slacktivist - "Test everything; hold fast to what is good."

LBCF, No. 214: ‘Bruce’s sermon, part 2’

December 14, 2018 By Fred Clark

Much Christian fiction offers awkwardly stilted two-way conversations to illustrate proper and successful evangelism. These scripts tend to feature the unsaved character exhibiting the ingratiating enthusiasm of an infomercial host. Read more

Advent Calendar Day 14: Pink Flamingos

December 14, 2018 By Fred Clark

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The American holiday of Christmas is, among many other things, a season of excess, extravagance, and indulgence. Those things do not always go hand in hand with refined good taste. Read more

Advent Calendar Day 13: 12 days to Christmas

December 13, 2018 By Fred Clark

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Here again is my two-part list of Christmas movie picks — 10 nice, 10 naughty. Read more

The pastor and the stolen election

December 12, 2018 By Fred Clark

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The election-fraud story out of North Carolina is a doozy. The cast of characters seems to have stepped out of the pages of a novel by Carl Hiassen or Elmore Leonard. And the candidate at the center of the story is a right-wing Southern Baptist pastor turned politician. Read more

Advent Calendar Day 12: Candy canes and sweet resentment

December 12, 2018 By Fred Clark

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Once again, as happens every year around this time, our national culture slap-fight is briefly focused on a weird, popular, and utterly dishonest urban legend about the sectarian origins and “true meaning” of candy canes. Read more

No smocking gun at ‘The Falwells’ South Beach Flophouse’

December 11, 2018 By Fred Clark

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Here is a Politico piece by Brandon Ambrosino from August of last year: “My Weekend at the Falwells’ South Beach Flophouse.” It seems that Jerry Falwell III owns the Miami Hostel, a seedy dorm-style outfit which “Trey” Falwell borrowed $4.65 million to buy. In addition to his day job as vice president for university operations at the college his grandfather founded, Trey Falwell co-manages this tourist hostel along with his business partner, a man named Giancarlo Granda. It’s a decidedly… Read more

Advent Calendar Day 11: The Liberation of Ebenezer Scrooge

December 11, 2018 By Fred Clark

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Poor confused, self-pitying Jamie Dimon is only looking at one end of the story — probably because that’s the only part of the story he’s familiar with. Read more

No silver, no pomp or style

December 10, 2018 By Fred Clark

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The never-ending church service protecting a refugee family is still going on (and on, and on). Plus: A diploma mill for useless degrees, the worst of literary sex, and taking aim at the 1,000-tuba barrier. Read more

Advent Calendar Day 10: Berrigan’s ‘Advent’

December 10, 2018 By Fred Clark

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“It is not true that our hopes for the liberation of humanity, for justice, human dignity, and peace are not meant for this earth and for this history …” Read more

Advent Calendar Day 9: Zacchaeus Scrooge

December 9, 2018 By Fred Clark

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According to the lectionary Christian churches use, the story of Zacchaeus is not a Christmas story. But to the rest of the world, it’s a version of what seems to be one of everyone’s favorite Christmas stories. Read more