Freedom can be abused. It can go too far. In Schenck v. USA, Charles Schenck was being tried for printing and distributing materials against the American military Draft in World War I. In the decision, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously wrote, "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. [...] The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent."
This decision was based on the idea that freedom can only go so far before it becomes dangerous to others and, eventually, abuse.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Einstein - Everyone is a genius
"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid." -A. Einstein.
This is a great illustration of the value of every person, and would be well-used in any sermon about spiritual gifts or Christ being one body composed of many parts.
This is a great illustration of the value of every person, and would be well-used in any sermon about spiritual gifts or Christ being one body composed of many parts.
Monday, October 10, 2011
"Snorkeling or Scuba diving?"
This question was posed by Calvin Miller after he and his family visited Australia and the great barrier reef. Most of the family could only snorkel from the surface. But when they came across a sunken shipwreck, they could only look from afar, but their son, certified in SCUBA, could go down, explore, look around and get a much better understanding for the wreckage.
I shouldn't be the one to...
I was walking out of a restaurant the other day and heard a man on a cell phone as he was going in. He wasn't shouting and making a scene but he was clearly agitated. As we got to that place where we passed one another in the parking lot I heard just a single phrase: "I shouldn't be the one to _____." I didn't hear what he had to say, but it struck me how often all of us say that.
- I shouldn't have to be the one to clean this.
- I shouldn't have to be the one to do youth group or youth camp.
- I shouldn't have to be the one to pay for this person's poor financial choices.
- I shouldn't have to be the one to be overstretched, to take on more projects, to take care of rudimentary things.
The fact of the matter is that you may be right. But you are the one who needs to. Jesus shared this sentiment in his prayers in Gethsemane. "God, I shouldn't have to be the one to take the fall for all of them," but the reality is that sometimes we are. He struggled with this but also understood that sometimes you are the one that just has to do it. Jesus finished this prayer with the thought "not my will, but yours be done."
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Mexico City lawmakers propose 'renewable' marriage contracts
FROM USA TODAY, 9/30/2011
Some Mexico City lawmakers are proposing "renewable" marriage contracts instead of lifetime commitments so that newlyweds could avoid the often torturous process of divorce.
Under the proposal, couples planning marriage would decide on the length of their commitment, with the minimum contract being for two years.
If they decide not to renew the contract, they would be able to opt out without a legal hassle, Reuters reports.
"The proposal is, when the two-year period is up, if the relationship is not stable or harmonious, the contract simply ends," says the bill's co-author, Leonel Luna of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, Reuters reports. The party holds a majority of the assembly's 66 seats.
Reuters says that around half of Mexico City marriages end in divorce, usually in the first two years.
The news agency quotes a spokesman for the Mexican archdiocese as calling the proposal "absurd" and a contradiction of the nature of marriage.
The BBC reports that the bill, which includes provisions on how children and property would be handled, is likely to go before legislators in December.
Some Mexico City lawmakers are proposing "renewable" marriage contracts instead of lifetime commitments so that newlyweds could avoid the often torturous process of divorce.
Under the proposal, couples planning marriage would decide on the length of their commitment, with the minimum contract being for two years.
If they decide not to renew the contract, they would be able to opt out without a legal hassle, Reuters reports.
"The proposal is, when the two-year period is up, if the relationship is not stable or harmonious, the contract simply ends," says the bill's co-author, Leonel Luna of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, Reuters reports. The party holds a majority of the assembly's 66 seats.
Reuters says that around half of Mexico City marriages end in divorce, usually in the first two years.
The news agency quotes a spokesman for the Mexican archdiocese as calling the proposal "absurd" and a contradiction of the nature of marriage.
The BBC reports that the bill, which includes provisions on how children and property would be handled, is likely to go before legislators in December.
Yearbook
This comes from Richard Mosqueda at Adventure Christian Church, Louisville, KY
We are all selfish. Need proof? Just think back to "Yearbook Day" when you were in school. When you finally got that yearbook at the end of the year, what is the first thing you turned to?
We are all selfish. Need proof? Just think back to "Yearbook Day" when you were in school. When you finally got that yearbook at the end of the year, what is the first thing you turned to?
YOUR OWN PICTURE! What is the next thing you looked at?
ALL THE CLUBS AND TEAMS YOU WERE IN! After you've looked at all the places YOU were in the yearbook, then you go back and look for your friends' pictures.
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