Bullying in school has always been there. Worse now, I think, largely thanks to technology that makes it more anonymous, but it's not always online. Sometimes it's up close and personal ... like teachers. "Really?" Yes, really. This reflects poorly on good teachers in the public education system ... but the public education system is in serious trouble.
Say Anything
I looked and I looked and all I found on this story was headlines that read something like this: "Woman Convicted of Laughing". Wait ... what? That's right, an activist was convicted of laughing during the Jeff Sessions confirmation hearing. Ask any news outlet. Except what she was actually convicted of was "disrupting Congress and parading/demonstrating". But, look, let's not let facts get in the way of a good story, right?
Character Assassination
Jonathan Merritt wrote a commentary on character assassination. You may remember last year's controversy when Jen Hatmaker and her husband assured the world that God embraces homosexual behavior. Merritt was upset about the "character assassination" that followed. Merritt wrote, "Hatmaker's original sin is that she broke ranks with the evangelical powers-that-be on same-sex relationships." Dear Mr. Merritt, please let me point out that her original sin was not in relation to any evangelical powers, but the singular Power. And while I'm sure unkind, uncaring, and completely uncalled for things were said, It must be remembered that standing for God's truth and urging others to do the same is not the same as "character assassination". On the other hand, encouraging others to embrace fully what God has commanded us to avoid is character assassination ... the character of God.
Murder in America
Well, this was interesting. A report from the Crime Prevention Research Center says that 68% of murders in America take place in 5% of the counties in America ... and in small pockets in those counties. Last year more than half of all murders took place in only 2% of the nation's counties. And, of course, "One of the most interesting findings in the report is that areas with the highest gun ownership rates have low murder rates." But, of course, that's just data. We are much too smarted to be moved by facts and research.
The First Mistake Was ...
See if you can find the first mistake. The story from NBC News begins, "Pastor Alicia Johnston announced her resignation from Arizona's Foothills Community Church of Seventh-day Adventists ..." Why did she resign? Well, she resigned "due to a disagreement with the Church's teachings on LGBTQ people." And what was that disagreement? "I want to break the deadly silence that exists in churches that don't affirm LGBT people for who they are." Why is this a particular issue for her? "I, myself, am bisexual."
Okay, let's see now, here we have a pastor who is in favor of affirming people engaged in what the Bible terms sexual immorality because she herself embraces her own sexual immorality. The first mistake? I think it was assuming that a Masters in Divinity from Andrews University, the flagship school of the Seventh-day Adventist Church was the qualification for a pastor. Instead of ... you know ... the biblical standards (1 Tim 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-11; 1 Tim 2:12-14) (which, apparently, aren't taught at Andrews University, the flagship school of the Seventh-day Adventist Church).
Here and There
A variety of interesting items, like why you should stop using public wi-fi from the Harvard Business Review. (Hint: They compare it to unprotected sex, only you don't get pregnant or some STD; you get your privacy violated, emails read, passwords stolen, and devices infected.)
Then there's this item from World Magazine.
More than 200 children under the age of 14 died in the United States in 2014 after being struck by a car. Another 8,000 suffered injuries, according to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis.Given that the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that children under the age of 14 lack the cognitive skills and judgment to safely cross a street, why are they promoting sex change therapies for this same age group?
And Andrew Wilson has a response to Open Theism in 13 words and one number. You may not like them all or agree with them all, but ... well done.
2 comments:
Your commentary about Murder in America goes to prove the adage that "an armed society is a polite society"
It also illustrates the fact that the news media is giving us "news", as in the unusual. If it is everyday, it isn't news. The fact that murders take place largely in very limited locations tells us that murder isn't as rampant as the media presents. Nor is the rest of what we see. But no media outlet is going to run with the story, "380 million people drove to work and home today without getting in an accident." No, it's the fatalities, the aberrations, the unusual that they report. And we take it all in like that's the norm.
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