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Movie Reviews, Science - Creation/Evolution, Watch for free

Science Uprising: a revolutionary case for Intelligent Design

Mainstream science – the sort we read about in the newspapers and gets taught in our public schools and universities – says we’re only modified monkeys. However, there’s evidence aplenty to undermine this modified monkey theory. And while evolution preaches we are matter and nothing more, that turns out to be philosophy, not evidence-based.

Back in 2019, the Intelligent Design think tank, the Discovery Institute began producing a series of videos designed, as their press release put it, to “directly confront the false views of science held by the growing number of science popularizers like Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye.” Specifically, they wanted to rebut materialism, the idea that we, and the universe itself, are nothing more than the matter we’re made of.

You might wonder at the strange Guy Fawkes mask with the monkey nose that shows up again and again. It’s one of those cultural references that may not have aged well because that’s a question a lot of people ask. The original Guy Fawkes was a Catholic who tried to blow up the English King James I. Not really a great role model. But a 2005 film, V for Vendatte (which I am not recommending) featured a rebel wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and the popularity of the film led to demonstrators around the world adopting the mask. And it’s that meaning that’s being conveyed here: they are protesting against the evolutionary tyranny….which is also why their version of the mask has been ape-ified.

The videos are fantastic, and at a fast-paced 6-11 minutes each, they are an easy watch with your older kids, or, if you are a teacher, with your high school students. The Discovery Institute isn’t a creationist organization, and some of the experts in the videos aren’t even Christian. What they do all agree on is that the science shows:

  1. more than materialism can account for
  2. evidence of an Intelligent Designer

Below I share a brief review of each episode, in the hopes that you’ll check them out. These really are as succinct and slick a presentation of the Intelligent Design argument as you will ever find.

So, grab some popcorn, shut off your phone and, for the next hour or so, kick back and enjoy the show!

SEASON 1

A creationist could endorse everything presented in this, the first of two seasons.

He would want to say more, however, because the Bible is never mentioned, and the Intelligent Designer the series argues for is never specifically named. That means, as compelling as its overall argument is – that creation points to a Creator – and as professional as the production values are, the project has a notable shortcoming. It ably tears down evolutionary arguments, but it never raises up God’s Truth. If we share this material with non-Christian friends, we need to also point out everyone’s need for the Redeemer, and share with our audience who this Savior is, the God-man Jesus.

Materialism vs. reality - Episode #1

The Bible says that the universe and all that is in it was created by Someone who is more than it and beyond it. But materialist science tells us "the cosmos are all there is, all there was, and all there ever will be."

So is our universe matter and nothing more, and is it anti-science to believe that non-material things like love and consciousness are real? Dr. Jay Richards weighs in.

No, you're not a robot made out of meat - Episode #2

Who are we? The Bible says we are physical and spiritual beings – we have a body, but we are more than our body. If I lose an arm and leg, I may have lost 25% of my body, but am still all there – there isn't 25% less of me.

And the evidence agrees. For example, it shows that our immaterial minds – our thoughts – can actually change our material brains.

The Programmer - Episode #3

The Bible says we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" by a Master Craftsman.

And what does mainstream science say? The materialist scientists reduce us to mere machines. And yet they have to acknowledge that "our DNA code is more complex than any man-made software..." And as Stephen Meyer explains, our observations of the world show us "information always arises from an intelligent source."

You don't suck - Episode #4

The Bible declares that Man is something special, created in the very image of God (Gen. 1:26-28).

Materialist science has a very different perspective. As Bill Nye puts it, "I am a speck on a speck, a whirling speck, among still other specks in the middle of specklessness....I suck!" At the same time, scientists are discovering that this supposedly purposeless universe seems to be especially and improbably fine-tuned to not just support life but to enable us to thrive.

How do the materialists explain that? By proposing this is just one of millions or billions or trillions of universes out there, and this is the one where everything came out just right. One problem: as physicist Frank Tipler explains there's exactly as much evidence for this "multiverse theory" as there is for the existence of unicorns and leprechauns.

