The weekly Resurgence Roundup brings together some of the most interesting content we’ve found online, as it pertains to the church and the people God has called us to reach. Keep in mind, we don’t endorse or agree with everything you’ll see included in the roundup.

For the Love of Money

New York Times Op-Ed:
In my last year on Wall Street my bonus was $3.6 million—and I was angry because it wasn’t big enough. I was 30 years old, had no children to raise, no debts to pay, no philanthropic goal in mind. I wanted more money for exactly the same reason an alcoholic needs another drink: I was addicted.

Oregon Rules Bakery Violated Gay Couple’s Civil Rights By Denying Them A Cake For Same-Sex Wedding

CBS Seattle:
An Oregon bakery stands by its decision to deny a cake for a same-sex wedding. The owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa tell KATU-TV that their religious beliefs have not changed after Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries determined the Portland-area bakery violated the civil rights of a same-sex couple. Owner Aaron Klein says it almost seems as if the state is hostile toward Christian businesses.

The Next Frontier in Fertility Treatment

New York Times:
Over the past 15 years, activists have fought to compel insurers to cover transgender-related health care—from hormone therapy to gender reassignment surgery . . . . [Now] “transsexualism” can no longer be considered a pre-existing condition. What’s been left out of the spotlight: having babies. Many Americans have come to accept gay parents; the transgender community is next in line for recognition.

Younger Christians Less Supportive Of Death Penalty

Huffington Post:
A new poll shows younger Christians are not as supportive of the death penalty as older members of their faith. When asked if they agreed that “the government should have the option to execute the worst criminals,” 42 percent of self-identified Christian boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, said “yes.” Only 32 percent of self-identified Christian millennials, born between 1980 and 2000, said the same thing.

Study: Nearly Half of Black Men Arrested by Age 23

Associated Press:
Nearly 50 percent of black men and 40 percent of white men are arrested at least once on non-traffic-related crimes by the time they turn 23, according to a new study. One of the authors of the study published this month in the journal “Crime & Delinquency” said the statistics could be useful in shaping policy so that people aren’t haunted by arrests when they apply for jobs, schools or public housing.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo: Pro-Life, ‘Anti-Gay’ Candidates ‘Have No Place in the State’

Christian News Network:
Controversy has been stirring over recent comments made by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who stated in a radio interview that ‘extreme’ political candidates ‘have no place in the state.’ . . . “Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives, who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay; is that who they are?” he asked. “Because if that is who they are, and if they are the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York. Because that is not who New Yorkers are.”

Will quitting porn improve your life?

Maclean’s:
A growing “NoFap” movement of young men are saying no to porn and masturbation. . . . “NoFap” [is] a growing online movement among young men who pledge to give up both guilty pleasures for a period of time in hopes of improving their lives. (“Fapping” is Internet slang for masturbation.) When it started two years ago, it was a lighthearted experiment to test whether giving up porn for a week could make you more productive. Today, NoFap has grown to more than 80,000 members, many of whom pledge to swear off porn entirely, saying it contributed to low self-esteem, problems with women and lack of career ambition.

The Growth of College Grads in Dead-End Jobs

The Atlantic:
A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York . . . found that, through 2012, roughly 44 percent of working, young college graduates were “underemployed,” meaning they were in a job that did not require their degree. . . . Since the dotcom bust, the share of underemployed college grads in what the Fed calls “good non-college jobs,” which today pay at least $45,000 a year, has declined from more than half to slightly over a third. Meanwhile, the share in “low-wage jobs,” which today pay $25,000 a year or less, has risen to about 20 percent, from roughly 15 percent.

Eleven Reasons Pastors Are Trusted Less Today

Thom Rainer:
Both anecdotally and by objective research, we learn that pastors are trusted less and held in lower esteem each year. A recent Pew Research poll found that the favorable view of clergy had declined to 37 percent of those surveyed. Why are pastors no longer held in high esteem? What is behind the precipitous drop in favorable ratings almost every year?

South Sudan: ‘Horrifying human rights disaster’

USA Today:
The United Nations has evidence of the use of child soldiers and mass atrocities committed by both sides warring in South Sudan, a “horrifying human rights disaster” that has killed thousands, the U.N.’s top humanitarian official said Friday. Mass killings, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions and sexual violence are some of the other violations seen in the country, said U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic.

Harvard Bible edX Course ‘Early Christianity: The Letters Of Paul’ Draws 22,000 Students From 180 Countries—and Counting

Huffington Post:
Harvard professor Laura Nasrallah’s edX online course “Early Christianity: The Letters of Paul,” has been called the largest and most concentrated scholarly discussion of Biblical studies in history . . . . “Early Christianity” began just last week, and currently boasts a registration statistic of 22,000 students from 180 countries, according to information from edX.