christianity

Reach More Mission Training – PDSA Cycle

Tim J. Clark Uncategorized , , , ,

Context: Catholic Evangelization – Indianapolis Catholic Archdiocese  
 

Here is a practical example of a Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle applied to the Reach More™ Mission Training program from The Evangelical Catholic.

Reach More is a 12-week evangelization and discipleship training program designed for Catholic parishes, campus ministries, and faith communities. It equips lay Catholics to grow in missionary discipleship through:

  • Weekly group sessions (90–120 minutes) for learning tools and wisdom.
  • One-on-one discipleship conversations (every two weeks).
  • Daily personal prayer (15 minutes via the Reach More Prayer Companion).
  • Take-home Mission Prompts (under 30 minutes).

The program focuses on relational evangelization — building friendships, being curious about others, sharing faith naturally (not pushy), and forming habits like seeking intimacy with Jesus, investing in relationships, and facilitating discipleship environments (small groups where “two or three gather”).

Common implementation challenges in parishes include:

  • Variable attendance/engagement in the weekly group sessions.
  • Inconsistent follow-through on one-on-one conversations or daily prayer.
  • Post-training sustainability (e.g., participants starting their own small groups or continuing mission habits).

This PDSA example targets a frequent area for improvement: increasing consistent participation in the one-on-one discipleship conversations (a key element for personal growth and confidence in sharing faith).

PDSA Example: Improving One-on-One Discipleship Conversation Completion in Reach More

Group/Parish Context: A mid-sized parish running Reach More with 12–15 participants in one cohort. Baseline: Only ~50% of scheduled one-on-one sessions (one hour every two weeks) are completed during the 12-week program due to scheduling conflicts, forgetfulness, or low perceived value.

Aim (What are we trying to accomplish?): Increase completion rate of one-on-one discipleship conversations from ~50% to ≥85% over the next 12-week cohort, so participants experience deeper personal transformation, increased courage/confidence in sharing faith, and stronger relational evangelization skills.

Cycle #: 1 Dates of this cycle: Next Reach More cohort (e.g., Fall 2026)

1. PLAN

What change are we testing? Add a simple “accountability nudge” system:

  • Facilitator sends a personalized text reminder 48 hours before each scheduled one-on-one.
  • Include a short encouragement quote from the Reach More materials (e.g., “Evangelization is not just another project. It is the mission of the parish and of the Church.”).
  • Offer flexible rescheduling via a shared calendar link (e.g., Calendly) in the reminder.
  • At the end of each group session, participants publicly share one quick takeaway they hope to discuss in their upcoming one-on-one (builds anticipation).

Why do we think this will help? (Prediction & rationale) Current drop-off is often logistical (forgetting/scheduling) rather than disinterest. Reminders + encouragement reduce friction and reinforce the value of one-on-ones for building confidence in mission habits (e.g., sharing good news, investing in relationships). Public sharing in group creates gentle peer accountability and ties into the program’s relational focus.

What will success look like? (Measures / data to collect)

  • Primary: % of scheduled one-on-one sessions completed (target: ≥85%).
  • Secondary: Participant feedback (1–5 scale) on “The one-on-one felt valuable and helped my growth” (target: average ≥4.0).
  • Qualitative notes: Any reported increase in courage/confidence or mission actions (e.g., inviting someone to a small group).

Who will be involved?

  • Facilitator/leader (sends reminders, tracks completions).
  • All Reach More participants (12–15 people).
  • One co-facilitator to help with scheduling and note observations.

How long will we test it? Full 12-week program (6 one-on-one cycles per participant).

Action steps & responsibilities:

  • Week 0 (pre-launch): Facilitator sets up shared calendar link and reminder template.
  • Ongoing: Send reminders 48 hours prior; note completions and any reschedules.
  • After each group session: 2-minute share-out of anticipated one-on-one topics.
  • End of program: Quick survey and debrief.

Resources needed:

  • Text messaging (or parish app like Flocknote).
  • Shared calendar tool (free Calendly or Google Calendar).
  • No additional cost.

2. DO

Carry out the test. Implement the nudge system for the full cohort. Document:

  • Dates/times scheduled vs. completed.
  • Any reasons for no-shows/reschedules.
  • Quick notes from group share-outs and end-of-program feedback.

