More smart people saying smart things

Last updated on: August 30, 2012 at 9:33 am By Fred Clark

Adam Serwer: “What to Make of Mitt Romney’s Birther Joke?” I suspect many Republicans who continue to subscribe to the birther lunacy do so because it bothers liberals and because it’s an act of symbolic defiance of a president they dislike. The problem with birtherism, however, is that the underlying assumptions driving it have always been broader than the president. Birtherism is more than just a conspiracy theory about the president’s birth. Its underlying principle is a rejection of American... Read more

Mitt Romney tells 533 lies in 30 weeks, Steve Benen documents them

Last updated on: August 29, 2012 at 6:48 pm By Fred Clark

I’ve written about or linked to a great deal here “chronicling Mitt’s mendacity” — to borrow Steven Benen’s phrase. Mitt Romney says many, many things that are not true. He says this despite being in possession of the correct facts of the matter. Which is to say that Mitt Romney lies. A lot. He lies more than any other national candidate for office in my lifetime. And I was born before the Nixon administration. This is documented. Proven. Validated, verified,... Read more

Loving the Bible too much to ‘literally’ ignore what it says

Last updated on: August 29, 2012 at 2:41 pm By Fred Clark

Here are a couple of recent items on a recurring theme around here. The first is from Greg Carey at the Huffington Post and the second is from Kenton L. Sparks’ introduction to God’s Word in Human Words. Here’s Carey on “Where ‘Liberal’ Bible Scholars Come From“: Biblical scholarship is an academic discipline, taught and studied at universities, colleges and divinity schools all around the world. So it should be no surprise that biblical scholars run in all shapes, sizes,... Read more

Bloggers witness World Vision’s good work

Last updated on: August 29, 2012 at 12:29 pm By Fred Clark

Several terrific bloggers I follow are visiting Sri Lanka this week with World Vision, an evangelical relief and development NGO that does important work all over the world. Among the writers I follow on this trip are: Tony Jones (Theoblogy), Joy Bennett (Joy in This Journey), Matthew Paul Turner (Jesus Needs New PR), Darrell Dow (Stuff Fundies Like), and Shawn Smucker (“Shawn Smucker“). World Vision sponsors trips like this as a way to highlight the good work they’re doing. So... Read more

‘Let us make a name for ourselves’

Last updated on: August 29, 2012 at 9:44 am By Fred Clark

“We, like other news organizations today, rely on our writers to submit factually accurate material.” “Scarborough mourned the prominence of Lady Gaga, The Big Bang Theory, Jerry Seinfeld, and Brokeback Mountain.“ “Generously, one might say that 88-year-old Phyllis Schlafly’s address to the Faith & Freedom rally included some ‘urban legends’ about President Obama’s insults to faith and the faithful. Another word for them would be ‘lies.’” “Let’s stop hoping for a Mount Carmel moment, because there’s enough intolerance and death... Read more

Twelve on a match

Last updated on: August 28, 2012 at 7:45 pm By Fred Clark

• More evidence that giving by generous compassionate conservatives outstrips that of their liberal counterparts. At least in the Champagne Room. • When you get that big promotion and you go out to celebrate with your friends, call a cab to take you home. Especially if the big promotion involved being appointed the Archbishop of San Francisco. • Is it just me, or does it seem like every time a church with the word “Grace” in its name appears in... Read more

Chik-fil-A Flustercluck: Missing links

Last updated on: October 20, 2012 at 4:44 pm By Fred Clark

Hey, remember that time when Christians lined up to eat chicken to defend their religious freedom? No, not that time, the more recent one, at the beginning of this month, after legitimate Todd Akin fan Mike Huckabee declared “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” remember that? Yeah, well, I didn’t ever finish linking to — or even reading — all of the sharp commentary and follow-up posts in response to CfAAD. So let’s take a trip back to those days of yesteryear, all... Read more

Black swans, black pearls and darkness visible

Last updated on: August 28, 2012 at 11:14 am By Fred Clark

I’m with Jeff Frankel on the term “Black Swan”: “Black swan” should refer to something else: an event that is considered virtually impossible by those whose frame of reference is limited in time and geographical area, but not by those who consider other countries and other decades or centuries. The origin of the black swan metaphor was the belief that all swans are white, a conclusion that a 19th-century Englishman might have reached based on a lifetime of personal observation... Read more

Perverting and inverting forgiveness

Last updated on: August 28, 2012 at 12:43 am By Fred Clark

“Jesus used the concept of forgiveness to change society,” Sarah Moon writes. “So why, today, do we use it to keep oppressive hierarchies in place?” Moon’s post is insightful and, I think, important. Read the whole thing. Here’s a bit more: Forgiveness is no longer a radical tool that gives new life to those who have been cast out of society. It is now a tool of the oppressors. A tool that rips away the little autonomy and power that... Read more

Hear why it’s sung here, oppositioner

Last updated on: August 27, 2012 at 6:07 pm By Fred Clark

“Traditional journalism jobs may be dwindling, but the Internet offers many new possibilities for writers.” (via AZspot) “If our self-government fails us, it is because we have listened to the fundamental heresy that our national government is something alien to us.” “Conservatives cannot govern well for the same reason that vegetarians cannot prepare a world-class boeuf bourguignon: If you believe that what you are called upon to do is wrong, you are not likely to do it very well.” “Giving... Read more