Those who believe God wants them to be "a bad guy." What the Ultra-Neo-Reformed and the paleo-Catholic have in common (spoiler: it has to do with penises). Helping the poor a distraction from hating the gay. Reading the Lord's Prayer in public -- but not the verses that precede it. "Of course it's a war on birth control, abortion, everything." Read more
Therefore, the man is lying, or he does not fully understand the inescapable moral obligation demanded by his position, or he does not care about the inescapable moral obligation demanded by his position. He is a liar, a fool or a casual bystander whose inaction implicitly endorses what he believes is mass murder. Read more
In this scene, Jerry Jenkins achieves a vivid, palpable realism. The effect is brief, but it is powerful, visceral. ... You, the reader, suddenly realize that you are about to be swept along, accompanying Rayford Steele and Hattie Durham for an entire meal. Your fight or flight instinct kicks in, your pulse quickens, your breathing becomes shallow and rapid. It becomes difficult to articulate your thoughts into anything clearer than a primal, howling Noooo! And that is exactly what this experience would be like in real life. Read more
Howard Morgan has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the crime of being shot 28 times. Republican members of New York's congressional delegation will have a hard time defending their 37 votes against cutting insurance premiums by 50 percent in their state. Increasingly, the biggest news is what is no longer big news. Senate finally allows Richard Cordray to protect American consumers. Everything you need to know about American Christianity in two sentences. Republican can't use his real name for essay urging his party to stop "denying the science" of climate change. The kids are all right. Read more
It's the Friday Music Game -- I'll show you mine and you show me yours. Here's all the songs-with-a-name-in-the-title I've got for T and V (I haven't got any with names that begin with U), including Tangie, TC, Teddy, Terry, Tom, Veronica and Virginia. Read more
I’ve known a few saints who devoted their lives to imitating and demonstrating the love of God. These people also became models of God’s holiness. I’ve also known many pious folk who devoted their lives to imitating and demonstrating the holiness of God. None of those people ever became a model of God’s love. Read more
A haunting cover from Basia Bulat, plus some Thursday links, including: Remembering Andrew Greeley; the worst video game ever; what I did over (every) weekend; show me show me show me how you do that trick; what fundamentalism is really all about; contextual theologies; wine tasting; a fleeting Paypal windfall in Everybody's Hometown; and career paths for writers. Read more
I hope that Thomas Peters will one day walk again -- and that he will come to walk with us as well. Still more majestic shalt thou rise: England and Wales embrace marriage equality. The Rev. Darryl Strawberry. New Southern Baptist ethics spokesman shows he's not Richard Land. Spanking, magic wands and Michelle Bachmann. Story bones from Penn Jillette. Six baseball records that will never be broken. Read more
Before we go on I should note that much of what follows could be triggering — because apparently in order to discuss something called “The Gospel Coalition,” we’re also going to need to discuss rape and rape culture and what these strange, cruel men refer to as sexual conquering in the name of their strange, cruel God. Read more
Here are four things that happened, one after the other, over the course of the past three weeks. The sequence is undeniable. Whether that sequence means anything in terms of causality or of culpability I will leave for the reader to decide. Read more
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