Over the weekend, footage leaked online showing what appeared to be a shiny remake of Atlus’ Persona 3 and the next entry in Jet Set Radio, apparently making Sega the latest company to pursue the remake/reboot gold. Late last year, the publisher emphasised plans to “focus on remaking and remastering existing IPs,” although they haven’t confirmed the existence of either project yet.
Last week, in response to a Breakpoint commentary about the murders in Nashville, the Colson Center was identified by a critic as being “proudly, if quietly, Dominionist.” To be clear, we aren’t, but he was particularly troubled by how the commentary described Christians as victims which, of course, they were.
In that commentary, we wondered aloud whether, in fact, we have entered a new cultural moment, characterized by an increased hostility toward Christians and others who are, shall we say, culturally non-conforming. The strange and shameful reversal of who is victim and who is guilty in the reporting on the Nashville incident has only continued since, and now there are additional incidents to consider as well.
On March 29, while speaking on abortion at Virginia Commonwealth University, Kristan Hawkins and a group from Students for Life were confronted, threatened, and assaulted by an obscenity-crying crowd who failed to notice the irony of suppressing free speech by screaming “fascists!” Rather than remove those disrupting the presentation, the campus police removed the pro-lifers.
Two days later, on March 31, authorities in Colorado arrested 19-year-old William Whitworth for two counts of attempted murder, in addition to other charges. Whitworth, who goes by the name Lily and was in the midst of “transitioning,” was planning a series of bomb and gun attacks on several sites in Colorado Springs, including schools and churches. As with the Nashville shooter who identified as transgender, police have not revealed the “manifesto” that would reveal Whitworth’s specific motives. However, there is ample evidence that rhetoric about the so-called “trans genocide” is leading advocates to increasingly violent means to make their point.
Then, on April 6, college swimmer Riley Gaines was physically assaulted while giving a speech at San Francisco State University. As she argued against the inclusion of men in women’s sports, she was berated, threatened, and blockaded in a room until she paid a ransom. Media accounts employed terms like “allegedly” to cast doubt about what happened, but audio and video recordings were plain. Afterward, rather than condemn the violent and threatening acts, the vice president of student affairs praised activists for “defending diversity and free speech.”
Three incidents in nine days are notable, but when placed alongside a host of others in the last few years, a disturbing trend begins to emerge. After examining the data, The Family Research Council concluded that over 400 “acts of hostility” have been committed against churches in the last five years including “vandalism, arson, gun-related incidents, bomb threats, and more.” Of these incidents, 137 occurred in the months between January to September of last year.
The headline is not that there are suddenly those who disagree with Christian conviction or similar beliefs. That has always been the case. And frankly, the Christian view of the world hasn’t held the dominant cultural position for some time. However, the old school atheists and secular humanists of yesterday were content enough to let Christians have their say, if for no other reason than to ridicule and deride. To think of something as “outdated,” or “silly,” or “non-scientific” is one thing. To think of it and the one who advances it as “evil,” “oppressive,” and “fascist” is something else.
Whereas an older secularist thought of truth as something “out there” to be discovered through study, discussion, and even debate, truth in the contemporary critical mood isn’t about what is said but who is saying it. More specifically, it’s about where everyone is pre-ranked in an ever-shifting, intersectional hierarchy.
Anyone who insists that there are truths of a higher order, particularly truths that establish sexual morality and identity, will become a target of those who are blinded by today’s ideologies. Fifty-years ago, Francis Schaeffer explained, “No totalitarian authority nor authoritarian state can tolerate those who have an absolute by which to judge that state and its actions.” The refusal to live by lies subverts the required certainty in the new orthodoxy.
For the sake of our neighbors, all who believe in the importance of truth must continue to say so. We cannot beat ideological opponents into conformity, and it is sinful to try. We’ll have to say what is true, even when there is a cost. We’ll have to remind the world of the beautiful legacy of the Judeo-Christian view of humanity and the world. We’ll have to hold together truth with love.
On July 27, I will be hosting a conversation about these things for the 2023 Great Lakes Symposium on Christian Worldview in Bay Harbor, Michigan. I’ll be joined by Jim Daly, CEO and president of Focus on the Family and Kristen Waggoner, CEO, president, and general counsel of the Alliance Defending Freedom. Please mark the date, July 27, to either join us live or by livestream.
This Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy D. Padgett. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to colsoncenter.org.
