Bunny Trails

[Bootstrap]

But the flaws of the right and the left are not identical.

This would be where you and I depart; I think the flaws that separate both left and right from being true follows of Jesus and the Bible are actually exactly the same flaws. Different window dressing, but the same fundamental urge underneath.

If we are discussing something like "Law and Order", and I don't mention Obama or Biden or Bush, feel free to point out places that they used the phrase in the same way as the people I named. I don't think they did, but if you have evidence to the contrary, please feel free to bring it up. Similarly, if Trump were to campaign for treating trans as no different than male or female, I would hope we would all respond the same way we would to a Democrat doing the same, but I don't think that's the kind of thing he would normally do.

I don't think the two parties have exactly the same flaws, I think they have different flaws. And if we insist on making both parties look the same before exploring a topic from a Christian perspective, that probably means we simply can't look at them from a Christian perspective without passing an impossible political test first.

To critique politics as Christians, we must acknowledge shared human sinfulness without erasing real moral distinctions in how sin manifests in structures, rhetoric, and policy. We have to be able to see what is in front of our noses without first insisting that it must first fit a predetermined political narrative.

[JohnH]

But the flaws of the right and the left are not identical.

This would be where you and I depart; I think the flaws that separate both left and right from being true follows of Jesus and the Bible are actually exactly the same flaws. Different window dressing, but the same fundamental urge underneath.

If we are discussing something like "Law and Order", and I don't mention Obama or Biden or Bush, feel free to point out places that they used the phrase in the same way as the people I named. I don't think they did, but if you have evidence to the contrary, please feel free to bring it up. Similarly, if Trump were to campaign for treating trans as no different than male or female, I would hope we would all respond the same way we would to a Democrat doing the same, but I don't think that's the kind of thing he would normally do.

I don't think the two parties have exactly the same flaws, I think they have different flaws. And if we insist on making both parties look the same before exploring a topic from a Christian perspective, that probably means we simply can't look at them from a Christian perspective without passing an impossible political test first.

To critique politics as Christians, we must acknowledge shared human sinfulness without erasing real moral distinctions in how sin manifests in structures, rhetoric, and policy. We have to be able to see what is in front of our noses without first insisting that it must first fit a predetermined political narrative.

I suppose my puzzlement is why non-political threads needed to be steered in a partisan direction.

[Bootstrap]

If we are discussing something like "Law and Order", and I don't mention Obama or Biden or Bush, feel free to point out places that they used the phrase in the same way as the people I named. I don't think they did, but if you have evidence to the contrary, please feel free to bring it up. Similarly, if Trump were to campaign for treating trans as no different than male or female, I would hope we would all respond the same way we would to a Democrat doing the same, but I don't think that's the kind of thing he would normally do.

I don't think the two parties have exactly the same flaws, I think they have different flaws. And if we insist on making both parties look the same before exploring a topic from a Christian perspective, that probably means we simply can't look at them from a Christian perspective without passing an impossible political test first.

To critique politics as Christians, we must acknowledge shared human sinfulness without erasing real moral distinctions in how sin manifests in structures, rhetoric, and policy. We have to be able to see what is in front of our noses without first insisting that it must first fit a predetermined political narrative.

I suppose my puzzlement is why non-political threads needed to be steered in a partisan direction.
[/quote]

I think that's precisely what political purity tests do. They insist on using a political lens. Before we can discuss how the slogan "law and order" is used in practice, you insist that I prove, to your satisfaction, that I have listed the same number of people on the left who use this right-wing slogan.

I can't think of any. It's like looking for right-wing people whose slogan is "power to the people!" But surely we should be able to discuss both slogans from a Christian perspective.

[temporal1]

^^To be fair, Szd began his topic with acknowledgement (his) view is it’s an inherently political topic, with request it not be:

.. While this is an inherently political discussion, I’d like this thread to stick to theology and not partisan politics. I think this is a topic much bigger than US politics.

Naturally, overlaps happen.

[temporal1]

https://melscience.com/US-en/articles/barium/

The fact that this idea was even considered makes me wonder about these people.

If a child ingests a Lego that can't be located by X-ray, and they die as a result, I guess you just barium.

So sad.
When i was young, and babies were regularly appearing in the family, trying to keep ahead of what they were ingesting was an everyday, all day long, preoccupation. Before Legos. Night time, too. Wondering what might happen in cribs while everyone slept.

Even as a child, i remember pulling lots of objects out of babies’/toddler’s mouths, once i found an earthworm!
i sometimes found worse than earthworms. Young children, too. Batteries are a frightening object. Pennies.

Hand to mouth, hand to mouth, automatic reflex.

In recent years, i cared for a 10 year old boy.
His adoptive father instructed me: “Your job is to keep him from killing himself while i’m at work.”

i appreciate how men can so readily cut to the chase with instructions.

[JohnH]

My grandma was self-sufficient and indeed growing her own food (with enough left over to give away) by age 16. My grandpa worked full time on river dredging boats by age 12.

Now we have people clutching their pearls about the idea of letting kids walk themselves to school.

[JimFoxvog]

My grandma was self-sufficient and indeed growing her own food (with enough left over to give away) by age 16. My grandpa worked full time on river dredging boats by age 12.

Now we have people clutching their pearls about the idea of letting kids walk themselves to school.

Good points, but I don't care for the demeaning language, "clutching their pearls".

[JohnH]

Good points, but I don't care for the demeaning language, "clutching their pearls".

Huh? This is a rather standard English phrase. Demeaning to whom... people who clutch pearls?

[JimFoxvog]

Good points, but I don't care for the demeaning language, "clutching their pearls".

Huh? This is a rather standard English phrase. Demeaning to whom... people who clutch pearls?

The phrase indicates phoniness, a pretend shock. The people who worry about children walking alone may well be sincere in their concern for the kids' safety. I disagree with them, but would not find using such a phrase helpful in engaging in dialogue with them concerning the issue.

[JohnH]

Good points, but I don't care for the demeaning language, "clutching their pearls".

Huh? This is a rather standard English phrase. Demeaning to whom... people who clutch pearls?

The phrase indicates phoniness, a pretend shock. The people who worry about children walking alone may well be sincere in their concern for the kids' safety. I disagree with them, but would not find using such a phrase helpful in engaging in dialogue with them concerning the issue.

I have zero respect for a culture that thinks its child abuse to let your kids do what was normal for most of human history.