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Saturday, September 16, 2017

News Weakly - 9/16/2017

Like Jesus Said
Recent research has found that Protestants are not Protestant. "What??!" Well, according to the report, less than half (46%) of American Protestants believe that faith alone is required for salvation. More than half (52%) argue that good deeds are needed to get to heaven. Less than half believe that the Bible is the sole source on matters of faith and practice. That same number hold that the Bible, the church's official teachings, and tradition form the source for matters of faith and practice, the specific position opposed by the Protestants. Combining the two questions, one third of Protestants affirm both sola fide and sola scriptura. Another 36% believe in neither of the two.

We need new designations. "Catholic" and "Protestant" are merging again. "Evangelical", once a division of "Protestant" that held firmly to biblical theology, has shifted closer to "Liberal". What category do we have now that refers to a Bible-believing follower of Christ? I'd like to say "Christian", but only if Jesus (Matt 13:24-30) and Paul (Gal 1:6-9; 2 Tim 3:16-17) were right.

Case Closed
Finally, the case is settled. Perhaps you've seen the monkey selfie, a picture taken when some crested macaques commandeered a nature photographer's camera and took pictures of themselves. Well, PETA sued on behalf of the monkeys, claiming that they took the pictures and, therefore, they had the rights to the copyright and to the financial control of the pictures. PETA was pushing toward "expanding legal rights for non-human animals." You can't make this stuff up, folks. The photographer retained his rights to the photos and agreed to donate 25% of the proceeds to charities dedicated to protecting the macaques in Indonesia. But this is the irrefutable logic of Evolution if you ignore ... you know ... Scripture, science, and reason. "Animals are people, too, you know!" No ... no, they're not.

News or Not News
The story was released this week that Hillary Clinton is convinced that "associates of candidate Donald Trump helped Russia meddle in the 2016 presidential election." Is that news? She has been saying all along that it was someone else to blame than her and her campaign. But, look, here's what occurs to me. Granting that the information that got out that slewed some at the last moment to vote for Trump instead of Clinton came from Russian sources, there is an interesting sideshow here. Hillary (and the rest) are convinced that Russia did it and the Trump camp colluded. Okay. But what no one is saying is that the information released from the DNC emails was wrong. It seems to me to be a tacit admission that the information was accurate. So, the complaint is, "They gave out the truth and it allowed Americans to vote on more truth than they should have had." Now that sounds like news.

Kind of like ESPN's Jemele Hill. You know her. She claimed publicly that Trump is a white supremacist and "His rise is a direct result of white supremacy. Period." She offered her apology that said, "I'm sorry I suggested that ESPN was painted in an unfair light." Not "I'm sorry for my comment." Not "I'm sorry I painted all Trump supporters as white supremacists." Like Hillary, it's "The negative information is true; I'm just unhappy with the outcome."

Unclear on the Concept
Senator Bernie Sanders is introducing a bill aimed at replacing the Affordable Care Act with what he calls "Medicare for All". It's a single-payer health system similar to the one in the UK where we all pay a significant tax increase (currently about 10% across the board in the UK) in order to pay for everyone to have free healthcare. He tried it in 2013 and it failed miserably, but he's hoping to "stand with the people and take on the special interests that dominate health care."

I don't think Bernie gets it. If we're all paying exorbitant taxes for a single-payer system, it's not free. (Or perhaps you don't think another 10% tax on your income as "exorbitant".) (Hint: My current payout for health insurance is less than 4% of my pay.) Further, for most of America our concern is not to assist "special interests". It is to avoid paying huge amounts ourselves. And we're concerned about the quality. (For instance, in the UK, there is a shortage of GPs by half of what is needed and getting routine testing can take months.) Bernie believes universal healthcare is a right (by a source I don't know) and the "enemy" of his plan is "special interests", not us. He doesn't seem to understand that someone is going to pay for his plan and it's not him; it's us.

Who's the Problem?
The LA Times said, "Hundreds of law enforcement officers, many in riot gear, prepared for violence and seized potential weapons." Nine protesters were arrested and some carried weapons. One attacked a police officer. The report is that the security for the event cost $600,000. Just before the event the local police chief successfully lobbied the city council to adjust the ban on the use of pepper spray. What horrific event was this? Who produces such venom, such hate, such antipathy? "We don't want your racist hate" was scrawled on sidewalks. Who's this racist? Ben Shapiro came by invitation to speak at Berkley. A traditionally liberal school in a left-leaning community, they keep proving themselves anything but generous, open-minded, or concerned about freedom. Shapiro was part of something they called "Free Speech Week". A junior at the school said, "I guess there is a limit to free speech." Yes. That would be "when they disagree with us."

The Story Not Told
Here's a story you literally will not hear. The Australian 60 Minutes program was set to present a story about a mother who, believing her son had been diagnosed as transgender, was feeding him estrogen tablets from the age of 12 to help him transition to a female. At 14 the boy said, "Mom, I don't think I'm a girl." The damage was done. He had developed breasts. He would undergo surgery to have them removed. There is the danger of liver damage and blood clots and the legal questions about giving sex hormones to kids under 16.

Well, the "detransitioned" boy story didn't air. It doesn't fit with the current narrative. Besides, Australia was having a national survey on same-sex marriage. Although these two aren't directly related, they are certainly connected in the minds of most people. So that was right out. There are some stories that don't line up with the "accepted thinking" that should just not be told ... right?

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