Are You a Priest?

A HIGH CALLING

"In the Reformation, one or two ancient Biblical doctrines were rediscovered, including this one:  the priesthood of all believers. This is the truth that all believers in Jesus Christ are one in Christ Jesus, & that we are all a kingdom of priests (1 Peter 2:5,9). We all have immediate access to the Father through the Son, & we do't need to go through a priest or any other human agent.

"If we accept this as true, we have to accept something else. If everybody is equally a priest before God, everybody is equally called. And if everybody is equally called, then the work you are in--if God wants you in it--is your calling."  D. Stuart Briscoe, Men's Devotional Bible

CRIMINAL MINDS

"5-year-old boy pulled over driving parents' car on freeway"  Drudge Report, 5/5

CORONAVIRUS

"In a better world, the lockdowns wouldn’t have merely avoided the worst, but would have crushed the spread of the disease. That hasn’t happened. We will be engaged in a Dance for some time, even if one faction in our national life only ever wants to wield a Hammer."  Rich Lowry, National Review Online, 5/5

"For what it’s worth — which is not much — my perspective is for most of the public, imperfect or partial protection is better than no protection. Imagine that you came across a burning building and hear someone crying for help inside. Because you’re a brave and noble person, you choose to run inside to rescue that person. As you’re about to run in, someone hands you a bandana and says, “use this, so you don’t collapse from smoke inhalation!” But another person says, “No, the smoke particles are too fine! The bandana won’t do much good!” Even if the bandana only improves your odds a little, you’re going to wear it, because you want every little advantage you can get. If wearing a mask lessens the chance you’ll get the virus, why not?"  Jim Geraghty, ditto

"The forcible prevention of Americans from doing anything except what politicians deem "essential" has led to the worst economy in American history since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is panic and hysteria, not the coronavirus, that created this catastrophe. And the consequences in much of the world will be more horrible than in America."  Dennis Prager, Townhall, 5/5

"As of this writing, we’re almost at 70,000 deaths; it will probably surpass that threshold by the time you read this. We’re going to hit 80,000 deaths sometime in the next few days if we’re unlucky and next week if we’re lucky. If you don’t like a particular model or doubt its assumptions, fine. It shouldn’t really alter the broad conclusion: This is a really bad public-health crisis, and even if we’re past the worst, we’re a long way from out of the woods."  Jim Geraghty, NRO, 5/6

ELECTION 2020

"One can see how offering Elizabeth Warren a spot on the ticket could be superficially attractive to Biden: It would balance the ticket with both a woman and a progressive. Ultimately, though, selecting Warren would be a huge mistake for Biden. She would fail to bring in any constituencies currently eluding his campaign’s reach, she’d undermine his campaign’s ethos, and she’d be a substandard foil for Vice President Pence."  Isaac Schorr, NRO, 5/5

"With four months left before his nomination in Milwaukee, and six months before the November election, there are still among Democrats gnawing concerns based on Biden's performance in the debates and primaries, and since, that he has lost the ability to articulate issues clearly and cogently, or to complete complex thoughts. The worry is that he is suffering from mental decline and could be destroyed by Trump in a presidential debate. Biden forgets, mumbles, misspeaks, loses his train of thought and appears, at times, confused. Moreover, Biden is no spring chicken. He would take office at 78, one year older than Ronald Reagan, our oldest president, was when he left office."  Patrick Buchanan, Townhall, 5/5