Power goes out; students with sub next door are going almost wild; these guys kept doing what they were doing.
Stay the Course
Thursday Evening
More forest cleared near the soccer complex, but soccer stayed the same.
Illusions
Selective Reading
The kids were reading about Jim Crow laws as part of the To Kill a Mockingbird unit that we started a couple of weeks ago. Part of the article dealt with the religious justification some Christians used to explain the harsh segregation of Jim Crow times. One young lady -- a sweet kid that always has a smile -- wrote the following comment:
It reminded me of the suggestion that Christians who don't read their Bibles are Catholic, Christians who read their favorite parts are Protestants, and Christians who read the Bible critically from cover to cover become atheists. It is, perhaps, an over-simplification, but I'd be willing to bet this young lady goes to one of those Protestant churches that are well-versed (no pun initially intended) in the parts of the Bible that make the feel good and avoid completely the tricky parts.
Parts like 1 Peter 2:18: "Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate but also to those who are harsh."
Or Philemon 1: 15, 16, in which Paul sends back a slave to his owner, suggesting, "Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever—no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord." He could have suggested that slavery is wrong, but he chose not to.
Or all the countless passages in the Old Testament instructing Israelites on the proper use of their slaves.
I, of course, said none of these things to her. It's not my place: I'm there to teach them, in part, how to think critically, not what to think. However, a close reading of the text...
Out Front
Easter 2023
Around the Table
Egg Hunt
With a short video of the adults...
Volleyball
Check, Please
I need to contest some of these charges.
To begin with, I don't accept your view of sin. Sin is the violation of a deity's will; since I don't believe in a deity, I don't sin. You can say I sin, but that's just in your perspective, accepting as a given the deity you believe in.
Additionally, the shame you indicate I should have never showed up. I don't feel shame for sinning -- see above.
As for the pain and past mistakes, I don't think your product does anything for that. My past mistakes remain mistakes; pain remains. It's a defective product, in other words.
Rejection and loneliness? I know a lot of people who use your product and experience that. Indeed, your sales force itself practices rejection on a regular basis. Come to think of it, it regularly engages in shaming people as well.
Slavery to sin? See above.
Spiritual death? I don't even know what that could possibly mean.
Jesus might have paid it all in your scheme of things, but I bought none of it.
Holy Saturday 2023
Good Friday 2023
