Truth in Advertising
The Washington Post offered a critique of a Christian school in Kentucky that has spread throughout the media. (I don't link to it because I can't read it because the Washington Post requires a subscription to read.) So Yahoo news, for instance, echoes the horror of a Christian school that expelled a girl for "lifestyle violations after wearing rainbow." Now, let's be clear. She was not expelled for wearing rainbow (or for the rainbow cake she had at her birthday). The school met with the girl and her parents in the fall after she failed to adhere to the school's code of conduct. She was not expelled because her mother posted a picture; she was expelled because the school has rules, she refused to abide by the rules, so they exercised the rules. Her mother said, "I just feel like those religious beliefs they are imposing now are very judgmental." That's fine; why do you have your daughter in a religious school if you disagree with their religious values? But, no, that's not the question to ask, is it? The question to ask is "How soon will the government prevent institutions (and people) from having religious views that we do not approve of?" That would be truth in advertising, so to speak.
Educational News
This is news. A Michigan man noticed a box on the ground by an ATM. It was labeled "$40,000." He picked it up and took it with him. That's not the news. He took it with him to the credit union of the ATM and returned the money. It was left by a negligent armored security guard and it was "only" $27,000, but the fact that he returned it is news. Now, news is not the ordinary; news is the unusual. The fact that this is news tells us that we don't actually expect humans to be so honest. Which tells us something basic about humans beings.
New Church Growth Strategy
A United Methodist church in Cottage Grove, MN, came up with a new scheme to help their church grow. They wanted to attract young families, but most of their members were over 60. So the church invited their older members to worship somewhere else ... for a minimum of 2 years, according to a memo from the pastor. Okay, it's not that stark. As long as the older members agree to go with a youthful new identity for the church, they can attend. It was all explained to the members in a service on Jan. 12. According to the account, "The 35 people in the pews listened, their faces grim. The service continued with a 6-year-old recorded sermon, and a puppet show by church founder Baker." Ah! Now there's something to reconsider. So, once again, in order to grow the church they must eliminate a particular age group. Got it. Inclusivity. We're with you. Oh, no, sorry, my mistake. Some of us aren't included.
The End is Near
The Great God, Science, has spoken. We all have 100 seconds to live. Say your goodbyes quickly. Okay, not actual seconds. But the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Doomsday Clock was updated to 100 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been. Why? There are fears of nuclear options from Iran and North Korea, cyber-enabled information warfare, and the threat of total annihilation via human-caused climate change, and such. Mind you, the clock is so reliable that the furthest it has ever been from midnight is 17 minutes, so keep that in mind while you contemplate the possibility of nuclear war or climate change as an extinction event (which, by the way, science says is not the case).
Unfair Comparison
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos compared abortion to slavery at a Colorado Christian University event in Washington, D.C. Stupid, I know. "[Lincoln], too, contended with the 'pro-choice' arguments of his day," she said. "They suggested that a state’s 'choice' to be slave or to be free had no moral question in it." Don't be silly, Nancy. You can't compare abortion with slavery. In slavery people get owned, but if they die it's a loss. In abortion killing babies is considered a good thing. Slavery is much better than abortion.
Toxic Masculinity
It was gratifying to read about the woke man in Illinois who struck a blow against toxic masculinity by allowing his wife to shovel the driveway.
Must be true; I read it on the Internet.
9 comments:
Stan,
The piece on the church in Maple Grove has possibly not been reported accurately. I’ve seen some things locally that call the narrative into question.
That'll be nice ... if it's true.
With regard to the piece about the dude with the cash, you're not suggesting it says that man is basically corrupt, are you? Doesn't that guy turning in the cash demonstrate that there are people in the world who are basically good, even though we know absolutely nothing else about this guy's life or history and have to ignore the teachings of Scripture in order for that to be the case? Isn't that one deed enough to prove he's as pure as the driven snow? Could I be more sarcastic here?
The guy that turned it in did a good thing. If doing a good thing was everyday-normal, this wouldn't be news. The sarcasm is strong with this one.
I had three coworkers that were talking about that money story. Every single one of them said they'd either outright keep it or at least check for cameras before keeping it.
What do you do when you see loose change on the floor at the grocery store's cash register, on the customer side of the conveyor belt? It is unlikely to belong to the store because of where it is located, but then the customer who dropped it is long gone from the store.
The point entirely. Most would take it. The truly good person would pick it up ($1 or $27,000) and turn it in. We are not generally good people, are we?
But Stan, we’re all born good, some people stay good their whole lives.
Yeah, you'd think, right?
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