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Election 2022

Tuesday 8 November 2022

It was a little after six when I realized I hadn’t gone to vote. I’d been putting it off all day, spending the day working on our yearbook for 2022, taking the kids on a bookstore outing, and learning that the $3,000 we spent to fix our outdoor HVAC unit was completely wasted. So, a mixed bag.

The line for voting stretched into the parking lot, but it was moving fast. Even if it wasn’t, I was going to stick it out: “Vote like democracy depends on it” has been an idea consistently popping up on social media, and I’m likely to agree. The radical GOP (which stands for Gaslight Obstruct and Project) seems determined to destroy our democratic institutions, and their traitorous support of a man who tried to overturn a fair election has made me say numerous times, “I’d vote for Satan himself before I’d vote Republican.” Besides, the Republican party of the past is just that: they are, by and large, a bunch of conspiracy theory anti-democracy grifters who take their supporters to be naive children who don’t remember what they said five minutes ago.

As I entered the voting booth, I clicked on the option to vote for the entire Democratic ticket, then clicked through the options to check each selection. It was only then that I realized how many races were one-person (usually one-man) races, with only a Republican running. In all of those races, I cast no vote, though I thought about writing in myself.

What an amusing situation that creates, though: so many Bible-belt Christians here are so anti-communist that they see communism where it doesn’t even exist. They equate anything left-leaning with socialism, which they in turn equate with the very worst version of it (i.e., the Soviet Union). However, elections in the USSR looked more like elections in South Carolina than Republicans here would probably like: one option, and one alone.

If the modern GOP had its way, that’s exactly what they’d enforce.

State Champions

Saturday 5 November 2022

From our local paper:

Mauldin volleyball tops Lexington to win 1st volleyball state championship in school history

COLUMBIA –– With the first volleyball state championship in Mauldin High School history within the Mavericks’ grasp, Jurnee Robinson refused to let up.

It was the third set and her team led Lexington 2-0. Robinson slid to save a ball that nearly fell out of bounds. It would’ve given Lexington a point, then she dove for another dig to keep a ball alive, allowing Mauldin to get a point and take an 11-5 lead in the set.

As she huddled with her teammates when the play was over, she pointed at them and smiled.

She knew ‒ they all knew ‒ that history was within reach.

Saturday night at Dreher High School in Columbia, Mauldin volleyball made about as much history as possible, adding to an already historic season. The Mavericks pummeled Lexington in a three-set sweep, 25-22, 25-22, 25-18 to win the first volleyball state championship in school history.

“It’s amazing,” Robinson, the Mavericks leader with 25 kills Saturday, said. “I feel like people have always doubted Mauldin volleyball and for us this year to win it, win it all after we didn’t start off too strong … it feels good.”

It was Mauldin’s first appearance in the state championship match after Tuesday was the program’s first volleyball state semifinal win. The Mavericks are also the first Greenville County public school to win a volleyball title since Hillcrest in 2013.

“It’s kind of hard to put all the words together and make them all make sense at one time,” Mauldin coach Val Thoms told reporters. “But holy crap, is it awesome.”

Mauldin’s dominant run ends with history

Mauldin volleyball was swept last season in the third round by Dorman, last season’s Class AAAAA state champions. The Mavericks beat Dorman in four sets to get to the state title game – and the process of building up Mauldin’s program to a state title winner, Thoms said, has been different each season.

“It’s been a process,” Thoms said. “Each year we get better and then its’, ‘how can we keep getting better and how do we learn and grow …’ And each year it’s been a different type of lesson to learn.

“The process (to get here) has been challenging but has been very rewarding.”

Mauldin finished its season with a 32-7 overall record and a region championship. The Mavericks only dropped one set in the entire postseason, which came in the Upper State Championship against Dorman.

“Just coming together, working as a team on and off court,” Robinson said. “It just takes everything … it’s not just about playing volleyball, it’s a team effort.”

