"Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord." ~ Psalm 32 |
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"Hierarchies are celestial. In hell, all are equal." ~ Nicolás Gómez Dávila |
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Neo-marxist “critical race theory” |
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Who has time to explain that?
It means that if you live in Illinois and are not a member of a “protected class,” then expect to endure sanctioned public shaming as part of public schooling.
It’s, like, legit. They voted for it and everything. “Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards” will mandate teacher-led activism to “embrace” and “encourage” progressive viewpoints.
“Yes, you should become a member of a protected class if you can,” was my honest pastoral counsel out loud today.
I did not plan to have to say that.
To be wise is to be aware of otherwise unseen realities. The result of God-given wisdom is prayer.
There is not enough time for prayer.
But if we don’t use the church calendar to actually keep track of time, what good is it? It’s like a mod on someone else’s game.
Lent is a magical myth from another planet, a Disney-borified story after-remembered in between 8am and next Tuesday. In the dark winter, well after Christmas has past, Wednesday service is a lamppost indeed, a step through the wardrobe of these dystopic times. This year, more than ever, I feel its pull, like a portal, to another time, to a world before clockworks and steeple bells, to an ancient place where knights and castles were still a future dream but where Christians of the Roman Imperium marked their madness with the same first “Monday in Lent.”
Where there is no news, there are no troubles. But the news is a tasty trifle; over the lips it swiftly goes! -Proverbs 26:20b, 22
Till angel cry and trumpet sound, Rev. Fisk
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Pastor Fisk has highlighted startling changes from his neck of the woods this week, showing that Illinoisians who care about giving their children a useful education have their work cut out for them. While the woke go for broke, as the Family Research Council describes it, we will continue to pray for our nation and our communities.
Meanwhile in LA, the Unified School Board has voted to reduce the amount of police in schools and replace them with "social workers, restorative justice advisors, and 'climate coaches.'"
Cartoon Network is doing its part to make sure all the kiddies know how to be anti-racist too. Lord, have mercy.
A small glimmer of sense was found in South Dakota last week where a proposed bill would "starve cancel culture" by allowing citizens to "give privately to whatever causes they choose without fear of political retaliation."
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It would seem every man and his dog has something to say about Texas and it being sucked into a polar vortex recently. Great emphasis was put on the freezing of wind turbines which provide around 22% of Texas' energy, with some attempt to blame "green" energy policy as the problem. (There is something satisfying about seeing helicopters running on fossil fuel being used to defrost the giant blades.) PJ Media pointed out that the rise in reliance on wind energy has meant that "many coal-powered generation plants have been taken offline around the state."
But there was pushback from others, saying that weatherized windmills work just fine in places colder than Texas. Bloomberg pointed out that "frozen instruments at natural gas, coal and even nuclear facilities" should be factored in.
The Revolver News blog blamed aging infrastructure as well as lack of maintenance and warned that the disaster in the Lone Star state should be a wake-up call for everyone. John Daniel Davidson didn't mince his words at The Federalist, writing that politicking, greedy corporations, and bad policy are to blame. Davidson says the entire energy industry is a "corrupt and parasitic enterprise whose failures come at the expense of ordinary Americans."
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Congresswoman AOC suggested that if Texas had adopted her Green New Deal back in the day, this would not have happened. Ms Ocasio-Cortez seems to have a lot of faith in The Government. Although she applauded relief efforts from volunteers, she tweeted that "charity isn't a replacement for good governance." You sure about that?
While Mad Christians can thank God for the providential gift of a good government, we don't put our trust in snow plows or pipes or Presidents - they will fail us. We can face whatever the day brings because we know, as Rev Fisk says, that the world is as it should be. God is still on his throne. His will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
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The Australian government has been at loggerheads with Big Tech for a while now. At the behest of media lobby groups, the government has drafted legislation which would force Google, Facebook, and other platforms to pay media outlets for their content. The rules themselves are vague and by many accounts, pick the wrong battle.
Google initially threatened to pull out of Australia altogether but has negotiated deals with some publishers, including News Corp (yes, Rupert Murdoch's little enterprise). Microsoft put their hand up saying they would happily play by the rules. (If it means taking the place of Google, why not?)
But last week, Facebook brought out the big guns, removing all Australian news pages and blocking the sharing of links to Australian news sites. The sweeping ban, implemented using A.I. algorithms, rather than human arbiters, saw government and charity pages also shut down.
