Brutally Honest

Let's talk about sex baby

Or more specifically, let's talk to our babies about sex:

The height of irony can be found in a Montana Health Curriculum draft (pdf).  Gay love and intercourse and not in the barnyard either!

A proposed sex education program that teaches fifth-graders the different ways people have intercourse and first-graders about gay love has infuriated parents and forced the school board to take a closer look at the issue.

[...]

Supporters say the proposed health education curriculum contains honest, science-based information on wellness and allows students to make better decisions. At Tuesday's meeting they urged the board to accept the policy. (FOX)

Please bear with me as I try to get to the irony of it all.

Grade 5; Human Sexuality; pg 45: Understand that sexual intercourse includes but is not limited to vaginal, oral, or anal penetration

In grade 6 and following, fingers, tongue and "objects" are introduced. Nice.

That's Leslie at her new place, a blog devoted to "unleashing the mysteries of public education".

Hit the link and finish with her as she gets to "the irony of it all" and consider adding her to your list of places to regularly visit for pertinent and relevant info.

Crossposted at Wizbang.

Peer review: Nothing new under the hot and hotter sun.

Posted by guest blogger, Leslie.

Post-modernity has long since been in a hurry to smite religion as an antiquated obstacle to the enlightenment the current efforts Science has to offer.  Let us ne'er forget Galileo and the ordeal he went through when he rattled the foundations of the old boy's holy club by trying to reveal his unsettling findings on the revolutions of Mother Earth and Sun. 

Frank Furedi, a self-proclaimed humanist, examines the scientific peer-review process in light of the recent IPCC climate gate scandals:

The usual problems associated with peer review, as outlined above, have been exacerbated through the transformation of peer review into a form of authorisation. Increasingly, peer review is cited as kind of unquestioned and unquestionable authority for settling what are in fact political disputes. Consequently, the findings of peer review are looked upon, not simply as statements about the quality of research or of a scientific finding, but as the foundation for far-reaching policies that affect everything from the global economy to our individual lifestyles.

Increasingly, peer review has been turned into a quasi-holy institution, which apparently signifies that a certain claim is legitimate or sacred. And from this perspective, voices which lack the authority of peer review are, by definition, illegitimate. Peer review provides a warrant to be heard – those who speak without this warrant deserve only our scorn.

You can almost visualise peer-review dogmatists waving their warrant and demanding that their opponents be silenced. For someone like George Monbiot, the British climate-change alarmist, peer review is the equivalent of a holy scripture. Boasting of his encounter with an opponent, who challenged him to a debate on speed cameras, Monbiot wrote: ‘I accepted and floored him with a simple question.’ Predictably, the question was: ‘Has he published his analysis in a peer-reviewed journal?’

In a world where opponents can be ‘floored’ simply because they lack the authority provided by the ritual of peer review, it is not surprising that there is considerable incentive to manipulate the system of peer review, to bend it to one’s own will and needs. Andrew Dessler, a climate-change researcher, also sought to floor an opponent, who apparently wrote a ‘denier op-ed’ in the Wall Street Journal, by dismissing its value on the grounds that that newspaper is not peer reviewed. Dessler argued that, since ‘the only place’ where this ‘denier’ can present his views is in ‘non-peer-reviewed venues like conferences and press releases’, he is worthy only of censorious contempt. (spiked online)

A group of peers reviewed Galileo and branded him heretic.

If Stephen Hawking stands by this quote then he is righter than he knew, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science."

Bush did 2012!

Posted by guest blogger, Leslie.

Does the O in Obama stands for one-term president?

"If that happens, Obama will have only himself to blame."

I don't know, he'll probably find a way to point a finger somewhere else.  Mayan calendar maybe.

HT:  Instapundit

Really?

A brief thought: The People of God are called to be an alternative community for the world. You can't be an alternative to something unless you are very clear abut what you are not, or what you resist. This makes a theology of resistance important (and protest OK).

Posted by guest blogger, Leslie.

Besting your medal...

Posted by guest blogger, Leslie, a Canadian of Norwegian descent.

Being a fair-minded, liberty-loving individual, I believe it is important when one finds a scrap of good in the New York Times, to glom onto it, as one gloms onto blue moons and other rarities.