The origins of life - Episode #5

The Bible says that life was designed, and came about by an extraordinary supernatural act of God. In contrast, materialist science says that life came about by simple, random, unguided chemical interactions.

But if life really could come about by sheer unintended luck, then why haven't the world's most brilliant scientists – with their billions of dollars in equipment, awesome computing power, refined chemicals, and ready blueprints all around them – ever been able to create life on purpose?

Mutations break; they don't create - Episode #6

The Bible says that due to Man's Fall into Sin the perfect world that God created is broken, and wearing out (Isaiah 51:6, Ps. 102:25-26). In this worldview it is no surprise that mutations are harmful, causing things like cancer. It's no surprise because Christians understand that we as a species are breaking down.

But evolutionary theory says Mankind is the end result of a long process of beneficial mutations that changed us and improved us, progressing upward from life's simple origins as a single cell, to eventually evolve into the incredibly complex creatures that we are today. Evolution says that we as a species are improving.

So which worldview fits best with the evidence? Do we see mutations improving us, or harming us? A closer look at the science shows that mutations don't have the type of creative power that evolution proposes and needs.

SEASON 2

While the first season sticks to points that creationists could enthusiastically agree with, the second season occasionally conflicts with the biblical account by incorporating some evolutionary presumptions, like a timescale of millions of years, or the evolutionary take on the geological “record.” It’s worth noticing, though, that even were we to presume millions of years, evolution still doesn’t have the answers.

Big bang: something from nothing? - Episode #7

The Bible says God created in six days, just some six thousand or so years ago. Evolution proposes a Big Bang billions of years ago. While this video argues for the Big Bang, it also highlights how even the Big Bang leaves evolutionists the problem of accounting for how something, or rather everything, came from nothing.

Human evolution: the monkey bias - Episode #8

Does the fossil record really support the evolution of humans from ape-like ancestors? This episode highlights the scant evidence, and shares how the evidence there is has been manipulated, and even sanded off, to align with evolutionary assumptions.

Fossils: mysterious origins - Episode #9

Evolution can't account for the sudden appearance of life that repeatedly occurs in the fossil record. That's a devastating problem for Darwinian evolution.

But what sort of answer can Intelligent Design offer? They offer up the very general idea of an "intelligent mind" intervening. Who was that intelligent mind, and how did they engineer these various species. The specifics don't really come up in this video.. Creationists have their own proposals though which don't presume repeated creative acts. They look at the geological column as evidence of a worldwide flood, rather than a history of millions of years.

AI: will machines take over? - Episode #10

As computers become ever and increasingly more powerful, will they become thinking machines? The folks who say so think that we're nothing more than computing machines ourselves, merely the sum of our parts. But Christians know we are made in the very Image of our Maker (Gen. 1:27), and that's not ever going to be true of machines.

The picture at the top of the page is a screenshot from episode #6.

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Dating

10 questions to discuss when “interviewing” someone for marriage

These 10 questions were crafted for Reformed Harmony by Taylor DeSoto, with the hope that they could provide guidance for prospective couples to get to know one another more deeply. He encourages singles to keep their emotions low at the outset, until compatibility on the most meaningful levels has been established. The questions are reprinted below with DeSoto’s permission, and my commentary accompanies them in the brackets. 1. When did you know your sin and misery and when did you feel the love of Christ in your life? 2. What are the core tenets of your theology? What are the secondary tenets of your theology? (Which issues are important to you, or not?) 3. What political views do you hold?  (Do you have strong views regarding political parties, poverty, abortion, the environment, or list any other topic important to you). 4. How do you view the husband-wife relationship regarding headship, chores, division of labor? 5. What are you passionate about? What are your hobbies? How do you spend your time? 6. How is your relationship with your parents and family? Do you want your parents to be involved in our relationship? 7. How do you serve your church as a single person?  (This is geared to rooting out the people who don’t go to or participate in church in a meaningful way. DeSoto believes that if you are not serving your church while you are single, then you are not going to serve it as a married person OR serve your family). 8. Do you hope to have children, and how many? How do you want to raise them - what type of schooling or catechism? Do you believe in the baptism of infants? 9. What are your deal breakers in a relationship? This covers everything - where to live, job to have, smoking, drinking alcohol, sports - he encourages people to make a list. 10. How do you want to manage finances when married? This includes views on spending money, finances, credit/debt, and how to share assets. DeSoto adds that an eleventh question could be: May I contact your pastor if I want to? This may seem extreme, but if you are going to live with this person for the rest of your life, his or her character should be known objectively, as well as possible. And if you have nothing to hide, why would it bother you?...

