You can oppose the predatory scam of the state lotteries. Or you can be a reflexively anti-tax Republican and a disciple of Grover Norquist. But you cannot do both. Read more
You can oppose the predatory scam of the state lotteries. Or you can be a reflexively anti-tax Republican and a disciple of Grover Norquist. But you cannot do both. 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: Rehoboam & Mahalath & Maacah & others. Read more
They think they're disagreeing when all along they're actually both saying parts of the same thing: Money is necessary, but not sufficient. Put it that way, and both someone and singer can agree and move forward from there. But if we fail to see that this is what's really being said, there can't be any agreement or even any disagreement -- just a lot of confused talking past one another. Read more
God isn't taking sides in the Super Bowl, but I am. I'm rooting for the Baltimore Ravens, because of The Wire, because of the city of Baltimore, because of local son Joe Flacco, and most of all because Brendan Ayanbadejo is a real hero. Read more
Albert Einstein counts as a smart person, right? Elizabeth Drescher explains why Christians are angry with Mark Driscoll; Amy Mitchell explains why anger is necessary; Andrew Sullivan dismantles David French's "despicable" distortion of Jesus; and Alisa Harris recognizes a subculture tinged with violence. Read more
Leviticus 19:9-10: "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God." Read more
Some terrific bloggers advance the conversation. "True sociopaths are not delusional," Alan Bean says. The corporate behavior Jason Dye describes might be either sociopathic or delusional. And William Lindsey contrasts Catholic and evangelical tribalism. Read more
Here's a bunch of stuff I probably should've posted earlier in the week, including: culture-warrior tires of "being angry all the time;" Patheos' increasingly impressive atheist channel; an awkward pause in New Zealand's marriage equality debate; our credit-scoring overlords; the wrong side of history; and the awesome heroics of the Fool Soldiers. Read more
Last month we talked about tribalism, religious privilege, the white evangelical persecution complex, company towns, Rules for Christian Sex, and Dungeons & Dragons. Read more
Parables are irreducible — the meaning of the story can't be separated from the story itself. Whenever you hear the preacher say, "What this parable means is …" you know he's got it wrong, or at least incomplete. They're not fables that can be summed up in a tidy, didactic "moral of the story." Read more
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