Lexington struggles to contain Mauldin offense

Mauldin got out of the gates in the first set with a 6-2 lead. Robinson had 11 kills in the first set, but Lexington tied it at 11-11 before Mauldin finished off the Wildcats in the first set by running off six straight points to lead 17-11 and then take the set 25-22.

It set the tone for an impressive match by Mauldin. The Mavericks seemed to do little wrong and Lexington struggled to stop the Maverick offense. Despite Lexington showing a lot of fight, Mauldin never trailed until the Wildcats took a 11-10 lead in the second set ‒ it was the only time that Mauldin trailed in the match.

Senior Anna Schneider tallied eight kills, sophomore Sarina Galyean had 11 kills. Robinson and Schneider each had 13 digs, senior libero Ella Leister had 12, as well. The team’s fourth senior, Allison Norris, had six digs.

“It feels great, you know,” Robinson said. “We’ve been working for this for so long.”

Greeville News

Very proud of our girl and her team. More to come later. But for now — the moment I could watch over and over…

5 Shocking Proofs of Jesus’ Resurrection?

Friday 4 November 2022

Apologist Allen Parr posted a video in which he made the following bold claim:

Have you ever wondered whether the resurrection of Jesus really happened? I get it. I mean, how can we know FOR SURE that the resurrection of Jesus was an actual event in human history? Or have we been believing some myth or fable that has been passed down about the resurrection of Jesus for nearly 2000 years? In this video I give you 5 undeniable proofs of Jesus’ resurrection.

Video Description

Undeniable?! That’s a strong term. Let me see what I can do with them.

Proof 1: The Precautions of the Romans

Parr suggests that “[i]n order to prevent Jesus’ body from being stolen, the Romans took three precautions (Mt. 27:64-66),” which he lists a guard, a stone, and a seal.

According to Parr, the Romans “posted a squad of 10-30 soldiers to protect and guard the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.” This suggests that the Romans were worried that someone would steal the body. This seems like a legitimate precaution to prevent theft of the body. In addition, the Romans “placed a stone weighing close to 3,500 pounds in front of the tomb preventing people from coming in or out.” Again, a wise precaution if they’re worried about grave robbing. Finally, the Romans “placed a Roman seal across the stone that, if tampered with, was punishable by death.” This is all very logical.

There’s only one small problem with all this: it depends solely on one source, the Bible. This is a problem not because we have reason to doubt that Romans would not have set guards; it’s problematic because we have reason to doubt that they would have disposed of Jesus’s body in any other way than was customary: a mass grave.

Proof 2: The Faith of the Disciples

This is a favorite among apologists: Parr asks, “WHY WOULD THEY RISK THEIR LIVES FOR SOMETHING THEY KNEW WAS A LIE?” (The all-caps screaming was from him not me.) Parr’s reasoning goes like this: “Before Jesus’ crucifixion, the disciples were fearful and ran for their lives (Mt. 14:50). After the resurrection, they became fearless, willing to get beaten, burned, beheaded, sawed in two, stoned and crucified!”

Yet it doesn’t follow that the only other option to “Jesus was really resurrected” is “The early Christians knowingly promoted the like that Jesus was resurrected.” In other words, this argument rests on a false dichotomy.

Furthermore, there’s very little evidence that anyone died because they were Christians who refused to renounce their faith. Certainly, Nero persecuted the Christians, but this was because they were a convenient group to scapegoat. It’s not at all clear that Christians could have saved their lives by renouncing their faith. Furthermore, the persecution of the Christians was, at least to some degree, an exaggeration developed later in Christian history to back up the notion Jesus taught that people would be “persecuted in [his] name.”

Proof 3: Jesus’ Post-Resurrection Appearances

Parr here makes two simple points. First, he says, “The Bible teaches that Jesus spent 40 additional days on earth after His resurrection making convincing proofs that He was alive (Acts 1:3).” Again, the only source for this is the Bible, which is not exactly an unbiased source of unquestionable authorship. Much of the New Testament was written two or more decades after the events it supposedly narrates, and the gospel authors are completely anonymous.

