New glasses.
G. Clotaire Rapaille makes a great deal of money providing a service that the ancient church used to offer. No, he’s not drilling wells for water – although that’s imminently worthwhile. Rapaille travels the globe for corporate clients like Chrysler, Procter & Gamble, Boeing and DuPont explaining what makes a country and its people tick. Armed with psychoanalytical theory, Rapaille believes there is a ‘code’ for each culture. “The code is like an access code…” Rapaille says… “Suddenly, once you get the code, you understand everything. It’s like getting new glasses.“1
A double standard?
Washington Post columnist Harold Meyerson seems to have a special talent for knocking down straw men. Earlier this year he castigated conservative Episcopalians for rejecting the ordination of a homosexual bishop and the sanctioning of same sex relationships. Meyerson’s spin on the story reminds me of the philandering husband who takes up with another woman, moves her into his home and then blames his wife when she says enough is enough and leaves.
Boring.
College and high school students are gearing up for getting away. They’re tired, bored and “need a break.” Yet the catatonic condition so common on campus is exactly what our modern system of schooling is designed to produce. The problem is not that students are overburdened, they’re bored.
Character assassination.
Ex-NBA journeyman John Amaechi recently announced he is homosexual. The media was quick to pick up the story, fishing for those who agree with Amaechi and ferreting out those who oppose homosexuality. As we all know, it’s pretty much a minefield if someone tries to put forth reasonable arguments against homosexuality. They are immediately deemed intolerant and denounced as “homophobic.” Yet character assassination – and that’s what labeling someone “homophobic” usually is – means we’re approaching a dead end in the road. If we’re going to further our historic understanding of “civilization,” we need to reframe a more respectful conversation between opposing views. Many who oppose homosexuality are better described as “homodesageer.” Here’s why.
Binary opposite?
A trio of appellate judges, including former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, is reviewing a lower court’s decision that Prison Fellowship’s InnerChange Freedom Initiative violates the separation of church and state. Inmates at the Newton Correctional Facility in Iowa receive instruction that states: “criminal behavior is a manifestation of an alienation between the self and God. Acceptance of God and Biblical principles results in cure through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Prisoners deemed to be making “sufficient spiritual progress live in better conditions than the general population, inhabiting cells with wooden doors and using toilets that afford privacy.”1 Yet because the program is “faith-based,” Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has sued to stop it.
