Happy Friday, friends!
It’s been a wild week here at the 4thDave homestead, as wintery weather has knocked out power and weakened water supplies in my home state (where the stars at night are big and bright *clap clap clap clap*). My planned posts need to be bumped as other things take precedence.
In the meantime, here are a few links I’ve enjoyed recently. Have a great weekend and stay warm!
- Pastor James Coates is the pastor of Grace Life Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His church has been meeting without following the restrictions imposed by the local government, which the congregation argues is not consistent with the facts on the ground about C19 spread in their area and which, they argue, oversteps the government’s realm of authority. As a result, Coates has been fined, warned, and finally arrested. The Cripplegate has some good coverage of the arrest, as well as some of the response and online pushback. I have to admit, I’ve gone back and forth on this, primarily because each side of this discussion is framing their position as unassailable and their opponents as deceitful, when the reality is that both “sides” seem to be shading the truth to their advantage. (Example: I’ve seen many people say that Coates was jailed for “preaching the Gospel.” That’s just not true; he was jailed specifically for violating the local restrictions in order to gather as a church. He could preach the Gospel online, or to a handful of people, and not be arrested for the same reasons–IOW, it’s not the content of his preaching that got him arrested, or the fact that he was preaching. It’s because he and his congregation made the choice to meet. That’s their right to act in line with their convictions, but let’s be honest about the reasons.) All of this raises some good questions about the right limits of government authority and the necessity of gathering as the Church–questions that will continue to be discussed for months to come.
- On that same topic, Alistair Begg has some good words about the importance of church attendance.
- From the “Things that will get me called a RINO” file: I like Jonah Goldberg a lot. In the landscape of political pundits, I find myself agreeing with him the most often. Here, he argues that the answer to the craziness and stupidity conservatives see on the political left is not to create their own party of craziness and stupidity on the Right. The best response is to be boring grown-ups. (I’d LOVE to be part of the Boring Grown-up Party for a change.)
- Seth Godin has a few words on “the pinging.”
- Two great song covers for your enjoyment:
Have a great weekend, y’all!
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