Setting out the stall for democracy, Bishop Williams said it was not quite as straightforward as may be imagined. We need to question why it should work and understand what it is as well as what it is not. He suggested democracy is often defined by what it is not – it is not autocracy, oligarchy or dictatorship. Democracy raises the question of what is lawful in human society and what kind of system has a proper claim on our loyalty and obedience. It also asks what it is that we can recognise that represents our voice and our interests. “Democracy may be a mess but it’s our mess. It may have strange ideas but it reflects our ideas,” he stated.

The Bishop pointed out that democracy does not happen automatically when other systems disappear, citing Iraq and Libya as examples. He said that the advance of democracy went hand in hand with certain advances in secularism but did not agree that democracy is secular. “The fundamental of democracy is that it represents who we are, what we want and what we care about. But there is a risk of populism. Is something made right by the majority vote?’ he asked.

The paradox of democracy, he contended, is that it believes that every human agent is worth listening to. But if every human agent is worth listening to, then that includes minorities as well as the majority. “Democracy is a system in which every voice has a claim to be heard. But that can be a challenge. The voices that have not prevailed are still worth listening to… We go on arguing and that is a sign that democracy is working because the minority voice is still being taken seriously,” he said. “The majority decision may be lawful but it is still up for debate… It is crucial for a democracy to be liberated from the idea that majority votes end arguments.” He added that freedom of speech must be safeguarded (with certain limits) if democracy is to be a means of change in society.

However, he said public debate does not mean that we allow our neighbour to shout for a while before taking our own turn to shout. We must recognise that the person who opposes us in an argument has goals which we can recognise as intelligible.

Read it all.

First, communicate well with your church when it comes to your commitment to keep your people as healthy as possible.

This includes reminding your people that if they have any type of symptoms of coughing, sneezing, fever, nausea, achiness, or any flu-like symptom, to stay home. Remind them that you love them, but that you can see them next week if they are experiencing anything that may be contagious.

Second, reeducate your church staff and volunteers regarding good hygiene for all.

Especially those working with older and younger populations need to enforce the importance of hand-washing and good health practices with all those in your programs. Remind them that we need to be especially cautious of those who may have suppressed immune systems.

Finally, now might be a good time to (at least temporarily) modify routines that may threaten to spread disease.

For example, during the greeting time (if you have one), encourage people to simply say hello instead of shaking hands or hugging. (We used elbow bumps in our meeting this morning.) Already churches have been considering altering their practices, and it appears to be time to increase those measures just a bit.

The Surgeon General emphasized that we will know a lot more “in a week or two” on how this will play out, and in some places “large public gatherings” such as church services may have to be restricted.

However, social distancing is something that should start happening now. I specifically asked if we should be limiting church activities like shaking hands. He responded, “It is prudent to limit touching, especially hand-to-hand.”

Read it all.

US Surgeon General advises churches to “limit touching, especially hand-to-hand” @edstetzer https://t.co/hQmAv19zgH

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) March 4, 2020

Two patients in the Charleston area were recently screened for a potentially deadly strain of coronavirus, a hospital official confirmed Tuesday.

Lab results determined both patients at the Medical University of South Carolina tested negative for the potentially deadly virus, said MUSC spokeswoman Heather Woolwine.

No patients at Trident Health or Roper St. Francis have been tested for the disease. Other area hospitals did not immediately respond to inquires from The Post and Courier or deferred questions to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, which has so far refused to disclose how many patients statewide have been tested.

Dr. Jonathan Kanoche, a DHEC medical consultant, couldn’t confirm the exact number of coronavirus tests that have been conducted in South Carolina at an information session on Monday at North Charleston City Hall, but he said the department had completed a handful of tests with no positive cases.

On Thursday, the S.C. Senate Medical Affairs Committee will huddle with DHEC officials for a briefing on the illness. On Monday, DHEC Director Rick Toomey called the spread of coronavirus “a rapidly evolving situation” and assured members of the press that his agency takes “every new infectious disease seriously.”

Read it all.

Local paper front page #coronavirus #COVID19 #health #southcarolina #lowcountrylife pic.twitter.com/ft6Ww5J3N5

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 4, 2020

Indeed, Douthat employs decadence as a diagnosis of “economic stagnation, institutional decay, and cultural and intellectual exhaustion at a high level of material prosperity and technological development.”

As expected, Douthat lays out his case with skill and nuance. The age of economic expansion that began with the Industrial Revolution and ended sometime before the end of the 20th century is over. We should have seen it coming, Douthat writes: “At some point, every advanced-for-its-time society has ceased advancing; there is no reason to assume that the modern world is inherently immune from the torpor that claimed the Ottomans and imperial China in the not-so-distant past.”

But decadence also comes with sterility, and Douthat’s chapter on falling birthrates around the world is the most authentically dystopian part of his argument and analysis. This dystopia comes with two fundamental facts—there will be fewer babies, and there will be many more old people. The problem for society is that babies use up a lot of resources for a time, but then they become net producers for a much longer time. When it comes to the aged, the costs may well be even higher at the end of life, but without the promise of future contributions. An aging society is a society winding down, and this entropy is spreading nation by nation. It is a spiritual crisis.

The fact that human beings are making fewer babies is a far deeper problem, spiritually speaking, than the fact that Hollywood is stuck in a cycle of sequels.

Beyond stagnation (mostly economic) and sterility and repetition, Douthat also points to sclerosis (mostly political). His commentary is both perceptive and also sobering. He sees our “once-effective political order becoming impervious to constructive change.” That is a hard argument to refute, and Douthat wisely refuses to argue that it’s a truly recent development. This sclerosis was a long time in the making, and few significant political forces are even interested in reversing the process.

Read it all.

The Decadent and the Damned? Ross Douthat’s Timely Vision of Western Civilization @TGC @DouthatNYT @albertmohler https://t.co/xUWv1KmWby

— Thomas S. Kidd (@ThomasSKidd) February 21, 2020

Take the time to watch it all.

Simply go here and find the big red box with the header “Listen” and underneath is the link for this year’s presentations.

Excellent presentations @ETFLeuven this morning as our mentors look on! (Rob Sturdy) #ETF2017Colloquium pic.twitter.com/Rl2l1S5GyD

— Jason Truett Glen (@TruettGlen) September 4, 2017

CoI News: A Prayer in the Time of the Coronavirus: Archbishop Michael Jackson has issued the following prayer for those affected by and those who are shaping the response to the coronavirus outbreak. Contact Details For further information please… https://t.co/UcrRtPwUeI pic.twitter.com/XJUsfuEEbv

— Church of Ireland (@churchofireland) March 2, 2020

Several hundred men from St. Philip’s, churches across the state, and as far away as Kenya attended the Christian Men’s Conference at Camp St. Christopher February 21-23. I was blessed to be among them. The theme of this year’s conference was “The Father’s Blessing,” and the goal was for the weekend to be “a time of blessing for all men, young and old, in order that all men may thus be transformed and more fully equipped to build God’s kingdom, man to man.” Anglican Chaplain to the Corps of Cadets at The Citadel Rob Sturdy, looking like an apostle with his full beard and long, bushy hair, brought a passionate and well researched message over four sessions. Rob talked about the cultural view of masculinity being precarious: hard to earn and easy to lose versus the biblical view of masculinity being a gift from God. He talked about God being present, proud, and pleased with his son, Jesus, when he was baptized by John and how this blessing is extended to each of us just because we belong to him.

Read it all.

O God, who willest not the death of a sinner: We beseech thee to aid and protect those who are exposed to grievous temptations; and grant that in obeying thy commandments they may be strengthened and supported by thy grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

–1 Corinthians 2:1-2