Example what actually occurred (hypothetical results for illustration):

  • 6 one-on-ones scheduled per person → 78 out of 90 total completed (87%).
  • Reminders praised: “The text made me prioritize it.”
  • One reschedule due to illness; one due to work conflict (both rescheduled successfully).
  • Feedback: Average “valuable” rating 4.4/5; several noted deeper discussions led to inviting a friend to church.

3. STUDY

Analyze what happened.

  • Achievement: Yes — exceeded target (87% completion vs. baseline ~50%).
  • What worked: Personalized texts + encouragement quote reduced no-shows; calendar link eased rescheduling; group share-outs built excitement.
  • What didn’t: A few still forgot despite reminders (suggest adding a 24-hour follow-up).
  • Learnings: Logistical nudges + relational reinforcement (public sharing) align with Reach More’s emphasis on community and habits. Participants reported more confidence in mission actions (e.g., starting conversations about faith).

Was the change successful? Yes.

4. ACT

Decide next steps:

  • Adopt — Make the accountability nudge system standard for future Reach More cohorts in the parish.
  • Adapt — Add a 24-hour backup reminder and include a quick “prayer intention” in the text to tie it spiritually.
  • Next cycle: Test the adapted version in the next cohort (e.g., Spring 2027), while also monitoring long-term outcomes (e.g., do completers start their own small groups more often?).

Overall reflections / spiritual insights: This small change reduced barriers to deeper discipleship, echoing Reach More’s focus on “facilitating discipleship environments” and “establishing disciples.” It supports the program’s joy-filled relational evangelization by helping participants grow in habits like seeking intimacy with Jesus and investing in relationships — ultimately helping them “reach more” people for Christ in everyday life (Matthew 28:19–20).

You can copy this template into a document, adapt it for your parish’s specific cohort, and run it iteratively. If you’d like another example (e.g., improving weekly group attendance, post-training small group starts, or daily prayer consistency), a filled-in version for a different focus, or variations for youth/campus Reach More, let me know!

