Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; |
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your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ~ Psalm 23 |
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Artwork: "Zombies" Artist: mogstomp
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At least, that is what Rep. Maxine Waters plans.
She is crazy. Or evil. Or both.
"They" always are.
The promise of the current American Regime is to put an end to all forms of injustice. In order to do this, it is evident that one thus needs to put an end to all poverty. This is where things get positively insane very quickly:
A poor person is anyone who does not have what you have. To put an end to poverty, either (1) everyone would have to have everything, or (2) everyone would have to have nothing. Clearly, everyone cannot have everything, so the chaos proceeds according to schedule: the only way to end poverty is annihilation of the poor....
The uncertainty you feel in your heart this pale Monday morning in Modernland is the hint that I might not be hyperbolizing. The pillars of the earth are not trembling. It is the beastly, iron-clay feet of the global-unity mythology that staggers in drunken stupor against the supports of its own house.
Religion is adherence. In an age of manifest, reasonable paranoia, that makes everything and anything inherently and unavoidably religious. Modernism has always been a bloody and murderous spirit.
All quests for holiness ultimately are.
Riots are planned accordingly. But you do not have to attend.
Till angel cry and trumpet sound, The Mad Christian
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Pick a design, and place it on a shirt, hoodie, tank, mug, sticker, pin, or notebook. Here's a hint: refresh the store page for some fresh ideas. The possibilities are endless!
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We serve no sovereigns here |
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The recent death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, made news around the world. His grandsons William and Harry wrote warmly of his mischievous sense of humor and his skills on the BBQ. America's leaders paid tribute to the Prince, noting his support of the Queen and his dignity during difficult times. While the US fought to be free from the monarchy, the tradition and grandeur of the British court is still a source of intrigue.
Prince Philip's royal life was remarkably different to his childhood, which was something akin to a novel. He was related to Russian royalty, and was born a prince of Denmark and Greece. Despite this privilege, his grandfather was assassinated a few years before Philip was born and his father was deposed in Greece, arriving destitute in England. His mother battled schizophrenia and was treated by Sigmund Freud. The young Prince was briefly schooled in Nazi Germany and later in the harsh Scottish highlands, while his family fell apart. To marry Queen Elizabeth, Philip relinquished his titles, adopted Anglicanism and changed his Germanic surname.
Some have criticized the British royal family for not showing enough emotion; others marvel at the ability to carry out their duties despite personal suffering and trauma. The monarchy is a dinosaur in a therapeutic society that has all but demoted personal responsibility and discipline to optional extras in the pursuit of happiness.
The doctrine of "sola feels" governs a lot of the discourse on social mediaβ if it makes me feel good, it's true. There is a season for everything under heaven, as Solomon wrote, including times to laugh and cry. There is great wisdom in discerning what is appropriate. To a society which is used to being ruled by feelings, a man who is governed by a sense of duty, by the traditions of an office, by the needs of a nation, is largely a mystery.
But just as the Prince was like a man out-of-time, so are Mad Christians. Unlike the worldlings, dictated to by emotions and taking orders from the zeitgeist, we are taught by the Word and keep in step with the Spirit. Our allegiance is not to our happiness, but to a sovereign King, whose law is a delight, whose comfort is profound and whose ways are just. We know where our treasure lies and it won't be long til faith is sight. "Behold I am coming soon and my reward is with me." Even so, come Lord Jesus!
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Frankenstein's Monster on the Planet of the Apes |
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Much good has come from genetic research with humanity now able to understand more about the complicated code that governs health and disease. Yet, there is still so much we don't know and it is often the most vulnerable who are the [literal] guinea pigs.
For example, a Chinese scientist made headlines in 2019 for genetically modifying twin girls, in an attempt to make them immune to HIV. The international scientific community was outraged, not over the ethical implications of the situation but mostly because they weren't the first to do it.
This week, the BBC featured an article claiming that the main problem with the experiment was heritability. Genetic anomalies introduced into the little girls will be passed onto their children, with unknown consequences. Some scientists have turned to what is called "somatic cell" editing, which is aimed at modifying genes without affecting reproductive cells.
CRISPR on, CRISPR off... A paper published recently describes what scientists hope will be a tool to manipulate "epigenetics" without affecting underlying DNA. The research is touted to help patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Aaaand... All that should come in handy for the wild frontier we have just crossed. News came this week that scientists have created a chimeric monkey-human embryo. Wesley Smith discussed the experiment on Issues, Etc. and spoke about the shifting ethical boundaries in science.
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A person's a person no matter how small |
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Judicial Watch has released a huge report, documenting how the US government has been buying tissue from newly aborted babies.
The Christian Post reported that the FDA has lifted a ban on purchasing abortion pills through the mail, under cover of the pandemic. Obtaining abortifacients in-person will no longer be enforced. These terrible drugs not only end the life of a baby but present many risks to the mother, including ruining her ability to have children in the future.
