Gotta be honest, I'm normally sleepy at that time as well. Late is late.
GlassHalfHopeful
joined 1 year ago
I agree that this article is short on information. It's hard to get a read on what happened. I mean, it's not uncommon to order psych evals in various circumstances. I don't know what to think based simply on this article. With one exception--a $25 gift certificate?! WTF!?
What a train wreck everything's become.
And their efforts won't likely be all that beneficial to people for some time, if at all... 🫤
You've touched on a number of the things that give religious organizations cohesion and strength. The indoctrination is important when it comes to reinforcing those things and building on them. Health cooperatives, college scholarships, support when life circumstances hammer you into the ground... there's a lot of benefits to being a part of the system. Most people never realize how much they've lost by being a part of the system. Why? Because they're kept ignorant of the things they've lost. Keeping that knowledge and experience away from them is important to maintain the desired control.
PS. I'm truly sorry that your nephew didn't get to realize his dream. I'm in a similar circumstances where I gave away decades of my life to these kinds of teachings and beliefs. Goodness, what I would give to go back and make different choices. But... I've still got a lot of years left, so I'm trying to gain my footing and make the best of this life.
Christianity is quite broad and this question will yield a different answer depending on the variant.
The example tract you shared looks like a Chick tract (or similar). That's a specific breed of American Evangelicalism. Unfortunately, the number of followers in this brand of theology is quite numerous in the United States.
Evangelicals are definitely proponents of education, but very specifically things that align with their theology. So education in dogma, apologetics, and their brand of theology is heavily pushed.
Unfortunately, education in the sciences (particularly biology) is actively fought against because their theology and the sciences conflict on a number of matters. So long as the science agrees with their theology, they're okay with people being educated in it. That which disagrees with their interpretation of scripture, is interpreted as lies from Satan polluting people's minds and turning humanity from God.
These Christians will always speak of how important education is, but it takes the form of indoctrination. The more they can solidify people in their beliefs, the better and more "truly" educated they are as a result. If you believe in the sciences of evolutionary biology, then you've been deceived and misled.
With that said though... it's important to remember that there are quite a number of Christians that are not adherents of this form of evangelicalism and who are strong proponents of the sciences.
Religion is about control. The more fundamental the religion is, the stronger that control needs to be. This isn't a Christian problem or even an evangelical problem. It's common with numerous religions and why so many devastating wars I've been rooted in religion. This problem is a religious problem.
Not likely helpful in a situation like this, but a truly helpful resource in other ways. Thanks!
TIL
This is good. Other western nations should now follow.
I wonder what the DEA document reads. Based on this second article shared though, it seems South Dakota has much much less of a problem respectively than other states. It seems very odd that the governor's focusing so much on it.
I get pretty lucky with dragonflies compared to most other critters. They are so cool. 💜