We've been in Australia since the first of the month, visiting our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren whom we hadn't seen for three years, due to the COVID lockdown. I've been able to keep the blog going, but now, with a trip to Queensland on the horizon, I'm going to take a little break. Cheers until next week, when I plan to start posting again!
One factor in the Russian invasion of Ukraine was the Ukrainian Orthodox Church breaking away from the Russian Church and being granted independence by the Patriarch of Constantinople. But now the Russian-speaking Ukrainians still under the Moscow church are turning against its leader, Patriarch Kirill. This is all being described as an "unprecedented" breakup of Orthodox unity.
Thomas Korcok's new book "Serpents in the Classroom: The Poisoning of Modern Education and How the Church Can Cure It" looks at the "theology" of some of the key thinkers who have shaped today's educational establishment, showing how their views about religion shaped their educational theories and methodology.
Now Russia, trying to enforce its territorial claims on Ukraine with an invasion, is making other territorial claims. Including the American state of Alaska! Also a state park in California. Also the continent of Antarctica.
Lutheran churches are mobilizing to help refugees in Ukraine and drought victims in Ethiopia. This is true both of Lutheran churches in those countries and American church bodies, such as the LCMS, WELS, and ELS. How you can help.
Would Americans fight like the Ukrainians if our country were invaded? Some would, according to a Quinnipiac poll, but most Democrats and young people say that they would run away.
Some Christians and other cultural conservatives have seen Putin's Russia as an ally in our culture wars, largely due to that country's opposition to same-sex marriage and other LGBT causes. But Russia has the highest abortion rate in the world.
Novavax is an anti-COVID vaccine that has been submitted to the FDA for approval. Already in use in 170 countries, it is a traditional, non-experimental vaccine that claims to be 90% effective. And it was made, developed, and tested without using any fetal tissue or cell lines from abortions.
Some Americans support Christian nationalism. But the Russian Orthodox Church shows what that looks like. Baptism in that church makes you not just a Christian but a Russian. And it teaches that "Holy Russia" is "divine" and can do no wrong.
Mark Zuckerberg's description of how we will be able to create our own worlds parallels the creation account in Genesis. But just as virtual reality falls far short of actual reality, the metaverse is no universe, and human beings make pathetic gods.
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