This is such a strange and tragic reaction to the film Avatar that I thought it deserved its own post (though we're already having a pretty lively discussion about the film under my earlier post). If you scoff at the idea of a mere movie having a profound -- and dangerous -- influence over someone, read this account of people who are feeling depressed and even suicidal after seeing Cameron's "perfect" world onscreen.
In the sorority but not of the sorority
By: Megan Schultz|Published: May 23, 2012 12:41 PM
During my first year of college, I struggled with drawing the line between being "in the world" and "of the world." The issue first came to bat when I joined a sorority. I’m from Naples, Florida, about 1300 miles away from the University of Missouri, where I knew no one. Naturally, I wanted instant friends. Greek life seemed the answer.
I recently completed my first year of college. During that year, I was able to examine the lives of many of my fellow students -- their beliefs, their mentalities, their personalities, their goals, etc.
One characteristic that seemed to stand out as perhaps unique was the tendency to make up religions by combining religions. Many people I met did not identify with a particular faith or denomination or even classify themselves as agnostic or atheist. Rather they, seemingly independently, grouped Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity into one faith. How could four completely different religions have enough in common to serve as an "umbrella" faith? At first, I didn’t have an answer. With time and many questions, however, I realized that the answer is quite simple. The answer is God.
Megan Schultz has just come on board as a BreakPoint editorial intern this summer. Megan comes to us from the journalism program at the University of Missouri. Among other things, she'll be blogging here at the BreakPoint Blog -- look for her first post shortly. Please join me in welcoming her! READ FULL ARTICLE »
The Washington Post is getting a lot of buzz from its story "Transgender at five," about a little girl who was diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a form of gender identity disorder. For now, her parents are letting her live as a boy. In the future, they have some deeply disturbing options, such as puberty blockers and hormone treatments that, among other things, would render their child sterile.
It seems to me, from my reading of the article, that the medical community has put more time and effort into encouraging families to embrace and encourage the symptoms of this disorder than into trying to find genuine treatments for it. Is there any other disorder on earth that we treat this way? The very word disorder suggests that something has gone wrong, that something is, literally, out of order. Wouldn't you think that the patients would be better off if their doctors were genuinely interested in finding ways to restore that order? READ FULL ARTICLE »
Grammatical giveaway
By: Gina Dalfonzo|Published: May 21, 2012 10:32 AM
Bill Maher went after Liberty University late last week (language alert). Among other things, he said: "When you confuse a church with a school, it mixes up the things you believe -- religion -- with the things we know -- education."
As Nancy Pearcey pointed out on Facebook: "The fact/value split in action: belief pitted against knowledge. Notice the shift in pronouns: You believe, but we know." READ FULL ARTICLE »
We need to speak out against the latest attempt to muzzle free speech. While Representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) has good intentions, his proposal would spell the end of freedom.
If you missed Chuck's memorial service, you can still see it here, at least for now. (I'm not certain how long it will be available online.) Also, you can read WORLD magazine's writeup here. READ FULL ARTICLE »