Parr’s second point is that in addition “to appearing multiple times to His disciples, Paul recounts when Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time who were still alive to give testimony at the time of Paul’s writing (1 Cor. 15:6).” This is a second- or third-hand account at best and even if they do exist, these 500 are completely anonymous.

Proof 4: Secular History Confirms It

Parr argues that if “the Bible was the only book that recorded the resurrection, people might criticize us for using circular reasoning.” He insists that “it is well documented in SECULAR history books,” then lists two: Josephus, The Words of Flavius Josephus and Thomas Arnold’s History of Rome. These are problematic for several reasons, including the most basic being that Josephus didn’t write anything called The Words of Flavius Josephus. He wrote The Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews, and these works appear in The Works of Flavius Josephus. It might just be a typo, but it certainly wears at the credibility. But what does Josephus actually say about Jesus?

About this time lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was the achiever of extraordinary deeds and was a teacher of those who accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When he was indicted by the principal men among us and Pilate condemned him to be crucified, those who had come to love him originally did not cease to do so; for he appeared to them on the third day restored to life, as the prophets of the Deity had foretold these and countless other marvelous things about him, and the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day.

Yet the bit about “He was the Messiah” is clearly a Christian addition as Josephus was a Jew and would not have accepted Jesus as the Messiah.

There is a second mention of Jesus in Josephus, but it is weaker than the first:

Having such a character [“rash and daring” in the context], Ananus thought that with Festus dead and Albinus still on the way, he would have the proper opportunity. Convening the judges of the Sanhedrin, he brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ, whose name was James, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned.

It’s not even about Jesus but about his brother, James. What’s important to note, though, is that neither of Josephus’s passages deals with Jesus’s supposed resurrection. We might use them to confirm that Jesus existed but nothing more.

As far as Thomas Arnold’s History of Rome goes, I’m not even sure why Parr would suggest that this is pertinent in any way since it was published in 1838, a full 18 centuries (or if we’re going to put it in the context of the Old Testament, 180 decades) after Jesus’s death. That Parr includes this is simply laughable.

After this, though, Par includes a list of “ATHEISTS WHO BECAME CHRISTIANS”

  • Frank Morrison, Who Moved the Stone?
  • Lee Stroebel, The Case for Christ
  • Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict

I have no idea why he included this — it has nothing to do with secular historians confirming Jesus’s resurrection.

Proof 5: The Missing Body Was Never Found

Parr’s final argument is the weakest: the body never turned up. He argues, “If Jesus never rose from the dead, then the Romans could have produced the body, thus destroying Christianity forever.” But this assumes that the first-century Romans cared enough about Christianity or viewed it as any threat to do something like this. Remember: this is just after the supposed resurrection. How many Christians were there? How much of a threat did the Romans think they posed? Apocalyptic sects were all over the place: why would they have cared about this particular one?

Parr concludes, “But…the body was never found in the tomb because Jesus rose from the dead!” Or maybe because it was tossed in a mass grave like all other crucifixion victims’ bodies.

Key Takeaway

Parr writes in his “Key Takeaway” that the “reality of the resurrection will not only give you more confidence about what you believe, but also give you the knowledge and ammunition you need to silence those who are skeptical about the Christian faith.” If this is the best he’s got, I’d advise his followers not use these arguments on any vaguely-informed skeptic.

Original Video

Walking Around During Practice

Thursday 3 November 2022

While the Boy practices soccer, I either go for a walk or a run, depending primarily on how my knees feel. I’d discovered a nature path near the soccer fields long ago, and that path led to a sewer easement that in turn looked like another nature path. It wound through a forest and by a little creek.

When we came back from Poland and headed over there for the first practice of the fall season, I saw that developers had cleared the land and begun grading it for a new housing or apartment development.

Since then, the work has progressed, with the addition of a retention pond and several retaining walls.

I walked through the area today reflecting on the changes that have come and the further changes coming. What was only months ago a forest is now flat, barren ground; in a few months’ time, it will become someone’s home. They will likely not know about the transformation; they will like never have gone for a jog in the forest that became their backyard.