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Even though the bill is yet to pass through Australia's senate, it is an interesting case. According to Quillette's Claire Lehmann, Australia is the canary in the coalmine.
It's crazy to believe, but Shane O'Sullivan writes that there was a time when Facebook was so reliant on one application, that Google could have easily shut it down.
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A lengthy piece for the New Yorker follows the making of Facebook's "supreme court." The Oversight Board, tasked with deciding whether posts on the social media platform should be banned or not, has a difficult job. Trying to regulate a global network is as hard as it sounds and not every country has the same values as Menlo Park.
Facebook used workshops in an attempt to "crowdsource" standards for acceptable speech, but found that results globally contradicted one another. "In Hong Kong, where the pro-democracy movement has used social media to organize protests, activists rely on Facebook’s free-expression principles for protection against the state. In Myanmar, where hate speech has contributed to a genocide against the Rohingya, advocates have begged for stricter enforcement."
There are also vastly different opinions on the future of the Oversight Board. Noah Feldman, the Harvard Law professor who originally pitched the "supreme court" idea to Mark Zuckerberg, argues that these “quasi-legal systems” could influence real life judicial proceedings. “It’s easy to imagine that if they do their job right, real courts would eventually cite Facebook and Google opinions.”
However, Tim Wu, a Columbia law professor was less upbeat saying, "I wouldn’t be surprised if it got out of control and became its own little beast that tried to change the world one Facebook decision at a time.”
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If you're feeling like it's time for a tree-change, getting a bunch of like-minded Mad Christians together and building a community to withstand whatever the future brings, you are not alone. However, a Nevada tech firm has gone one better, applying to be its own government.
Blockchains L.L.C., CEO Jeffrey Berns has a grand vision for a "smart city", where the digital footprint of the citizenry is encrypted using blockchain. "To do that, he’s asking the state to let companies like his form local governments on land they own, which would grant them power over everything from schools to law enforcement. "
“There’s got to be a place somewhere on this planet where people are willing to just start from scratch and say, ‘We’re not going to do things this way just because it’s the way we’ve done it,’” Berns said.
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Okay
Did someone say "Monday"?
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Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem has said she will not issue a double mask mandate for her state.
The CDC says cases of the flu are low this season and claim it's probably because kids, who are thought to be the main carriers, are all at home.
Florida is doing something right.
Breitbart says President Biden is letting immigrants into the US without testing for Covid.
In May last year, the New England Journal of Medicine published an interesting article, brought to our attention on Discord by boosh333. The article on the use of masks in hospitals says they are "visible reminders of an otherwise invisible yet widely prevalent pathogen" which may prompt people to physically distance, but concludes that they aren't much use in preventing the spread of coronavirus.
More interestingly though, are the concluding remarks in the article. They admit that "masks serve symbolic roles," referring to them as "talismans" because they may help healthcare workers’ "perceived sense of safety, well-being, and trust in their hospitals. Although such reactions may not be strictly logical, we are all subject to fear and anxiety, especially during times of crisis." Or you could just wear a crucifix and let it remind you that you are paid for, you are immortal right now and that Jesus won't be long anyway.
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Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow. -Isaiah 1:18
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Sculpture artist, Fran Volz, makes the best of the bitter cold temps in Rockford, IL with this 8 ft. tall snow sculpture.
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Quick Hits for the Eyebuds |
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A Good Word: Rec's from Rev. Fisk |
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Kingstone Bible Comic Trilogy
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If the Mad Christian mentions something several times, is he excited or just mad? You may have heard Rev. Fisk rave about Kingstone's Bible comic books live this weekend or even seen it on the Mad Christian Discord. We've promoted their martyr book here at Mad Mondays before, but today we bring you, the Kingstone Bible Comic Collection— "a graphic novel adaptation of the Word of God." The three-part series covers creation through Judges, the kings and prophets of Israel, and Jesus through Revelation. Read it for teaching, for fun, or maybe even for sermon prep. Available at Kingstone.co.
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Interested in Christian Comic Books? Have you heard Rev. Fisk's Easter eggs on Saturday mornings? Want to know more? Then keep it up- watch the Chill and join Discord, and keep reading the Mad Mondays because you'll get it all here. Stay tuned!
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Sweetness You May Have Missed |
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Let us pray: O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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