224 Easter 7: What Are You Enforcing?
“Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” ~ Psalm 1
What Are You Enforcing?
Anyone can see if he looks: it's hard to imagine a worse system to put your hopes in. The season, the cycle, the wind, the moment? When there are no laws enforced, the lawless will get away with it. When the lawless get away with it, the laws don't work for anyone. When the laws don't work for anyone, the enforcers will become the law.
What are you enforcing?
Consensus does not exist. Chain of command is not a random notion. The 4th Commandment is not law needlessly. Talking back to those over you only happens in a sinful world.
“If I tell my two year old son not to play on the road he doesn't have to fully understand me, but he does have to trust me more than he trusts himself.”*
A boy never understands what his father is saying. Rather, what his father is saying molds what understanding he does have. It is imperative that every boy hear his father speak, even when those words are hard, when they don’t make sense, or when they are against the will of himself or his mother. Such a lesson is learned at the cross, where alone there is Spirit sufficient to stand against the dark and remind us that subjection is not a law, but the very promise of the Savior’s Gospel.
Till angel cry and trumpet sound,
The Mad Christian
Religion and the Church
The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University has released the results of its new poll, according to which the vast majority of self-professed Christians hold syncretistic beliefs. Respondents agreed with the idea that humans are born morally neutral, that “humans have no right to dominate animals, plants, or nature” and that you can’t beside of God’s existence. Yes, it’s a poll and we can take it with a grain of salt, but the evidence that Americans don’t know what it means to be a Christian is all around us. (Christianity Today)
Headline from 1920: “Constant Use of Ouija Board Drives Seven People Insane.” Subhead: “Girl Aged 15, Introduces The Device And Convinced Other Six Of Its Spiritual Power.” (Newspapers)
A man’s gun has jammed as he tried to shoot pastor during livestreamed service. (Not the Bee)
The Babylon Bee’s “woke” Jesus. (Babylon Bee)
Births, Deaths and Marriages
Ozempic babies? Anecdotal accounts of surprise pregnancies while on the weight loss drug are popping up on the internet. “While doctors have speculated about the effects of significant weight loss on fertility and the possibility of GLP-1 drugs interfering with the absorption of oral contraceptives, there isn't any concrete evidence that pregnancy is a side effect of the drug.” We can almost bet that if it does improve fertility, it won’t be around long – more babies? We can’t have that now, can we? (The Week)
The amount of women using IVF and also freezing eggs increased during 2022. (Axios)
Just keep digging: The Boy Scouts will change its name to Scouting America in order to reflect its more “inclusive” stance, allowing girls, homosexual men and transgender people. The organization has been in a mess for some years now, agreeing to a $2.4 billion bankruptcy settlement after thousands of sexual abuse claims. The reorganization plan “has allowed the organization to continue its programs while compensating the thousands of victims.” (The Hill)
Crime and Punishment
A Florida judge has postponed Trump’s classified documents case indefinitely. Judge Aileen Cannon says the prosecution needs to address a number of pre-trial issues before she can set a new date. This comes as Special Counsel Jack Smith admitted that documents seized from Mar-A-Lago were re-ordered while in the possession of the FBI. (Just the News, The Federalist)
There was all sorts of drama as porn actress, Stormy Daniels took the witness stand in Donald Trump’s so-named “hush money” trial. Bill Maher noted on his show that Daniels’ testimony is “quite in variants of what she said to me in 2018" during an interview. (Fox59, PJ Media)
California teens who were bounced out of their prestigious Catholic school over allegations of “blackface” have been awarded damages. Principal Katie Teekell insisted that photos of the boys wearing dark facial masks to treat acne created bad “optics” for the school and “harm to the community”. (Not the Bee)
A federal appeals court has rejected Hunter Biden’s request for his gun charge to be dropped. (WNG)
Coming to America