Immigration, Borders, Empathy, Christianity

Tim J. Clark Uncategorized , , , ,
Speaker -U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson – Facebook Post
In the press gaggle following today’s vote, I was asked to defend the Biblical case for border security and immigration enforcement. I did so, and then promised to post a longer explanation that I drafted during the Biden Administration. Here it is, and I hope it’s helpful:
Despite the insistence of the progressive Left, people of all religious faiths should support a strong national border—and Christians CERTAINLY should. Critics are fond of citing particular Bible verses out of context to claim that Christians and Jews are being “unfaithful” if we oppose their radical open borders agenda. It has become increasingly important for us to set this record straight.
Perhaps the verse most often cited by the Left is Leviticus 19:34. Whether they know it or not, that passage happens to be from the instructions Moses delivered to the Israelites when they were on their journey through the wilderness in Sinai, before they reached their own Promised Land. The verse reads as follows: “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” (KJV)
CONTEXT IS CRITICAL
It is, of course, a central premise of Judeo-Christian teaching that strangers should be treated with kindness and hospitality. We are each called to love God first and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Deut. 6:5, Lev. 19:18, Matt. 22:36-40, KJV). However, that “Greatest Commandment” was never directed to the government, but to INDIVIDUAL believers.
The Bible teaches that God ordained and created four distinct spheres of authority:
(1) the individual,
(2) the family,
(3) the church, and
(4) civil government
Each of these spheres is given different responsibilities.
For example, while each INDIVIDUAL is accountable for his or her own behavior (e.g., Exodus 20), the FAMILY is commanded to “bring up children in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4) and “provide for their relatives” (1 Tim. 5:8).
The CHURCH is commanded to make disciples and equip people for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:11-13), and the CIVIL GOVERNMENT is established to faithfully uphold and enforce the law so that order can be maintained in this fallen world, crime can be kept at bay, and people can live peacefully (Rom. 13, 1 Tim. 2:1-2).
To be properly understood, anytime a command is given in Scripture, one must first determine to WHOM that command is directed. For example, when Jesus taught us as His followers to practice mercy and forgiveness and to “turn the other cheek” (Matt. 5:38-40, KJV), He was not giving that command to the government. To the contrary, when government officials ignore crime, they are directly VIOLATING their responsibilities before God.
Indeed, the civil authorities are specifically charged to do justice, to ”bear the sword,” and to serve as “the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Rom. 13:1-4, KJV). As the Bible warns: “When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.” (Ecc. 8:11, TLB)
Read in its context, the passage in Leviticus 19 makes perfect sense. Showing love and kindness to a stranger was not a command given to civil government, but instead to individual believers. That same principle is emphasized in the New Testament. When Jesus spoke of embracing, caring, and providing for “the least of these” (E.g., Matt. 25:31-40), His instruction was given to His disciples, and not the local authorities.
The Bible is clear that Christians should practice personal charity—but also insist upon the enforcement of laws (like our federal immigration statutes) so that “every person is subject to the governing authorities” and “those who resist incur judgment” (Rom. 13:1-2).
BORDERS ARE BIBLICAL
Many on the Left today, and even some at the highest levels of our government, consider themselves “globalists” who envision a utopian world order where there are no borders between countries at all. Their fantasy will simply never be realized, and their basic premise (that man is inherently good and perfectible on his own) is the opposite of the Biblical truth that man is fallen and in need of redemption that is available only through salvation in Jesus Christ.
The Bible speaks favorably and consistently about distinct nations of people (see, e.g., Gen. 18:18, Num. 32:17, Psalm 67:2, Matt. 28:19, Rev. 5:9, 7:9, NIV), and about borders and walls that are built to guard and secure people, property, and jurisdictions (see, e.g., Deut. 19:14, 27:17, 32:8, Acts 17:26, NIV). When Nehemiah heroically led the Jewish remnant to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after their enemies had destroyed those walls, he was doing the noble work of God (Neh. 1-6, NIV).
Maintaining a secure border is not an offensive measure, but a wise, defensive one to prevent chaos and safeguard innocent life. As Rev. Franklin Graham once summarized, “Why do you lock your doors at night? Not because you hate the people on the outside, but because you love the people on the inside so much.”
THE CURRENT CATASTROPHE
Right now, because of 64 deliberate policy choices and executive orders of the Biden Administration, America is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and national security catastrophe at our open southern border. More than 10 million illegal aliens from around the world have entered the U.S. since Joe Biden became President, the majority of whom are single, military-aged men. Among them are countless violent criminals and more than 300 suspects on the terrorist watchlist. Cartels are making billions trafficking young women and unaccompanied minors, and many are suffering unspeakable abuses along the way. The Fentanyl that China and the cartels have pushed into the U.S. has become the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45.
As the peril increases and communities across our country become more and more overwhelmed with the crushing financial burdens of managing the influx of illegals, American citizens (and even a few Democratic governors and mayors) are finally demanding a return to sanity. America has always been a haven for people legitimately seeking asylum from danger in their home country, but we must insist they pursue a course of legal immigration and not simply ignore our laws.
Of course, the President of the United States must be the first to uphold our laws. Every citizen should insist that President Biden immediately use the eight broad statutory authorities he has right now to secure our borders and stop incentivizing illegal immigration. Among his most important executive authorities is 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), which empowers a President to “suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate” if he “finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
AN AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
Due in large part to our Judeo-Christian foundations and the deep religious heritage we enjoy in this country, America is the most benevolent nation in the world—by far. However, we cannot maintain that strength and generosity if we surrender our own safety and sovereignty. Preserving law and order and securing our borders should not be partisan issues, but matters of common sense. These are certainly responsibilities fully authorized by the Bible—and expected of us by God.
Any time liberals attempt to bolster their “open borders” agenda by citing Scripture out of context, they should be kindly corrected with the facts (2 Tim. 2:24-25). Christians are called to love unconditionally, serve selflessly, and defend the defenseless. We are also called to stand for, and work to ensure, just government. Justice and mercy are not mutually exclusive pursuits. To the contrary, God specifically requires His people to practice both (Micah 6:8). Despite the unfounded claims of the Left, supporting a strong national border is a very Christian thing to do. The Bible tells us so.

Gary Varvel: Open Borders, Closed Gates: The Left’s Immigration Hypocrisy

During the Biden administration, America was effectively invaded by as many as 20 million foreigners who entered the country illegally. Many have gone on to commit heinous crimes.

Christians are commanded to treat immigrants with kindness, always with the hope of leading them to our Savior, Jesus Christ. However, the law requires government to deport those who entered unlawfully. Once deported, they may apply to re-enter legally.

