What happens when two or more moral absolutes clash? What do you do? Well, that depends on the situation. But what if you've been strictly taught that you must never say "that depends on the situation"? That escalates the dilemma -- pushing it from a thorny question to a full-blown crisis of faith. And for those who have been taught to denounce "moral relativism," such crises are inevitable, insoluble and insurmountable. Read more
There's a Birth-of-the-Nation aspect to this adventure story here in "Nicolae." Unlike Jerry Jenkins, D.W. Griffith was a masterful artist, but while "The Birth of a Nation" is a work of art, it's also a repugnant film. Griffith directed his whole genius to getting his viewers caught up in a thrilling adventure story, but the only way to get caught up in that story is to accept the racism and racist mythology that drives his plot. Griffiths' racist enthusiasm isn't something overlaid on top of his story, it is the premise of that story. Without it, the story cannot happen. Read more
Chuck Colson doesn't come off as well in this story as the Bay City Rollers do. When WonkBlog overdoes it. Muffy Potter Aston wants tax breaks for wealthy New Yorkers. Pat Robertson and Bryan Fischer can say anything and remain respected public spokespeople. Richard Beck and Michelle Kwan both cover Guns N' Roses. Read more
My point here is that the automakers' lobbying strategy has been foolish. Their approach, for decades, has been to portray themselves as technologically incompetent, as incapable of meeting new challenges. Somehow they never considered how this would affect their reputation with the car-buying public. Read more
Curse you, Thai cell phone company, for getting me all choked up with your stupid ad! Plus some Thursday afternoon links, including: Some real heroes, heaven and Earth, stoic turtles, the perils of JesusWeen, harmful "healing," the island of the homeless dead, treasures in attics, and the meaninglessness of thread-counts above 400. Read more
Josh Holland looks at a study of how Republican teavangelicals "feel beseiged as the cultural ground shifts beneath them." Michael Lind discusses the GOP's "strategy for maximizing the relative power of provincial white elites at a time when their numbers are in decline and history has turned against them." Garry Wills writes about the shutdown and the threat of impending default as "Back Door Secession." There seems to be a pattern here ... Read more
The Gospels are full of such incivilities, as are the prophets. "You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. ... You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions," Amos says. "You sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals." Read more
If you're not from that world -- from the American evangelical world of Independent Baptists and Liberty University -- then I'm not sure I can communicate to you how courageous this is. Read more
In 1658, colonial Gov. Peter Stuyvesant declared a day of prayer and repentance from the sin of religious tolerance. The 17th-century language of Stuyvesant's proclamation is unfamiliar today, but the ideas and arguments he presents are eerily similar to the ones we hear today from the religious right of 2013. Read more
But not-so-deep-down, they have to know it's just a game. It's just pretend. I don't just mean a dim nagging at the edge of their self-awareness, I mean a pervasive, constant, gnawing ache. And the harder they play the game the more it backfires, highlighting the vast gulf between the pretend-self and the actual, unavoidable self. Read more
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