Image credit: ©Getty Images / master1305
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Christian Headlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can’t find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today’s news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
Both Canalys and IDC estimate worldwide computer shipments dropped 29 to 33 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023. That’s a steep drop, and none of the major PC brands escaped the worst of the downturn. Second-place HP escaped relatively lightly with a 24 percent drop in shipments, while fourth-place Apple felt the most pain with a plummet of more than 40 percent. Economic instability and inflation have been blamed for the drop, with most analysts predicting that PCs will bounce back, to some degree, within the year.
– Mat Smith
The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.
The best kitchen gadgets for 2023
‘Star Wars: Visions’ Volume 2 trailer teases Aardman’s take on Wookiees
Microsoft Teams adds Snapchat AR Lenses to video chats
YouTube Premium on iOS will soon work with SharePlay
The Pirate Bay TV drama goes into production this fall
Nintendo
The Super Mario Bros. Movie hit theaters last week and broke records with the release raking in just over $146 million domestically. As Deadline says, that makes it the highest-grossing opening weekend for any video game-based movie. It’s not just animated and video game movies it’s stacking up against, either. The Super Mario Bros. Movie had the historically third-highest Easter weekend sales after Batman vs. Superman’s $181 million and Furious 7‘s $161 million.
Twitter users have discovered a bug that exposes at least some private Circle posts to outsiders. They frequently show up in followers’ For You recommendations, but some say the content is reaching total strangers. As you might imagine, that could be problematic if you’re discussing a sensitive topic or want to minimize harassment.
It’s the latest technical issue since Elon Musk bought the company and laid off many employees. There have been multiple outages, troublesome API changes and confusion over feature rollouts and removals.
Netflix
Netflix has announced an animated series based on one of its biggest hits. The company hasn’t revealed many details about the latest spin-off just yet. Glitch Techs and Fanboy & Chum Chum creator Eric Robles and Flying Bark Productions are developing the animated series.
“We’ve always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realized has been absolutely thrilling,” the Duffer brothers told Variety. “We couldn’t be more blown away by what Eric Robles and his team have come up with — the scripts and artwork are incredible, and we can’t wait to share more with you!” The fifth and final season of the original show has been confirmed, but that’s unlikely to stop them wringing every last drop of content from the series.
Strong Museum
The Strong National Museum of Play in New York unveiled an absolutely massive Donkey Kong arcade cabinet that’s nearly 20 feet tall. Donkey Kong, the character, is co-starring in the biggest movie in the world right now, so it is only fitting he also gets an equally gargantuan arcade cabinet.
The museum indicated in a tweet that Nintendo helped out with the massive arcade cabinet, and visitors will be able to use it after it’s fully installed on June 30th. You’ll have to climb a ladder to play it, which is a very Donkey Kong thing to do.
Moira Millan accuses the sociologist of being a “man chauvinist” and “violent”.
In the video – which was released on YouTube by the Universa platform after the publication of the article by the three researchers denouncing the harassment at CES – Moira tells Ivana Millán that all this happened in 010, when she went to Coimbra, at the invitation of the sociologist, to teach graduate studies .
During that conference, at which she called the honorary director of CES “male” and “violent,” Moira Ivana Millan explains why she didn’t immediately condemn the episode: “I didn’t have the courage to say because I’m a Mapuche Indigenous woman, an activist. I’m not an academic.” ”
Shortly after the situation, she admits that she was “devastated” by the situation and says she revealed the incident to an Argentine woman who advised her not to report it: “Don’t speak up. It’s the left in Portugal and in Argentina no one will believe you because it’s seen as a teacher of leftist thought.” .
Moira Ivana Milan claims she agreed not to disclose.
But he mentions “telling the truth” whenever Boaventura Souza Santos’ name is mentioned in events, as was the case in the conference in which he participated. “I have to tell the truth and say who is who,” he emphasized during the videotaped intervention. He adds, “He knows the truth” and “He does not deceive me.”Four years ago, Moira Ivana Millan reported the same episode in an interview with an internet radio station in Argentina, in which she also accused Boaventura sociologist Souza Santos of being “sexist” and “racist”.
No complaint reached the Lisbon Law School
The foundation revealed on Thursday that no harassment complaint had ever reached court in the past year to the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (FDUL), and it is developing a code of conduct to prevent and combat harassment.
A year ago, the FDUL Board of Education opened a complaint hotline, and in just 11 days it received 50 complaints of harassment and discrimination, which accused 10% of the college’s professors.
Among the defendants was a teacher who was targeted by nine complaints and two others, each of whom was charged with five crimes. All the denunciations were anonymous, and the educational council prepared a report that “the college sent to the Public Prosecution Office, which proceeded to archive it,” explained the press office of the Law School in Lusa.