Immigration must also include assimilation. If people want to live in America, they must transfer their loyalty to America. That means leaving behind allegiance to their former nation, adopting American culture, and—for heaven’s sake—learning to speak English.

Finally, there are eight billion people on earth. They cannot all live here. If America does not limit legal immigration, our way of life will not survive.

Allie Beth Stuckey – Immigration and Empathy

I’ll be honest: If I had made a list of predictions for 2026, being the target of a piece by Hillary Clinton in The Atlantic would not have made the cut.

But that’s exactly what happened.

In her essay last week titled “MAGA’s War on Empathy,” Clinton lambasted the Trump administration for the recent killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. Their deaths, she said, encapsulate “a deeper moral rot at the heart of Trump’s MAGA movement. Whatever you think about immigration policy, how can a person of conscience justify the lack of compassion and empathy for the victims in Minnesota, and for the families torn apart or hiding in fear, for the children separated from their parents or afraid to go to school?”

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The roles of men and women in society: Biblical parallels

Tim J. Clark Uncategorized , , , ,

In the article, “Young Men and How the Democrats Lost Them” by Sebastian Junger, the focus included how “The recent and very American idea that the sexes are the same or at least interchangeable… loses sight of the evolutionary pressures that underly much of human behavior and risk wandering into ideological nonsense”:

I’m not saying that a rebel attack in Africa should be the basis for our gender roles, or that men and women shouldn’t be exactly who they want to be in our society. But when you lose sight of the evolutionary pressures that underly much of human behavior, you risk wandering into ideological nonsense. The Far Right tries to turn young men into political assets by convincing them they are the “true” victims of today’s society. And the Far Left tries equally hard to convince them that all masculinity is suspect and dangerous, and that the only proper thing for men to do is to back out of the room, apologizing.

Junger concludes by reinfocing the need to respect the differences:

We live in a world of bridges, roads, skyscrapers, foundries, coal mines, and oil derricks. These were built almost exclusively by men who were poorly paid, poorly educated, and suffered appalling death and injury rates. You can’t expect them to do that work, accept the idea they’re toxic, and also vote for your candidate; it’s not happening. If Democrats want to reclaim those votes – and they must – they will have to figure out how to honor the rough, dangerous work men have been designated to do. If they want to win another national election, they will have to figure out how to admire the very qualities – courage, toughness, physical sacrifice – that every society needs.

No political party has ever succeeded by dismissing half the population. Democrats are no exception.

I prompted ChatGPT to identify parallels in themes and roles between the article and biblical teaching—without endorsing or rejecting the article’s claims—just drawing theological and conceptual connections.

The Bottom Line Summary

Parallels:

  • Complementary male/female roles
  • Men as protectors and sacrificers
  • Women as nurturers and life-givers
  • Family as the foundation of society
  • Identity and purpose tied to roles
  • Mutual dependence between sexes

Differences:

  • Bible grounds roles in God’s design and moral theology, not evolutionary pragmatism.
  • Bible emphasizes dignity, covenant, and love rather than survival efficiency.

 

Big Picture Conclusion

  • The article is philosophically closest to complementarianism, even though it is not theological.
    • Complementarianism: sexes are not interchangeable
  • It rejects interchangeability, emphasizes sacrifice, and affirms sex-based differences in function.
  • Egalitarianism aligns with the article’s moral concern for equality, but clashes with its realism about biology, risk, and social survival.
    • Egalitarianism: Men and women can perform the same roles equally
  • Christianity historically tries to hold a tension the article does not fully resolve:
    difference without disposability, authority without domination, sacrifice without dehumanization.

    Reference: ChatGPT – Prompts and Replies: Substack The Roles of Men and Women in Society, Biblical Parallels

Integrating Systemic Theology and Quality Management: A Pathway to Excellence

Tim J. Clark Quality Leadership , , , ,

Last updated Jan 2, 2025

Wikipedia: Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics or what is true about God and God’s universe.[1] It also builds on biblical disciplines, church history, as well as biblical and historical theology.[2] Systematic theology shares its systematic tasks with other disciplines such as constructive theology, dogmatics, ethics, apologetics, and philosophy of religion.