I find myself sometimes a little obsessed with these little tricks of time and knowledge, and I often wonder about the history of any given thing — a viral video, a house in the middle of nowhere, a car left on the side of the road with a DUI tag — and what led that car, that video, that house to be there at that moment. What led up to that? What were the events that followed one after another until the officer pulls over a weaving driver?

Evening Run

Autumnal Wednesday

Wednesday 2 November 2022

It’s All Souls’ Day, so visiting Nana’s and Papa’s grave is of course in order. We would have visited yesterday but for the fact that the Girl was playing in the state semifinals, and our whole evening was a tangle.

Their win made the local paper:

Mauldin volleyball tops Dorman, wins first Upper State Championship in program history

For the first time in school history, Mauldin volleyball will play in the SCHSL state championship game.

The words that described what it felt like were hard to find, Mauldin volleyball coach Val Thoms said as her team celebrated on the court.

But there is one word to describe what Mauldin volleyball did Tuesday night:

Historic.

At home inside the Mauldin High School gymnasium the Maverick girls volleyball team defeated powerhouse Dorman 3-1 to win the Class AAAAA Upper State Championship and advance to the SCHSL state championship game for the first time in program history.

Mauldin plays the winner of Wando and Lexington — the Lower State champion — at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dreher High School in the state title game.

Students, coaches and parents swarmed the court as soon as the final point was scored.

“It’s phenomenal,” Mauldin senior Jurnee Robinson said. “We’ve been trying for this the past four years. We just feel like now is our time and we’re going to win it. We’re going to give it all we got.”

Mauldin senior Anna Schneider said it was important for her team to finally get past the Cavaliers, who swept their postseason competition en route to the AAAAA state championship last season. That included a third-round playoff win over the Mavericks (31-7).

“It’s so surreal,” Schneider said. “It was so great playing on our home court, that meant so much to us. Those long years that we’ve lost to them … it really means a lot to get over this hump and be a great team.

“It just means so much. I literally can’t put it in to words.”

Robinson set the tone early and throughout the match. Her six kills in the first set allowed the Mavericks to take the set 25-18. The LSU volleyball commitment and 2021 all-state selection had 485 kills entering Tuesday’s state semifinal match and finished with 28 kills. Schneider had 15 kills.

After winning the first set, Mauldin dropped the second, 25-21, and Dorman (31-6) seemed to rebound well. But Mauldin took the third set and then won the fourth set, 25-19, to clinch the win. Dorman was led in kills by Carly O’Brien, who had 14 total in the match.

“We just told them, just be patient,” Thoms said she told her team after dropping the second set. “And we have to serve the ball in more, pass a little better out of serve-receive and then when were in system … we can’t be stopped. So, just take a couple deep breaths … and win it with our offense.”

Last season, Dorman defeated River Bluff to win the AAAAA state championship for the first time since 2017. Paula Kirkland, Dorman’s legendary volleyball coach, has 14 state titles as head coach at Dorman and is one of two volleyball coaches in SCHSL history to win over 1,000 matches.

“It’s really kind of indescribable to be honest,” Thoms said. “I think its what this program needs – and what volleyball in this area needs. Because, Dorman is the name … I just think this proves; it doesn’t matter. We just go out, do your thing, be good athletes and anybody can beat anybody.”

Greenville News

It puts yesterday’s win in perspective.

In the evening, the Boy and I went swimming, taking one of his friends with us.

Upper-State Championship

Tuesday 1 November 2022

Only one thing stood between our girls and their first appearance in the state volleyball finals: Dorman High School. They’ve beaten our girls a number of times, but we’ve taken them once or twice as well. However, there was a special reason to win tonight (beyond just advancing, of course): last year, in the quarter-finals, they beat us. So it was time for some revenge.

Our girls didn’t quite beat them 3-0: they lost the second set, but came back to take the next two for a 3-1 win. The State newspaper already had a story about it less than an hour after:

For the third time in program history, the Lexington High School volleyball team will play for a state championship. The Wildcats defeated powerhouse Wando 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 18-25, 25-17) on the road Tuesday to win the Class 5A Lower State championship. Lexington will face Mauldin for the state title Saturday at Dreher High School.

