"I was given an assignment: write a booklet defending what we thought was the traditional view of biblical sexuality against the alternative view being promoted by supporters of the gay Christian community. One day, as I was in the middle of this assignment, my boss met me in the hall and handed me a manila folder. The tab read, 'Campolo, Tony.' My boss looked at me and said, 'This is for the booklet. I want you to go after Campolo.'" Read more
The hucksters of the religious right are urging their followers, supporters and partisan patrons to double-down on all the same things they've been doing all along. They want the same stances, same agenda, same strategies, same tone -- but a different result. That different result, they say, will come from doing all the very same things even harder. The true believers, on the other hand, seem to realize that more of the same approach won't produce the results they had hoped for. Read more
Rachel Held Evans is a joy to read, quite apart from the role that has been thrust on her as one of the first prominent voices of post-subcultural evangelicalism. But that larger context -- and the grace, wisdom and, yes, valor that she's shown in that role -- is pretty cool too. 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: Isaac & Abimelech. Read more
Bryan Fischer manages to cling to semi-respectability as a representative of the religious right and a member of the white evangelical tribe because he checks all the right boxes on the litmus-test questions. Sure, he's a racist. But like Dinesh D'Souza, he channels most of that racism into support for the political aims he shares with more “mainstream” evangelicals. Read more
Civil disobedience can be a powerful tool of nonviolent change, but it is really only appropriate or effective in response to an unjust legal prohibition. It does not apply easily or work well as a protest against what one regards as an unjust lack of legal prohibition. It's hard to disobey a law that grants permission. Read more
The Rolling Jubilee is a little picture of the divine economy, leveraging liberation for people enslaved by debts they can never repay. The project "buys debt for pennies on the dollar, but instead of collecting it, abolishes it." And the destitute hear good news. 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: Abram in Egypt. Read more
"As scientists, many of us have had profound experiences of awe and reverence before the universe. We understand that what is regarded as sacred is more likely to be treated with care and respect. Our planetary home should be so regarded. Efforts to safeguard and cherish the environment need to be infused with a vision of the sacred." Read more
Elizabeth Drew on why long lines to vote are both "awe-inspiring and enraging;" Andre E. Johnson on doubling-down on conservative ideology; Paul Brandeis Raushenbush on good news for religion; and James W. McCarty on my brother's keeper and "The Political Theology of Barack Obama." Read more
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