Those relationships, and the relationships between those relationships, are complicated because the world is complicated. It’s always tempting to pretend the world isn’t complicated. To pretend, for example, that instead of an inescapable network of mutuality, we live in a simplistic world of binary, exclusive responsibilities. That view tends to correspond to a model of reality consisting only of two actors — rugged individuals and a monolithic, leviathan state. Read more
Jurgen Moltmann on eschatology; Michelle Mikeska says "the Left Behind series should be left behind;" a short primer on apocalyptic millennialism; Nick Ahern shares Richard Hays' look at "Three Ways to Read the Book of Revelation." Read more
1. We had 456 visitors to this blog from the Philippines during the past month. If you’re one of them, please stay safe. If you’re not one of them, please keep the people of the Philippines in your thoughts and/or prayers, give to disaster relief if you can, and — if you’re American — let your elected representatives know that you’re not one of those cramped, parochial jerks who thinks the richest country on Earth ought to cut all foreign... Read more
Mrs. Washington was also in charge of Bread of Life Ministries, Inc., a storefront church that did a little of everything. Their latest project was a baseball team. Read more
Michael Bird: "When it comes to the American evangelical opposition to universal health care, global evangelicals look at them with a mix of disbelief and disgust. Its not just N.T. Wright, ask someone at the Lausanne Congress or at the World Evangelical Alliance or at the Tyndale Fellowship what they think about American evangelicals howling protests against Obamacare! We are mystified as to how can good Christian men and women oppose – in some cases in the name of religion -- providing health care for it citizens." Read more
Some Thursday morning links, including: Tributes to Lou Reed from Mrs. & Mr. Palmer; George Thomas Thornton went out with a bang; tales from night school; fragile faith and embarrassing Christians; stop admiring the Jedi Council; Mallory Ortberg and recipes from David Lynch. Read more
"The Day the Pallbearers Dropped the Casket." Scot McKnight on following where the Bible points. Credit-scoring agencies are terrible at what they claim to do. Well done, Sen. Portman. Solomon Northup, Avery Brooks and the History Channel. Read more
The real motive at work here, I suspect, has far less to do with any actual or perceived threat to the "institution of marriage" than it does with the terrifying suspicion that their own fundamentalist faith is too flimsy to survive in a pluralist public square. Read more
Here's the "Gotcha" moment then: Ah, but what about people who liked getting screwed over by their old plans? They liked being ripped off, but they're no longer allowed to be ripped off in quite that same way -- therefore Obama was lying when he said "If you like your plan, you will be able to keep it." Read more
The surprising speed of this vote has sunk my marriage equality office pool -- I'd picked Hawaii for No. 15, New Mexico at 16, and then Illinois. Since I'm clearly no good at guessing the order of these things, I won't speculate about which will come first, but Hawaii and New Mexico are poised to join Illinois before the end of this year, or perhaps before the end of this month. Read more
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