Mauldin defeated Dorman, 3-1, in the Upper State championship. It is the Mavericks’ first championship appearance.

The State

Next opponent, last opponent: Lexington.

Highlight Reel

Sunday 30 October 2022

Despite battling illness and the MaxPreps top-ranked volleyball player in South Carolina, River Bluff pushed Mauldin to the limit in each of their 3 sets during Thursday’s Upper State Semifinal AAAAA State Playoff match. A mere 7 points separated the two teams in the 3 sets. Still, the Mavericks proved just a little too much for the Gators.

While all three sets saw numerous lead changes, River Bluff’s points seemed to come with more difficulty. When all was said and done, fans had been treated to a match between two of the best volleyball teams in the state. In fact, one could easily argue that the state’s top four AAAAA teams were competing in Thursday’s Upper State semifinals. While River Bluff’s season ended prematurely for Gator fans, the team can rest somewhat comfortably knowing they were a part of this elite group.

River Bluff Athletics

Throw In

Saturday 29 October 2022

It’s heartbreaking to watch the Boy’s team, who has won only one game this year, take a 1-0 lead in the first half only to lose 1-2. But the Boy had a great game.

“I’d say we should move him up to attack,” said one of the parents, “but he’s our best defender, too.”

Quarter Finals

Thursday 27 October 2022

The Girl’s team went into tonight as the underdogs. Facing River Bluff, the number 1 seed in the state, our girls were ranked fourth. Add to it the fact that River Bluff had already beaten us twice this year and it’s easy to see why Mauldin was not the favorite.

On the River Bluff athletic’s page, they posted a short story about it today:

River Bluff hopes to continue their playoff drive tonight as they travel to Mauldin for a matchup between two number 1 seeds. While the two programs are quite similar, River Bluff won both of the matches between the two programs earlier in the season in close 2-set sweeps.

River Bluff Athletics

They even included stats about the previous games, and even though the first chart of team-scoring averages seemed to favor Mauldin, they still had beaten us in both meetings, by the same scores, in fact.

My thought was that we had to win that first set. That seemed like a non-negotiable. Early on we were up by four or more, but then River Bluff came back. It went back and forth until Mauldin broke free and won 25-22.

“River Bluff will be out for blood now,” I thought, and they were indeed. They led most of the second set, and when it was 18-22, I thought we might not be able to recover. But we did, taking the second set 27-25.

“The River Bluff girls are broken now,” I told K. I didn’t mean that they were going to fall apart but simply that while they could have brushed off a first-set loss, a second-set loss would sting all the more. I thought one thing would be running through the River Bluff girls’ heads: had this been a best-of-three set game like in most tournaments, it would have been over.

The third set was close, but in the end, our girls swept them with a 25-23 win in the final set. The reaction was amazing, first from the girls, then from the students watching:

The River Bluff girls were heartbroken, with several of them just in tears. “I saw,” L said, “it was kind of sad.” That’s just the nature of sports, though. Someone has to win; someone has to lose. And after our rough club season earlier this year, I am so glad to see our Girl winning like this.

A couple of L’s friends from another high school — the high school we’d beaten to be regional champions — came to cheer Mauldin on. The three of them played club together this year, and they’re happy for L as well.

“That’s the number one team in the state!” I said to one of the girls. Her expression grew serious as she clarified, “Not anymore.”

Indeed.

Next up — Dorman. Last year, they beat Mauldin in the quarter-finals. Time for some revenge…

Wednesday

Wednesday 26 October 2022

Students today began an incredibly short Halloween unit that will focus on irony, so we did a quick review of irony with a gallery walk. It’s always a fun activity: the kids move around the room, looking at various images or texts and discuss them with a particular end in mind. Today, for example, they were to determine how each image was ironic.

“Don’t just explain what’s going on in the picture,” I clarified after we’d done a quick review of what irony is. “If you don’t explain the expectation and how that expectation was defied, you haven’t explained irony.”

