Here again are Maggie Koerth-Baker's five rules for discerning the difference between a genius and a crackpot. Some of these are so apt at describing the crackpottery of Ben Carson and Donald Trump that I think we could invert and repurpose her list into something like "Five Steps to Dominating the GOP Primary Polls." Read more
Conversionism needs drama. It needs the stark contrast of pre-conversion wickedness and post-conversion piety. It needs the arc of redemption we sing about in my least-favorite verse of "Amazing Grace." But most of us don't have that kind of conversion story. In fact, John Newton himself didn't have that kind of story. Read more
Sometimes you will hear something like this: "Scientists have found Joshua's missing day." Or like this: "The CEO of Procter & Gamble was on Oprah and said that part of their profits go to the Church of Satan." And when you hear that, you are dealing with someone who has been deceived. The person passing along this misinformation has been misled -- perhaps mostly innocently. But sometimes you will hear, instead, something like this: "A scientist told me that they've found Joshua's missing day." Or like this: "I saw the CEO of Procter & Gamble on Oprah ..." And when you hear that, you are dealing with someone who is trying to deceive you. Read more
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." Read more
As Ben Carson began repeating the urban legends and folklore of his religious community, I was hearing "stuff that I long ago forgot isn't general public knowledge." I remember that stuff, and I remember what it was like to be surrounded almost entirely by others for whom it seemed like "general public knowledge." And so I assumed that poor Ben Carson was just innocently misinformed. Read more
I've forgotten who it was who created this wonderful bit of Left Behind fan art and I'd very much like to get in touch with that artist because: A) years later, this picture still makes me laugh; and B) I'd like to see if it's possible to use this for the cover art for Volume 2 of "The Anti-Christ Handbook." Read more
Here, at last, is a complete one-stop portal to everything in our Left Behind series covering the first two books and movies. The previous versions of this index all have broken links and missing entries. This one doesn't (I don't think). Thanks again to everyone who helped find and restore those missing pieces. Read more
"I thought all white people had a Cherokee great-grandmother," the old AIM guy told me, sublimely deadpan. The barb in that joke is a deadly serious complaint having to do with wannabes and the misappropriation of culture. "I thought all white people had a Cherokee great-grandmother," the old AIM guy told me, sublimely deadpan. The barb in that joke is a deadly serious complaint having to do with wannabes and the misappropriation of culture. Tim LaHaye loves Israel the way wealthy hippies love turquoise jewelry and dream catchers. He appropriates Judaism for his own ends, disrespecting it by usurping for himself the respect it is due, twisting it into what he wants it to be rather than what it is. Read more
It should be automatic. The instructions from the Acme Romantic Comedy factory are clearly written and all Jenkins needed to do was remove the prefabricated plot device from its packaging and insert it into his novel. But Jerry Jenkins botches this classic can't-miss plot twist -- he botches the set-up, puts the thing in backwards, then drags it out for way, way too long. Read more
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