{"id":8799,"date":"2012-08-07T23:41:37","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T03:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=8799"},"modified":"2012-08-07T23:41:37","modified_gmt":"2012-08-08T03:41:37","slug":"i-dont-understand-jim-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html","title":{"rendered":"I Don’t Understand Jim West"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

There are plenty of things that I do understand about Jim West.<\/p>\n

He has no feelings \u2013 I know this because after I made a jibe at him, he told me himself, \u201cIf I had feelings they\u2019d be hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"And so really what I\u2019m saying is that I understand that he has a sharp wit, and some people take certain things he says too seriously \u2013 while others assume he\u2019s kidding even when he\u2019s serious.<\/p>\n

I also understand that Jim can get grumpy.<\/p>\n

And so when I say that I don\u2019t understand Jim West, it is not because I do not understand why he would censor Ian\u2019s comments, as Ian has discussed on his blog, Irreducible Complexity<\/a>. Grumpy people do that.<\/p>\n

What baffles me is that Jim wrote in a comment on his blog, apparently in all seriousness<\/a>,<\/p>\n

i do well to adhere to the clear teaching of scripture rather than align myself with a viewpoint that is tendentious and has no scriptural foundation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is coming from someone who is an outspoken defender of Biblical minimalists, not to mention other more mainstream scholars who have called into question the historicity of many complete narratives and a still larger number of narrative details in the Bible.<\/p>\n

If one accepts that the Bible is not history in the modern sense, and even treats as \u201cdilettantes\u201d those who challenge scholarship in an attempt to defend the literal historical truthfulness of the entire Bible, then why would that same person insist on adhering to \u201cthe clear teaching of scripture\u201d?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I don\u2019t understand about Jim West.<\/p>\n

I also don\u2019t understand his fascination with depravity and people at Wal-Mart. But what I mentioned above puzzles me even more.<\/p>\n

Obviously it is possible to challenge the notion that so-called \u201ctraditional marriage\u201d is \u201cthe clear teaching of scripture\u201d when many of us think that \u201ctraditional marriage\u201d as found in Scripture is not the institution as practiced by the vast majority of Americans. But that is a separate issue. Even if a particular view of marriage or of same-sex relations were \u201cthe clear teaching of scripture,\u201d if one is open to the possibility of Scripture being wrong, then why assume that it isn\u2019t at this particular point?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are plenty of things that I do understand about Jim West. He has no feelings \u2013 I know this because after I made a jibe at him, he told me himself, \u201cIf I had feelings they\u2019d be hurt.\u201d And so really what I\u2019m saying is that I understand that he has a sharp wit, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,131,43,61],"tags":[1254,1684,1779,2058,3797,4745,5736,6494,8915,12777],"class_list":["post-8799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-biblioblogging-bible","category-christianity-religion","category-inerrancy","category-morality","tag-blogging","tag-censorship","tag-chick-fil-a","tag-comments","tag-gays","tag-homosexuality","tag-jim-west","tag-lesbians","tag-people-at-walmart","tag-total-depravity"],"yoast_head":"\nI Don't Understand Jim West<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are plenty of things that I do understand about Jim West. He has no feelings - I know this because after I made a jibe at him, he told me himself,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I Don't Understand Jim West\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are plenty of things that I do understand about Jim West. He has no feelings - I know this because after I made a jibe at him, he told me himself,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-08T03:41:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/biblioblogtop50.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/07\/mr_pink.jpg?w=176&h=140\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html\",\"name\":\"I Don't Understand Jim West\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-08T03:41:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-08-08T03:41:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"There are plenty of things that I do understand about Jim West. He has no feelings - I know this because after I made a jibe at him, he told me himself,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"I Don’t Understand Jim West\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"I Don't Understand Jim West","description":"There are plenty of things that I do understand about Jim West. He has no feelings - I know this because after I made a jibe at him, he told me himself,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"I Don't Understand Jim West","og_description":"There are plenty of things that I do understand about Jim West. He has no feelings - I know this because after I made a jibe at him, he told me himself,","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2012-08-08T03:41:37+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/biblioblogtop50.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/07\/mr_pink.jpg?w=176&h=140"}],"author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html","name":"I Don't Understand Jim West","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-08-08T03:41:37+00:00","dateModified":"2012-08-08T03:41:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"There are plenty of things that I do understand about Jim West. He has no feelings - I know this because after I made a jibe at him, he told me himself,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/08\/i-dont-understand-jim-west.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"I Don’t Understand Jim West"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8799\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}