Welcome back to High on Christ! How does a mild-mannered schoolteacher rack up nearly 700 days behind bars? The answer is messier, and more interesting, than you'd think.

Here is what the world is up to.

The Bullets

Conscience or Contempt?

An Irish Christian teacher just walked free after almost 700 days in jail.
700 days? What did he do?
Enoch Burke. It started in 2022 when his school told teachers to use a student's new name and they/them pronouns.
And he refused?
On religious grounds, yes. He was suspended, then fired.
So he was jailed over the pronouns?
Not exactly. He kept showing up at the school despite a court order to stay away. The jail time was for defying that order, contempt of court.
Ah. So it snowballed.
Big time. Huge daily fines, and he kept going back.
Why let him out now?
His appeal against the firing was rejected, and school's out for summer, so the judge said keeping him locked up served no purpose.
Is he vindicated, then?
Depends who you ask. Supporters call him a conscience hero, the judge basically called him stubborn.
Complicated.
Very. Worth a thoughtful prayer, not a hot take.

Read more here.

Spiritual Perspective

There's honor in refusing to violate your conscience, and there's also wisdom in how you carry that stand. This one is genuinely hard to call, so let's pray for everyone caught up in it rather than rush to a verdict.

More interesting news?

I cover news Morning Brew doesn’t.

But they also cover news I don’t! Given all the fake news out there, I actually have some respect for Morning Brew.

Check them out. If you do, you’re also supporting High on Christ! 🙏

News worth waking up for

Morning Brew unpacks the biggest stories in business, finance, and tech every morning.

Explained clearly. Read quickly. And a little fun too.

Try it yourself and join 4 million+ professionals reading daily.

Bible Trivia!

Who was thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow to the king's golden idol?

Login or Subscribe to participate

Inspiring Quote

If your god never disagrees with you, you may just be worshipping an idealized version of yourself.

- Tim Keller

See you in the next newsletter!

Keep Reading