One of the most annoying things about dealing with Protestants is their insistence on Biblical authority paired with their inability to agree on what the Bible says. Combined with the tendency to simply assert their supposedly biblical doctrines without “showing their work,” so to speak, leaves one with the feeling that the Bible is simply a ventriloquist dummy that will always agree with the speaker. — “Meghan Kelly Gets It” a post on the blog Unreasonable Faith Read more
Many will point to Jesus' words about divorce, in the context of which he quotes Genesis 2, as evidence that Jesus believed Adam and Eve were literal people, and will then on that basis argue against modern biology, or claim this proves that he supported the view of marriage as involving only one man and one woman. The evidence does not support the claim that Jesus took that text literally, but in fact, suggests precisely the opposite. Here's the passage... Read more
The quotation comes from my previous post. Read more
For those who know the English language well, the statement in the title, “young-earth creationism is a cult,” may seem obvious. One definition of a “cult” is “a system of religious beliefs and ritual” which of course young-earth creationism is. But I mean the statement in reference to that more sinister meaning of “cult,” as referring to a group that uses manipulative tactics to lure people in and keep them in. I mean it even in the specifically Christian usage... Read more
In an era when miscommunications abound, an antidote is needed. And so here is Victor Borge giving his famous suggestions for accomplishing clearer communication through spoken punctuation. Enjoy! Read more
Contemporary conservative Christian exegetes claim both inerrancy and literalism as hermeneutical principles, but will always sacrifice the latter to the former. The “this generation” of Mark 13:30 that will see the Son of Man’s return, for example, must be read as referring not to the generation listening to Jesus, or Mark’s original audience, but to the reader of the 21st century. — Theogore M. Vial, “Introduction” in Ethical Monotheism, Past and Present: Essays in Honor of Wendell S. Dietrich (Providence:... Read more
Eric Reitan has a post on “That Chick-fil-A Business” and it is insightful and relevant to a much broader range of issues. Here is my favorite part: [T]here’s a deep disconnect between the motives of many conservative Christians and the character of their actions–a disconnect created, more often than not, by an allegiance to an untenable theory about the Bible, a theory about how the Bible’s words are connected to divine self-disclosure, a theory that, as I see it, cannot stand up to any... Read more
A Facebook friend shared this song, dedicating it to those LGBT people who have recently been on the receiving end of bigotry from Christians. As the video features a singer-songwriter who (as far as I know) does not have a recording contract, that seemed to me all the more reason to share this with a wider audience on my blog. You never know what might help something go viral. The lyrics follow the video. I am not brave like you... Read more
A lot of people have brought up “freedom of speech” and related phrases in discussion of the current expressions of support for and protest against Chick-fil-A and its CEO Dan Cathy. But freedom of speech is only the issue at one very specific point in the controversy. No one should be denying the free speech of either Dan Cathy to say what he thinks about homosexuality or what he mistakenly considers to be the “Biblical definition of marriage.” Nor should anyone... Read more
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I was going to call this post “Ooh, what does this button do?” (a la Dexter’s Lab) but thought that perhaps not everyone would read it who needs to. Those who asked about subscribing to and unsubscribing from receiving comments, here is something to try. There is a button at the bottom of each post that looks like this: See that tab with options on the right side of it? Click it and you will see options for subscribing and unsubscribing... Read more