US Homeland Security has proposed a change to the immigration process which would give authorities the ability to turn away those with a “serious criminal history or who are linked to terrorist activity” at the initial screening, rather than later on. "The proposed rule we have published today is yet another step in our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the American public by more quickly identifying and removing those individuals who present a security risk and have no legal basis to remain here," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement, adding that the rule would only apply to a small group of asylum seekers. (ABC News)
House Democrats have voted entirely against a Republican-sponsored bill. The bill sought to guarantee that illegal immigrants are not included in population figures used to apportion Congressional delegates for each state. President Trump attempted something similar, by seeking to include a citizenship question on the national census. At the time, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the issue could wait to be addressed. (NewsWeek, Texas Tribune)
Thunderdome 2024
President Biden has tapped Hollywood celebrities to headline a major fundraising event. Donald Trump has stayed within traveling distance of the New York court room he is required to attend during his trial but held a rally on the beach in New Jersey. (Daily Mail, Philadelphia Inquirer)
RFK is having a rough time, saying he has been afflicted by a parasite in his brain as well as mercury poisoning. (The Hill)
The Digital Age
A report out of Canada suggests news outlets suffered lower traffic to their own sites after Facebook banned them from posting. In July 2023, Canada’s government implemented a model where social media companies pay publications to post their news as a means of funding journalism. However, Facebook refused to play ball and has taken no damage, while local news sites have seen significant drop in visitors. (Media Ecosystem Observatory)
Ascension, a nonprofit health care system which serves 140 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities in 19 states, was target of a cyberattack last week. After detecting unusual activity on some of its computer systems, the company notified authorities and took steps to “minimize any impact to patient care.” (CNN)
And Apple apologizes for a “soul crushing” ad":
Money, Markets and Jobs
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced $2.3bn worth of contracts will be awarded to “minority and women-owned business enterprises” to overhaul JFK airport. (International Airport Review)
Crypto company FTX says it has recovered enough assets to pay $11bn owed to its creditors which founder Sam Bankman-Fried funneled out of its coffers. However, the pay out will be based on the asset’s worth at the time of the collapse which has left a core group determined to reject the deal; Bitcoin was then worth $16k, now it is sitting at $62k. “The market recovery is part of the reason FTX is in a position to repay customers in full, but it also means that customer claims could be less than a third as valuable under the [repayment] plan.” (The Verge, Wired)
Swiss Army..toolbox? The iconic brand said it will release a new version of its famous knife without blades. The company said it was reacting to concerns that stringent new regulations in some countries would impact sales. Rises in knife crimes have prompted governments to crack down on sales and possession of blades. (CNN)
Beware of “ghost job” listings. (The Hustle)
Electric Vehicles: Elon Musk has visited Beijing to discuss self-driving mode which is currently banned in Teslas in China. They seem to have said yes. (BBC, CNBC) | Ford’s “blue cruise” hands-free feature is under investigation after several fatal crashes. (TechCrunch) | “I Went To China And Drove A Dozen Electric Cars. Western Automakers Are Cooked.” (Inside EVs)
Arts, History and Sport
“Lost” Caravaggio painting, Behold the Man, will be displayed at a Spanish museum. The painting was initially presumed to be the work of an apprentice but is now recognized to be an original work by the Italian artist. (Semafor)
Ancient TV? Pompeii excavations have unearthed “a spectacular banqueting room with elegant black walls, decorated with mythological characters and subjects inspired by the Trojan War.” One archaeologist said, “the flickering light of the lamps had the effect of making the images appear to move, especially after a few glasses of good Campanian wine.” (Pompeii Sites)
Warner Brothers is set to release “multiple” films based on The Lord of the Rings books. We’re not sure we really need any more, but hopefully they’ll be better than Amazon’s efforts. (Variety)
The first actor to die on screen was in 1895. (FarOut Magazine)
Last week in history:
1824 Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony debuted in Vienna to great acclaim. (History)
Health, Medicine and Food
