For all the buzz about “boycotting” Chik-fil-A, we haven’t really seen anything that formally organized yet. Basically, thus far, what we’ve seen is a big corporation telling part of the public that “We don’t want your money here,” and that part of the public unsurprisingly responding “OK, then, you can’t have it.” This latest corporate flustercluck is mostly following the standard script for what happens when a business decides to fire off a volley in the culture wars on a... Read more
So like everyone else, you’ve been buying Thneeds from the Once-ler for years without ever hesitating to think about it. After all, a Thneed’s a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need! It’s a shirt. It’s a sock. It’s a glove. It’s a hat. But it has other uses. Yes, far beyond that. … But then one day you read an eye-opening, heart-rending piece of investigative journalism. You come to understand the awful ramifications of the manufacture and distribution of Thneeds. You learn about Gluppity-Glupp and... Read more
Inside the world of American evangelicalism, one must always have the proper stance. Stances, actually, plural, as one must have the proper stance on a whole host of subjects. “What is your stance on X?” is a common question in the subculture, with X including a wide variety of litmus tests such as abortion, homosexuality, the inerrancy of scripture, creationism, women’s ordination, abortion, homosexuality, divorce, Rob Bell, foreign missions, climate change, infant baptism, predestination, and abortion and homosexuality. These are... Read more
A couple more stray thoughts in response to reading Tim Stafford’s Miracles for the Patheos Book Club. 1. The miraculous selection of Matthias Since interest in the miraculous seems bound up with concern for evidence of direct divine intervention, I wonder why Acts 1:12-26 is usually not included as part of the discussion of biblical miracles. This is the story of Matthias’ selection as a disciple following the unpleasant departure of Judas. Here’s the key part: So they proposed two,... Read more
Luke 18:9-14 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ “But... Read more
This month, the Patheos Book Club is looking at Tim Stafford’s Miracles. I might have better been able to enjoy this book if it hadn’t come with a misleading subtitle that created a set of false expectations. That subtitle is “A Journalist Looks at Modern-Day Experiences of God’s Power,” but that has very little to do with this book. Stafford is, in fact, an accomplished journalist, but this book is not an act of journalism. Miracles is a personal testimony,... Read more
I haven’t posted one of these in a while and the unlinked links are starting to pile up around here. The bad behavior of banks is a steady, relentless topic, and if you don’t keep on top of it, you’ll quickly get swamped. So let me take this chance to commend The Consumerist — a dynamite site that pushes hard in the direction of leveling the playing field between “consumers” and all the corporations, marketeers, con-artists, corporate tools and various... Read more
I’m a fan of Matthew Inman’s comics and his hilarious website The Oatmeal. And I enjoyed almost all of his recent long cartoon titled “How to suck at your religion.” It’s funny. It’s also thoughtful, provocatively irreverent and wise. Until near the end, where it stumbles badly. Here’s the bit that goes wobbly: Does your religion inspire you to help people? Does it make you happier? Does it help you cope with the fact that you are a bag of... Read more
Nothing calamitous, disastrous or saddening. And nothing large, insurmountable or overly challenging. But life intervenes and interferes today and, alas, this week’s installment of Left Behind Fridays is feeling the squeeze. I apologize for that (and for the failure this morning to get today’s Alphabet game post up too). Abnormal blogging should resume shortly. Here are some links to help pass the time (until then, or until 5 p.m., for those currently stuck in an office). “Am I a Romney?”... Read more
Ta-Nehisi Coates is discussing an unrelated topic here, but his analogy captures the frustration with the evangelical subculture that caused me to leave my work in that world 12 years ago: Consider this: what if you were a medievalist and the majority of your public simply refused to accept that Charlemagne ever existed. Indeed, what if they felt their prosperity was contingent on not acknowledging it. And thus all your medievalist friends spent a great deal of time proving that... Read more
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