When the Bible Commands Abortion (Part 1)

Last updated on: February 6, 2018 at 7:32 am By Fred Clark

The laws of Moses did not permit abortion. The laws of Moses commanded it. Deliberately inducing miscarriages was something God required God's priests to do. Complete with instructions, right there in our Bibles. Read more

LBCF, No. 171: ‘Chekhov’s GIRAT’

Last updated on: February 1, 2018 at 7:22 pm By Fred Clark

Given this set-up, what really needs to happen is for Nicolae to put the gun in Buck’s hand and, mistakenly believing Buck to be in his thrall, order Buck to do the shooting. Read more

Smart people saying smart things (2.1)

Last updated on: February 1, 2018 at 4:59 pm By Fred Clark

William J. Barber, Jemar Tisby, Ursula LeGuin, Rachael Denhollander, and Jamelle Bouie are talking. We should listen. Read more

The Mister, the Doctor, the Captain, and the Marshal (and you and me too)

Last updated on: January 31, 2018 at 6:48 pm By Fred Clark

"Instead of thinking about a choice as right or wrong," Richard Beck writes, "Instead of moralizing our decisions -- let's ask if a decision is wise. Is this a wise thing to do?" This makes me think of stories, and of heroes, and of our daily suspense. Read more

I feel so good if I just say the word

Last updated on: January 30, 2018 at 6:12 pm By Fred Clark

"These are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand." Those words from a former deputy director of the FBI still seem relevant. Plus: Two great American Freds get their day and a letter to the editor gets republished. Read more

We build it up and build it up and build it up

Last updated on: January 29, 2018 at 3:09 pm By Fred Clark

Steve Strang's hagiography of Donald Trump gets the review it deserves. Plus: Swatting aside "ceremonial law" folklore; when monsters are the only thing you know how to want; and more. Read more

I was alive and I waited, waited

Last updated on: January 28, 2018 at 7:02 pm By Fred Clark

Wherein we skim past a couple of heady essays from The Atlantic and The Los Angeles Review of Books so that we can remind ourselves of the giddy truth expressed by one-hit wonders Jesus Jones. Read more

Sunday favorites

Last updated on: January 27, 2018 at 5:28 pm By Fred Clark

"The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day -- and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations." Read more

That’s funny … (more ‘biblical archaeology’)

Last updated on: January 26, 2018 at 6:49 pm By Fred Clark

This claim about "the authenticity of the Bible" isn't really about the Bible, itself, at all. It's about one group's particular interpretive framework for understanding the Bible. Read more

LBCF, No. 170: ‘Pruneface Stonagal’

Last updated on: January 25, 2018 at 8:03 pm By Fred Clark

Poor Jonathan Stonagal -- the Rockefeller bogeyman of the John Birch Society -- has just never quite fit in Left Behind. Try as he might, Jenkins could never integrate him into this story. Read more

Who is considered the ideal wife and mother in Proverbs?