I’m looking through you

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:37 pm By Fred Clark

I enjoyed this trippy, riffing and rambling reflection from John Van Sloten at Think Christian: “Spiritual perception and the science of color.” It’s half sermon illustration, half stoner epiphany. I probably enjoyed the stoner-ish aspects more, but Von Slaten’s sermon ain’t bad either. He writes: Dogs are bi-chromates, meaning their eyes have two cones enabling them to see blue/yellow and black/white, while most humans are tri-chromates, enabling us to see many more colors. Some butterflies have five cones and can... Read more

‘Eve-teasers’ inside and outside the church

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:37 pm By Fred Clark

In Bangladesh, apparently, the sexual harassment of women is called “Eve teasing.” This social problem exists everywhere be it in rural or in urban areas. One of the main reasons of girls being married off at an early age or them dropping out of school is “eve teasing.” Many times these incidents lead to violence and even deaths. Just look at that term — “Eve teasing” — and ponder its biblical roots. The etymology of this term is an accusing... Read more

Exposing the shameful secrets of Charles Worley’s fundamentalism

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:37 pm By Fred Clark

Fundamentalism thrives on isolation from and opposition to the world — isolation from and opposition to the rest of society, to other people, to The Other, to everyone else. The despicable Charles Worley and his Providence Road Baptist Church in North Carolina illustrates this opposition. But the fact that we know about Worley, that we’ve heard his vile words through a viral video that has been viewed by more than half a million people, shows that isolation is becoming increasingly... Read more

Charles L. Worley seems to be training others to be just a awful as he is

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:38 pm By Fred Clark

OK, it’s getting late in the day and my plan of cooling down to a calm, rational tone to discuss this still isn’t working. So let’s discuss the Rev. Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, N.C. Actually, let’s just make that Charles L. Worley — there’s nothing “reverend” about this bastard, regardless of what the clueless, hateful club-members of this local congregation try to say. He’s not “pastor” Worley. Pastor means shepherd, and Worley’s not shepherding... Read more

Smart people saying smart things

Last updated on: May 22, 2012 at 4:31 pm By Fred Clark

Richard Beck: “Orthodox Alexithymia“ When theology and doctrine become separated from emotion we end up with something dysfunctional and even monstrous. A theology or doctrinal system that has become decoupled from emotion is going to look emotionally stunted and even inhuman. What I’m describing here might be captured by the tag “orthodox alexithymia.” By “orthodox” I mean the intellectual pursuit of right belief. And by “alexithymia” I mean someone who is, theologically speaking, emotionally and socially deaf and dumb. Even... Read more

Another post about manufactured housing

Last updated on: May 22, 2012 at 11:29 pm By Fred Clark

I know I’ve written this same post every few months about manufactured homes (or “mobile homes” or “trailer parks”). But it keeps happening. It’s always happening. All that changes are the names of the towns, of the parks, of the councils and legislatures, and of the desperate homeowners explaining to reporters that they just don’t know what they’re going to do. Writing for The Nation, Laura Flanders notes the vital importance of manufactured housing for Americans over the age of... Read more

Barton, Larson, Fischer: Checking in with the Liars for Jesus

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:39 pm By Fred Clark

Historian John Fea asks: “Is it time to gather Christian historians together to sign some kind of formal statement condemning Barton’s brand of propaganda and hagiography?” Easy question. The answer is “yes.” David Barton is a liar and a con-man who poses as a Christian historian.* That’s bad for the reputation of all Christians and of all historians, and especially for the reputation of Christian historians. Even worse, since Barton’s shtick is premised on the idea that he is a... Read more

Fundie Catholic school forfeits to avoid shame of third loss

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:39 pm By Fred Clark

Here’s the thing: Mesa Prep’s high school baseball team went undefeated. That’s the high school team in the Arizona Charter Athletic Association for which Paige Sultzbach plays second base. Mesa Prep won the charter league state championship by forfeit after Our Lady of Sorrows — a fundamentalist Catholic school — refused to play in the championship game because Mesa had a girl playing second base. The teams played each other twice earlier in the season, with Sultzbach sitting out both... Read more

Exercise No. 3 (Linking)

Last updated on: May 22, 2012 at 12:13 am By Fred Clark

If I were a better blogger, I’d have something insightful, profound or witty to say about all of these links. “The surprising thing to me as I look back at my career is the determination I had, because I never thought of myself as a determined person. … I guess I just had to find out if I was any good or not.” “It’s very much thinking about it all the time,” celebrity chef Mario Batali says of taking the... Read more

Trap streets, voting for Jesus, and eschatological justice

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 7:40 pm By Fred Clark

Mark Evanier encounters what seems to be a trap street. I wrote about trap streets a few years ago in “The Street That Wasn’t There.” Here’s the footnote from that post: The disparity between map and terrain forced me to make that distinction, and to recognize the possibility of that distinction, which wasn’t something the fundamentalist church and school I attended were interested in recognizing. But there I was, standing at the dead end of Glenwood Drive, looking at a... Read more