Saturday Selections - February 27, 2021

Actors react to facts about the "wage gap" (3 min) These actors were asked to give a "cold read" – they hadn't previously had a chance to see their script – to a list of facts about the wage gap, and other male/female differences. The point of the video isn't explicitly stated though: that evidence of differences isn't evidence of victimization. Our modern culture largely treats the genders as interchangeable and if that were true, then if men make more on average, such a difference would have to be because of unfair discrimination against women. But if God made the two genders different, with different roles even, and equipped us to those roles, then there'd be another possible explanation – overall, men and women might have different priorities. Newspaper associates Free Reformed church's repentance message with shock therapy, so the pastor clarifies "To clarify, our church does not provide exorcisms, electroshock therapy, or aversion therapy. We only hold out the same hope God offers to all people:  forgiveness through Jesus Christ and grace to change.  Let me further clarify by quoting my submission to the Tasmania Law Reform Institute:  “…our church preaches and teaches what the Bible says, including what it says about sexual orientation and gender identity. We do this out of our ultimate commitment to God, our love for him, and out of love for the people around us. We counsel accordingly. We pray publicly and privately accordingly. According to the working definition the Issues Paper provides, we are involved in SOGI conversion practices." Covid absolutism and unintended consequences "...during public health emergencies, absolutism — the idea that people should cease any and all behavior that creates additional risk — is a tempting response. Times writer David Leonhardt gives various examples of this 'absolutism' on display in America today. 'People continue to scream at joggers, walkers and cyclists who are not wearing masks. The University of California, Berkeley, this week banned outdoor exercise, masked or not...'" What you should know about the arrest of Pastor James Coates James Coates, an Alberta pastor, has been arrested for defying Covid-related restrictions on public worship. "Christians can disagree in good conscience with this church’s specific contravention of public health orders. But those who support freedom of conscience and religion should oppose any disproportionate use of the law to criminalize Pastor Coates." Or, as someone else put it, it might be that Pastor Coates isn't being persecuted for your beliefs, but he is being persecuted for his religious beliefs. Do we need to agree with Pastor Coates, to defend his freedom to worship as he feels he is called by God to do? We condemn China for violating their Uighur population's religious convictions even though we don't share their Muslim convictions. We respect others' religious convictions, as far as we are able, because we know: we can't force people to believe anything. to try to force them to act contrary to their convictions is to try to force them to be hypocrites. So, are present circumstances so dire that they require the Alberta government to imprison this pastor for his beliefs? No. Alberta's stats aren't readily available, but one province over, in BC, just 0.25% of cases are traceable to religious settings. If you are a citizen of Alberta, the linked article above shows how you can send a letter to Premier Jason Kenney. 74 books I have read aloud to my children Lots of inspiration here for parents who are already, or want to start, reading to their kids each night. The porn playbook: deny, disinform, defame (12 minutes) Porn producers are taking a page from the old Tobacco Playbook to obscure the harm their "product" causes. These plays are also used by pro-choicers, by the transgender lobby, evolutionists, school choice opponents, and more. If this video has been a specifically Christian presentation they'd likely have realized that what they are talking about is actually the devil's playbook...although he has more plays than just these three. A caution: while nothing "adult" is shown, there is lots of adult material discussed, and in frank language, so this is not all ages viewing. ...