AstraZeneca has withdrawn its covid vaccine from the market. The company said it was a commercial decision based on low demand, but the news comes swiftly after the company admitted in a class-action lawsuit that the drug can cause blood clots. Fifty vaccine-injured plaintiffs are seeking £100million in compensation. (The Independent, TCW)
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits against it over charges that it hid the cancer risks associated with heartburn drug, Zantac. (Revolver)
Former CNN host Chris Cuomo says he has “long covid” and is taking ivermectin daily. “We were given bad information about ivermectin. The real question is WHY?The entire clinical community knew that ivermectin couldn't hurt you. They knew it.” It’s nice to see some folks catching up with the real world. Leana Wen, the former Baltimore health commissioner said recently that “The public health and scientific community has a lot to blame” and worried that trust in the medical establishment was broken down. Wen was a very vocal proponent of segregating and punishing the unvaccinated and seems to have forgotten that. Some are clearly determined to do obeisance to The Science. Pro-vax site Vaxopedia wrote that Cuomo is talking about ivermectin to get attention since he was fired from his TV gig. (Not the Bee, Immune to the System via YouTube, Vaxopedia)
US federal funding agencies will be subject to new rules when it comes to sponsoring gain-of-function research. “Manipulating pathogens such as viruses inside an enclosed laboratory facility” is a way to assess lethality and develop vaccines or antiviral drugs. However, post-covid, we are all aware of the dangers. Some researchers say the new rules will bring welcome clarity to their work. (Nature, MadPxMondays)
Scientists have found that some Alzheimer’s patients have a duplicated gene, lending more weight to the theory that there is a genetic cause for the disease. (NBC)
Childhood trauma can impact you as an adult. “The studies suggest that this happens because early trauma affects stress response, your flight or fight response, and your neurodevelopment, gets off track. It suggests that if you can intervene early, when someone has a childhood traumatic event, it could have a huge lasting impact on their life.” (Futurity)
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Hearts and Minds
Are we that predictable? According to physics, the social balance theory means the enemy of your enemy is actually your friend. (IFL Science)
Applying the 80/20 rule to decluttering. (Life Hacker)
A anesthesiologist writes about the haunting work of removing organs from brain-dead donors. Ronald W. Dworkin sees the way computers can work dispassionately in situations where humans may be weakened by emotions, but believes “urgent tenderness” is always necessary in medical care. “My experience in the operating room serves as a warning to those eager to cut corners and replace doctors with AI machines willy-nilly. You don’t satisfy people’s urge to feel human by making the bridge to the next world a totally inhuman one.” (Aeon)
Pastor Franson’s pieces on end-of-life care and Christian burial:
God’s Green Earth
Researchers have used machine learning to reveal patterns in sperm whale communication. “Many animal species have repertoires of several distinct signals, but we are only beginning to uncover the extent to which they combine these signals to create new messages.” (MIT News)
Scientists believe they’ve identified the “common ancestor” of “all modern hoofed animals” after analyzing a collection of fossils. They also note that their findings show how quickly life “rebounded” and “diversified” after a “cataclysmic event”. In their case, they’re thinking of a dinosaur-killing meteor, not a worldwide flood. Close fellas, but no cigar! (Phys)
Iceland has fired up the world’s biggest vacuum, designed to suck carbon out of the air. (Good News Network)
Plants are not as innocent as they look. “Corn plants have been known to sample the saliva of predator caterpillars — and then use that information to emit a chemical to attract a parasitic wasp that will attack the caterpillar.” (Kottke)
Pet parrots preferred video calling each other to watching pre-recorded footage of their feathers friends, according to a new study. (Engadget)
Science
Scientists have made cold brew coffee using an ultrasound reactor. Cold brew usually takes hours, but their sound-blasted coffee was ready in three minutes. (UNSW)
“A skeptic’s take on beaming power to earth from space.” (Spectrum)
War and Rumors of War
