal broke the story Monday and reported that Google feared making the breach public because of growing public distrust in the technology industry’s privacy policies and growing regulatory scrutiny from many governments worldwide. While the data breach did not affect nearly as many users as the Cambridge Analytica incident during the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Facebook or the revealing of data for over 87 million Facebook users earlier this year from a software glitch on public profiles, this data breach has far-reaching implications for how we interact with one another online and what types of data is collected using these “free” services.

Does this affect my personal data?

It’s currently unclear how individual users’ data has been exposed or how it may affect you. Google has said that 438 applications may have used this API (i.e., a server tool that allows software to complete an action—such as collecting data—without leaving a website). Because Google+ API’s log data is only stored for two weeks, they are unable to determine how long the problem was occuring. But the company claims no evidence has been found that any personal data was misused.

This Week at the ERLC

The ERLC is in Dallas, Texas, this week for our 2018 National Conference, “The Cross-Shaped Family.” Russell Moore kicked things off yesterday with the first keynote address.

If you ground your identity not in your family but in the cross, then you are actually freed to love your family. - Russell Moore

Tune in to the live stream of the mainstage messages here. The remaining sessions will feature Jen Wilkin, Sam Allberry, Erick Erickson, and more.
Before the National Conference began, the ERLC Research Institute had its annual gathering, reflecting on the idea of what a distinctly Baptist political witness means today. Our research fellows presented and discussed an array of topics, from public theology and religious liberty to ethnic diversity and crafting a moral imagination.

What You Need to Know

Have today’s younger men and women been treated in a way that’s harmful to their development? Authors Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff say yes. In their book, The Coddling of the American Mind, they focus on three “Great Untruths” that have affected our youth: 1. The Untruth of Fragility; 2. The Untruth of Emotional Reasoning ; and 3. The Untruth of Us Versus Them. Read Chris Martin’s full review here.

America’s young people are in a moral crisis, but it’s not as simple as it seems. It is not simply a moral crisis of making poor decisions. It is a moral crisis that is turning the basis of morality upside-down.

Joni Eareckson Tada, a hero in the faith and an advocate for those with differences in abilities, recorded a short video about how the image of God informs our view about people with disabilities. Watch it here.

We all bear the image of God no matter how old we are, no matter how young we are, no matter how disabled we are.

Parenting is hard work. It requires sacrifice and many thankless hours. Josh Wester, in his latest article, “Why you shouldn’t despise the toils of parenting,” admits to the struggle involved but encourages mom and ads to persevere for the sake of the reward they will reap. Read his article here.

My wife and I want to love our kids well while they are little. As we raise them, we must be conscience of what we are doing. . . . we are creating a family to love and enjoy for the rest of our lives. And as we do so, we are able to pass on a legacy that will shape not only their lives, but the lives of many generations to come.

News From Capitol Hill

Next month, the United Nations Human Rights Council will convene in Geneva for the 31st session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) working group. The UPR is a member state driven review of each nation’s human rights record. The ERLC policy team engages in the UPR process in Switzerland in order to raise religious freedom as a human rights issue of premiement importance on the international stage.
The policy team focused its efforts for this session on Malaysia, one of the countries under review in November. The ERLC, in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI), the St. Charles Institute (SCI), and the Religious Freedom and Liberty Partnership (RFL) submitted reports on the threats to and opportunities for greater religious freedom in this Southeast Asian nation. You can read each report in the links below.
The ERLC is committed to protecting our Christian brothers and sisters from further pressure and working for the religious freedom of all Malaysians. Learn more about our work for Malaysia here.

Featured Podcasts

Are you raising children with intentionality? On the ERLC Podcast, J.D. Greear points out that it’s crucial for forming our children. Listen to his message, “Ready to launch: How mission shapes children.”

On The Way Home, Dan Darling interviews Nancy Guthrie about how the Bible ties together. They also discuss children and how to teach them to pray. Listen here.

From The Public Square

Christians Win the Great British Cake Off
Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today

In the UK version of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ashers Baking Company secures a bigger legal victory in the gay cake debate.

Judge protects freedom of pro-lifers
Samantha Gobba, WORLD

St. Louis must make a religious exception to its nondiscrimination law on abortion.

The US Witch Population Has Seen an Astronomical Rise
Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz and Dan Kopf, Quartz

Though the data is sparse, what we do know is that the practice of witchcraft has seen major growth in recent decades. As the witch aesthetic has risen, so has the number of people who identify as witches.

The Alarming Findings of a New Study on Transgender Teens and Suicide
Kelsey Harkness, The Daily Signal

A new study highlights the danger of society's rushing to affirm adolescents and teens who identify as transgender.

Upcoming ERLC Events

Join our free live simulcast of #ERLC2018!
Special thanks to our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom for sponsoring the livestream!