At that time, the Faculty of Law also decided to establish a Victim Support Office, to help deal with cases of harassment and discrimination, and to provide legal and psychological advice.
Submit a complaint to the judiciary via dummy e-mail
The professor at the University of Coimbra, who was presented, in an email sent to the press, as a victim of sexual harassment by Boaventura, filed a complaint with PJ on Thursday against the (anonymous) author of that letter, which he says is bogus.
The email was in the name of a well-known lawyer from Coimbra, who was referring the teacher’s alleged complaint to the Public Prosecution Service.
The lawyer guarantees the email is fake, while the teacher says it was made up and says she has no personal or professional relationship with the sociologist.
The case has now been handed over to PJ at the centre.
Channels with errors
The Lisbon Academic Union (FAL) warns of failures in the work of harassment reporting channels established by higher education institutions. According to FAL President Catarina Ruivo, the institutions “do not have qualified or trained professionals to respond to those asking for help.”The investigator is accusing
A Brazilian researcher from Boaventura has accused Souza Santos of sexual harassment, a fact that led her to Portugal, Publico reported Thursday.There are no complaints
The president of the Academic Association of Coimbra, Joao Keseru, says that no complaints of sexual harassment have been received in the office, which has been at the disposal of the students of the Coimbra Academy for about a year.
Moira Millan accuses the sociologist of being a “man chauvinist” and “violent”.
In the video – which was released on YouTube by the Universa platform after the publication of the article by the three researchers denouncing the harassment at CES – Moira tells Ivana Millán that all this happened in 010, when she went to Coimbra, at the invitation of the sociologist, to teach graduate studies .
During that conference, at which she called the honorary director of CES “male” and “violent,” Moira Ivana Millan explains why she didn’t immediately condemn the episode: “I didn’t have the courage to say because I’m a Mapuche Indigenous woman, an activist. I’m not an academic.” ”
Shortly after the situation, she admits that she was “devastated” by the situation and says she revealed the incident to an Argentine woman who advised her not to report it: “Don’t speak up. It’s the left in Portugal and in Argentina no one will believe you because it’s seen as a teacher of leftist thought.” .
Moira Ivana Milan claims she agreed not to disclose.
But he mentions “telling the truth” whenever Boaventura Souza Santos’ name is mentioned in events, as was the case in the conference in which he participated. “I have to tell the truth and say who is who,” he emphasized during the videotaped intervention. He adds, “He knows the truth” and “He does not deceive me.”Four years ago, Moira Ivana Millan reported the same episode in an interview with an internet radio station in Argentina, in which she also accused Boaventura sociologist Souza Santos of being “sexist” and “racist”.
No complaint reached the Lisbon Law School
The foundation revealed on Thursday that no harassment complaint had ever reached court in the past year to the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (FDUL), and it is developing a code of conduct to prevent and combat harassment.
A year ago, the FDUL Board of Education opened a complaint hotline, and in just 11 days it received 50 complaints of harassment and discrimination, which accused 10% of the college’s professors.
Among the defendants was a teacher who was targeted by nine complaints and two others, each of whom was charged with five crimes. All the denunciations were anonymous, and the educational council prepared a report that “the college sent to the Public Prosecution Office, which proceeded to archive it,” explained the press office of the Law School in Lusa.
At that time, the Faculty of Law also decided to establish a Victim Support Office, to help deal with cases of harassment and discrimination, and to provide legal and psychological advice.
Submit a complaint to the judiciary via dummy e-mail
The professor at the University of Coimbra, who was presented, in an email sent to the press, as a victim of sexual harassment by Boaventura, filed a complaint with PJ on Thursday against the (anonymous) author of that letter, which he says is bogus.
The email was in the name of a well-known lawyer from Coimbra, who was referring the teacher’s alleged complaint to the Public Prosecution Service.
The lawyer guarantees the email is fake, while the teacher says it was made up and says she has no personal or professional relationship with the sociologist.
The case has now been handed over to PJ at the centre.
Channels with errors
The Lisbon Academic Union (FAL) warns of failures in the work of harassment reporting channels established by higher education institutions. According to FAL President Catarina Ruivo, the institutions “do not have qualified or trained professionals to respond to those asking for help.”The investigator is accusing
A Brazilian researcher from Boaventura has accused Souza Santos of sexual harassment, a fact that led her to Portugal, Publico reported Thursday.There are no complaints
The president of the Academic Association of Coimbra, Joao Keseru, says that no complaints of sexual harassment have been received in the office, which has been at the disposal of the students of the Coimbra Academy for about a year.
Jake Jensen. Photo Credit: Maurizio Montani
Actor, model, and professor Jake Jensen opened up about his latest endeavors and being a part of the digital age.