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Being the Church

...but I have a couch

Rosaria Butterfield's The Gospel Comes With A House Key came highly recommended, and after reading it I understand why. Rosaria is honest and insightful. She shares examples of hospitality gleaned from her own experiences, from feeding popsicles to the neighborhood children, to squeezing as many people as possible into their home on a snowy Sabbath when church was canceled. It seems that there are extra people in the Butterfield home so often that they expect to see non-family members at their dinner table and regularly make too-large meals to accommodate the guests. Upon finishing the book I felt inspired to be more hospitable, to invite all my neighbors over for chili and Bible reading. So I put down the book and looked up – up at the small kitchen/living room of my one-bedroom apartment, and my heart sank because there's no way I could fit fifty people into my home, and this truth became incredibly clear: I cannot do hospitality like the Butterfields. So what do you do, when you feel convicted and inspired to obey God but you just don't know how to do it? You pray. Well, I prayed, and as I sat on my couch, asking God how to do hospitality for Him, a new concept came to me. There is a reason I cannot do hospitality like the Butterfields. God has not put me in a house with a husband and given me the occupation of a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. He has put me by myself in a one-bedroom apartment with a schedule that requires me to work at least two evenings a week. In short, I can't do hospitality like the Butterfields because I'm not a Butterfield. But God's command to be hospitable does not say "be hospitable like the Butterfields" (nor does Rosaria say that in her book) but simply "show hospitality" (1 Peter 4:9). The question we all have to answer is how? Perhaps the most helpful and practical thing to do is to look around and recognize what you have, and then be intentional about using what you do have to obey God. For example, I don't have a large space, but I do have a couch. So, I now invite women to come share a pot of tea and sit on my couch and talk. That couch is just an ordinary, everyday thing, but it has become a tool to enhance the Kingdom of God. If it could talk it would tell you stories that would make you weep and laugh and weep again. When we take the daily things God has given us and deliberately use them to serve Him, they cease being plain objects and start being tools consecrated to generate heavenly treasures. We get intimidated by hospitality thinking that it has to be big and fancy. It doesn't. It can be as simple as Oreo cookies and water, along with ears that listen. It can involve folding laundry and making soup, along with ears that listen. It can be shown around a campfire in your backyard or on your front patio or around your kitchen table or sitting on the floor…with ears that listen. People don’t care much where you are or what you serve them, as long as you prove yourself to be a safe person that they can share their lives with. Sharing life usually doesn't happen over the first cup of coffee, but it's a beginning, and we'll never get anywhere if we don't start. Hospitality requires you to be intentional and loving and available, and it needs to be shown to fellow saints and neighbors and the least. Jesus showed hospitality by making people sit on the grass and by divvying up five loaves and two fish among them (Luke 9:10-17). His first concern wasn't physical comfort or meeting social expectations, but to show people the Father. By His Spirit, may we follow His example and bring the living Savior to our dying world....

