January 16, 2016::End of the day round-up

Reflections on the Bill Gothard Phenomenom and Scandal…

Why do I compare Gothard and Piper and their movements? The comparison has nothing to do with scandals; it has only to do with the kind of single-minded, overly simplistic, absolutist dedication of core followers. Both were perceived by many developmentally immature evangelical Christians as “the recovery” of true, authentic Christianity that, if adopted by all Christians, would solve all the major problems facing and infiltrating Christian churches from secular culture. The single enemy of both, whether followers know it or not, is the rise of anomie out of the secular and pluralistic cultural revolution of the 1960s. Both offer “the cure” for all that ails church and society. Both have strongly ideological and demogogic features. Both have the tendency to idolize power. Leaders of both failed to recognize the predictable abuses of their teachings by their absolutizing followers.

The core problem with both movements is threefold. First, they tend to take one rather idiocyncratic idea and blow it up into the interpretive key to the whole Bible and Christianity in general; Second, they tend to totalize an ideology developed out of that idea/key as something that cannot be subjected to critical scrutiny without revealing the critic’s spiritual weakness if not outright rebellion against God. A problem with both is that they did and do not regard their signature teachings as proposals for consideration but rather regard them as having the status of divine revelation itself. (How many times have I heard YRRM people call high Calvinism “a transcript of the gospel itself?”) Finally, both tend to elevate a single individual teacher as above question or criticism and both of those teachers are noted for rarely, if ever, saying “But I could be wrong.”

Another judge criticizes Jehovah’s Witnesses’ court tactics

Jenkins didn’t elaborate on the collaboration, but her remarks were not the first time a judge has taken issue with the Watchtower’s tactics in court. In two cases in California, judges issued default judgments to plaintiffs because the Watchtower refused to produce documents and witnesses.
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A Reveal investigation last February found that since 1989, the Watchtower had directed Jehovah’s Witnesses elders to hide child sexual abuse from secular authorities. The Watchtower’s pattern of secrecy subsequently was highlighted during an inquiry by an Australian government commission, which found that the Witnesses had failed to report more than 1,000 suspected child sexual abusers in that country.

New Virginia bill would let clerks deny marriage licenses to gay couples

Republican Sen. Charles Carrico of Galax, whose southwestern district borders Kentucky, said many of his constituents were concerned about what happened to Kim Davis, the Rowan County clerk, and asked him to help Virginia officials who are put in the same position.

“I’m just trying to clarify what the options are if they have a right-of-conscience issue,” said Carrico, who said he opposes gay marriage.

Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has already vowed to veto the bill if it passes the GOP-controlled General Assembly.
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Carrico’s bill specifies that clerks and deputy clerks wouldn’t have to issue licenses if they object on “personal, ethical, moral or religious grounds.” It would establish a process to ensure that people whose licenses are denied would be able to get one from the Department of Motor Vehicles, Carrico said.
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The Virginia Court Clerks’ Association hasn’t taken a position on whether clerks should be able to refuse licenses, but doesn’t believe the DMV should have the power to hand out licenses, said Chaz Evans-Haywood, Rockingham County Clerk and the group’s president. If the bill moves forward, the group will push to ensure it specifies that if one clerk declines, another clerk in the county or a deputy clerk would have to issue the license, he said.

“We want to make sure that everyone who comes to the door is taken care of equally,” he said.

Seven days from the "5th Annual International Day of Protest Against Hereditary Religion" which is taking place on January 23, 2016. Here is part 2 of 4 from 2014 to tickle your appetite.

One Of The Largest Coal Companies In The United States Just Filed For Bankruptcy

“U.S. coal consumption is declining dramatically as coal-fired power plants are shutting down. Coal is being displaced by renewables and natural gas, and the Asian markets that all coal companies were looking to as their saviors are moving in the opposite direction,” Ross Macfarlane, senior advisor with Climate Solutions, told ThinkProgress. “[Arch’s bankruptcy filing] wasn’t unexpected, but it’s still very significant in that it shows that the second-largest coal company in the United States is unable to pay its debts and provide any return at all to its shareholders.”

As a company, Arch has seen a fairly rapid decline in the value of its shares following a flurry of domestic acquisitions in 2011. Those acquisitions, which totaled in the millions, were based on the presumption that the coal industry would see rapid overseas growth in the coming years. That overseas growth never materialized, with coal consumption several key nations like China peaking, or appearing to peak, in the past few years. In early 2011, stock in Arch Coal peaked at $260 a share — on Monday, shares in Arch Coal were worth less than a dollar. During that time, Arch Coal executives doubled their pay, despite falling share prices.
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“After carefully evaluating our options, we determined that implementing these agreements through a court-supervised process represents the best way to solidify our financial position and strengthen our balance sheet,” Arch’s chairman and CEO John W. Eaves said in the press statement announcing the Chapter 11 filing. “We are confident that this comprehensive financial restructuring will further enhance Arch’s position as a large-scale, low-cost operator.”

WATCH: Stephen Colbert’s fascinating interview with pyramid-discovering ‘space archaeologist’ Sarah Parcak

Parcak, an associate professor of Anthropology and director of the Laboratory for Global Observation at the University of Alabama, recently was awarded the 2016 $1 million TED Prize for her talk on how she uses satellite imagery to discover below-surface ruins.