BC CULTURE
Saved by @Mollyycolllinss

Wanted to circle round on this from last week & reiterate the importance of getting underneath the issues. Last fall, @ErinStraza & I did a @PersuasionCAPC series to highlight those deep differences & called it #ForGodandCountry.

 Series started w/ an episode w/ @KaitlynSchiess on how political formation & spiritual formation relate.

Underlying Q: What is the purpose of political engagement? To love neighbor or to win for our group?
https://t.co/TBlqt96x2j
We followed that up w/ a convo w/ @socofthesacred on the phenomenon of Christian Nationalism.

Underlying Q: How should the church & state relate to each other? What role should faith play in political engagement?

https://t.co/mLLeudhOav
Then in episode 3, we settled in to talk about political tribalism and the danger of "us vs. them" mentality.

Underlying Q: How should we relate to those who hold opposing viewpoints? What happens when we tie ourselves to certain politicians & parties?

https://t.co/PWSOCbB0sS
In episode 4, we discuss the call to "just preach the gospel" & @samhaist joins us to talk discipleship irt political engagement.

Underlying Q: What does the gospel demand of Christians in a broken world? Should we detach from public arena? Can we?

https://t.co/VnalvMdWZo
Next @KathrynAnnette joined us to explore the role of public debate & the risk of voicing political opinions.

Underlying Q: How is silencing used to control debate? What happens when we stop talking to each other & simply talk to likeminded folks?

https://t.co/mz22c9j6pv
Finally, we wrapped up w/ the dynamics of voting & whether it's possible to "waste your vote." @TheAlanNoble joined us to talk virtue > policy

Underlying Q: Is a vote a mere calculus about policy initiatives? Does our vote incriminate us? Is it moral?

https://t.co/DSVRcG4BN3
Our goal w/ this series was to expose the places of deep disagreement that might otherwise be hidden. For example, if you believe politics is tool to pursue common good, you're probably going to relate to it differently than a person who uses it to protect them & theirs.
IME, these deep divides can be both philosophical & theological. The shifts occurring slowly over time & perhaps completely undetected--both by yourself & those around you.
The differences only become obvious once the presenting symptoms emerge (e.g. vastly different choice of candidate or approach to policy). But if you can trace the differences back to roots, you'll save yourself a lot of agnst & angry debate.
Finally, I'll say this. The changes in my political views over the last 2 decades are deeply linked to my spiritual growth. I do not mean that changing certain views made me more spiritual.
I mean that as I grew in my understanding of deep truths about God, the nature of life, human frailty, neighbor love, the breadth of the gospel, resurrection, & our ultimate hope, it changed me. It changed how I moved thru the world & who I am as a member of a community.
In some ways, it's a lot harder than it used to be. In others, it's liberating. So liberating. But ultimately, my hope for the world does not rest on politics even as I understand politics to be a way to pursue goodness, justice, & love of neighbor.
My righteousness does not rest on a vote or party affiliation. It rests in Christ & the hope that he is actively redeeming this world. And that one day, his shalom will reign & that goodness will overcome evil.
What ever role he calls me to play in political realm, it's as one called to embody his character & love for my neighbors. It's a one whose allegiance is to a better way.

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God delivered a word to the prophet depicting a theme that may be uncomfortable but it’s not incomprehensible.

“I bring down the tall tree and make the low tree tall. I cause the green tree to wither and make the withered tree thrive. I, the Lord, have spoken and I will do it.”

God’s got this thing about pride. He does not let it go unchecked. When his people continue in arrogance after multiple warnings, he is going to bring them down. He will turn the tables. That which has been high will be brought low. This is why we are told by both James and Peter

in the NT that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. We need his grace so badly. Repentance is our only real way forward. He also views idolatry as spiritual adultery. This was the case in the judgment that was coming to his people through the Babylonians.

We are caught in a cycle. We keep repeating the same offenses and keep excusing them the exact same ways. Study even just the last century. I beg you to. Face how we evangelicals have bedded down with worldly systems for power. See how every time prophetic voices confronted us
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1. This morning we looked at wills & will writing but that is not the only component of inheritance. You can either die with a will or without one. Those who die without die intestate. And intestate comes in 3 ways.

2. a) If a person dies quiet a valid will,
b) if the person appointed to benefit from a will dies first & no substitution of heir is made
c) if the person appointed cannot take under a will.
The law focuses on the rights of the surviving spouse and the child if there is no will.

3. 2 major things affect intestate succession and these are date of death and marital status. This is because the current law ONLY affects people who died after 1 Nov 1997 & there are different laws that affect married & single people at death. The type of marriage applies too.