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News

A Big Win for Free Speech from the US Supreme Court

A decision on Friday from the highest court in the United States is a major win for the fundamental freedoms of Americans. The justices ruled 6-3 in favor of Colorado web designer Lorie Smith, in the case 303 Creative v. Elenis. Smith owns the 303 Creative business which creates custom wedding websites. As a Christian, she wanted to only provide this service for weddings that honor God’s design for marriage, between one man and one woman. But the state of Colorado didn’t allow this, even though their state officials understood that Smith was willing to work with customers who identify as LGBT, as long as her work didn’t violate her faith. (Colorado is also the state that has repeatedly gone after baker Jack Phillips over his decision to not design cakes for gay "marriages" and gender "transitions"). Smith challenged the Colorado law and lost at the U.S. Court of Appeals in July of 2021. She appealed to the Supreme Court, which has now sided with her. “The decision means that government officials cannot misuse the law to compel speech or exclude from the marketplace people whose beliefs it dislikes” explained Kristen Waggoner, the president of Alliance Defending Freedom, which argued this case before the Supreme Court. “That’s a win for all Americans – whether one shares Lorie’s beliefs or holds different beliefs. Each of us has the right to decide for ourselves what messages we will communicate – in our words, in our art, in our voice – without interference from the government.” The decision points to the immense importance of the Constitution, and judges willing to uphold it, in the face of legislatures who are keen to use the force of the law to push their views on the public. And it also marks a very different trajectory from Canada’s Supreme Court, especially with the recent loss of Justice Russell Brown....

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Documentary, Movie Reviews, Watch for free

Into the Light: a teaching documentary on freedom from pornography

Documentary 81 minutes / 2023 Rating: 8/10 Are you someone who doesn’t take quickly to reading? Are you looking for a more accessible resource for yourself or perhaps your study group? Look no further than Into the Light! This documentary was created for the very purpose of providing non-readers with a faithful and effective presentation of the Christian’s struggle with pornography, and the work that God does to restore them. An independent project by Jacob Valk and John-Michael Bout, this documentary is a valuable resource for Christians struggling against pornography and for those walking alongside them. Great group resource As the title suggests, this documentary aims to bring the conversation about pornography out into the open and highlight the fact that it is a very real struggle for many Christians, both men and women, young and old. The documentary is comprised of six short interviews, each with an expert in various aspects of the Bible’s teaching about sexual purity and in the fight against pornography. The interviews cover the consequences of sin, God’s design for sex, understanding our hearts, taking radical practical measures, learning to endure in the fight, and discovering true freedom in Christ. The presentations by each of the six interviewees are biblically based and provide great hope for those who may feel lost or defeated in the struggle against sexual sin. The interviews are spaced apart by five short segments that follow the story of Tim and Chelsea – a Christian couple who had their own struggle with pornography. Their story really helps to bring out the talking points that are covered in the interviews and shows how they are lived out by real Christians. They typify what is sadly very common among Christians, namely their initial misunderstanding of how destructive pornography really is and the pain that the struggle against it brings. Their story, however, is full of hope for through Christ they have found freedom from pornography and can live a new life in Him. Into the Light is about an hour and twenty minutes long but for study purposes can be watched in episode form. Since this was an entirely crowd-funded endeavor, the creators of this documentary have made it freely available at IntoTheLightDocumentary.com. On the website, under the resources tab there is an excellent leader’s guide for study groups as well as discussion questions for each of the six interviews. These two resources are of high quality as they thoroughly explore each subject and even provide sample answers and additional resources for those who want to learn more. With the aid of these helpful resources, bringing the conversation about pornography into the light can begin to happen. Caution While the documentary does an excellent job of not discussing unnecessary explicit details of sexual sin, some of the talking points do require a certain level of maturity. For teenagers and young adults this documentary is a great way to start the conversation about pornography but for those of pre-teen age it may need parental guidance. Conclusion One thing that is missing from this documentary is a breakdown of just how pervasive pornography is amongst Christians. It would have been helpful to highlight the fact that this problem is only growing and that the Church needs to be equipped to deal with this. The filmmakers of Into the Light are Reformed Baptists and the teaching and guidance that their documentary provides is scriptural and Christ-centered. To learn more about their story and purpose in making this documentary check out their appearance on the Real Talk podcast, Episode 50. To watch it for free, just pick your format below. To get access, they do ask you for your email address. 81 minute documentary Six 15-20 minute chapters Find the other resources at: IntoTheLightDocumentary.com. And watch the trailer below. ...

