I re-read Anne Lamott's 1998 essay, "My Advent Adventure," every year at this time, and I've made it a kind of tradition to post parts of it here and encourage everyone else to read it too. "God has set up a tent among us and will help us work together on our stuff," she says. "For you ... and for me; together, over time." Read more
Luke 2:1-14: "In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people. ..." Read more
Another Christmas music interlude, featuring: An anti-gay TV preacher singing like Kurt from Glee; whether or not Amy Grant's post-"Baby Baby" Christmas album is acceptable for evangelicals; Twisted Sister; and why the officially confirmed Most Annoying Christmas song of all is actually a pretty good Advent prayer. Read more
Sales-based "apologetics" isn't about the other person. It's about using another person as a convenient foil in an exercise intended to reinforce for ourselves what we already believe. Evangelism is not sales, it's hospitality. And that means listening is far more important than arguing. Read more
Just in case you missed something this week, here are the 10 posts that got the most traffic in the week ending Friday. Read more
The authors don't tell us why the Antichrist does what he does because they don't know. And they don't care. "Bible prophecy," they insist, tells us what the Antichrist will do. And if we already know, step-by-step, exactly what he will do, then we don't need to know why. Read more
Paying wages so low your employees rely on food bank? Then just open a food bank! ... Yacht owners want a free ride. ... A retired bishop condemns "right-to-work," while the current bishops remain silent. ... Free gold for corporations. ... Crab-in-a-bucket opposition to principal reductions is costing us all money. ... And a minimum-wage machine. Read more
It's the Friday music game -- I'll show you mine and you show me yours. Today a selection of Christmas-ish songs geared toward the darkest night of the year. (Blessed solstice, everyone.) Read more
"We support biblical families," Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy says of his fast-food corporation. So let's take a look at some of those biblical families. Today's entry: "Send away all these wives and their children." Read more
And a blessed new Long Count to you and yours! Phil Plait: There is no suggestion, not even a hint, in Maya writing that they thought the end of this current b’ak’tun had any connection to doomsday. It’s entirely possible it may have even been thought of as a time of celebration (just like we celebrate New Year’s Eve). The Maya also had bigger units of time, including the piktun (which was either 13 or 20 b’ak’tun), and the alautun,... Read more
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