Blogaround

A drawing that shows Jesus carrying a sheep which is the colors of the trans flag. Another sheep says, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hold it right there! He wasn't lost. We kicked him out!" Jesus answers, "I know. And I found her." Image source.

1. In China’s Weight Loss Camps, a Dangerous Obsession With Numbers (June 13) [content note: disordered eating, fat shaming] "Boards displaying the daily weight of each participant were prominently displayed throughout the camp, emphasizing the significance placed on weight as the primary measure of success."

2. One True Ace Pairing: Wreck-It Ralph (June 16) "Ralph and Vanellope’s relationship, which is very much a friendship, is just as well developed and well explored and given as much attention (if not more) as any romantic relationship in similar movies (including the romantic pairing in the same movie, Felix and Calhoun, whose relationship was played for laughs anyways)."

3. I Entered Mr Universe - With No Training (June 5) A video from Max Fosh, a youtuber who does all kinds of ridiculous things, bluffs his way into so many weird situations, seems to have way too much confidence for his own good. My husband and I are fans of his videos- they are also posted to his channel on the Chinese video site bilibili.

4. Direct-mail fundraiser Pat Robertson is dead (June 19) "The most successful 'radio evangelists' were/are — like 'televangelists' and like Pat Robertson — people who primarily used the platform as a tool for raising the funds needed to expand the outreach of the platform. Actual 'ministry' or 'evangelism' in this model is always, at best, a secondary concern."

And this tweet:

i don’t believe in hell but it will feel like hell for people like pat robertson when they encounter the love of god for the first time

— Mason Mennenga (@masonmennenga) June 8, 2023

5. Massachusetts town adds polyamory protections (April 6) Cool!

6. The Ones Who Walk Away from Ocabos: What #whySBC really means (June 20) "Others weep in confusion. They don’t understand that everyone knows the child is there. They think that if they can only raise awareness, force the people of Ocabos to understand, then everyone will reject whatever foul force allowed the imprisonment and abuse of that child."

7. A tale of two vessels lost at sea (June 20) "On a superficial level, these two events at sea speak to the vastly different worlds in which human beings live: some getting to pursue and even die for their dreams and passions; some driven by extreme life circumstances into cruel, anonymous deaths."

8. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is fighting a losing battle against the site's moderators (June 20) "Moderators of many of Reddit’s most popular subreddits, however, began revolting after it became clear that the company wouldn’t merely target the biggest artificial intelligence firms but also smaller developers like Apollo, which makes an alternative mobile app experience of Reddit, and third-party moderation tools they depend upon to monitor their communities."

9. First in the nation gender-affirming care ban struck down in Arkansas (June 20) "'Rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, the evidence showed that the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of patients and that, by prohibiting it, the State undermined the interests it claims to be advancing,' the ruling reads. 'The testimony of well-credentialed experts, doctors who provide gender-affirming medical care in Arkansas, and families that rely on that care directly refutes any claim by the State that the Act advances an interest in protecting children.'"

And this quote from later in the article: "The court found three of the state's witnesses had been recruited at a meeting of the Christian advocacy organization Alliance Defending Freedom held specifically to gather witnesses trained in various fields that would be willing to testify in favor of laws passed that limit transgender care." Ewww gross, how will I explain ADF to my children? (I used to support ADF- they are an offshoot of Focus on the Family. And their entire schtick is bearing false witness against queer people made in the image of God. Eww.)

10. You may have grown up evangelical in the 90's if you saw a trailer for the new Marvel movie "Secret Invasion" and then you couldn't get this song out of your head:

[content note: video shows Jesus' crucifixion]

Michael W. Smith - Secret Ambition