4. If you are married in terms of general law or what was once called ‘-Chapter 37’ & now ‘Chapter 5:11 or are married under ‘Chapter 5:07’ which is a registered customary marriage (muchato wekamudzviti) the Deceased Estates Succession Act applies. It’s only for registered 💍

5. If you are married under an unregistered customary law union (UCLU) which means having the traditional wedding without registration, the Administration of Estates Act applies. I don’t want to labour you with the technicalities but the distinction is very important.
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@robkhenderson
Best books I read in 2020

1. Atomic Habits by @JamesClear

“If you show up at the gym 5 days in a row—even for 2 minutes—you're casting votes for your new identity. You’re not worried about getting in shape. Youre focused on becoming the type of person who doesn’t miss workouts”


Good Reasons for Bad Feelings

https://t.co/KZDqte19nG

2. “social anxiety is overwhelmingly common. Natural selection shaped us to care enormously what other people think..We constantly monitor how much others value us..Low self-esteem is a signal to try harder to please others”


The True Believer by Eric Hoffer

https://t.co/uZT4kdhzvZ

“Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all unifying agents...Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without a believe in a devil.”


Grandstanding

https://t.co/4Of58AZUj8

"if politics becomes a morality pageant, then the contestants have an incentive to keep problems intact...politics becomes a forum to show off moral qualities...people will be dedicated to activism for its own sake, as a vehicle to preen"


Warriors and Worriers by Joyce Benenson

https://t.co/yLC4eGHEd4

“Across diverse cultures, a man who lives in the house with another man’s children is about 60 times more likely than the biological father to kill those children.”
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foone
foone
@Foone
love to see a youtube video that references a script that's linked in the comments and it's an obfuscated link to a one-click hoster.

THAT'S DEFINITELY STILL GONNA WORK IN FOUR YEARS

it does still work, but that's because it's only been 2 years.

also, wow, this is horrible.

the script is to generate random kanji/han characters and insert them into minecraft books.
but the video references there being two hotkeys to generate two distinct books, which seemed odd. so I thought I'd check.

it turns out by "random" they mean "pre-randomized and is hardcoded into the 45 kilobyte autohotkey scripot"


I mean, I get it. I don't want to write AutoHotKey scripts either. it's a horrible, horrible language.

BUT STILL
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It's TEGAN!
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on a very basic level it is astounding to me that seemingly half the country is hooked on the adventures of The Vision & Scarlet Witch, whose last series together was a precise contemporary of Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, and which was quarter box fodder for decades

in hindsight, of course, the idea of framing a superhero story as a suburban dramedy seems novel and fresh to people, but that’s only because other people spent literally three and a half decades sleeping on it


now, of course, many new fans who look into the history of the matter might wonder why such a seemingly popular and fecund direction for these two characters was permanently shelved in the late 80s, what set of factors could possibly have -


they were able to put back some of what was broken - in time - but they never were able to get back to the marriage, and by the time the characters had new status quos in the early 90s the company had moved away from those kinds of genre experiments, and the rift became permanent

the Vision was a humorless drip for years, doing much the same schtick as Data during the precise years ST:TNG was airing

and as a consequence of those stories Wanda permanently became the poster child of women who cannot handle their power because of female inconstancy ...
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Sri Gurubhyo Namaha.


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Vशुद्धि...
@V_Shuddhi
The first ever world map was sketched thousands of years ago by Indian saint
“Ramanujacharya” who simply translated the following verse from Mahabharat and gave the world its real face

In Mahabharat,it is described how 'Maharishi Ved Vyasa' gave away his divine vision to Sanjay


Dhritarashtra's charioteer so that he could describe him the events of the upcoming war.

But, even before questions of war could begin, Dhritarashtra asked him to describe how the world looks like from space.

This is how he described the face of the world:

सुदर्शनं प्रवक्ष्यामि द्वीपं तु कुरुनन्दन। परिमण्डलो महाराज द्वीपोऽसौ चक्रसंस्थितः॥
यथा हि पुरुषः पश्येदादर्शे मुखमात्मनः। एवं सुदर्शनद्वीपो दृश्यते चन्द्रमण्डले॥ द्विरंशे पिप्पलस्तत्र द्विरंशे च शशो महान्।

—वेद व्यास, भीष्म पर्व, महाभारत


Meaning:-

हे कुरुनन्दन ! सुदर्शन नामक यह द्वीप चक्र की भाँति गोलाकार स्थित है, जैसे पुरुष दर्पण में अपना मुख देखता है, उसी प्रकार यह द्वीप चन्द्रमण्डल में दिखायी देता है। इसके दो अंशो मे पीपल और दो अंशो मे विशाल शश (खरगोश) दिखायी देता है।


Meaning: "Just like a man sees his face in the mirror, so does the Earth appears in the Universe. In the first part you see leaves of the Peepal Tree, and in the next part you see a Rabbit."

Based on this shloka, Saint Ramanujacharya sketched out the map, but the world laughed
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