Y’all, taking #PawPatrol too seriously is a pastime for me... nay, a hobby. I’ve been overanalyzing since there were like 8 episodes. And we are totally focusing on the wrong thing.
1) this is absolutely a distraction from the substantive issues. Magnifying radical/ridiculous voices is a sabotage tactic. And it tends to work.
2) if we’re going to “cancel” #PawPatrol, why are we focused on Chase? Keep your eye on the ball, people. Ryder is an unrepentant fascist with unchecked power.
Adventure Bay has a myriad of systemic issues, including a distinct lack of leadership, functioning infrastructure and those darn evil cats.
Ryder controls the town. Full stop. And he is essentially a dictator in his own banana republic. Mayor Goodway is a figurehead at best. But certainly an enabler.
The #PawPatrol upgrades their tech with startling frequency. Where are the resources coming from? Ryder the teen tyrant is above the law and dangerous.
We lack the imagination and the fortitude to critique the true base of power. We overlook the puppet government. We conveniently exclude the teenage mastermind drunk on power, armed with deadly resources and basically enslaving talking dogs.
We pick on the dang dog, who is forced to sleep outside and probably doesn’t have a choice but serve his master.
3) the show itself might be a little racist. I mean... a chihuahua that speaks Spanish. C’mon.
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I think church leaders have been getting the concept of the tithe wrong for a very long time. And I believe it’s why many believe in a cruel God who wants you to sacrifice “because I said so.” 🧵
I never really considered what would happen to animals, olive oil and grain given to the Lord as a tithe. I guess I assumed it just went bad or something. But Deuteronomy woke me up this morning.
“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name…
For everyone who has said “you can’t just assume based on the article, you gotta watch the video”… the video is 10000x worse than the article.
I’ve been a part of dealing with decisions like this. I’ve gotten it right and wrong. Our church would say the same. I’ve helped plan these announcements before.
THIS IS WEIRD.
First, the entire sermon was about this announcement. I don’t get that at all. Why?
My favorite part of the series was the Anakin development. The animated series shows why everyone revered him but slowly amplified his dark side tendencies.
Animated Anakin is swaggering and charismatic but still temperamental and frustrating.
You feel why he’s The Chosen One and why the Jedi are hesitant to fully believe.
Idolatry isn’t just about what you love, it’s about what you hate. When you organize your life around something you despise, you elevate that idol to a level of counter-worship. Instead of trying to please the idol, you make offerings to harm it.
In a Christian context, idolatry is about elevating anything or anyone beyond their actual value. When you care too much, give too much, obsess too much or fear too much, that’s an object of worship. Or in this case, counter-worship.
You don’t have to consider it at the same level as God for something to be an idol. It just has to take an outsized portion of your resources: time, energy, money, focus, creativity...