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Pro-life - Euthanasia

Getting even crazier: 27% of Canadians think being poor is good enough reason for euthanasia

Is poverty itself reason enough to allow someone to opt for doctor-assisted suicide? The question seems ludicrous – poverty is a condition that can change over a lifetime, and is hardly comparable to terminal lung cancer (an example of the “reasonably foreseen” death that’s previously been used to justify euthanasia). Yet a recent survey found 27% of Canadians agree with allowing doctor-assisted suicide in cases of poverty. This is one in four people you might meet! The survey was done by Research Co. and the results were released on May 5. Almost immediately it began making headlines with 11% of respondents saying they “strongly agree” and 16% that they “moderately agree” poverty was reason enough to let people kill themselves. We might be surprised, but the reality is, once suicide is an option and personal autonomy is valued, it’s not clear on what grounds someone would be prevented from asking for death because of poverty. After all, why shouldn’t the poor be able to make these kinds of decisions for themselves? If assisted dying is available to all Canadians, why should the poor be considered less able to choose? Christians know we are commanded to have compassion for the poor, not seek to eliminate them. But in a society where the government provides both social support services and medically-assisted dying, there is a financial incentive to reduce the cost of what gets provided to struggling people. This inevitably puts the poor in a vulnerable situation, a situation where they should receive the support and advocacy of their neighbors around them in a system that can be cold and impersonal. “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern” (Prov. 29:7). Insisting that the poor have the full capacity to make a choice for euthanasia misses all the ways they might not feel like they have much of a choice. This survey also demonstrates how far opponents of euthanasia have to go in influencing public opinion. Do people really understand what they’re saying when they answer a poll question like this? The most charitable interpretation is that the poll responders wanted to emphasize the personal autonomy of a poor individual. But a personal choice is never made in isolation. Ultimately to declare poverty as reason enough to consider euthanasia is to devalue the worth of all the poor. To say poverty is enough reason for one person to consider no longer living is to say this kind of suffering decreases the value of that life. This comes into starker contrast looking beyond our borders to take in the poor worldwide. Tell humans who are barely getting by that they don’t need to struggle anymore, tell them that they can decide their life has no value and they can quit it. What would they say about this attitude to the life they’re fighting tooth and nail to keep? Suffering does not erase the meaning and value of being alive. But in a modern world where personal fulfillment and the individual’s choice matter above everything else, this message will be a challenge for Christians to drive home....

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Being the Church

In the right place to serve: Christians are leading the way in helping one city’s homeless

