Blogaround

Links not related to the antichrist:

1. The Long Hunt for China’s Vanishing Elephant Slides (April 16) "She often navigates narrow alleys, old residential compounds, ruins, and abandoned industrial sites, asking for directions along the way. At some point, an elephant slide simply appears — a moment Sun describes as similar to “clearing a level” in a video game." Wow definitely check out the photos in the article - all the slides are different.

2. Harvard Legacy of Slavery Initiative Releases Database Identifying 1,613 Enslaved People (May 13, via) "Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery Initiative released a public database Tuesday identifying 1,613 people who were enslaved by Harvard leaders, faculty, and staff or who labored on Harvard’s campus between 1636 and 1865." The database is here. 

3. KUA MUSIC【祢是我的一切／You Are My All In All】蔡佳靈 (2024) Mandarin Chinese cover of the worship song "You are my all in all."

4. Red vs blue button (May 16) "In other words, game theory says the correct strategy is to argue loudly and meaninglessly on the internet."

5. Unprecedented corruption and Calvinism (May 18) Linking this because I was struck by what it says about this "blessing of the bikes" event, where a Lutheran church invited motorcycle riders to "receive blessings and prayers."

These rituals can cater to a superstitious understanding of religion, with participants viewing the “blessing” as a kind of talisman against the potential danger of their vocation or avocation, and it’s important to conduct such rituals in a way that doesn’t encourage that understanding. But they can also be a demonstration of solidarity and neighborliness — a way for the church to say “You are a part of this community and we care about you.”

!!!!! Wow, this is a take I haven't heard before. In other words, we have to be careful that people do not interpret "the blessing of the bikes" to mean we are actually blessing the bikes and God will give you protection specifically because you attended this event and got "blessed." It's really striking to me that Fred frames it like 'that would be unfortunate if people interpreted it that way' rather than that just being the default obvious interpretation. 

I'm over here asking "what if prayer isn't 'talking to God'" feeling like I'm breaking all kinds of rules... are there Christians out there saying, "Wow, that would be unfortunate if people interpreted prayer as literally talking to God"?

6. Results Age (May 13) "Please, we need your help. Our research suggests you're the last living descendant of the person who knew how to format this config file."

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Links related to the antichrist:

1. WWND? (What would Nebuchadnezzar do?) (May 14) 

An Evangelical Case for Trump as the Antichrist (May 4) This is exactly what I'm saying! I don't even believe in "the" antichrist, but he checks all the boxes!

2. Lessons in Training, Strategy, and Discipline From the Civil Rights Movement (April 27) "With that, the civil rights movement had won. The American public had been made aware, Bevel said, 'in the most graphic way possible, that a sheriff in Alabama was beating law-abiding citizens whose only offense was asking for the right to vote.'"

3. Revealed: The Trump administration arrested the parents of at least 27,000 kids in seven months, ICE records show (May 8) "Families described scrambling for funds after a primary breadwinner was detained or deported. Teens and young adults had to drop out of school to take care of younger siblings after both parents were deported. Children were left wondering when or whether they would ever be able to see parents who had been deported back to countries where they faced death threats."

4. NYU Langone Releases Grand Jury Subpoena: Feds Want Names Of Every Trans Youth Care Patient (May 15) "In addition to the names of providers, the DOJ wants the names and medical histories of every trans youth patient who received gender-affirming care from Langone since 2020. The DOJ also asserted that “de-identified information” is insufficient." Holy crap.

Also from Erin in the Morning: Federal Court Finds Trump Admin DOJ Misled Courts To Target Trans People's Private Data (May 15) "DOJ has proven unworthy of this trust at every point in this case. It has misrepresented and withheld information to both this Court and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas."