LA Times and Civil Disobedience
When is civil disobedience right, especially for us Christians?
Recently someone at the LA Times had this to say:
Christian leaders’ stance on civil disobedience is dangerous
Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox leaders are going too far when they declare they will break laws on abortion and same-sex marriage.
Philosophers have argued for centuries over whether it is ever justifiable to break the law in the service of a higher cause. The question acquired a new complexity with the advent of societies such as the United States, in which laws were enacted by elected representatives and not decreed by a monarch or dictator.
Few today would criticize civil rights activists, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., for participating in or condoning the violation of laws that perpetuated white supremacy — with the understanding that they would face punishment for their actions. But such civil disobedience is rightly regarded as the exception that proves that the proper redress for unjust laws lies in legislation or in court rulings based on the Constitution.
That cautious approach has been thrown to the wind by Christian religious leadersRead it all
Darwinian Contempt
The More They Know Darwin, The Less They Want Darwin-Only Indoctrination
According to an international poll released by the British Council, the majority of Americans — 60% — support teaching alternatives to evolution in the science classroom. The percentage is the same for Britons, despite the fact that both countries have been inundated with pro-Darwin media coverage in this super-mega Darwin Year.
Of course, the British media reporting this are chagrined. Britain is the birthplace of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, and the official-sounding British Council, the UK group behind the “Darwin Now” campaign that commissioned the Ipsos MORI poll, have spent precious resources educating the world about Darwin. Now some believe the poll shows that efforts by Darwinist organizations aren’t working.
Head of the British Council’s Darwin Now program Fern Elsdon-Baker said, “Overall these results may reflect the need for a more sophisticated approach to teaching and communicating how science works as a process.”
[…]
The correlation appears again when we consider which countries have more knowledge of Darwin’s theory. The highest numbers of those in support of alternative theories in the classroom correspond to the highest numbers of those familiar with Charles Darwin — 60% in Britain, 65% in Mexico, 61% in China, 66% in Russia, and 60% in the U.S. It appears that the more people know about Darwin’s theory, the more they want to see alternatives in science class.
That’s interesting.
Apparently, the majority of people haven’t evolved enough to accept their monkey’s uncle. Or maybe it’s the possibility that their monkey is their uncle that unhinges their support.
Are we guilty of being unwilling to engage in a willing suspension of disbelief? Perhaps.
Now we await a similar nuclear winter global warming climate change poll. (Or did that already happen and I’ve forgotten?)
Unexpected Vehicle at Night
Yup. It happened last night.
We live on a lonely-at-night country road — up a somewhat-long, somewhat-tree-shrouded driveway.
And a car showed up. (Yeah, there were people in it.)
Unannounced.
So I gave our big black dog my special whistle to switch him from Welcome Waggin’ mode to Vicious Attack K9 mode. Then I took down the double-banger shotgun from over the back door and opened the door.Read it all
Black Sunday
May God be able to comfort their families and fellow officers.
And may God keep and watch over law enforcement officers.
And may the assassins be apprehended without further bloodshed.
Amen.
(And thank you, officers-yet-living, from me.)
Their Parents Died
And So Did His Camel
Rescue units restore hope in the form of vegetables
According to the Encyclopedia of Nations, Zambia’s population totaled 10.8 million in 2003. Of those, 600,000 are AIDS orphans.
[…]
Bob Bland with Teen Missions said, “[The orphans] are not taught the things they would normally learn in a village situation, such as how to grow a garden, because there’s no one to train them. At our rescue units, one of things we do is try to help them grow gardens.”
Often times, they lack the tools needed to plant, but Teen Missions provides what they need. “To do that, we provide a hoe,” Bland said.
So far, these orphan gardens have proven very successful, and in one village, a child’s garden is the only source of vegetables for a whole village.
Teen Mission has 33 rescue units throughout Zambia working to provide safety, food, medical needs and education to these orphans.
A New Leaf
what would you do with it?
—Mark Roth