So pleased was I to find a delightful op-ed by David Brooks, comparing the USA with its Olympic gold medal match nation, Norway.  Both Norway and USA won 9 gold medals in the recent 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  He begins:

The United States, a nation of 300 million, won nine gold medals this year in the Winter Olympics. Norway, a nation of 4.7 million, also won nine. This was no anomaly. Over the years, Norwegians have won more gold medals in Winter Games, and more Winter Olympics medals over all, than people from any other nation.

So what is so delightful about this?  It is not in so much as what Brooks says, as what he doesn't say.  Please, do me a favour and click that last link.  I digress.

Brooks continues by outlining a story from Norway's past.  The kind of story you hear the history books tell of Norway every now and then.  WWII occupation.  Small independant group tries inflitrating the Nazis to liberate the country. Horrific winter conditions.  Skiis. Avalanches. Raging gangrene. Persistence. Friendly neighbours with a hot cup of coffee just in time to prevent frostbite from taking mittened fingers.  I mean, it got pretty bad for the story's hero, Jan Baalsrud, while he was evading the Nazis:

He wandered aimlessly for four days, plagued by hallucinations. At one point he thought he had found a trail, but he was only following his own footsteps in a small circle.

Finally, he stumbled upon a cottage. A man named Marius Gronvold took him in. He treated Baalsrud’s frostbite and hid him in a remote shed across a lake to recover.

He was alone for a week (a storm made it impossible for anyone to reach him). Gangrene invaded his legs. He stabbed them to drain the pus and blood. His eyesight recovered, but the pain was excruciating and he was starving.

Those Norwegian stories are always so hard and so good at the same time.  The Viking gene lives on in these quiet people, only the lingering menace drives them to the medal podium rather than stealing the gold they find on the high seas.

And so Brooks ends on this note:

This astonishing story could only take place in a country where people are skilled on skis and in winter conditions. But there also is an interesting form of social capital on display. It’s a mixture of softness and hardness. Baalsrud was kept alive thanks to a serial outpouring of love and nurturing. At the same time, he and his rescuers displayed an unbelievable level of hardheaded toughness and resilience. That’s a cultural cocktail bound to produce achievement in many spheres.

Hardheaded toughness and resilience as a means of liberation.  Ironic attributes to be admired in the NYT, perhaps. Although I suppose it depends on how you define liberation.  I may live in Canada, but we get Glenn Beck up here and politically, it appears America has a few ferocious winter snow storms to ski through in order to liberate herself from an ideological occupation that seems to have crept up on it over the years.  

But it's do-able.  Just have to be willing to accept the gangrene for what it is and have the mettle to drain it without anesthetic.

A peek inside Planned Parenthood

Posted by guest blogger, Leslie.

If you haven't been following Live Action's undercover work in Planned Parenthood clinics across the United States, you have been missing out on some thought provoking sights.

Compare this latest clip comes from Wisconsin:

Related: Live-tweeting abortion.

Devastating earthquake hits Chile

Posted by guest blogger, Leslie.

Earth is restless:

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Chile on Saturday, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into the fractured earth. A tsunami threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean — roughly a quarter of the globe.

Chileans near the epicenter were tossed about by the magnitude-8.8 quake as if shaken by a giant. At least 147 people were killed, according to Carmen Fernandez, director of the National Emergency Agency.

The quake shook buildings in Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires, and was felt as far away as Sao Paulo in Brazil — 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) to the east. About 13 million people live in the area where shaking was strong to severe, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Bad.

Sense and Sensitivity

Posted by guest blogger, Leslie.

I have found there to be a rule of thumb in public education.  That is to say, if you don't take care of business in administration, it's only a matter of time before kids get hurt on the playground or in the classroom. 

I was reminded of this when over at The Corner and was intrigued by how two consecutive posts were remarkably inter-related in this school of Life.

First,

Kind of shockingly, non-British, yes? That kind of talk has no place in polite and tolerant post-modern society much less in the barbaric sterility of a place like the EU. Maybe.

If only it weren't for that darned rule of thumb found in the Corner's next post.

Three mass graves were discovered in the sub district of Dubiz in Kirkuk. Announced the Kurdish daily news paper ASO on Sunday, Feb.21st. These graves are to be excavated by the Ministry of Anfaled and Martyrs of Kurdistan regional government in a near future. [#]

Three out of hundreds of mass graves. Cheerfully sponsored over time by the children of the Global Village, namely: Blind Eye and Say Nothing.

Valley of Lent: Dark Night of the Soul

Posted by guest blogger, Leslie.