PDF – Summary (provided below) along with Prompts and Responses using GPT-4o mini.  AI_Chat Systemic Theology and Quality Management

Integrating Systematic Theology and Quality Management:
A Pathway to Excellence 

The modern landscape of organizational management and personal development increasingly reflects the interconnectedness of various fields of study. Among these, systematic theology—a discipline dedicated to the study of religious beliefs—and quality management, which focuses on improving organizational processes and products, might initially seem unrelated. However, this article argues that integrating these two frameworks is essential for achieving optimal results, fostering personal growth, and enriching organizational environments.

Common Goals and Values

At the heart of both systematic theology and quality management lies a shared aim: improvement. Systematic theology seeks to foster spiritual and moral growth, guiding individuals toward deeper understanding, moral alignment, and enriched relationships. Similarly, quality management endeavors to enhance processes and products, ensuring they meet or exceed customer expectations and fulfill essential needs.

Recognizing this common goal invites collaborative efforts that benefit both individuals and organizations. By embracing ethical frameworks derived from systematic theology, organizations can align their operational practices with moral values, creating a more holistic approach to decision-making and fostering purpose-driven environments.

A Holistic Perspective on Human Needs

One of the vital contributions of systematic theology is its focus on understanding and addressing multifaceted human needs—physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual. Quality management, particularly through the principle of continuous improvement, can be informed by this comprehensive perspective. This enables organizations to develop effective strategies for meeting diverse needs, enhancing customer satisfaction and employee engagement.

The integration of theological insights into quality management processes encourages empathy and understanding. For instance, organizations that consider the emotional and spiritual dimensions of their stakeholders when designing products and services create offerings that resonate more profoundly with customers.

Cultural and Community Engagement

A workplace culture that blends quality management principles with theological values promotes support, cooperation, and mutual respect among employees. When organizations actively encourage collaboration rooted in shared ethical teachings, they cultivate an environment where continuous improvement is embraced as a collective journey.

Moreover, organizations that integrate ethical practices with quality management also enhance their impact on the wider community. By aligning business objectives with spiritual and moral responsibilities, they not only improve their operational effectiveness but also contribute positively to society, thereby fulfilling a higher purpose beyond profit.

Empowerment and Personal Growth

In an integrated approach, employee development becomes a multifaceted endeavor that nurtures both professional skills and personal spiritual growth. Organizations that encourage employees to engage with theological perspectives cultivate a deeper sense of purpose and fulfillment. This dual focus can inspire commitment and creativity, leading to higher engagement and performance.

Shared learning becomes a cornerstone in environments where both quality management and systematic theology thrive. Encouraging discussions that blend operational excellence with spiritual insight fosters a culture of ongoing development and reflection, enriching both training programs and personal journeys.

Conclusion

Integrating systematic theology and quality management is not just beneficial; it is essential for maximizing the potential of both domains. By harmonizing ethical practices with the principles of continuous improvement, organizations create workplaces that prioritize human dignity, fulfillment, and operational excellence.

As our understanding of work and purpose continues to evolve, organizations that embrace this holistic approach will be better equipped to navigate challenges, enhance stakeholder relationships, and foster environments that empower individuals to flourish both professionally and spiritually. The path to excellence lies not in viewing these disciplines as separate but in recognizing the profound synergy that emerges when they are woven together.

The Truth may set you free, but it may take awhile

Tim J. Clark LinkedIn , , , ,

The new knowledge in managing variation was classified during WWII, declassified after the war, and shared worldwide. It is still a relatively well-kept secret.  Test your knowledge? Can you handle the Truth?
LinkedIn Post.

 “All truth passes through three stages: first, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident.” — Arthur Schopenhauer

“One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea… Naturally, therefore, common men hate a new idea, and are disposed more or less to ill-treat the original man who brings it.” – Walter Bagehot

“The person who fights for a dying cause is admired, supported and honoured. The person who fights for a new cause struggling to be born is misunderstood, reviled and attacked. Nothing is more difficult than taking the lead in a new order of things.” — Dee Hock, Founder & CEO, Visa

Throughout history, people have been punished for saying something an institution or society could not allow to be true or could not even see.

Different centuries, different contexts, same human reflex.

