re: #168 Charles

Brings to mind the Iowa high school wrestler who lost his high profile match by forfeit not long ago. Today there is a background story on him and his family:

Stand puts wrestler in middle of culture war

[…]

Joel’s father, Jamie Northrup, sees two things some people just aren’t getting: the nature of wrestling, and the nature of religion in today’s America.

First, religion. The Northrups raise their eight kids with a strong biblical influence. (Mother Sara gave birth to number eight, Evan, on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after Joel defaulted his match.) The family attends Believers in Grace Ministries, a nondenominational church in Marion where Jamie volunteers as youth pastor. Their beliefs are simple: That Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior; that the Bible is God’s word; and that the Bible’s lessons should be applied to everyday life.

That’s why the Northrups opted for home-schooling. They wanted a quality education where they could talk about God. They wanted to be able to teach creationism alongside evolutionism. And they wanted a place without distractions like drugs, alcohol, sex.

[…]