On justice vs. ‘righteousness’

Last updated on: July 29, 2014 at 5:25 pm By Fred Clark

"Those who approach the New Testament solely through English translations face a serious linguistic obstacle to apprehending what these writings say about justice. In most English translations, the word "justice" occurs relatively infrequently. It is no surprise, then, that most English-speaking people think the New Testament does not say much about justice; the Bibles they read do not say much about justice. English translations are in this way different from translations into Latin, French, Spanish, German, Dutch -- and for all I know, most languages." Read more

Smart people saying smart things (7.29)

Last updated on: July 29, 2014 at 12:45 am By Fred Clark

David Simon on theodicy and the Yankees; Dahlia Lithwick on execution by torture; Nick Hanauer on why plutocrats should support a new New Deal; Bethany Stolle on being marked in ministry; and "The Seven Types of Modern American Bigots." Read more

Meteorologists explain the direction of the wind

Last updated on: July 28, 2014 at 2:52 pm By Fred Clark

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows," Bob Dylan said. And we also shouldn't need moral theologians with formal training to tell us that the leadership of our churches should consist of "individuals who are neither perpetrators nor enablers of abuse." But apparently we do. Read more

‘It’s a hard world for little things’

Last updated on: July 28, 2014 at 12:12 pm By Fred Clark

“One Million Moms” — the media watchdog arm of the right-wing Christianist American Family Association, whose name is inaccurate by several orders of magnitude — is upset with the latest ad from Guinness because it features the great old hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”: Guinness & Co. is currently airing a commercial for its beer with a popular gospel hymn as background music. The song “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” is played during the entire ad and even though there... Read more

A scientist sets an example for the church

Last updated on: July 28, 2014 at 10:42 am By Fred Clark

I do not know much of anything about "the evolution and ecology of microbes and genomes," or much of anything about Dr. Jonathan Eisen, who specializes in that field. But Eisen seems to be a mensch. The UC Davis professor was recently invited to give a prestigious endowed lecture series and, as Upworthy would say, What He Did Next Will Surprise You. ... Read more

‘I am not the monster that I once was’

Last updated on: July 27, 2014 at 11:11 am By Fred Clark

Some weekend links, including: preaching on the Declaration; weighing in on third-wayers; Richard Land remembers the proud day that William Lloyd Garrison founded the Southern Baptist Convention; plus Veronica Poppins, Atari Avengers, and something Beautiful. Read more

Sunday favorites

Last updated on: May 27, 2014 at 12:08 pm By Fred Clark

"Mary, called Magdalene ... and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources." Read more

I see your face, I see you staring back at me

Last updated on: July 25, 2014 at 3:06 pm By Fred Clark

Here's where we find out if the WordPress upgrade means the excerpt function is working again. Some links and observations for your Friday afternoon. Read more

We’re having some work done

Last updated on: July 24, 2014 at 3:30 pm By Fred Clark

Hey, so, Patheos is upgrading our WordPress and some tech stuff to improve load times, etc. That starts today at 4 p.m. EST and should be (fingers crossed) done by tomorrow at 11 a.m. In the meantime, I can’t post, schedule posts or log in to WordPress lest I derail and delay the process. Basically, this kind of situation: Disqus will still work though (for usual Disqus-equivalent meanings of the word “work”), so feel free to continue visiting and talking... Read more

A good joke can change the world

Last updated on: July 24, 2014 at 3:12 pm By Fred Clark

I have always believed that a good joke can change the world. Now we have proof that it’s true: “Office Space helped rid the world of ‘flair.'” “About four years after Office Space came out, T.G.I. Fridays got rid of all that [button] flair, because people would come in and make cracks about it,” [Mike] Judge recently told Deadline. “One of my ADs asked once at the restaurant why their flair was missing and they said they removed it because of that movie Office... Read more