"The Lord of hosts expected justice, but saw bloodshed." Read more
"The Lord of hosts expected justice, but saw bloodshed." Read more
This is not a minor point. This is, at a fundamental level, the confusion of virtue and vice. People who condemn justice are not to be trusted. Read more
Some forms of "proper" manners are an expression of respect for other people as people. But much of what is presented as good and proper manners, or as "civility," has nothing to do with respect for other people. It is, rather, about respect for the status quo -- no matter how unjust, oppressive, exclusive, or otherwise evil that status quo may be. Read more
Such tribal symbols don't have to have anything to do with the nominal Christian faith on which this tribal religion has been appended. The Bible may not say anything about Christmas trees, but then it doesn't say anything about guns either. Or the American flag. But whenever anyone says anything that might be remotely construed as questioning the sacredness of those, such comments will be made into the focus for the next performance of IndigNation theater and the pre-existing offendedness of the tribal Christianists will be projected in that direction for a while. Read more
"Ask the others to join us for prayer," Tsion says to Buck, and the reader's eyes involuntarily scan ahead to see an unbroken block of text that continues for the next two pages. Oh no. No, not that, not again. They're going to pray and we're going to have to watch. Read more
Here's a bit from James Baldwin's essay "Fifth Avenue, Uptown," (collected in his 1961 book of essays, Nobody Knows My Name). If you want to understand what's wrong with Dave Ramsey's victim-blaming ideology of poverty, Baldwin is a good place to start. Read more
Rob Bell and N.T. Wright on the trajectory of the Bible. How a lowly blogger is changing the conversation among the Serious People. Cuts to food stamps are equivalent to erasing all private charity efforts to aid the hungry. I don't know what Tamikrest is singing about, but I like it. Read more
"Love your enemies," we were told. And, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Nelson Mandela reminded us of what that looks like, and that it was actually possible. Read more
Did this treaty have anything at all to do with abortion or the Antichrist? No. Nothing at all to do with either of those, but American evangelicals aren't going to let a little thing like reality get in the way of some oh-so-enjoyable self-righteous masturbation. Read more
Three smart women saying smart things: Elizabeth Stoker dismantles "The 'Dependency' Argument;" Tressie McMillan Cottom answers the rich person's question of "Why Do Poor People 'Waste' Money on Luxury Goods?" and Linda Tirado explains "Why Poor People's Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense." Read more
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