In the evening, the Boy and I went out to find basketball shoes for him as he begins his basketball season.

At first, I was hesitant: “They’re somewhat expensive,” I texted K, “and I don’t really know that he needs them.”

“He only has one pair of shoes,” she replied, “so he’ll need another pair soon enough.”

I looked at him: “Will you wear these to school after basketball season?”

“Of course!”

The Journey Continues

Tuesday 25 October 2022

Tonight the Girl’s high school volleyball team’s quest for the state championship continued with a victory over Byrnes High School.

“It shouldn’t be any problem,” the Girl said offhandedly. “We’ve beaten them three times already this year.”

When the first set began, though, the girls from Byrnes seemed intent on telling a different story. They went back and forth, staying within a point of each other until the girls from Byrnes eased ahead: 12-13. Then 13-14. And 15-16. And 16-17. They just maintained that one-point lead, which is nothing to worry about, but if a one-point lead extends to a two- or three-point lead as they near 20, it becomes more problematic. 18-19, and I began to wonder.

Finally, the girls leveled it out at 19-19, and L rotated into server. She sent one skimming over the top of the net and the Byrnes girls struggled to receive it, and they were forced to pass it over with a free-ball. Our girls made quick work of it: 20-19. L served again. The Byrnes girls set their outside hitter, but our right side and middle were there and stuff the ball back to make it 21-19. Then L hit an ace for 22-19. Byrnes at this point called time out, but our girls were on a roll. L served again, and we won the point. 23-19. The Girl sent a shot that skipped off the top of the net and dropped among the defenders for set point: 24-19. Finally, L served for set. The Byrnes girls received it, set their hitter, and our libero took it easily, passing it to the setter. We all knew who was getting the ball: she’s a senior, the most powerful hitter, and team leader. The set went to Journee, sent a lightening ball into Byrnes’ court. It had ricocheted off the floor and was well above the girls’ heads before they knew what hit them.

Sunset at the football stadium

This Thursday, they have their most important game of the season: they face River Bluff, who has beaten them twice this year. However, the Girl’s team has beaten teams that beat River Bluff, so it’s far from clear who will win.

We’ll find out soon enough.

Final Soccer

Saturday 22 October 2022

It’s been a tough season: our team has one win and who knows how many losses. Each Saturday, we head out, and I tell the Boy to do his best, to enjoy the game, to keep his chin up no matter the outcome, to tell him that they can indeed win because they have done it before — and I convince myself of it. And then three, five, seven minutes into the game, the other team scores its first goal, and I immediately turn pessimistic.

Today was no different. Within the first half of the first half, we were down 0-3. We stopped the hemorrhaging and even scored a goal to enter the half-time break down 1-3.

Then I hear from the couple sitting beside me, “Oh no. No. Dear God, no.” I look up and see that their son is putting on the goalie jersey. This is their son’s first year playing, and like many kids, he’s not particularly athletic. But he wants to play, and he does the best he can. His parents cheer him on continually, and the other boys on the team are supportive as well. “I love my son,” the other said, “but he doesn’t throw himself in front of anything.” Yet the boys hold it together fairly well, letting two more goals in while scoring two more themselves to end 3-5.

After our third goal, one of the parents from the other team became irate. “Call the illegal throw!” he screamed. I didn’t see that our boys had done anything illegal, but he apparently thought they had. I glanced over to see a fairly muscular tattooed man with bulging veins in his neck as he yelled “Call the illegal throw!” again.

What a jerk, I thought. What a way to set an excellent example: yell at the ref who is himself a high-school-aged kid. How embarrassing.

Eventually, he calmed down, but he continued making remarks about the ref and how our boys weren’t following the rules.

I wanted to walk over to him and say, “Look, man, it’s a game. They’re kids; the ref is a kid; your kid’s team is up by 2 — calm yourself and stop making an ass of yourself.” Of course, that would have made me just as bad as he in many ways, and nothing good could come of a confrontation like that.

It turns out, though, that this was the opponents’ first win of the season. That makes us tied as far as records go…