Emma Green's "Southern Baptists and the Sin of Racism" provides us a sharp image of the SBC's long, ugly struggle with what its leaders now at last admit is a sin. But I think it's a mirror image -- accurate, but backwards. I don't think their doctrine of "inerrancy" and their individualistic spirituality contributed to the sin of racism, I think those things are a product of it. Read more
Slavery in New Jersey didn't really end until the 13th Amendment was adopted after the Civil War. I wasn't taught any of that history when I attended school in New Jersey. We learned about slavery in the South, but not about slavery in South Brunswick and South Orange and South Plainfield. Read more
Signing Michael Sam to the same kind of one-year contract that Tebow just got could be huge for the Iggles. Imagine this: The front page of PhiladelphiaEagles.com features two jerseys for sale -- Tim Tebow and Michael Sam -- side by side under a banner headline reading "Pick Your Side: Offense or Defense?" Cha-ching! It'd be a culture-war proxy election, fought with dollars. Read more
"This woman said to me, 'Give up your son; we will eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.' So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give up your son and we will eat him.' But she has hidden her son." Read more
Basically there are only two limits on Superman's use/abuse of his power: 1. His benevolence; and 2. A couple of eccentric billionaires have green rocks hidden in caves under their mansions, just in case. Neither of those seems quite satisfactory. Read more
"I am quite confident that the Bible’s distinguished place in history will not be diminished in the absence of a state’s endorsement," says Tennessee's AG. And I agree (although I do like their choice for an official state song). Plus: Litigious man claims to have invented stale tropes; the Boongurunguru; more fun with the synoptic problem; and echoes of Galatians from the Friendly Atheist. Read more
The "Rapture" idea, ultimately, is a pretty flimsy device for the denial of death. The scripture passages Tim LaHaye cites in support of this idea were written to give believers hope in the face of inevitable death. For LaHaye and his followers, the fear of death overwhelms that hope. Thus "we will not all SLEEP, but we will be CHANGED" is twisted into "we will not ALL sleep, but WE will be changed." Read more
On Monday, Walmart abruptly shut down five of its stores for at least six months due to "problems with plumbing." But no plumbers have been hired and no plumbing permits have been requested at any of the five locations. This is probably just crude garden-variety worker intimidation and union-busting. But what if it's something else entirely? Read more
"You come to me as God’s ministers, and you are positive that you know exactly what God’s will is. You tell me that slavery is a sin; but other’s of God’s ministers say the opposite – which am I to believe?" Read more
When Warren Buffett first moved into the manufactured home business, it seemed like his much-touted philosophy of investing for value would be a boon to the industry that provides so much of America's affordable housing stock. His reputation as an investor who sought out quality goods and services, growing his fortune with their success, suggested he would focus on the beneficial aspects of factory-built homes, leading away from the unsustainable predatory practices and value-less rent-seeking that have plagued the business. But that didn't happen. Buffett's "value" talk, it turns out, is pure shinola. And he's raised value-less rent-seeking to an art form. Read more
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