One of the most meaningful pieces of poetry I’ve come across is St John of the Cross’, “Dark Night of the Soul”. A shallow read of this will make it smack of some tin foil valentine card, but for the type of message St John is delivering, Hallmark is silent.

When the breeze blew from the turret,
as I parted his hair,
it wounded my neck
with its gentle hand,
suspending all my senses.

I abandoned and forgot myself,
laying my face on my Beloved;
all things ceased; I went out from myself,
leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies. (Dark Night of the Soul)

When the universe aligns life’s circumstances to sear a person like an ant under a magnifying glass on a sunny afternoon one is suddenly plunged into the Dark Night of the Soul. It is here he meets his creator and with nothing left he finds he needs no longer worry about anything for the details of life are all being orchestrated by much larger hands. That is always true but not always recognized. Bidden or unbidden, God is still there. [#]

People who have never been “gifted” with the experience of the magnifying glass have a harder time finding the peace that comes with reconciling with the reality of one’s anthood.

The thief comes to kill and destroy -- approaching Christ in the desert as he does you and I today.[#]

And once we've run out of the things that drive us, be it food or glory, it is then the Beloved appears, leaving all cares to drop forgotten among the lilies.

Out of a valley of tears, sweet liberty.

Confessions on Confession

I have a confession to make. 

I confess to plotting with Leslie behind the scenes on jointly putting up a post that deals with the Christian act of Confession. 

As regular readers (especially of late) will know, I'm in the midst of a potential return to Catholicism.  As part of that trek, I've been reading the Catholic Catechism and as part of my confessed plot with Leslie, I now bring you, in part, what the Catechism has to say about Confession:

The confession of sins

1455 The confession (or disclosure) of sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others. Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible.

1456 Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly."⁵⁴

When Christ's faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon. But those who fail to do so and knowingly withhold some, place nothing before the divine goodness for remission through the mediation of the priest, "for if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know."⁵⁵

1457 According to the Church's command, "after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year."⁵⁶ Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession.⁵⁷ Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time.⁵⁸

1458 Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.⁵⁹ Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father's mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful:⁶⁰

Whoever confesses his sins . . . is already working with God. God indicts your sins; if you also indict them, you are joined with God. Man and sinner are, so to speak, two realities: when you hear "man" - this is what God has made; when you hear "sinner" - this is what man himself has made. Destroy what you have made, so that God may save what he has made. . . . When you begin to abhor what you have made, it is then that your good works are beginning, since you are accusing yourself of your evil works. The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works. You do the truth and come to the light.⁶¹

Confession is but one part or piece if you will of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation and those interested should read the entire segment of the Catechism to learn more.  I find it all pretty fascinating.

And now for a more Protestant look at the subject matter, I turn you over to Leslie, who as an aside for those who don't know, has her own blog over at Alice the Camel.

___________

Rick’s journey toward Catholicism has had me thinking about my own doctrinal philosophies.  For me to go “home” in that regard, I turn to the Lutheran Confessions as assembled in the Book of Concord, and in this case, the Augsburg Confession written in 1530:

Article XI: Of Confession.

1] Of Confession they [the Reformers - L] teach that Private Absolution ought to be retained in the churches, although in confession 2] an enumeration of all sins is not necessary. For it is impossible according to the Psalm: Who can understand his errors? Ps. 19:12.

? - Confession - Confutation - Defense

Lutherans only have 2 sacraments -- baptism and communion -- classified as such because they were directly instituted by Christ.  As such, confession isn’t a sacrament in the Lutheran church.

I could be wrong about this, but in discussing confession with Catholics I get a sense that there is something of a blissful time, post-confession, that one is all squeaky clean.  The Augsburg Confession’s term “impossible” refers to what I have found to be a pervasive emphasis on God’s role in the redemption of man. Here, Luther explains the third article of the Apostle’s Creed: 

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true.

 Compare that with this phrase from the Catholic catechism Rick quoted and you will get a sense of the different approaches:

Whoever confesses his sins . . . is already working with God. God indicts your sins; if you also indict them, you are joined with God

Just some thoughts from me. One thing to keep in mind is that Luther's first choice wasn't starting his own denomination. He was excommunicated. Therefore, Lutheran doctrine isn’t an outright rejection of the all Catholic doctrine.  There are many, many commonalities in the midst of the differences.  In fact, if you click "Confutation" under Article XI,  you'll find the Catholic response to this issue is one of basic agreement.