Psalm 146 (ESV):

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in princes,

in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;

on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

the Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the sojourners;

he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

The heart of God goes out to the oppressed.

We live in a golden age of learning. The access we have to ideas, cultures, and religions is unprecedented. At no other time in history has it been easier to be a student. Yet, so much of this is scrolled past. Along with this deluge of information comes a recoil. We instinctively back away and hide in what is familiar. If given the choice between sitting through a dense defense of a particular idea or scrolling through a personalized stream of pretty faces or funny quips, not many people will choose the former.

The reason why we shy away from these fountains of knowledge is not the point of this post. Rather, I would like to highlight a few platforms where those who are interested can find many choices to hear a different point of view, learn a new skill or subject, or broaden their knowledge base.

1. Youtube – the largest and most comprehensive video collection in the universe. There are some great channels out there which have genuinely helped me to see the world in a different way. Some of my favorites:

Smarter Every Day

Bible Project

CS Lewis Doodle

1. Great Courses – This company has gathered some of the best teachers in the world to teach some of the most interesting topics. Their catalogue is extensive, and the cost can be steep, however we get the Audible courses which are in audio only but come with PDF materials. The cost of each course then is never more than the cost of one credit which can be as low as $12. I also buy them whenever they are on sale (as low as $2-$3). A couple of my favorites have been:

Anything by Elizabeth Vandiver (mostly classics and myths)

Espionage and Covert Operations: A Global History

Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are

1. Udemy – People are able to upload their own courses, so not the level of professionalism as the Great Courses, but still some great content. They regularly have sales on the courses so you can try them out and see if you like the format. A benefit of this approach over the Great Courses and Youtube is that there are forums and other ways to interact with the teachers and fellow students.

2. Logos – I use Logos every singe day, and firmly believe that any believer who has a phone, tablet, or computer should have Logos. They give away free books or courses every month, and I have a pretty good catalogue of courses that I work through in 15 minute segments every day. I like the ability to be able to do so much with my other Logos resources right with the course. The videos are simple and professional, and they have some excellent teachers.

• Their Logos Training – Study the Bible with Logos is a great help to figure out basic Bible study with modern tools

• I really enjoyed Pennington’s NT301 The Gospels as Ancient Biography course

We live in an incredible universe. Everywhere we look we can see bits of creation that should really take our breathe away, if we only had the eyes to see. I keep learning because I want to be amazed again. Some of these teachers have helped me see something I had regularly overlooked. I hope one or two of these options open your eyes too.