He is an actor, producer, and professor of Sport Psychology in the Los Angeles area. He has booked films such as “King Richard” with Will Smith, “Challengers” with Zendaya, and recently wrapped shooting a lead role in the upcoming fantasy romantic dramedy “Believe.”
Jensen has also appeared in two seasons of “Pacific Breeze” as well as a number of other short films and web series. He also travels regularly to the Southeast and can work as a local hire throughout the Southeast region. In addition to his entertainment career he is also a talented pianist, tennis player, and speaks French fluently.
On his daily inspirations as an actor and model, he said, “I love growing my skillset as an actor. I actually really enjoy auditioning, which I know is not the case for many actors.”
“When I get an audition, there is a natural high and I really enjoy embracing a new character, working on breaking down the scene, and then self taping the audition. I enjoy the process it takes to be an actor and that keeps me inspired every day,” he said.
On being a part of the digital age, he said, “I think we just have to embrace the fact that we are in a digital age and that has changed the industry. Instead of fighting against it I think we just have to embrace the fact that we can now reach such a broad audience.”
“There is so much content and information out there right now, which I think also demands that we continually push ourselves as models and actors to stay relevant, and to be really good at what we do,” he added.
Jensen is excited to be a part of the “Samantha’s Friends” benefit fundraiser in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, next month, which benefits the Southeastern Guide Dogs and other charities. “There are many actors, directors, and industry professionals that I am really looking forward to meeting. Samantha seems like one of the warmest and most caring people that I can imagine, and again I can’t wait to meet her in person,” he said.
Regarding his plans for the future, he said, “It’s interesting because this year I’ve really focused on creating a vision plan for the next five years of my life. I won’t go into too many details, but I definitely have different goals and visions for different aspects of my life.”
“In terms of acting I really see myself as a series regular on a network TV show, as well as producing and creating some of my own content. I have a few screenplays in mind that I would like to write and produce,” he said.
For young and aspiring actors and models, Jensen said, “I think my biggest advice to young and aspiring models and actors is to build a solid community and to get training.”
“I would be lost, especially in LA without the support of my acting coach that I’ve had for about nine years as well as the acting community that I’ve built around me. We really support each other, help each other with auditions, and keep each other motivated and inspired to keep working hard,” he said.
Jensen opened up about being featured on “Live on Air with Steven Cuoco” on Power 98.5 Satellite Radio. “Steven has become a wonderful friend, publicist, and co-host over the past few months,” he said. “I really really appreciate his advice, energy, and opportunities that he is creating for me.”
“I am really exited now to not only have been a guest on his show, but to be co-hosting a weekly show with him covering a wide range of topics related to helping actors and athletes which perfectly blends my education in sport and performance psychology and acting,” Jensen added.
On his definition of success, Jensen said, “I believe that success means giving your whole heart, soul, and energy to your pursuits. If you do this then you will be successful. This doesn’t mean that you won’t make mistakes and fall down, but through these failures we learn important lessons to get closer to success.”
For his fans and supporters, he concluded, “I would like to give a huge shoutout to my fans and supporters. It means the world to me to know that people have my back, are supporting me, and rooting for me to have more success. My supporters know who they are, and I would like to give them a huge virtual hug right now. It’s also exciting to be building a new fan base and to be able to share my journey and experiences with them.”
To learn more about Jake Jensen, follow him on Instagram.
Both Canalys and IDC estimate worldwide computer shipments dropped 29 to 33 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023. That’s a steep drop, and none of the major PC brands escaped the worst of the downturn. Second-place HP escaped relatively lightly with a 24 percent drop in shipments, while fourth-place Apple felt the most pain with a plummet of more than 40 percent. Economic instability and inflation have been blamed for the drop, with most analysts predicting that PCs will bounce back, to some degree, within the year.
– Mat Smith
The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.
The best kitchen gadgets for 2023
‘Star Wars: Visions’ Volume 2 trailer teases Aardman’s take on Wookiees
Microsoft Teams adds Snapchat AR Lenses to video chats
YouTube Premium on iOS will soon work with SharePlay
The Pirate Bay TV drama goes into production this fall
Nintendo
The Super Mario Bros. Movie hit theaters last week and broke records with the release raking in just over $146 million domestically. As Deadline says, that makes it the highest-grossing opening weekend for any video game-based movie. It’s not just animated and video game movies it’s stacking up against, either. The Super Mario Bros. Movie had the historically third-highest Easter weekend sales after Batman vs. Superman’s $181 million and Furious 7‘s $161 million.