Israeli tanks have gone into Rafah and the IDF has taken control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing in order to stem Hamas’ ability to rearm using tunnels which reach into Egypt. President Biden has said he will withdraw shipments of US bombs if Israel launches a “major” offensive in the city of Rafah, considered the final stronghold of Hamas. It is also where hundreds of thousands of Gazan residents have fled. Biden is not the first US president to withhold support from Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is determined to proceed, with or without America’s help. Journalist Jacob Siegel pointed out that there is no “quick, clean form of counterinsurgency” against an organization like Hamas. “The form of war that Israel is pursuing in Gaza, which is an absolutely brutal form of war –conventional urban combat – is also the only form of war that has produced a US-led victory in the last three decades.” (AP, ZeroHedge, ABC News, We the Fifth podcast)
The first convoy of aid sent through a reopened crossing was immediately seized by Hamas. According to one spokesman, “Hamas held the aid trucks for ‘some time’ before releasing them” and that the UN is in the process of recovering the aid. Aid trucks were also attacked by an Israeli “right wing extremist” group who don’t want supplies to get through. (Times of Israel)
Israel’s cabinet has ordered that Qatari-owned media site, Al Jazeera be taken off the airwaves and also raided its offices in Jerusalem. (BBC)
Stories from Far Away
🇵🇰 Iran smuggles at least $1bn worth of fuel into Pakistan every year according to a new report. While the neighboring countries clash, over two million people along border regions depend on this black market oil trade for their livelihood and with few other economic opportunities available. (Nikkei)
🇨🇦 Police in Canada have arrested three Indian nationals over the murder of a Sikh separatist in Vancouver. Canadian authorities are investigating whether the men were sent by the Indian government. (The Independent)
🇨🇦 Also in Canada, new reports say that the government has spent $8m looking for bodies claimed to be buried in church grounds. However, “no remains have been recovered, and there has been no public disclosure of how the funds were utilized.” Let’s safely guess it has not been spent rebuilding all the churches that were burned in response to the hoax. (Western Standard)
🇹🇭 Thailand has rolled back cannabis laws, reclassifying the drug as a narcotic. Marijuana was decriminalized for medical use in 2018 and for recreational use in 2022. (The Independent)
🇳🇿 A New Zealand politician has been slammed for proposing a bill that would fine men who try to use women’s bathrooms. (Epoch Times)
🇫🇷 The Louvre is considering housing the Mona Lisa in its own room. Here’s our humble suggestion: Ban photos of the real one and make a replica one for the selfies? (NPR)
🇬🇧 A town council in North Yorkshire has upset some residents by proposing that apostrophes on road signs should be removed. Authorities say that the punctuation does not comply with standards in global databases. (The Guardian)
🇲🇽 Mexican man buys two Cartier diamond earrings for $14 each after website makes a typo. (NBC)
🇯🇵 A town in Japan is blocking the view of Mt Fuji after putting up with tourists blocking shops and leaving rubbish, just to get a photo. (TimeOut)
👀 The most common surnames in every country
⛓️💥The people who design and solve Escape Rooms as a profession
🪐Man builds the entire universe in Minecraft
🍁Why maple syrup bottles have those little handles
🟦 Avoid the squares: a new time wasting game
🖊️Jerry Seinfeld’s favorite things: pens, paper, a good backpack and a Swiss Army knife among other things. “The secret of life is to waste time in ways that you like.”
☕ Cooking a Great Depression breakfast
🚶🏻♂️ Tips for a long walk from an ultramarathon “walker Maximus”
🪢 Making rope, Medieval to Edwardian times
📚 Guess novels from their first lines
🏪 Police find a woman living in the roof of a Michigan convenience store
Food for thought, fuel for action! Jonathan and Meridith discussed the challenges we face on account of our tongues, especially in marriage relationships. Reconciliation, wisdom and harmony are found when we speak well. You can watch Stop the White Noise on YouTube or Rumble, or listen here. Show links:
James 3
Ephesians 5
Hebrews 13. Rev Fisk suggested husbands could meditate on this as they consider how they live with their wives and children.
If you missed it, Meridith put out a call for anyone who would like to make a quilt for men who stay at the Hebron Collegium. If that is something you would be interested in helping out with, please reply to this email or send a message through madpxm.com/contact.
Our disclaimer: These are some resources the Fisks have found edifying, but when dealing with human-authored texts, apply discernment liberally!
This Week Preached:
Podcast Release:
Let us pray. O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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