By God’s providence, Christians are often in exactly the right place at the right time to do the good works that He prepared for us! For nearly 100 years, the Lighthouse Mission has worked with the down and out on the streets of Bellingham, a university city near the Canadian border, preaching the Gospel while lending a material hand to those in need. As homelessness and despair due to drug addiction have grown in the last ten years, local government officials have begun to lean more and more on the work done by the Lighthouse – work that is helping pull people off the streets, and into productive lives through the power of God’s Word. Hans Erchinger-Davis is the Executive Director of the Mission. Hans grew up near Bellingham in a Christian home with loving parents who shared the Gospel wherever they went, including a memorable one-year trip through communist eastern Europe when Hans was a boy. Erchinger-Davis studied at Regent College in Vancouver (where Professor J.I. Packer was among his teachers), but his first career was in technology, and later in film. On the cusp of a career as a documentary filmmaker, Hans was offered a job at the Lighthouse Mission in 2006, and his life, and the lives of thousands of others, was changed forever. Help given in the Name of God Executive Director Hans Erchinger-Davis has been working at the Mission since 2006. Erchinger-Davis estimates that there are between 800 and 1,000 homeless people in Whatcom county at any one time, with the majority living on the city streets of downtown Bellingham. Volunteers and employees of the Mission make regular contact with these struggling men and women, giving out coffee and clothing, and inviting them to “base camp” for a hot meal and shelter for the night. Already at “base camp,” counselors share the good news of Jesus Christ, and offer resources and referrals, letting the new arrivals know that there is a way out of the despair in which they find themselves. Those who are willing to move up from “base camp” into a formal program of recovery must commit to being off drugs and alcohol before they are admitted to recovery houses that build on the foundation of drug-free, value-filled living, to begin training towards a productive life. “The Christian message is always part of our teaching,” says Erchinger-Davis. “Ninety-nine percent of our graduates are Christians or become Christians.” “We follow Jesus onto the streets and encampments in our community. The message of Jesus cannot be separated from the services we offer. It is in our DNA to carry out the mission of healing homelessness with Christ’s power and love,” said Erchinger-Davis. “It’s because of this that the Lighthouse Mission declines any offers of government funding for programs and services that might limit the ability for us to provide our homeless friend voluntary participation in prayer, worship, Bible studies and basic Christian discipleship.” Eager to do even more Now, in 2023, the Lighthouse Mission is in the middle of an ambitious construction project: the building out of which the Mission did its main work was in rough shape, and the Mission’s board decided that the most cost-effective solution was to tear it down and re-build a more suitable facility, with room for more training, more beds, more cooking facilities, and room for small retail businesses that those in the program can operate. Whatcom County (in which Bellingham is located) has a fairly liberal governing “county council,” although there are believers among the county representatives. Officials have acknowledged publicly and privately that the Mission does invaluable work among the homeless that local government is not able to provide. As a result, both the city and county had committed to helping fund portions of the construction project that were centered on humanitarian aid (things like shelter, meals, and vocational training). Setbacks, but no compromise The Mission provides hot meals, but they don’t stop with providing for the physical. It is always delivered in the context of the Gospel. Recently however, one of the county council members made it her personal mission to deny any funding to the rebuilding project due to the Mission’s “discriminatory” hiring practices. (The Lighthouse Mission requires that all of its employees acknowledge the organization’s Christian roots, including a Biblical understanding of human sexuality and the sinfulness of homosexual relationships.) The council member won a temporary victory, as the body decided not to provide funding for any of the Mission’s rebuild (even the portions of the work that could be described as humanitarian aid). Again, by the grace of the Lord, this temporary setback was overcome in God’s providence. Just a few days after the council made its decision, a local donor contacted Hans to let him know that he and his family would be donating $400,000 to help cover the shortfall. But that was just the beginning! Kathy Kershner, a Christian who serves on county council, lobbied the other members of council, reminding them of the valuable services that the Mission provides to Whatcom County. Kershner moved to rescind the motion denying funding, and a majority of council agreed. Hope for future rests in the Lord Despite many victories and successes for the Mission, Erchinger-Davis’ personal life has been visited with tragedy. His father, a faithful Christian, struggled with bi-polar disorder. His best friend from high school became a drug addict, and despite intervention attempts and help that was available so close by, died of a drug overdose a couple of blocks from Hans’ office. Echinger-Davis’ sister was a victim of domestic violence, and recently took her own life, leaving behind two young children. While some might despair at these tragedies, Hans is able to rejoice in God’s goodness, and to accept that God has a plan that he can’t fully understand. “It’s hard! My friend died, and I was not able to help him, but partly through my own work, the Mission has been able to help thousands who have escaped lives of brokenness through God’s love.” The Lord has put His people where they are needed to fulfill His gracious plan. Hans summarizes: “We aim for healing homelessness both in the present, the future, and for eternity with the tender love of Jesus Christ in Whatcom County.” Assistant Editor Marty VanDriel is a board member of the Lighthouse Mission Ministries Foundation, which provides long-term funding for the work of the Lighthouse Mission Ministry, and was asked by the editor to profile the organization. Pictures have are frame captures, taken with permission, from Lighthouse Mission Ministries Foundation's 5-part video series "Hope for Bellingham: Response to Homelessness," the first of which you can watch below. Find the rest here. ...

