Greetings!
Thank you for reading this week’s Doyle’s Half Dozen, as I share six timely topics that were basically in my “mind sphere” this week (I just made up that term—mind sphere. Let me know if you think it will catch on).
Here we go!
- Visit the elderly
Katy Morgan wrote an excellent article this week, “3 Reasons to Visit an Elderly Person Soon.”
It’s a powerful read. She doesn’t share anything that was not already familiar, but her reasons are spot on.
With my mother passing away last Labor Day, this is a heavy issue for me at this point. I relate to many of the stories and examples Morgan shared. Having her grandmother recite The Lord’s Prayer is an encouraging illustration. I love everything she writes, including sharing that they need Jesus.
- Dispelling the removal of the Electoral College
I keep hearing presidential candidates—and politicians and pundits in general—promote “getting rid of the Electoral College.”
You may have heard the reasons against doing this, which mainly involve removing any voter influence in the presidential election from the many lesser populated states. A basic argument is all a presidential candidate has to do, if the election were purely based on a national popular vote, is focus on campaigning in California and New York because those two states combined dominate the population of practically the combination of all the other states.
If you hear someone bring up this issue of removing the Electoral College, let me refer you to Albert Mohler’s Dec. 4, 2019 edition of The Briefing. Basically, it’s the “mike drop” in the debate. Mohler explains why it’s nearly impossible to have the Electoral College removed. It would involve amending the U.S. Constitution, and Mohler shares the two ways to amend the Constitution.
“First of all, it can be amended by two thirds of the Senate and two thirds of the House approving a proposed amendment, which is then sent to the states,” Mohler explains, “and three quarters of the states must agree or ratify. If that happens, then that amendment amends the Constitution of the United States. The text of the Constitution is changed by the addition of that amendment. The other means is as a convention of the states. Two thirds of the states agreed to call a convention and then whatever the convention should decide is sent to the states. Again, three quarters of the states must ratify for the amendment to pass.”
Do you get that? In order to remove the Electoral College, 38 states have to support it. That means a whole bunch of states would have to agree to let go of their influence in the presidential election. Keep that fact handy if you ever come across somebody who talks about getting rid of the Electoral College.
- Boy Scouts bankrupt
The Boy Scouts made news recently, and this appears to be the final nail in the proverbial scouting coffin, if you have been keeping up with the downward spiral of the Boy Scouts’ existence.
On Feb. 17, the Los Angeles Times reported “the Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy.” Mohler’s Briefing on Feb. 19 gives a great synopsis of the history of the Boy Scouts, as well as why the century-old organization is meeting its demise.
In my opinion, here is the paragraph that best summarizes Mohler’s report:
“Here we’re looking at an entire constellation of very important observations. One of them is the pressure that was brought from the outside on the Boy Scouts of America. The fact that the cultural left targeted the Boy Scouts as a particularly odious organization just for being the Boy Scouts, that secularists had targeted the Boy Scouts and, of course, the moral revolutionaries of the sexual revolution had targeted the Boy Scouts. But we see also that there is an internal collapse, an internal surrender without which this story could not be what it is.”
- ‘Free Burma Rangers’
I am interested in seeing the movie Free Burma Rangers. It will have a limited showing in theaters, appearing only Feb. 24 and 25.
The movie is about a missionary couple and their children who serve in war-torn countries, along with thousands of rangers whose mission is to rescue and care for victims of war crimes.
Check out Michael Foust’s review here.
My favorite line from Michael’s piece is, “Free Burma Rangers is likely the most hair-raising faith-based film ever made—and easily one of the most riveting.”
Check out this website to see where the movie is showing near you.
- Church at Lake Placid
Are you old enough to remember the “Miracle on Ice”? Tomorrow, Feb. 22, will be the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Hockey Team defeating the Russians in the 1980 Winter Olympics.
I’m sure there will be many references to this amazing athletic achievement, but Baptist Press shared a story about a Southern Baptist church that was planted around the same time as the 1980 games in the area where the Olympics occurred.
Check out “Miracle off the ice: Lake Placid Baptist Church traces roots to 1980 Olympics ministry.”
- Thunder thoughts
I’ll be quick about my current thoughts on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Tonight they have a home matchup against the Denver Nuggets, a team they have not beaten in almost three years. Plus, I’m mentioning the Thunder in my DHD, so that may add further to the grim outlook.
However, this Thunder team has surprised a lot of onlookers, so I’m definitely curious to see if they can pull off the upset.
