Never Have I Ever, Leviticus edition

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:20 pm By Fred Clark

Tad’s Happy Funtime scores himself against the list of “76 Things Banned in Leviticus.” Seeing them all listed out like that does seem to invite a marathon game of “I Never.” (Or, depending on regional variations in college drinking games, “Never Have I Ever.”) But seeing them all listed out like that also invites a more meaningful exercise: Evaluating the consistency of one’s biblical hermeneutic. That’s fancy seminary talk for an interpretive framework, or more generally for how you read... Read more

‘The Big Four’ — ‘the package deal of Christianity’

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:20 pm By Fred Clark

Jonathan Dudley in Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics: I learned a few things growing up as an evangelical Christian: that abortion is murder; homosexuality, sin; evolution, nonsense; and environmentalism, a farce. I learned to accept these ideas — the “big four” — as part of the package deal of Christianity. In some circles, I learned that my eternal salvation hinged on it. Those who denied them were outsiders, liberals, and legitimate targets for evangelism.... Read more

You can’t deny people their rights and be nice about it

Last updated on: June 25, 2012 at 10:36 pm By Fred Clark

“The Theological Is Personal,” Dianna Anderson writes. She’s talking here specifically about the perennial controversy over how much equality women are to be allowed in the church, but her comments apply just as much to the “debate” over how much equality LGBT people are to be allowed in the church, and to the “debates” about how much equality both women and LGBT people are to be allowed in society as a whole: Here’s the thing we need to always remember... Read more

Jury duty

Last updated on: June 11, 2012 at 12:09 am By Fred Clark

Never been called before and I’m kind of excited to experience this. Well, “excited” may be too strong a word, but I’m intrigued. Juries are an expression of faith in democracy, of faith in people. The idea and the ideals are things I’ve always supported, but I’ve never experienced the process firsthand. Today’s my chance to do that. The automated message at the 800-number they had me call last night said I should get to the courthouse by 8:30 a.m.,... Read more

Hardcore Reformed theology from Jake VanDorn

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:21 pm By Fred Clark

One of my favorite movie moments was finally posted as a clip on YouTube: That’s George C. Scott and Season Hubley in the 1979 movie Hardcore, written and directed by Paul Schrader. And the scene really does, as the title of the YouTube posting says, describe “Calvinism in Three Minutes” — sadly cutting off just before Hubley’s line about a dachshund. Hardcore is, in many ways, a retelling of an ancient story — the hero’s journey to the underworld in... Read more

‘You can grow ideas in the garden of your mind’

Last updated on: June 10, 2012 at 1:21 pm By Fred Clark

(Fred Rogers mashup by John D. Boswell, aka melodysheep. Via Gryphen) “Every one of us is either a Chaos Muppet or an Order Muppet.” “Remember, on a daily basis, that everyone else has a story.” “We’ve finally cut through the crap to identify what this debate is really about: power.” “Friday’s rally was primarily about people who want to defeat President Obama’s health care policies and defeat Obama in the fall. A non-existent attack on religion was the bloody shirt.”... Read more

Sunday favorites

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:22 pm By Fred Clark

Matthew 23:9-13 And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father — the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. ‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go... Read more

Selfish Gentiles and ‘Shellfish Objections’: Timothy Dalrymple vs. the Apostle Peter

Last updated on: January 16, 2016 at 12:27 pm By Fred Clark

Who are you going to side with: the Apostle Peter, or Timothy Dalrymple? You’re going to have to pick one or the other, because Dalrymple, an evangelical blogger here at Patheos, is the latest contemporary American Christian to come out against Peter’s explanation of his own vision from God. Peter believed that his vision from God was about accepting Gentiles (for starters). Dalrymple says that’s wrong. He says that Peter’s vision was really just about shellfish. Peter says that God... Read more

NRA: Squeezing the stallion

Last updated on: June 8, 2012 at 1:25 pm By Fred Clark

Nicolae: The Rise of Antichrist, pp. 8-10 Today we deal with three pages. They involve at least two warheads exploding in American cities, yet they remain primarily preoccupied with traffic. A traffic jam is presented as the primary obstacle facing our protagonists near Chicago, and traffic conditions are the only details provided in the report they hear of the perhaps-nuclear bombing of New York City. We’ll get to that, but first let’s deal with the misogyny, because these three pages... Read more

Monkey – Moonshine

Last updated on: June 7, 2012 at 7:58 pm By Fred Clark

I’m not looking for answers at a time like this … “Monkey Grinder,” Chagall Guevara “Monkey Wrench,” Foo Fighters “Monkeys at the Zoo,” Charlie Peacock “The Monorail Song,” Songs in the Key of Springfield “Monsoon of Perfume,” Dengue Fever “Monument,” Carina Round “Moon Over Bourbon Street,” Sting “Moon River,” Audrey Hepburn “Moonage Daydream,” David Bowie “Moondance,” Van Morrison “Moonlight Bay,” The Beatles “Moonlight in Vermont,” Billie Holiday “Moonlight in Vermont,” Chet Baker “Moonlight in Vermont,” Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong... Read more