Evangelicals are trying to convince themselves that homosexuality is a choice and that the invasion of Iraq was God’s Will. Like the fundies, they have welded these ideas to the bearing walls of their faith, so that if they are not true, then nothing is true. They thus find themselves, like the fundies, having to avoid exposure to an awful lot of the real world around them. Read more
White House chief of staff John Kelly reportedly told other members of the Trump administration that if it were up to him the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. would be between zero and one. This isn't just evil, it's literary evil. Read more
The girls are much older now, so they won't be asking as many questions after this funeral. They will, of course, still have those questions, but as we get older we learn to stop asking them because we begin to realize that no one can answer them. Read more
It seems only Republicans not seeking re-election -- and thus not fearing a fever-swamp primary challenge -- are willing to say what they really think. It'd be good if they added actions to those words. Plus: Cities and local governments lining up behind resident-owned communities, some weird and weirdly relevant history, and a lullaby that's inappropriate for children. Read more
"Every archaeology find ... has only proved the authenticity of the Bible" makes no sense to anyone who knows anything about archaeology. And it also makes no sense to anyone who has read the Bible with open eyes. Read more
Kurt Anderson on the "Fantasyland" of Trump's America, and how it relates to evangelical anti-intellectualism (or what I would call evangelical superstition). Plus: Nazis at the coffee shop, nobody likes Not-Garland, the history of school lunches, a paradoxical spill, and a heart-breaking report from Las Vegas. Read more
Daniel 3:1-23 King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue whose height was sixty cubits and whose width was six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent for the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counsellors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to assemble and come to the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So the satraps, the prefects, and... Read more
We need to talk about lids, people. Lids for trash cans, lids for totes, bins, and containers of all kinds. These things all come with lids. The lids are important. The lids are paid for. Take your lids. Read more
The intended readers of Left Behind are waiting for the end of the world. Or for war. Either one would do. Either one would seem more meaningful than the headache and trivia of daily life that constitutes what they now think of as “discipleship.” And Left Behind lets them experience both, at least vicariously. Read more
My humble home town, a centerless slice of suburban sprawl, is taking pride in a native son who made it big with a critically acclaimed new dick joke. Alas, this doesn't nearly make up for our town's older, darker legacy. Read more
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