163 Lent 1: Wide Closed
"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." ~ Psalm 33
Wide Closed
"When Jesus calls a man, He bids him, 'Come, and die.'" - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Two Kingdoms have a conundrum: a simultaneous, single Now. God wields two swords. But there is only one city.
What this means is that while Christians may freely decide for themselves when is the time to flee and when is the time to stand and fight, we always must refuse to lie.
We must refuse "The Lie." We must refuse the lies of others. We must refuse to forward such lies, even though it mean being accused of all manner of heinous (you guessed it! more) lies.
You cannot repent with your eyes closed. To go forward we must not go back. Then, we will see the ancient wisdom writ live: willingness to suffer for a truth is the kind of dynamic impact the world only wishes it could package and sell in a bottle.
Till angel cry and trumpet sound,
The Mad Christian
Clickbait Paradise
In this edition of Mad Mondays:
Lenten art
Willy Wonka gets an edit
Scoffers in Ohio
It's a rushed edition this week, as the team are a little under the weather. But back next week with all the good stuff..
Lent in art
Back in 2021, Pastor Wolfmueller had his readers contribute to a list of Lenten art and music. It's a great compilation of hymns, art and poetry.
Sensitive readers
The works of children's author, Roald Dahl, have been given a little contemporary tune-upby Puffin Publishing House. Dahl wrote many well-loved children's books, such as "Matilda", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and "James and the Giant Peach". "Sensitivity readers" were tasked with removing anything that might upset...well, anyone. Characters are described as "enormous" rather than fat and Willy Wonka's Oompa Loompa's are gender neutral.
We couldn't find out whether Mike Teevee was re-written to have an acceptable amount of screen time, nor if the geese and squirrels working in Wonka's factory were subject to welfare regulations. Was James held responsible for creating an environmental disaster by parking a huge piece of fruit in New York? And what of the dreadful parents who spoiled and abused their children?
Mark Hemingway was not the only one to point out the inconsistency in recent book-banning sagas. While those on the progressive side want to root out ethnic stereotyping in Dr. Seuss or some nebulous potential harm foisted on unsuspecting children, they are happy to allow graphic and explicit content in school library books. In the mind game known as "projection", parents who want to remove explicit books are branded as censorious while those who are editing words like "ugly" out of classic books claim to do it because they care. They accuse you of what they're doing.
One counterterrorist program run in the UK even flagged interest in classic literature as a sign of "far-right extremism". But in this case, even liberals such as writer Salman Rushdie said the rewrite was absurd. European publishers said they would not be making any changes to their editions. One French lawyer who defends author's rights asked, "How far back should we go? Baudelaire? Voltaire? The Bible?...Who decides what is now offensive or goes against current thinking?"
There is a very obvious worldview that is being driven by "safetyism" – our obsession with reducing every harm in the world. But it is also a convenient cover for the general disdain progressives have for parents. Not content to let moms and dads instil morals in their children, they wish to form kids through activists teachers, inclusive libraries and woke TV. And if that fails, government policies and legal action should do the trick.
We should always advocate for laws that protect out littlest neighbors, but children are given to their parents, not the state. It is parents who are charged with raising their children, not the government. As Hemingway says, "Concerned parents should not be afraid to enter the fray." Truth is on our side.
In these times of stealth editing and censorship, it is worth collecting physical books to feed your children's minds, as Rev Fisk has advised in the past. Of course this applies doubly to the Word of God. The whims of the ideologues will come and go, but households built on the unchanging Word of truth will not be easily shaken.
Update: Puffin will still release the "classic" editions of Dahl's work, along with the edited ones.
Blowing smoke
The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio continues to be a political football. Or at the very least, a sad adventure in missing the point. Transport Secretary, Pete Buttigieg finally made a visit to the town, saying he was sorry for not being there earlier. He told the rail company responsible that they needed to foot the bill for clean up. A clinic has been set up in to address health concerns.
However, former President Donald Trump upstaged Secretary Buttigieg somewhat by turning up the day before bringing supplies and buying a round of burgers for emergency workers.
Independent media were unimpressed with Mr. Buttigieg's reluctance to speak to them. GOP lawmakers questioned why President Biden's secret trip to Ukraine, complete with promises of financial assistance to its citizens, seemed to take priority over a visit to Ohio. But government agencies are working in the town (that may be cold comfort to some) and Governor De Wine turned down assistance from the President.
This situation is another one where everyone is playing for political points. Author Walter Kirn wrote a cranky Substack, noting that politicians seem uninterested in the little guys – that is almost par for the course these days. But his main barrage was directed at the purveyors of information, a.k.a. the corporate media, which quickly framed the disaster in culture war terms.
Just when the public could have benefited from clear coverage of the basic facts of the situation, many media publications and social media personalities wrote commentary about race, or Mr. Trump's opportunism, or which administration was to blame for safety breaches and so on. Kirn writes, "Man bites dog was a big story once, but the bigger story now, for them, is the cultural import of the attack and who is strengthened and who is weakened by the assorted re-tellings of the matter."
