Thursday, March 16, 2023
Daily Headlines on contemporary issues that impact a Biblical Christian worldview.
“President Biden’s New Theological Category: ‘Close to Sinful’ — But the Bible Knows Nothing of the It”…
“When it comes to President Biden, I have to speak of another recent development. Victoria Bisset of The Washington Post reports about an interview the president gave to a former staffer named Kal Penn. The headline is that Biden tells the interviewer, “Anti-trans legislation is close to sinful.” Now, as you’re thinking about language, this is really important language. What in the world does close to sinful mean? Well, let’s just say that’s not biblical language. It might be the language of kind of a popular Catholic piety and that might explain President Biden in this case, but it makes no moral sense.
It is not morally coherent. There’s no such thing in the Scripture as close to sinful. There are sins, and then there are acts that are not sinful. “
“White House-Backed TikTok Bill Is Toothless, China Hawks Say”…
“White House-backed legislation to “ban” TikTok is toothless and includes a loophole that will let the Biden administration avoid taking real action against the Chinese social media app, according to congressional China hawks pushing for more direct action.
The behind-the-scenes pushback from lawmakers could end up sinking the Senate bill, known as the RESTRICT Act, which would give the president new authorities to restrict social media applications run by foreign adversaries. But the bill does not make any specific mention of TikTok, and critics say the White House is backing the legislation precisely because it doesn’t require the administration to ban the social media platform, which has been deemed a national security threat.”
“Woman wins lawsuit for non-resident assisted suicide in Vermont”…
“Vermont on Monday settled a lawsuit with Connecticut resident Lynda Bluestein over the state’s requirement that only residents may seek assisted suicide there. Bluestein, 75, said she was diagnosed with three different forms of cancer. She had sued to seek out assisted suicide without changing her residency. Vermont has allowed assisted suicide for residents since 2013 if they have been diagnosed with an incurable illness that is expected to end their life within six months.”
“Does the church still matter today? Why that’s the wrong question for us to ask”…
“It’s become conventional wisdom that the key to happiness is less screen time . . . or at least that’s how it often seems. Turns out, that’s not entirely accurate.
As Rhiannon Williams describes, “Screen time has a bad reputation, and there are plenty of negative headlines blaming the amount of time we spend on devices for everything from reduced attention span to depression and anxiety. But there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that reducing your screen time won’t in itself make you happier, and that general device usage isn’t a reliable predictor of any of those things.”
To be sure, there are elements of social media, phone addictions, and the inability to step away from work that can make our lives worse, but some variation of “Do I need less of those things in my life?” is the wrong question.”
“Jesus Revolution Producer: ‘I’ve Never Seen Such a Profound Response to a Movie’”…
“Jon Erwin happened to be doing research for another movie when he stumbled on the iconic cover of Time Magazine from June 21, 1971. A copy in good condition goes for about $2,000 on eBay today, but Jon managed to snatch one up in 2015 — years before his movie made the psychedelic Jesus a collectors’ item. Back then, making a film about the 1970s revival known as The Jesus Revolution was a distant dream. Today, it’s a blockbuster reality — one that continues to exceed everyone’s expectations, in the box office and real life.
The news that “Jesus Revolution” crossed the $39 million mark this past weekend may have been a shock to Hollywood, but to Erwin — the movie’s writer, producer, and director — it was further proof that he’d happened upon something special eight years ago. He’d been working on another true story, “Woodlawn,” when he was “awestruck” by the parallels between the hippie movement’s desperation and the desperation of today.”
“Wisconsin Republicans use a sneaky legislative move to keep conversion therapy legal”…
“Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have used a sneaky legislative maneuver this week to continue to prevent a ban on conversion therapy from going into effect.
At issue is a rule put in place by the state’s Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board that blocks mental health professionals from trying to turn LGBTQ+ minors straight and cis with a form of psychological torture known as conversion therapy.”
“Could Wokeness be Winding Down?”…
“Academics and research scientists are asking whether American culture has moved beyond “peak woke.”
Recent reports show greater tolerance of heterodox ideas as cancel culture and social justice-oriented research and journalism are on the decline. The reports also suggest, however, that this is not the last time that leftist ideas will exert an ideological stranglehold on education, major corporations, and the media.
The so-called “Great Awokening” began around 2011 and “lasted about 10 years,” according to Columbia University sociologist Musa al-Gharbi. “In my forthcoming book, I show that there were three previous periods of rapid normative and discursive change (‘Awokenings’) among knowledge economy professionals,” he told Campus Reform. “
Author – Jeff Hilles | BCWorldview.org
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