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WisconsinChristianNews.com
Volume 25, Issue 1
Why Do Bad Things Happen To People?
By Carey Kinsolving April 2024 “God allows bad things so we can be differ- ent,” says Matthew, age 9. Matthew, aren’t there better ways of being different? “Some of the people are bad, and some are good,” says Grant, 8. Bad stuff happens to good and bad people, but an extraordinary amount of bad comes to those who reap the consequences of their
Joseph went from jailbird to Prime Minis- ter. Speaking to his brothers about their sell- ing him into slavery, Joseph said, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20). Looking back, Joseph saw God’s ingenious career path that promoted him to a position that res- cued a nation from starvation. Like Joseph, Jesus suffered betrayal for 30 pieces of silver, false accusations and
ally, “holy ones”) because God has made them holy by crediting His righteousness to their account and giving them a new nature when they trusted Jesus as their Sav- ior. When Christians allow the Holy Spirit to control their lives, they overcome temptations to sin. Sometimes, bad things happen to people because they’re doing the right thing. It should be no surprise that when a person is on the right track, Satan wants to attack him. Someone has said, “If there is peace with God, there must be war with Satan.” Once we realize God is in control, bad things don’t al- ways continue to look bad. After being sold into slavery by his envious brothers and falsely accused, Joseph was thrown into an Egyptian jail and forgotten (Genesis 37 and 39). Joseph used his God-given ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. He foresaw a coming famine and recommended a grain-storage plan that saved many lives. In one day,
own bad actions. I love the old cowboy movies because the bad guys always got what was coming to them. Would- n’t it be great if real life were that simple? Is it OK to pray that bad guys who refuse to change will get it? King David did: “Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I escape safely.” (Psalm 141:10). “God knows we were born to sin,” says Reece, 8. Yes, a lot of bad things happen because we live in a world where people sin. But we shouldn’t think God overlooks our sin just because we inherit the tendency to sin from our original parents, Adam and Eve. Sometimes, “bad” things happen to Christians because God is correcting us and bringing us back to His way (Hebrews 12:5-6). A lot of bad things happen when Christians believe lies about their true identity. If you believe you’re a sinner, guess what you’re going to do. Actually, the Bible says all Christians are “saints” (liter-
a fate that appeared to be disastrous. Though the cross has been turned into a beautiful symbol in our day, in Jesus’ day it was equivalent to the electric chair — the worst punishment for criminals. To die on a cross between two criminals appeared to be total defeat. Yet, God took this humiliating death and turned it into victory over death. From this irony flows res- urrection life. And this new life is available to you! Think about this: Evil people will scheme, but only God can take something intended for evil, intercept it and ac- complish his purpose. It’s like a pass intended for one foot- ball player being intercepted by the opposing team and run back for a score. Memorize this truth: Genesis 50:20 quoted above. Ask this question: Can you think of a time in your life when God intercepted evil to accomplish his purpose? KidsTalkAboutGod.org
National Council of Teachers of English Hosts Seminar on How to Teach ‘Gender Queer’
By Tony Kinnett, The Daily Signal April 2024
killed over 1,200 in Israel the previ- ous Oct. 7. The organization seemed to allude to the attacks as expressing “Palestinians’ right to self-determina- tion and their rights in Gaza and the West Bank.” The majority of the sessions at the convention weren’t about teaching English effectively, meeting state standards, or combating the crisis of illiteracy in the United States. In- stead, the focus was on “using critical race theory” (which we were also told wasn’t used in schools), supporting “decolonization,” and calling for “an end to white mainstream English.” Joe Goodson, a veteran public high school English teacher in Texas, has concerns about the NCTE’s education agenda. In a letter to the Texas Score- card news site, Goodson described it as “an unhelpful agenda [complicat- ing] our already difficult task.” The National Council of Teachers of English didn’t respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by time of publication.
The National Council of Teachers of English, a professional development organization, hosted remote training to instruct K-12 teachers on how to teach the controversial book “Gender Queer” in their “classrooms, libraries, and communities.” The NCTE, which boasts 25,000 members around the United States, hosted a panel including “Gender Queer” author Maia Kobabe and an “LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee” to discuss how to incorporate the pornographic book into school cur- riculum. The National Council of Teachers of English described Kobabe and the other panelists for the Jan. 25 event as having “expertise in queer and trans pedagogies in schools and teacher education.” Liberal and LGBTQ+ news outlets initially claimed that the book wasn’t taught in any classrooms, and many activists argued that “Gender Queer” was only a library book students could check out. Just two years later, it has become a celebrated necessity for gender-affirming teachers’ class- room instruction. “Gender Queer,” published in the comic-book style of a graphic novel, is a memoir that depicts minors en- gaging in sexual acts as the author recalls exploring her sexuality — in- cluding her fantasy of a child giving oral sex to an elderly man. While public school libraries and classrooms around the country have refused to remove “Gender Queer” for its inappropriate content (and lack of
educational value), parents and ac- tivists have been cut off while reading excerpts aloud at school board meet- ings — with elected board members arguing that the content was inap- propriate for such public reading. Dozens of schools around the na- tion have banned the book from school grounds for its pornographic content. Several states have re- stricted lessons on sexuality and gen- der identity through the third grade. The National Council of Teachers of English claims on its website that “re- cent waves of censorship and book banning” targeting Kobabe’s memoir are a result of parents “taking the work out of context.” “Plenty of parents and journalists have found ‘Gender Queer’ in public school libraries,” Daniel Buck, a fel- low at the Fordham Institute, told The Daily Signal. “Here we see that many teachers are encouraged to go yet a step further and actively teach sexu- ally explicit books as part of the ap- proved curriculum.” Last September, Kobabe admitted that her book isn’t appropriate for
children, but has since returned to advising teachers on how to incorpo- rate the graphic novel into their class- rooms. This isn’t the first time that the Na- tional Council of Teachers of English used its education platform as a bully pulpit for liberal activism. In November, the NCTE began its annual convention with a nod to Hamas’ brutal terror attacks that
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