The centurion was unclean. He was a Gentile -- strike one. He had sworn an oath of loyalty and service to a false god (Caesar) -- strike two. And even if this particular centurion was trying his best to be nice about it, he was the enemy and part of an occupying army oppressing God's people -- strike three. Read more
Some Friday morning links, including: A horrifying story out of Nigeria, some motherly advice, a state lawmakers obsessive fascination, a useful explanation of how job-hunting works, makers and takers, and scientists announce the discovery of the Hidden Dragon (no word yet on the Crouching Tiger). Read more
I've been asked for a list of the "Top 5" posts here at slacktivist. That seems like something the readers should decide. But to keep this from being an awkwardly self-serving solicitation of praise, please also offer your suggestions for the worst 5 posts here. Thanks. Read more
A few things: Flooding and train derailments are not acts of divine intervention sent to punish the sinful. Thanks a lot, Senate Republicans, for blocking a vote on giving me a raise. "Most Americans still believe that race invented racism, when in fact the reverse is true." They are coming for your birth control. Read more
In 1952, Congress passed a law establishing the National Day of Prayer as an annual religious observance. Quick: give me another sentence that uses the words "Congress," "law," "establish" and "religion." Read more
"Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love." Read more
I've sometimes joked that Christian ethics is the 2,000-year quest to find loopholes in the Sermon on the Mount. The impressive thing about Glen Stassen was that he took those words of Jesus seriously, making them the foundation of his work. Read more
Some links for a soggy Wednesday: Two stories about the two options the future holds for manufactured home-owners. Mabel Williams lived a remarkable American life. A terrific video on why Philly tawks the way it does. There's no such thing as a humble young-Earth creationist. Read more
If we were playing Left Behind Trivia Quiz and the question was "What did Rosenzweig's formula do?" or "What became of Israel's deserts after Rosenzweig's invention?" I would have gotten those questions right. And yet I was dozens of pages into my umpteenth reading of Buck's escape across the Israeli desert before it struck me that everything about this scene is wrong. Read more
Crystal blue sky paint a clue to problems at Indiana church. The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but maintains the widow's boundaries -- and a Pennsylvania judge does the opposite over $6.30. Free speech explained in cartoon and in verse. Cedarville University does not approve of women faculty, student newspapers, or professors who make clumsily obvious dick jokes. Plus Sarah Posner on Sarah Palin, and why getting banished by the tribal gatekeepers is the best thing that could ever happen to you. Read more
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