The pandemic years have revealed that we cannot rely on institutions as we once did. There is a chance that no one is coming to help, as we wrote previously. But this is why God gave us neighbors. Whether we live under a good government or not, looking out for our brothers and sisters is something Christians have always done. While scoffers in media and politics debate and obfuscate, the wise man turns his hand to where he can be of use and we know that our readers are orgnanizing to help folks in Ohio. As Rev Fisk said this week on Stop the White Noise, get into a battle you can do something about.
J6
Axios is reporting that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has turned over thousands of hours of January 6th footage to Tucker Carlson. Video available to the public so far has mostly come through the filter of the Select Committee appointed by the last Congress to investigate the events of the Capitol riot. It is not clear why Carlson was the recipient of the trove, but Democrat lawmakers are none too happy about it. We should continue to pray that justice is done, for those who committed crimes, but also for those who have been unjustly accused or harshly sentenced.
Luxury vehicles
Norway is bringing its plans for an electric motoring future forward, banning the sale of gas cars from 2025. The extreme cold of a Nordic winter will present challenges for battery cars, as it reduces the range between charges. But industry experts are confident it's a good move. Electric vehicles account for 79% of all new car sales in Norway.
Electric vehicles may represent a way for humanity to steward the planet and use resources sensibly, but the hype of "zero emissions" cars and the haste with which governments are banning combustion engines is quite reckless. EVs are not as "green" as climate alarmists often claim, as they are still largely depend on fossil-fuel generated power. That is without even considering the "embodied energy" and human cost of the components.
But the zeal for "low traffic" cities is running high, with one writer even going so far as to call anti-car efforts in the UK a "climate lockdown". Now that sounds alarmist, but he has a point.
As it stands, cars may die out all by themselves if trends in the wealthy West continue. Anti-motorist government schemes may be winning the hearts and minds of the young. With fear over climate change and internet shopping reducing the need to drive, the Economist reports that, young people are just not that into cars.
Canned revival
Sardines, a working-class "stalwart," are having something of a "revival" according to Taste magazine. Apparently young wealthy folks and posh restaurants are elevating them to "superfood" status and people can't get enough of them. We all know the Mad Christian did it before it was cool..
Speaking of things in tins...The Hustle reports that home canning (and bottling, to be fair) is making a comeback. The pandemic era interest in doing things for yourself and inflation means more folks are looking to preserve food.
Gonna need a bigger can for this one though.. Officials in New Mexico have begun to cull "unowned" cattle wandering through the Gila National Forest. Around 150 cows are wrecking the forest, according to Gizmodo's reporting and will be shot from helicopter.
Odds and ends
Efforts to protect unborn humans in Wisconsin is ramping up with general election on April 4th. Appointments to the state's Supreme Court court are voted on by citizens. Current activist nominees mean the make up of the court could flip to an openly pro-abortion majority.
Saddleback Church, the second largest congregation of the Southern Baptist Convention, has been ousted by the SBC over its appointment of a woman pastor.
Anti-racist darling Angela Davis was a bit overwhelmed to discover that her ancestors were aboard The Mayflower.
There are calls for border patrol agents to relocate to Canadian border amid massive spike of illegal crossings from the north.
Headlines from far away
Sixty-one British companies say their 4-day work week was a success and they'll stick with the format. (AP)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has said he is "suspending" the nuclear non-proliferation agreement he had with the US. During a recent speech, Putin blamed the West for the war in Ukraine. (The Week, The Hill) Nuclear warheads by nation, 1945-2022. (Visual Capitalist)
China is proposing a peace plan between Russia and Ukraine. (Just the News)
The US has formally accused Russia of war crimes. (Politico)
North Korea has fired ballistic missiles into waters off Japan. (World)
First inmates have been admitted to El Salvador's first "mega prison" in the country's crackdown on gang crime. (BBC)
John Michael Jones Gets a Life is produced for Mad ⳩ Mondays by E. Darwin Hartshorn. Episodes can also be found on Tuesday, along with previous episodes, on Bunny Trail Junction at bunny-trail.com.
Quick Hits for the Eyebuds
🥨 Embroidered snack foods
🎵 Spotify wants to give you your own DJ
🔋 A new generator runs on almost any fuel
🇯🇵 Japan adds 7,000 more islands
🤖 It can be done: man beats machine at a game of GO
🇺🇸 Every US president in Pixar style
🥫 Sailor survives weeks at sea by eating ketchup
👀 Open circuits: dissected electronic appliances
Only Illuminati Need Apply
Your Reaction Highlights
Will the Sons of Solomon or Daughters of Wisdom prayer discipline change your life?
Gabriel Sternberg, a Lutheran organist and composer, wrote in to share his musical compositions inspired by the Psalms of Ascent. They were written to be suitable for use in church. Give them a listen!
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Sweetness You May Have Missed
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.