Twitter users have discovered a bug that exposes at least some private Circle posts to outsiders. They frequently show up in followers’ For You recommendations, but some say the content is reaching total strangers. As you might imagine, that could be problematic if you’re discussing a sensitive topic or want to minimize harassment.
It’s the latest technical issue since Elon Musk bought the company and laid off many employees. There have been multiple outages, troublesome API changes and confusion over feature rollouts and removals.
Netflix
Netflix has announced an animated series based on one of its biggest hits. The company hasn’t revealed many details about the latest spin-off just yet. Glitch Techs and Fanboy & Chum Chum creator Eric Robles and Flying Bark Productions are developing the animated series.
“We’ve always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realized has been absolutely thrilling,” the Duffer brothers told Variety. “We couldn’t be more blown away by what Eric Robles and his team have come up with — the scripts and artwork are incredible, and we can’t wait to share more with you!” The fifth and final season of the original show has been confirmed, but that’s unlikely to stop them wringing every last drop of content from the series.
Strong Museum
The Strong National Museum of Play in New York unveiled an absolutely massive Donkey Kong arcade cabinet that’s nearly 20 feet tall. Donkey Kong, the character, is co-starring in the biggest movie in the world right now, so it is only fitting he also gets an equally gargantuan arcade cabinet.
The museum indicated in a tweet that Nintendo helped out with the massive arcade cabinet, and visitors will be able to use it after it’s fully installed on June 30th. You’ll have to climb a ladder to play it, which is a very Donkey Kong thing to do.
Spotify has announced new technology capable of converting a radio broadcast into a Spotify podcast.
Recently, Spotify has announced new technology that is set to give traditional radio broadcasters the ability to convert their existing audio content into podcasts. This technology comes by way of an Australian podcast company called Whooshkaa which Spotify acquired in late 2021, and Spotify plans to integrate this tech into its enterprise podcast platform Megaphone.
The basic idea here is that Spotify wants to give existing radio broadcasters an easy way to turn their content into podcasts that Spotify can, in turn, add to its platform. Spotify wants to expand its library and reach new audiences, while traditional broadcasters have been fighting the tide of streaming and podcasting for years and are themselves in need of new audiences and methods of distribution, so in a lot of ways, this could be a win-win.
How will this all work? Essentially, the plan is that broadcasters will be able to get podcast versions of their radio content created automatically for them by Spotify. Spotify’s technology is even reportedly able to identify ads in radio content in order to remove those only intended for the live show while simultaneously inserting new ads in their place fit for an internet audience. According to Spotify, broadcasters have access to tons of content but aren’t always set up to do podcasts, and this is exactly where Spotify is trying to step in.
While we’ll have to wait and see what the effects of this technology actually are and if a whole plethora of new content actually does get added to Spotify’s library, being able to access your favorite radio shows on Spotify feels like a win, especially if you already use Spotify for music or other kinds of podcast content.
Spotify has announced new technology capable of converting a radio broadcast into a Spotify podcast.
Recently, Spotify has announced new technology that is set to give traditional radio broadcasters the ability to convert their existing audio content into podcasts. This technology comes by way of an Australian podcast company called Whooshkaa which Spotify acquired in late 2021, and Spotify plans to integrate this tech into its enterprise podcast platform Megaphone.
The basic idea here is that Spotify wants to give existing radio broadcasters an easy way to turn their content into podcasts that Spotify can, in turn, add to its platform. Spotify wants to expand its library and reach new audiences, while traditional broadcasters have been fighting the tide of streaming and podcasting for years and are themselves in need of new audiences and methods of distribution, so in a lot of ways, this could be a win-win.
How will this all work? Essentially, the plan is that broadcasters will be able to get podcast versions of their radio content created automatically for them by Spotify. Spotify’s technology is even reportedly able to identify ads in radio content in order to remove those only intended for the live show while simultaneously inserting new ads in their place fit for an internet audience. According to Spotify, broadcasters have access to tons of content but aren’t always set up to do podcasts, and this is exactly where Spotify is trying to step in.
While we’ll have to wait and see what the effects of this technology actually are and if a whole plethora of new content actually does get added to Spotify’s library, being able to access your favorite radio shows on Spotify feels like a win, especially if you already use Spotify for music or other kinds of podcast content.
Over the weekend, footage leaked online showing what appeared to be a shiny remake of Atlus’ Persona 3 and the next entry in Jet Set Radio, apparently making Sega the latest company to pursue the remake/reboot gold. Late last year, the publisher emphasised plans to “focus on remaking and remastering existing IPs,” although they haven’t confirmed the existence of either project yet.