Here we see one of many wrong turns taken by white theology as a consequence of slavery. This is one of the roots of the contemporary belief in white Christianity that, in its language, the Great Commission outranks the Greatest Commandment. The spread of the gospel -- evangelization -- becomes the paramount concern, eclipsing everything else. The matter of justice no longer matters. Or, rather, justice is redefined as that which best permits and promotes the spread of the gospel. Read more
It seems unseemly for charities to consider factors like this. We don't like to think of them reading publications like the Journal of Consumer Research. We want them to be focused on the most effective ways to help people, not the most effective ways to manipulate potential donors. Read more
No-fault divorce laws did not mandate that Catholic priests had to start sanctifying remarriages. The repeal of Prohibition did not mean that Southern Baptists had to start drinking. Marriage equality does not ask or require anything of Catholics and Southern Baptists either. Their insistence on pretending that somehow it does is, at a very basic level, just weird. Read more
Some links to help you withstand the devious plans of the beat menace, including: Mormon excommunication, Asherah poles for traditional marriage, plundering the Egyptians, labor priests, Game of Thrones and John Piper's littlefinger. Read more
"You go see the Transformers movies, and you’re like, 'So … the world has experienced massive robot battles and invasion ships in multiple American towns, and then every time a new Transformers movie starts, they’re just back to where they started.' ... They’re aware that it happened, but they haven’t changed their lives in any way Read more
Links are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup, including: Heath Bradley's polite response to N.T. Wright; an Anglican dilemma; Johnny Cash; on your knees, boy; "The Dictionary" was not engraved by God on Mt. Sinai. Read more
This story is several months old, but it's worth revisiting, I think, because it illustrates part of the mentality that led to the whole recent Leadership Journal debacle. When you're busily trying to pretend that you're persecuted and victimized for your righteousness, you're never going to be able to see, let alone care about, actual victims. Read more
Some Monday links, including: No man is a hero to his valet -- but Tony Gwynn was; three scams; "scalar implicatures" is a serious term for something funny; where all that is not explicitly permitted is forbidden; Andre and Sam; and "we are now dumb enough to take them literally." Read more
"You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall not abuse any widow or orphan." Read more
Jonathan Edwards' understanding of "total depravity" illuminates our task when evaluating the heritage of American Christianity bequeathed to us from the theologians of slavery. The rot is pervasive -- infecting every aspect of white Christianity in America. As Edwards argued, this depravity is not confined to a single location -- a single misstep that can be identified and excised with surgical precision, leaving the remainder intact and unperturbed by that correction. Its roots are woven and interwoven throughout the whole. The depravity is total. Read more
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