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News

Alberta and BC champion very different responses to drug use

Earlier this year, BC became the first province to decriminalize small amounts of illegal drugs. The policy was the latest “harm reduction” effort from the province’s NDP government. The province boasted that “British Columbia is taking a critical step toward reducing the shame and fear associated with substance use.” This move was approved by Health Canada, which granted a three-year exemption from federal drug laws. Only a few months later, the effects are being felt in towns and cities throughout the province. “BC’s drug decriminalization experiment is off to a disastrous start” shouted the headline from the national affairs columnist in the Globe and Mail. Gary Mason proceeded to describe the situation on the ground, including a report from Mike Stolte, from Nelson, BC. “I’m a pretty liberal person who has been involved in compassionate programs for hospices and other entities,” Mr. Stolte told the Globe and Mail. “So, I feel for anyone battling addictions. I was initially a fan of decriminalization but I think the longer we continue with this experiment, the more and more downtowns are going to cease to exist. Nobody will want to go near them.” Stolte now keeps a baseball bat and bear spray by his front door after experiencing four thefts in the last two months. One province over, Alberta has refused to decriminalize drugs. Instead, they have been expanding the treatment spaces and now have capacity to serve 29,000 people every year. They also got rid of the fee for treatment. Instead of making drugs more accessible, they are making treatment more accessible. On the heels of their provincial election, the province’s UCP government took it a step further by announcing it would introduce the Compassionate Intervention Act, which would give the province the authority to require chronic drug addicts, who are believed to be at great risk to themselves or others, to get treatment. This too would be the first of its kind in Canada. “There is virtually no addict that makes a change in their life without some measure of intervention,” shared Marshall Smith, the chief of staff to Alberta’s Premier. He knows this from experience, having gone from being a staffer in the BC legislature to living on the streets in Vancouver for four years, as a result of a cocaine and meth addition. According to the National Post, he credits his recovery to the local police, who gave him the option of jail or a spot in a treatment center. Although there are not yet statistics to compare the two approaches, BC overdose deaths have doubled since 2016, though there was a slight decrease of 1.5 percent last year. The drop was much larger in Alberta, at 12 percent last year. BC’s approach rests on a belief that people should be free to pursue their desires, even if they are risky and dangerous. This is a similar strategy to that which was employed over the past half-century with the normalization of sex outside of heterosexual marriage, by focusing on “safe sex.” In contrast, Alberta’s approach recognizes that some activities need to be discouraged, even to the point of forcing people to change their lives. Although there is no explicit recognition of sin, nor an express desire to live in a way that respects our design as image bearers of God, Alberta’s approach is an encouraging step in the right direction. It will be important to compare the results of the two strategies in the coming year....

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News

Dodgers honor drag queen “nuns”