The pattern continues in our organisations today

Galileo Galilei (astronomer & physicist)
His act: Demonstrated that the Earth orbits the sun, contradicting Church doctrine.
Outcome: Tried by the Inquisition (1633), forced to recant and lived the rest of his life under house arrest. The Church took over 300 years to formally admit he was right.

Ignaz Semmelweis (physician, early pioneer of antiseptic practice)
His act: Showed that handwashing with chlorinated water stopped doctors transmitting deadly infections from autopsies to maternity wards.
Outcome: Ridiculed, removed from his post, suffered a breakdown, committed to an asylum and died there from an infected wound. His insight was only accepted after his death.

General Billy Mitchell (U.S. Army aviation pioneer)
His act: Warned that air power would define future warfare and criticised military leaders for neglecting aviation readiness.
Outcome: Court-martialled for insubordination, suspended without pay and forced out. Decades later, WWII proved him correct and he was posthumously honoured.

Roger Boisjoly (NASA engineer)
His act: Warned that the Challenger O-rings would fail in cold weather and urged NASA to delay the launch.
Outcome: After the disaster proved his warning correct, he was shunned and sidelined within his company. Later honoured in ethics circles, but his career there never recovered.

Sinéad O’Connor (musician & activist)
Her act: Protested sexual abuse in the Catholic Church on live television in 1992.
Outcome: Ridiculed, boycotted and condemned for years. Later reinterpreted as someone who named a truth long before society recognised it.

Stanislav Petrov (Soviet lieutenant colonel & air-defence officer)
His act: In 1983, he judged a Soviet nuclear warning to be a false alarm and refused to escalate — preventing a likely nuclear exchange.
Outcome: Reassigned to a lower-level post, denied the commendation he was promised and quietly moved into early retirement. Only after the USSR collapsed was his decision publicly honoured.

The truth-teller becomes the problem long before the truth becomes accepted.

 

Kirk Effect: On The Goodness Of American Evangelicals

Tim J. Clark Uncategorized , , , ,

Excerpt: Now It’s The Mormons’ Turn And: Our Fragile Economy; Rethinking Comey; Digital IDs; Good Evangelicals; More, Rod Dreher, Sep 29, 2025 (paywalled)

Along those lines, Peggy Noonan had this to say (paywalled) about the Christian Right, in the wake of the Charlie Kirk service:

There is something you could have said at any time the past decade that is true now in some new way. It is that the GOP is becoming a more explicitly Christian party than it ever has been. A big story the past decade was that so many Trump supporters, especially but not only working-class ones, were misunderstood as “those crazy Christians” but in fact were often unaffiliated with any faith tradition and not driven to politics by such commitments.

But it looks to me as if a lot of those folks have been in some larger transit since 2015, as Kirk himself was. He entered the public stage to speak politics but said by the end that his great work was speaking of Christ. If he had a legacy, he told an interviewer, “I want to be remembered for courage for my faith.”

The secretary of state of the United States gave personal testimony on what Christ is in history and in his life. The vice president did the same. John Foster Dulles and Hubert Humphrey didn’t talk like this!

The whole thing was self-consciously and explicitly Christian. Kirk’s widow, Erika, talked of new converts and asked the crowd to help them. She said of her husband’s assassin, “That young man—I forgive him.” And she received a standing ovation.

As I watched I realized: This is the true sound and tone of the Republican Party right now. This is the takeover of the previously patronized.

She added that when she worked in the Reagan White House as a speechwriter, Christian conservatives had a seat at the table, so to speak, but they were quietly looked down on by the “pragmatists” in the room. No more.

It is no secret that as the GOP has become more religious, the Democrats have become more secular. This is not something you are going to see reflected in media coverage, because US journalists, being overwhelmingly secular liberals, are blind to how their own party has moved to the extreme on religious and cultural matters, just as the Republicans have. I think this is unavoidable, this schism. What you, reader, should watch out for is the attempt to shape the Narrative such that it looks as if religious conservatives are the ones taking America away from Normal. As Bill Maher said in his closing monologue on Friday:

” … there is actually no such thing as atheism”

Tim J. Clark Uncategorized , , , ,

This is Water by David Foster Wallace (Full Transcript and Audio), The Free Press

 

I submit, is the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted. You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t. You get to decide what to worship.

Because here’s something else that’s weird but true: in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship–be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles–is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.

Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they’re evil or sinful, it’s that they’re unconscious. They are default settings.