What’s interesting in the news today?
Weekend Open Thread
As promised, here’s some of the pics Janice sent me from the rally for former Atlanta Fire Chief Cochran.
Wandering Views
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I see in the Times-News that, due to legalization, there is a glut of marijuana on the market in Washington state.
Government’s soon going to have to step in and help those poor farmers.
Don’t believe it?
Just wait a couple of years.
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I see also, that the NCAA has restored the 112 football wins and Joe Paterno.
I knew this would happen after the emotional excess of the Sandusky case settled down.
NCAA had to appear to be doing something.
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Yeah ‘cuz it was their fault a bunch of French leftists insulted you. Again. 🙄
http://www.jpost.com/International/Churches-torched-Christian-owned-shops-raided-by-Muslims-in-Niger-387993?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
“A protest in Niger against French magazine Charlie Hebdo turned violent on Friday as demonstrators set fire to churches and raided shops run by Christians, residents said.
Police in the former French colony’s southern town of Zinder fired tear gas on a crowd of hundreds of people as tires burned in the streets.
“The protesters are crying out in local Hausa language: Charlie is Satan – let hell engulf those supporting Charlie,” said Aboubacar Mamane, a shopkeeper by telephone.
Meanwhile, in Algiers, police clashed with protesters after rioting broke out at the end of a march against the French satirical magazine.”
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Here’s one Janice told me about. She went to the rally I believe, because she sent me some pics. 🙂
I’ll post some later.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/hundreds-rally-behind-sacked-atlanta-fire-chief-gay-activists-praise-mayor?&_suid=142142229935305626377707812935
“Supporters of now-former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, who was fired last week over his Christian beliefs, rallied at the Georgia State Capitol Monday, while homosexual activists are praising the controversial firing, and some are warning about the case’s implications for religious freedom.
Hundreds of Christians and faith leaders held a January 12 rally to support Cochran and religious freedom legislation currently under consideration in the Georgia House. The gathering started out at the Georgia State Capitol before participants marched to Atlanta’s City Hall to present 28,000 signatures to the mayor’s office in support of the bill.
Cochran was fired by Mayor Kasim Reed January 6 after a 30-day suspension stemming from Cochran’s authoring a Bible study for men that discussed the Christian definition of sexual purity in two segments of the 160-page book. The brief passages touch on homosexuality along with other things, and their frankness upset homosexual supporters.
Reed continues to maintain that Cochran was fired for poor judgment and insubordination, and not his personal religious beliefs, and he has strongly disputed the notion that religious freedom is at issue.
Cochran, a longtime firefighter with a distinguished professional record, and an African-American Baptist church deacon, issued a statement via the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing him.”
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When is the next election?
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Not soon enough, Chas. 😉
Good CNN link in the main body from AJ about glorifying God and how that notion somehow “scares” nonbelievers now.
Along with Albert Mohler, Russell D. Moore is a clear voice when it comes to navigating our rapidly changing culture and the challenges that poses for the church at large.
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The First Things article is excellent as well, thanks AJ.
And thanks for sharing your first-hand photos, Janice.
This story again raises the important issues of freedom of religion, conscience and speech that now seem so often under threat in our country.
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And there may be a plus side to the Supreme Court’s expected decision in favor of gay marriage.
With the legality finally settled (like it or not, and we don’t, but …), it might essentially neutralize the issue (for now) in the 2016 political debates.
As some commentators have noted, eventually the fruit of such a decision will be clear in the wider culture, but that might not be for many, many years. For Christians, that may mean just hanging tough, continuing to love our neighbor through the messes it will likely cause — and trusting God for an ultimate change of mind & clarity, whether we live long enough to see it or not (and I suspect it will take so long that most or even none of us will).
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Before the flood, evil men married good women, (My interpretation of Gen. 6:2.). Nowhere in the records of civilization, among any culture, no matter how wicked, has it been considered that a man/man or woman/woman combination made a family.
It isn’t about civil rights, it’s about redefining culture. We may be about to cross the line. (See comment about Genesis on the Daily Thread.)
When Islam takes over, they will settle the matter quickly.
It’s likely the same people who want men to marry men that want the Muslim mullahs to proclaim prayer time from the bell tower. (Muslims don’t carry watches?)
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Ah, a similar take on the gay marriage decision and how it would affect elections.
Unfortunate, sad.
But considering the growing, popular acceptance of gay marriage among the electorate at large, the battle, for now, is over, I’m afraid, perhaps to be taken up again and won in a later generation.
But in the short-term, maybe this is at least a silver lining.
Hope springs eternal …
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/01/16/the-supreme-courts-possible-gay-marriage-gift-to-the-gop-in-2016/
“… In either scenario, and one is far more likely than the other, the controversial issue of gay marriage rights will be largely neutered ahead of the 2016 campaign. The general election will feature a Republican candidate who has, at the very least, come to terms with gay marriage rights and a Democratic candidate who is enthusiastically supportive of them. Democratic attempts to create a social wedge issue out of this relatively minor disparity will look desperate. …”
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Eric Metaxas spoke at Swanee College the other day and had much wisdom to share. It’s lengthy, but here: https://m.facebook.com/eric.metaxas/photos/a.1511841572370109.1073741853.1493047070916226/1592408584313407/?type=1&refid=17
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You all may know (or maybe not) that the Christian Libertarian view on same-sex marriage is that since government shouldn’t have been involved in marriage in the first place, they should step out of it by allowing same-sex marriage. The government should not be in the business of regulating marriage. The idea is that Jesus wants us to obey Him from our heart, & not be forced by law into a mere appearance of righteousness.
Along with this, Christian Libertarians believe that no one should be forced to participate in marriages that don’t fit their own ideas of what marriage is.
After all, divorce, adultery, sleeping around, & other activities that are harmful to families are legal, but that does not mean that we as Christians endorse those activities. And legal or not, homosexuals are going to have their relationships & call them marriages.
As a budding Libertarian myself, I admit I still do not feel completely comfortable with this, but I understand & respect their stance. I wish our former regulars Cameron (yes, Mrs. TJ) or Kyle were here to explain this better, as they explained it to me.
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http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/supreme-court-to-hear-marriage-challenge-how-should-christians-respond
” … What should we do in the meantime? Continue to assault the foundations of the Sexual Revolution, love your neighbor who may strongly disagree, build strong families, vote, get connected to a local church, worship weekly, and remember that Jesus, not Justice Kennedy, sits at the right hand of the Father. Remember also that a church in exile is never a church in retreat.
“Whether the Court rules, the church must be prepared, as it did in its infancy, to work among the cultural ruins to reaffirm our commitment to the value and immutability of marriage. …”
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Thank you, AJ, for your excellent links about this. I think this is a crucial moment for our nation. God orchestrated it so both of the men are black. Can you imagine what this would have been like if race was a part of it, too? God is not the author of confusion. He will be glorified through this situation.
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