Gullibility is a kind of innocence -- an honest mistake. But gullibility is not the problem. Gullible people are relieved and happy to learn that some fake-news Scary Story isn't actually true. But when those spreading such stories are disappointed, or defensive, or angry to learn they aren't true, then we know that gullibility had nothing to do with it. Read more
We've got a nuclear deal with Iran and a successful up-close fly-by of Pluto -- not bad for a Tuesday. Plus: Farewell to a freedom fighter; responding to the heroin crisis; sharks in a volcano; and the physics of bubble wrap and D&D. Read more
From the mean streets of Chicago comes news, via Emily Joy on Twitter, of an odd bit of guerrilla-style culture war at Moody Bible Institute. A bus-stop advertisement on the street outside of one of Moody's boys' dorms was perceived as tawdry and lascivious due to the Chanel model's barely perceptible hint of the shadow of a side-boob. Side-boob is the devil's playground, but the righteous men of Moody stood fast against the wiles of the evil one, quickly constructing a makeshift burka out of Post-it notes. Read more
Since I'm the one who brought up the whole discussion of souls and soul-talk, Helena's question in comments seems fair and excellent and necessary: "Is it too much to ask that Fred whether he thinks the soul survives death, and if so, what happens to it?" Ay, there's the rub. It's a version of a very old question that persists because it remains unanswered for anyone we can hear asking it. It's a question that tends to reduce me to babbling about "Flatland" or to quoting Whitman. Read more
"You have trespassed and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. Now make confession to the Lord the God of your ancestors, and do his will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives." Read more
Old newspaper headlines employ the word "souls," and we bring to that word all of our Platonic, dualistic baggage and assumptions about what that word means. But their use of the word suggests something wholly incompatible with those dualistic ideas. Their use of the word -- their appeal to the concept -- is quite the opposite of what we expect when we approach that word with all of the connotations we've absorbed from Plato and Augustine and revivalist altar-call soteriology. Read more
Wherein we discuss the Worst Song in the 1970s playlist at the Big Box store. Also: Bobby Bonilla is getting paid what he was owed; Wheaton College outsourcing biology; the continuing creepiness of mandatory loyalty oaths for children; and shouldn't Amazon be celebrating "Prime Day" on July 19 instead? Read more
Here's how Chapter 5 begins: "Buck Williams ducked into a stall in the Pan-Con Club men's room to double-check his inventory. Tucked in a special pouch inside his jeans ..." As a general rule, it's probably best not to begin a chapter by having the protagonist enter the stall of a men's room. If Buck needs to "double-check his inventory," I don't want to read about it. Read more
First, a big, recurring Thank You to everyone who has set up a recurring donation to the Slacktivist tip jar. You are wonderful and generous and I'm obliged to rise to the trust and grace you've shown by not letting Other Things interfere with regular blogging here, as they have this week. Second, Other Things have been interfering a bit with regular blogging here this week. And so, if you are able and inclined to do so, this would be an excellent time for non-recurring donations to the Slacktivist tip jar. Read more
Rupert Holmes ultra-'70s hit is like an inversion of O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi," but where Henry's tale is about selfless love, Holmes' is about loveless selfishness. This provides us with an excellent case study for all of those lit-crit questions about authorial intent. Read more
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