CORRECTION: The original title for this article was "Dodgers honor drag queen 'nuns' in front of empty stadium" was true, as videos showed that when the nuns were honored before the game, very few people were in attendance. But it turns out, they showed up afterwards, so we've edited the article to reflect that.   **** In May, the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team extended an invitation to the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence," a self-proclaimed queer and drag order of nuns, to receive the team’s Community Hero Award. This “order” is defined by what it mocks: the Roman Catholic Church. Conservative Christian groups voiced strong objections, which prompted the Dodgers to rescind their invitation.  This, then, sparked controversy among progressive groups. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence released a statement asserting that their organization is based on love, acceptance, and celebrating human diversity. But their performances contradict this claim.  For example, each year, they organize an Easter event that includes a "hunky Jesus and foxy Mary" contest. Drag queens dress in skimpy outfits, imitating Jesus and even simulating crucifixion, with another drag queen pole dancing on the "Jesus" figure. The event also features a character called "Fesus," hatched from an egg, who claims to be the alpha and omega. Fesus mockingly proclaims:  "I was born 30 seconds ago, yet I was created with no beginning, no middle, and no end. Sent from the heavens to slay and take away the sins of the world."  Due to pressure from progressive factions, the Dodgers organization ultimately reversed its decision, issuing a Twitter statement that expressed apologies to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and their friends and family. And they re-invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to a pride night event on June 16 where they received an award from the Dodgers for their work in the community. In the face of such open hostility, how can Christians respond? 1. Remain steadfast  The Dodgers organization appears very concerned with pleasing people. However, as Christians, our focus must be on faithfully following God's commands (Galations 1:10). The Bible forewarns us about facing persecution and being judged, as expressed in 1 Corinthians 4:3-4, where Paul affirms,  "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me."  When we stand firm in the truth revealed in God's Word, we should expect judgment and slander. Yet, we should adopt Paul's attitude toward such judgment, recognizing that our ultimate accountability lies with God alone. 2. Educate our children  The Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort, all provide a solid understanding of what we believe and why we believe it. And so too does Pastor Chris Gordon’s New Reformation Cathechism on Human Sexuality. While catechizing can present challenges, it is an immensely rewarding endeavor. And if we won’t catechize our children ourselves, then they will be catechised by the world. 3. Consider boycotts  Recent examples, such as Target and Bud Light, garnered backlash for endorsing woke ideologies. According to a report by Fox, Target and Bud Light suffered a combined loss of $28 billion, with even larger figures expected since then. So boycotts can sometimes send a message. 4. Pray for those who oppose us In the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs us:  "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:43-44).  Jesus commands us to love and pray for the progressive movement. Loving them does not imply tolerating their beliefs, but rather sharing the truth with grace. Let us make it a practice to pray specifically for the LGBT community this pride month. Pray that they would come to repentance and turn from the path that leads to destruction. Create a list of individuals you know or organizations that support this lifestyle and commit to praying for them daily throughout the month. Noah Faber is a member of Cascade Christian Reformed Church in Maryville, Washington. Picture was taken by Ringo Chiu / Shutterstock.com. ...

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Saturday Selections – June 17, 2023

How you should spend your words (2 min) We only have so many words we're going to speak. So what are you going to build – or destroy – with yours? The mental health crisis of American teenage daughters Is it just social media, or is there more causing it? Should I take the birth control pill? The birth control pill has three separate actions: the first two prevent conception, and should those two fail, the third acts to prevent the conceived children from implanting in the mother's womb – it acts as an abortifacient. Listen to this as a 20-minute podcast, or tackle it as a 10-minute read. 30% of Gen Z Americans would welcome gov't monitoring inside their homes A third of Americans under 30 would favor government surveillance in their homes, in the name of reducing spousal and child abuse. Christians might think that if we aren't doing anything wrong what does it matter if we are being watched? But do you spank your children? Might some government official somewhere want to recast that as abuse? Do you teach your children that God made us male and female? Do you insist that marriage is between one man and one woman? What might some in the government think about that? To be constantly monitored is to be constantly assessed. And knowing, as we do, that our governments don't measure right and wrong by God's standards, we should fear the prospect. That a third of these young Americans are okay with constant government surveillance shows they don't know about surveillance states of the past, like the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. They don't know about China's current "social credit system," where citizens are constantly monitored and granted freedoms based on their government score. And these young people must not haven't read 1984, or any other dystopian fiction. That a third of American young people would grant their government this much power isn't an endorsement of their government's trustworthiness, but only shows how badly it has run the public school system – young people by the millions have been so abysmally educated, they aren't aware that governments that try to run everything ruin everything. FOBO - the fear of better options It wasn't so long ago that kids had to contend with FOMO: the Fear Of Missing Out. It's a fear that can run kids ragged, going to this event and then that, to be sure they'll be there for whatever epic times might happen. Today kids have to contend with FOBO: Fear Of Better Options. Kids won't commit to an event just in case something better comes up. It's so widespread, kids will think nothing of ditching out on a friend they have committed to. So, in the quest for having the very best time, they leave behind people who were counting on them for friendship and companionship. 12 important questions to ask your dad on Father's Day This is a secular article, but very much about honoring your father (Ex. 20:12) by seeking his wisdom while you can. And for a double dose of fatherly attention, John Stonestreet weighs in on how the importance of fathers shouldn't be overlooked. The video below is humorous – different denominations discussing how they'll celebrate Father's Day – but has a mention of drag in it, so isn't all ages. ...

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