Martin Mawyer takes top news stories weekly and gives them a painful Saturday Smackdown. So here are the Smackdown lashings for the week of 3.18.23.
Bible college fires and threatens to refer theologian to Prevent for saying homosexuality is ‘invading the church’
You’re not going to believe this story: a Methodist Bible college in the U.K. fired a Christian theologian and threatened to report him as a terrorist because of his tweets in opposition to homosexuality.
This is a clear-cut case of cancel culture gone absolutely bonkers.
Dr. Aaron Edwards, who taught theology at Cliff College in Derbyshire, England, was dismissed from the school after being accused of “bringing the college into disrepute” on social media last month.
In a tweet, Edwards wrote, “Homosexuality is invading the church. Evangelicals no longer see the severity of this because they’re busy apologizing for their apparently barbaric homophobia, whether or not it’s true.”
Now, we should remember that expressing a conservative view on a subject like homosexuality isn’t an attack on individuals; it’s a doctrinal issue. Yet, Edwards’ tweet went viral and prompted blowback, leading to his suspension from the school pending an investigation.
But, get this: the college revealed during a disciplinary hearing that it was considering referring him to Prevent, which polices allegations of terrorism in the U.K. Terrorism, folks!
For a tweet expressing a theological viewpoint!
The reaction to Dr. Edwards’ tweet and the unjust treatment he has experienced by Cliff College and the Methodist Church in Britain completely illustrates the problem his tweet addressed.
Traditional Christian beliefs about sexuality are being “silenced and stamped out” in the Methodist Church.
And while Cliff College tweeted that it is committed to being a safe and hospitable place, it seems that this hospitality doesn’t extend to those with differing convictions.
With the help of the Christian Legal Centre, Edwards is weighing his legal options against Cliff College for potential discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. His case comes amid a growing rift among Methodists globally over the issue of same-sex marriage and gender.
So there you have it: a man fired and threatened with terrorism charges for expressing a theological viewpoint.
The cancel culture mob is not only out of control, but it’s infiltrating religious institutions, silencing those who dare to express traditional beliefs.
It’s a sad day for religious freedom and the free expression of ideas.
High school assignment: Write about your sex fantasies
Remember when you were in high school?
Remember your sex ed classes?
Remember writing stories about your sexual fantasies using “objects like candles, massage oil, feathers and flavored syrup?”
Wait, you don’t remember that last one? Well, that’s because sex ed has changed dramatically since you and I were in high school – from learning the biology of sex …
… to fantasizing about your own teenage sex life, writing it down, and turning it into your weirdo teacher to read.
Parents got wind of this creepy, intrusive assignment and complained – and finally got the lesson canceled.
Yet another example in a growing list of disturbed teachers pushing a corrupt agenda to sexualize our children.
Girls’ team banned after refusing to compete against male student
Here was the dilemma for a girls’ high school basketball team in Vermont:
Either allow the girls to compete against a team with a transgender – a male student pretending to be female – or forfeit the game.
They decided to forfeit the game because they wanted a fair chance at winning.
You can guess what happened next: They were punished by being banned indefinitely from competition.
“Indefinitely” for pointing out the obvious – that it’s unfair for boys to play against girls.
The ban was the latest insanity in the war against women and girls. The team with a biological boy masquerading as a girl has an obvious advantage.
But when the girls’ team coach, Vicky Fogg, pointed this out, she got a dung-laden word salad from higher-ups about “inclusivity” … “discrimination” … “allowing (trans) students to grow and thrive” … ad nauseam. And the ban continues.
Another girls’ team bites the dust.
Woke programming reversed by Netflix after viewers, revenue plunge
The bottom line really is the bottom line.
And Netflix is no exception to this rule.
In response to declining viewership and revenue, Netflix appears to be eliminating some of its woke programmings and giving the people what they want:
Entertainment without political ideology and mind-numbing lectures.
The online streaming service is being rewarded for seeing the light with steadily climbing revenue.
It has canceled flops like “He’s Expecting” (about a pregnant Asian man), “Ridley Jones” (a kids’ cartoon about a non-binary bison, if you can wrap your head around that), “Anti-Racist Baby” (another animated series aimed at children), among other woke atrocities.
Yes, it’s a simple, straightforward formula: Stop gagging us with your woke agenda, and we will start watching again. Your reward is rising revenue and viewership, a win-win for everyone.
Cows are killing the planet, so eat bugs instead
Here’s the way a climate indoctrination lesson went in a sixth-grade class in Utah:
Cows are killing the world through their methane gas emissions. Yes, their flatulence.
But people need to eat protein. And beef is protein.
So instead of eating nasty, gas-producing cows that are destroying the planet … eat bugs instead.
And to prove that bugs are not just filled with nutritious protein but delicious to boot, the sixth graders were given bugs and told to eat them in class.
After choking down the insects, the kids had to write an “argumentative essay” on the exercise.
But when one student asked, “How come we can’t state our opinion and write that we shouldn’t be eating bugs?” … the teacher answered, “There’s only one right answer to this essay.”
Case closed.
