A New Record
According to a report from the Pew Research Center, we've arrived at a new high. We now have the largest ever proportion of 18-to-29-year-olds living with their parents. One major contributor, of course, is this COVID thing, but that alone is insufficient to explain this trend. For those under 25, the percentage is 71%. It was 63% in February. A major factor is economics, too, of course, but since the economy (prior to COVID) has been pretty good, the only real explanation is that, in terms of responsibility (rather than age), the younger generation doesn't achieve adulthood until until much later in life than earlier generations. And that, I would submit, is a parenting problem as much as the kids' problem.
Take That!
Recently Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, stood up and said, "We're not doing this anymore." They stood up and said that Christ, not Caesar, is the head of the church. "Close communion," they said, "is commanded in Scripture and you can't do it under the current restrictions." So they reopened. And they were ordered to stop. And the court sided with the church. So, the county, realizing that the were wrong and the law sided with Grace Community Church, apologized and backed off. Oh, no, that's not right. They played a card from the bottom of the deck. "Well, the church has leased a large portion of their parking lot from the county since 1973. We're terminating that lease." And they issued an eviction notice effective October 1. "If you won't give up your God-given, court-approved rights, then we'll just take our property and go home." Because that's the way this game is played. "Whether we're right or wrong, you must do what we say or suffer the consequences. If we want to restrict your constitutional right to the free exercise of your religion, you will have to violate the constitution with us or pay." I am not siding (or not siding) with Grace Community Church. I'm simply pointing out that the County of Los Angeles, a bastion of Democratic tolerance and love, is not very tolerant or loving ... or even fair.
The State of Theology
Ligonier has commissioned another survey to sample the state of theology in America today. Some surprises, some just sad, but some positives. Among the general populace, they're agreed that Jesus was not God (52%) -- no surprise -- but 30% of evangelicals agreed -- very sad. While 96% of evangelicals affirm the traditional definition of the Trinity, 65% also affirm that Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God. Confusing and disappointing. (Make that fit with John 1:3 if you can.) Since the first survey in 2014, belief that the Bible is not literally true has gone from 41% to 48% in the general public. Interestingly, in 2016 54% of evangelicals believed that people are basically good and that has dropped to 46%. Among evangelicals, "saved by faith apart from works" has declined (91% in 2018 to 84% in 2020) but so has the notion that God accepts the worship of all religions (51% in 2018 to 42% in 2020). Oddly, the belief that gender identity is a matter of choice has also declined (32% in 2016 to 22% in 2020). Is it possible that COVID has caused some to reconsider? Is it remotely possible that God is using a pandemic to weed His church and sharpen His people (1 John 2:19)?
Not Getting It
This story from Baptistpress.com expresses it. Some churches are looking at this pandemic and considering a long-term change. Since online viewership has skyrocketed while attendance has plummeted, perhaps a permanent online church ministry is necessary with an online pastor and online membership. Because, after all, who needs to be with God's people when you can get a remote service in the comfort of your own home? (Hint: Everyone.)
Irony Defined
The often-controversial pastor, Douglas Wilson, made a documentary entitled "The Free Speech Apocalypse." It is centered around a 2012 event where a group of students "went to war" against his appearance at their college because his traditional views on marriage and morality constituted "hate speech." The movie warns about the decline of free speech in America. So, of course, Amazon has opted to drop it from their offerings ... making the point.
Politics and Pandemics
The joke that keeps going around is that this pandemic will end right after the election. Me? I'm not buying this "political conspiracy" line. Makes no sense to me. Then I read about researchers who predicted there would be 200,000 deaths by Election Day and they give me pause. Still ... no. Now Yahoo is reporting on the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally being a "superspreader." The story said, "The rally itself had no political orientation" and then went on to explain all the Trump connections. It is not possible to avoid the view from Yahoo that this is all Trump's fault that motorcyclists went to Sturgis without masks. With Pelosi calling it the "Trump virus" and Gov. Cuomo (who ordered over 6,000 elderly COVID patients into nursing homes against the wishes of the staff) blaming Trump for "actively trying to kill New York City" and with Yahoo blatantly blaming Sturgis on Trump, I feel my resolve to avoid the "political conspiracy" theory is starting to wear thin.
Changing the Focus
The news item is that a Catholic school in Indiana fired a teacher in a same-sex marriage on the basis of the 1st Amendment -- the free exercise of religion. Of course, we can't discuss the merits of the case -- do we, or do we not have a 1st Amendment? -- because the headline reads, "Trump admin backs Catholic school that fired gay teacher." So the media has insured that we cannot discuss the free exercise of religion because now we must first deal with Trump-hate and other emotions apart from facts or reason, and that's not happening any time soon. Nice dodge.
If taken to its logical conclusion
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has taken a "bold" step. They've made a new rule that requires "percentages or numbers of actors, production staff, marketing staff and internships on a movie that must be filled by people of color, women, people with disabilities or people from the LGBTQ community." The new standards cover diversity representation in areas like subject matter, staff, apprenticeships, and marketing. Now, if these rules were applied across the board, our world would be radically altered. First questions on applications and interviews would be about race, gender, disabilities, and sexual orientation. Sports would change radically -- "I'm sorry; you're the best at what you do, but we've already got more black people than white." Jobs would be filled on minority status over experience, ability, or quality. Think of the housing market. "We'd love to sell you this house, but there is already too many white people here." Just try to apply these kinds of rules with reason and pragmatism.
Your Most Trusted Site for Fake News
The Babylon Bee did a piece about California's Governor Newsom claiming that their rolling blackouts are to show support for BLM and I laughed because we all know that's just fun -- satire -- but after these "14 beautiful shots" of California cities at night, I'm starting to wonder.
Must be true; I read it on the Internet.
6 comments:
"If it's taken to its logical conclusion". Trying to force racial equality into performance based positions has been a hot point for a while now, though your example of the white guy trying to play basketball doesn't work, since you don't need to include white people in the racial equality figure.
Babylon Bee. At first I thought it was taking the site a long time to load the images, but then I got the joke. I particularly enjoyed the image of the governor's house at night.
Sorry. If we're going to use logic, it would have to include the white guy on the basketball team or it isn't logical.
Yes, those shots from California were fun, especially when a black rectangle was used on Facebook (and elsewhere, I guess) to show solidarity with BLM.
But don't you know you have to temper logic with their feelings?
You're right, except when we do that -- when we reject facts and settle for feelings as our definition of reality -- it's no longer logical. Which, I suppose, is my primary problem. I'm unwilling to redefine reality by my feelings ... or theirs.
"I am not siding (or not siding)..."
I know what you are saying there, but the English language is awkward to wield for that particular purpose, isn't it?
Question for the language experts: Would "nor" have been a clearer way to say it than "or"?
Yes, perhaps a bit. It is one of the few times a double negative can work. But I think "nor" would indicate "I am doing neither" and my point was it was not about either.
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