CHICAGO, IL (March 15, 2019) – Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement by the Covenant of any views expressed.
Captain Marvel and the Rise of Women Warriors
Greg Morse wrote on the Desiring God website that the latest film incarnation of Captain Marvel is another example of evil feminism threating the planet. He wrote, “Am I nitpicking? It is a movie after all. I wish it were. Instead of engaging the movie’s ideology as mere fiction, a fun escape to another world, we have allowed it to bear deadly fruit on earth. Along with Disney, we abandon the traditional princess vibe, and seek to empower little girls everywhere to be strong like men. Cinderella trades her glass slipper for combat boots; Belle, her books for a bazooka. Does the insanity bother us anymore?”
Women fought back.
From the article: “Kelly Ladd Bishop responded, ‘Morse says himself that the movie is about the heroine finding her ‘identity as a woman.’ He quotes the president of Marvel Studios as saying that she’s a woman who has been held back ‘from being able to pursue the kinds of things she wanted to pursue.’ Things she, a woman, wanted to pursue. It’s about learning to live into her identity and to overcome artificial boundaries placed on her simply because of her sex. She isn’t trying to be the same as men; she’s trying to be herself!'”
The 1970s Movement to Reclaim Pretzels for God
Although you wouldn’t guess it from the title, this actually is a Lenten story.
From the article: “Since pretzels are made with a simple recipe of flour, water and salt, European Christians in the Middle Ages ate them during the 40-day fast period of Lent when eggs and dairy were forbidden….During this period, the pretzel also began showing up in medieval religious art and prayer books, including an 11th-century depiction of the Last Supper.” In the 1559 painting The Fight Between Carnival and Lent, the figure representing Lent haa bread and pretzels on his cart.
Hilarious, Illogical Toddler Meltdowns
These are great fun, but perhaps they’re also a way to consider our own meltdowns over things that are absurd, if not imaginary.
From the article: “My toddler lost it because the imaginary door on his imaginary fire truck wouldn’t open, and he was stuck inside.”
“My daughter lost it because she wanted a twin sister (she has a twin sister).”
“Our 1.5-year-old son had a meltdown because I wouldn’t let him pour his apple juice on the cat.”
Couples Who Play Board Games Release ‘Love Hormones’
This falls in the category of, “People really study this?”
From the article: “I’ll be the first to admit that when I’ve played games with my significant other, particularly competitive and confrontational games like miniature wargames, sometimes the games we play end up being rather heated. But it turns out that while we were having a lengthy discussion about how different rules interacted or if the last move we made was legal, we were also strengthening our relationship through the release of a ‘love hormone,’ at least according to the findings of a recently published Baylor study.”
Waffle House Vistas
In this photo essay, photographer and writer Michael Cash hopes to show that a lot more is happening at this icon of the South than cheap food. According to him, it actually is a place to reflect and consider both the beauty and inequities of life. It sounds sort of like church with a waffle breakfast every Sunday.
From the article: “At its best, Waffle House creates a sense of belonging unlike most other places. Waffle House does not care how much you are worth, what you look like, where you are from, what your political beliefs are, or where you’ve been so long as you respect the unwritten rules of Waffle House: Be kind, be respectful, and don’t overstay when others are waiting for a table. Besides, everyone who has ever stepped foot in a Waffle House has a story to tell: Perhaps it involves a late-night study session in college or a joyous pit stop on the way home from a concert or sporting event. Maybe it was a bad breakup over waffles or an early morning breakfast with your bridal party before your wedding.”
