The end of July marks the calm before the political storm. In the United States, the presidential election promises to be rather contentious. Both parties have markedly different versions of what’s wrong and how to go forward. However, hubris might cloud both visions. We might actually be facing dead ends.
World-record-holding swimmer Ryan Lochte recently admitted he made a big mistake in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “I had a girlfriend.” Lochte says he’s single now, “so London should be really good.” Not true. Olympic athletes trolling for sex might be an unfamiliar story, but it’s not good. It puts the games at risk of disappearing altogether.
This series ends with a sad story about rusty showerheads.
My two sons played high school sports. I remember our surprise at learning how sweaty athletes would forego showering at school and drive home stinky – showering there. The showerheads at school had become rusty from disuse. However, rust wasn’t the reason athletes didn’t shower together. They were afraid others would see the scars.
In 1999, NASA was forced to destroy the Mars Climate Orbiter as the craft entered the Martian atmosphere. The mission unraveled because engineers were talking past one another. The same-sex marriage debate is suffering the same fate. The country is unraveling as we talk past one another. What’s the solution?
Ever heard a Protestant case for purgatory? You’re about to.
Surveys indicate chastity is popular amongst white evangelical adolescents, but few practice it. This yawning gap between belief and behavior is not an insurmountable problem. It has several solutions, including the possibility of purgatory. That’s right – a gaping chasm between profession and practice makes a plausible case for purgatory.
