CHICAGO, IL (July 15, 2016) — 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.

Black GOP Senator Gives Speech on Being Profiled

Republican South Carolina Senator Tim Scott stood on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday and gave 16-minute speech in which he
recounted being stopped by police seven times in one year—even though he was a senator. One time an officer suspected that the car he was driving was stolen. Scott implored his colleagues, to “recognize that just because you do not feel the pain, the anguish of another, does not mean it does not exist.”

The speech was the second of a series of three he gave this week. All three can be found here.

From the video: “And as a family, one American family, we cannot ignore these issues because while so many officers do good—and we should be thankful, as I said on Monday, we should be very thankful and supportive of all those officers that do good. Some simply do not. I’ve experienced it myself. And so today I want to speak about some of those issues, not with anger, though I have been angry. I tell my story not out of frustration, though at times I have been frustrated. I stand here before you today because I’m seeking for all of us, the entire American family, to work together so we all experience the lyrics of a song that we can hear but not see: peace, love, and understanding.”

The transcript also is online.

Iowa Churches Can’t Discriminate During Services

The State of Iowa has determined that churches can’t limit bathroom use to biological gender or make anyone feel unwelcome during services that are open to the public. Regardless of your perspective on access to bathrooms or the churches bringing the lawsuit, this story raises multiple constitutional questions that could have major repercussions.

From the article: “Religious institutions are exempt [from the Iowa Civil Rights Act amendment], but only when they are doing something ‘related to a bona fide religious purpose.’ The language is vague, and no churches have been disciplined for discrimination. But the newest explanation from the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC), a law enforcement agency commissioned to end discrimination in Iowa, wrote that ‘a childcare facility operated at a church or a church service open to the public’ would be subject to the regulations.”

10 Reasons Being in a Marching Band Makes You a Better Person

For anyone who has ever been in marching band, or hopes their children will be, this one is for you. It’s funny and creative.

From the article: “Ah, expressing oneself in high school…So much black lipstick. So many chain wallets. No, learning music doesn’t mean you bypass all the crimes against fashion, but it does give you a more meaningful outlet to express yourself—through music. You can learn sad songs, you can learn ’80s pop songs, you can play Phantom of the Opera tunes alone in your room ad nauseam. Self-expression builds self-esteem at a time in one’s life when you really need it.”

NARAL’s Parody Video Draws Strong Reaction

The National Abortion Rights Action League Pro-Choice America (NARAL) released a video this week that that the group says it produced “to explore some of the ridiculous, burdensome barriers that still limit access to abortion across the country.” In describing the concept, NARAL said, “the video parodies Jerry Seinfeld’s popular web series ‘Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.’”
Anti-abortion groups haven’t found it funny, however, and some supporters of abortion rights also have expressed anger over its release. Others call it wonderful.

Study Theology Even If You Don’t Believe in God

In a retort against claims that theology should be banned from university settings, this article contends that studying theology offers a wealth of possibilities for learning—even for the non-believer.

From the article: “…the absence of theology in our universities is an unfortunate example of blindness—willful or no—to the fact that engagement with the past requires more than mere objective or comparative analysis. It requires a willingness to look outside our own perspectives in order engage with the great questions—and questioners—of history on their own terms.”