"Politics make for strange bedfellows"
-Shakespeare (sort of)
-Shakespeare (sort of)
Christian Hypocrisy--or Anti-Christian Bias? Like most of you, The Beagle voted for someone else in the Republican primary. You may recall that I even declined to endorse him in the general election. Yet as a conservative and a Christian, I remain proud to have voted for him, despite the fact that he shows little evidence of being either. But that makes me neither a hypocrite nor a fool.
Were we in possession of a parliamentary style democracy rather than a two-party "winner take all" system, then Christian conservative support for candidate Trump would be harder to defend. But we aren't. We are instead a minority within (according to latest polls) a minority party. As such, we will always be forced to choose between the lesser of two evils--or monasticism. The latter may be good for one's spiritual health, but hardly for our culture. Meanwhile, choosing the former invites charges of hypocrisy. But why? Are American Jews called hypocrites for supporting a president that refused to stand with Israel? Does the media allow socially conservative blacks or Latinos to have their intellect or character questioned when they vote for the party of abortion? Not that I can recall. Because politics makes for stranger bedfellows than Stormy Daniels. Yet conservative Christians are fair game? Perhaps many of the accusers aren't very sophisticated about political science. But some, both outside and inside the church, are and clearly have another agenda. But courting favor with the world by making unfair attacks on your fellow believers will not score you any points from this Trump skeptic. Would they make the same charge against the Syrian Christians who supported Basher al Assad in that civil war (the one, like all civil wars in the region, not started by Bush)? While America's cultural civil war does not pose the same existential threat to Christians, the lesser of two evils principle applies just the same. I certainly respect your right to have stayed home for the November 2016 battle. But seeing as how your religious liberties are now being secured by the president the rest of us stepped up to vote for, you can just say, "Thank you for your service". 
Aggie Sports Are Having a Great 2018
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The Beagle is a Johnny Manziel Fan (Finally) Perhaps the most criticized post in The Beagle's history was the one from the summer of 2013 titled Why Johnny Shouldn't Play which called for the benching of the reigning Heisman winner for his sophomore season. I even posted it on a Texags forum where it was not well received in the few minutes before it was taken down. (One respondent claimed that reading it had given him anal cancer).
Do you remember what happened that next season? Probably not. We went .500 in the SEC and had a come back win to beat Duke in the Chik-fil-A bowl. But, as I asked then, at what long term cost to him and the team? But I'm hopeful that both the program and the player have now made a change in the right direction. Bipolar disorder is real and treatable. Johnny shows every indication that he has humbly acknowledged his condition as well as the need for lifelong treatment and avoidance of substance abuse. I pray for his success, so that his might now be a story of victory on and off the field that will encourage others with the condition to pursue treatment. Time to Rethink Gender Neutral Names Before our now 17 year old daughter was born, we had a great time picking out her name. I don't remember all of the ones we considered, but Landry and Addison were definitely in the final four. They wouldn't be today.
Hopefully this "transgenderism" movement will go the way of Moonies and Scientology, but I wouldn't count on it. Being intentional about helping your children and grandchildren adopt a healthy gender identity and sexual orientation has never been more important. But don't blame the millennials for this one as "gender deniers" have been gaining ground since the 1960's. In fact, there is some evidence that millennials are rejecting this ideology and embracing traditional gender roles: http://www.aei.org/press/millennials-unexpected-views-on-gender-roles/ Thanks to Google and Siri, they may be the most obnoxious know-it-alls since the baby boomers and their rabbit eared TVs. But they're not all bad. Maybe we should keep that in mind the next time our representatives vote for a massive deficit spending bill. Phillip's Event Center a Winner So long Travis Bryan Municipal. You can keep all the balls I left in the muddy water around your first 3 holes (I hadn't even warmed up yet!) as a token of my former affection. Because The City Course At Phillips Event Center (formerly Briarcrest Country Club) is a major upgrade. And not just the course, as the downstairs bar and outside seating area is country club quality at a municipal price. Even if you're not a golfer, check it out.
Christian Movie Topples Oprah and Disney With a Goliath budget of over 100 million, Disney's massive marketing machine and the Oprah herself personally cleansing A Wrinkle in Time of its original Christian themes to be more "inclusive", it would be hard to imagine a low budget Christian movie getting much attention this month. But I Can Only Imagine is besting it per theater and may come out ahead in total receipts before its amazing run is over. The brain child of two Baylor grads was sold out last week. But I imagine we'll be seeing it soon.
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