While the fallout from the sexual revolution affects people in all walks of life, pray especially for the young people in your life. In many ways teenagers are the same as ever, yet navigating the white noise today presents unique challenges, as we well know! Jesus loves our kids and as Pastor Fisk says, our Savior is significantly more glorious than any shiny object modernity can invent.
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Northern exposure... Rising cases of Covid in Ontario have prompted the government to introduce harsh restrictions and ramp up police authority to enforce them. (HT to Weekend Iconoclast for that story). Alberta pastor James Coates was recently released after spending 35 days in prison after being jailed for violating capacity limits at the church's meetings. The facility was then fenced off by authorities, forcing the congregation to meet in an "undisclosed location." As one pastor pointed out, how strange to have an "underground church" in Canada.
NPR is reporting that more colleges will be requiring students to be vaccinated before the Fall term.
Tap News has suggested that technology developed by Johns Hopkins means a Covid vaccine could be administered using a PCR test. They point out that people could be given the vaccine without knowing it.
An EU Commission is looking into buying "hundreds of millions" of doses of vaccines for use on teenagers and children, despite the "tiny" risk that Covid presents to them.
A Chinese official let slip that their own vaccines have a low efficacy. The CCP is considering throwing foreign-made vaccines into the mix.
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An article from 2014 was brought to our attention by gijonah from Us, the Chill. The opinion piece reminds us of an experiment that Facebook carried out on its users, deliberately showing some people sad posts and others happy posts. The results were published in a journal and Facebook didn't seem to understand what people were upset about.
Maybe some of the message is getting through, as this week Facebook/Instagram is planning to roll out a feature that lets you hide "likes" on yours and others posts.
Herein lies the Catch-22 of social media: like an addictive substance, it can make you feel bad and good to be on it and the same to be off it! After quitting Twitter on the grounds that the toxic environment was taking a negative toll on her mentally, model Chrissy Teigen has returned to the platform, telling her 12 million followers that it "actually feels terrible to silence yourself." Ah, there's the rub!
Pew wrote up their research on social media use in 2021. Most platforms did not increase their users over the last couple of years. Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are the drug of choice for under 30's.
Trying to get away? Here's a lo-fi typewriter for distraction free writing!
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Monday: a little bit of coffee and.... |
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Don't say we didn't warn you: Upon the SCOTUS decision to change the definition of marriage, a number of thinkers warned that the slippery slope to "anything goes" was now in effect. The boundaries of marriage have moved over the course of the 20th century, from something quite specific to something quite vague.
Once acknowledged as one man, one woman, for life with a view to bearing and raising children it now amounts to a general recognition of intensity of feeling. If you declare you're in love with someone, that settles the matter - the government should recognize and support your relationship.
We Mad bigots were told we were just being unreasonable as the Obergefell decision would not affect your life. They still say that. It also certainly wouldn't lead to polygamy 'cause that's just weird. And yet here we are.
The city of Cambridge, MA recently became the second city to recognize polyamorous relationships. The Ordinance states that an "entity" formed by anyone who "considers themselves to be a family" is a family. Meanwhile, New York state is being sued by an unidentified person for the right to marry his/her child.
The Christian Post reported that a majority of GOP politicians now support same-sex marriage. But this does not surprise us. When you move away from God's truth and imbibe the white noise, you drift with the culture. If you have no solid foundation, why wouldn't you conclude, as a court in Japan did that there is no "rational basis" for marriage to remain as it is?
Every anti-christ has his limit and we're grateful for that: Pope Francis has said that the Catholic church cannot bless same-sex unions.
As Rev. Fisk said on this Saturday's Chill, we should take heart! The decay in our culture presents a marvelous opportunity to build. God is for us and the darkness can never overcome the light. How wonderfully freeing it is to know that God created marriage and family! Regardless of what the culture decides, we know how good God's ways are. Moreover, we have been given a prayer book for these culturally suicidal times. Meditate on the Psalms and be fed.
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Quick Hits for the Eyebuds |
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A Good Word: Rec's from Us, the Chill |
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Mad Christian and Discord user, scotta, shared this blog post on Philip K. Dickβs The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. The 1965 sci-fi novel imagines the futuristic world of 2016. scotta shared this quote from the blog: "Dick is imagining what might happen if an unprecedentedly powerful union of government and surveillance capitalism is taken over by what might fairly be called a demonic power. Now, you might say that what Dick describes is not a demon, but simply a creature dramatically more powerful than we are and capable of imposing its will upon us. I call that a distinction without a difference." Take a read for yourself and don't just believe what they say.
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Another Mad Christian recommended The Not Conformed Podcast for other Chillins. Prepare to be deprogrammed as the hosts "step outside the culturally controlled narrative and expose the systematic engineering of your worldview."
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Sweetness You May Have Missed |
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Let us pray: O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world. Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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