A 50-year-old letter from a great theologian in response to evangelical gatekeepers provides a general life lesson we all need to learn. "They should not expect me to take the trouble to give them the satisfaction of offering explanations which they will simply use to confirm the judgment they have already passed on me." Read more
The Babylon Bee is a rare thing -- an evangelical humor site that's actually funny. Sadly, that's not enough to recommend the site to an evangelical audience. They can't just be told it's funny, they also need to know if it's "edifying" -- that they have permission to laugh. Read more
Which is it? Because it can't be both. Either we need to buy their books and attend their conferences, in which case the literal meaning of the text isn't as clear and obvious as they say. Or else the text is that simple and obvious, in which case no one needs to read -- or to write -- 200-page books decoding the hidden meanings of this 20-page Bible passage. Read more
Jay Sekulow and Pat Robertson are among the many prominent anti-abortion Christians in the "pro-life movement" who never got the memo about the Standard Answer. They agree with Donald Trump's first answer -- women should be punished. Also: Another manufactured-home community buys their land; the Bible has a trajectory; religious liberty for racist landlords; and What Would Fred Rogers Do? Read more
Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Can you see anything?" And the man looked up and said, "I can see people, but they look like trees, walking." Read more
Back in January, I worried that “A Ted Cruz win could further Bartonize ‘mainstream’ white evangelicalism.” Specifically, I worried that folks like John Fea and Warren Throckmorton would be subjected to the marginalizing tactics long practiced by the right-wing gatekeepers of the white evangelical tribe. This is what I was talking about. Dr. Fea’s restrained, temperate discussion of Cruz’s Christian nationalism on Christianity Today’s website — “The Theology of Ted Cruz” — prompted a passive-aggressive wailing from CT editor Stan Guthrie. Guthrie... Read more
I realize we're only four days into the Great Tribulation at this point in the book, but shouldn't we already being seeing some signs of the imminent lawlessness that, the religious right keeps telling us, is bound to erupt at any moment? Without Christians and the conservative political agenda they support, the world is supposed doomed to chaos and cataclysm, so why isn't that happening here? Read more
The Standard Answer is this: "Of course no one is talking about putting women in jail. No one has ever said that's what should be done. We would only punish the abortionists, not the women." That's not intended to provide an answer for the question. It's intended to prevent the answerer from having to think about it. Read more
South Carolina Republicans are pushing a bill that would hold churches criminally and financially liable if any refugees they resettle should ever -- at any point in the future -- be involved in or accused of negligence or violent crime. The S.C. GOP hopes this bill will intimidate churches into turning their backs on refugees. And they're hoping that other states will adopt similar legislation. Read more
Men who don't understand how sex works or what contraception does are now suing the government, taking their case before a bunch of male Supreme Court justices who have no idea how health insurance works or what contraception does. And this group of ridiculously ignorant men would like to rewrite our laws regarding contraception and health insurance. What could go wrong? Read more
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