1. I loved this story about a church weekend getaway. This church has been doing God’s work, and helping bring the needy and addicted to Jesus. They faced a unique quandary: A man wanted to join the weekend trip to learn more about Christ. But he’s a severe alcoholic: “This is a person who needs 3 litres of Cider and a six-pack before he can even get out of bed in the morning!” Without any alcohol, his body would go into shock and he could even die. So the church had to decide: Do they tell him to stay away that weekend because he won’t be able to drink? Or do they have him come, and provide the beer that he needs to function?
Reading that story reminded me of another one from The Guardian about a homeless shelter that provides box wine to alcoholics. This place calculates just enough terrible-tasting wine each hour so that its residents don’t suffer “the shakes and sweats of detox.”It’s an example of a strategy called “harm reduction.” Certainly there are risks with this style of treatment (who can forget Tobias Funke’s love for the Method One Acting Clinic in Arrested Developement?), but I believe these stories are reminders of the power of simple acceptance. People do not change because we tell them or attempt to force them to change. But people may change if you just accept them with no preconditions.
Also, if you get a chance, I recommend listening to the July 1, 2016 podcast of Invisibilia titled “The Problem with the Solution.” It’s about a town in Belgium that accepts strangers with mental illnesses to live with them, and it’ll blow your mind.
2. “It’s not a partisan issue, it’s not a religious issue. It’s a human rights issue.” Slate published a revelatory piece on the promising future of the pro-life movement. Certainly, being pro-life is informed by my belief in the Bible being the inerrant, incontrovertible Word of God. But as this piece demonstrates, there are a myriad of other reasons to be pro-life and the various activists featured arrive from all over the religious and ideological spectrum.
Also promising is how more women are leading the movement. One activist, Aimee Murphy (her story is the first one told, and it’s a doozy) states:
“I see this movement going in a direction that is a lot more women-centered. What are we doing to help women in need? What are we doing to empower women? What are we doing to promote equality among all persons?” The fact that women are expected to bear the consequences of pregnancy alone, and that pregnancy often seems incompatible with success, is “a grave form of injustice that we are passing on to women,” she said.
Well put. It also gets fascinating near the end when it talks about our two political parties. The Democratic Party has only become more and more aggressively pro-abortion, which is why even those in the article who may favor a plethora of other liberal policies can’t get themselves to vote for Hillary Clinton.
Along these lines, my buddy over at Beauty Beyond Bones recently penned a piece on the sanctity of human life.
3. Just an amazing baseball game last night in which the Dodgers topped the Nationals, 4-3, in the deciding game of the National League Division Series. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pushed all the right buttons, while Nationals manager Dusty Baker did the opposite. I especially loved Joc Pederson’s reaction when he hit a game-tying home run in the 7th inning.
Peak baseball was achieved when the best pitcher in the universe, Clayton Kerhshaw, came on in relief in the bottom of the 9th in to face former Met Daniel Murphy with runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. This is why baseball is simply the best: You do not get this level of tension and drama in any other sport. It’s just not possible. Every Mets fan who’s suffered through this Murphy MVP-level season in the services of our division rival thought for sure that he would come through with a big hit. Alas, he popped up on the 2nd pitch, and the Nationals lost. I admit that I thoroughly enjoyed a little schadenfreude towards Murphy and the Nats. (For crying out loud, Murphy was the Nats’ THIRD choice!)
Despite a great game (which naturally made me gush forth with praise to a couple friends this morning), one major problem reared its ugly head. Due to SIX total pitching changes (five by the Nats), the 7th innings took a whopping 66 MINUTES. And this nine-inning contest (read: NO extra innings) tallied a not-so-crisp FOUR HOURS AND THIRTY-TWO MINUTES. Ridiculous.
There’s a simple fix, but one that Major League Baseball will never implement. The great baseball historian Bill James once suggested a rule change: A 2nd reliever in the same inning may only enter when the 1st reliever has allowed a run. This alteration would greatly cut down on the number of pitching changes in late game situations, and keep the tension at a fever pitch. But yeah, it won’t happen.
4. Finally, this looks really cool and I’m hoping to check it out one coming weekend. Anyone wanna join?
Have a great weekend everyone!
Bob and Weave 