De-legitimizing Christians outside the evangelical tribe

Last updated on: April 16, 2012 at 12:27 pm By Fred Clark

Timothy Noah again expresses his frustration with how the “New York Times Mislabels ‘Christians’” — using the word to apply exclusively to Republican members of the evangelical tribe: A 78-percent majority of Americans is Christian. Only about a third of them self-identify as evangelical, which is a very rough proxy for the Christian conservative minority that increasingly insists on being called, simply, “Christian.” Such totum pro parte synecdoche de-legitimizes mainline Protestantism, historically black Protestantism, and Catholicism, which account, combined, for... Read more

Smart people saying smart things

Last updated on: April 16, 2012 at 11:30 am By Fred Clark

Matt Stoller: “Corruption Responsible for 80% of Your Cell Phone Bill“ (via Susie) Americans continue to have a small number of expensive, poor quality cell phone providers. And how much does this cost you? Take your phone bill, and cut it by 80%. That’s how much you should be paying. You see, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, people in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Finland pay on average less than $130 a year for cell phone service.... Read more

April 16

Last updated on: March 7, 2012 at 6:25 pm By Fred Clark

16 April 1963 My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But... Read more

Got the world in a jug, the stopper’s in my hand

Last updated on: April 15, 2012 at 5:01 pm By Fred Clark

“If it had been a 10- or 11-foot gator, it might have been a different story.” “Make sure you hang in there until the 1:50 mark to get the full pop-and-lock effect, along with some moonwalking in penny loafers.” “Far too many churches are answering questions that few people are asking.” “So, once again, they fail to understand the central meaning of their office: That they serve the church rather than rule it.” “That was like obstructing justice cubed.” “I... Read more

A joke and a parable from Peter Rollins

Last updated on: April 14, 2012 at 11:12 pm By Fred Clark

In his contribution to the new anthology Letters to a Future Church, Peter Rollins tells this joke, presenting it as a parable: Early one morning a man turned up at the house of his minister in tears, saying, “Please, can you help. A kind and considerate family in the area is in great trouble. The husband recently lost his job, and the wife cannot work due to health problems. They have three young children to look after, and the man’s... Read more

Sunday favorites

Last updated on: March 31, 2012 at 6:00 pm By Fred Clark

Romans 13:5-7 Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing. Pay to all what is due to them — taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. Read more

Richard Land scandal festering in Southern Baptist Convention

Last updated on: April 20, 2012 at 10:55 pm By Fred Clark

Travis Loller of the Associated Press follows up on the Richard Land scandal at the Southern Baptist Convention. When I say “scandal,” of course, I don’t mean that the SBC, or Land see it as such. They don’t, and neither apparently do most white Southern Baptists or most white evangelicals, among whom Richard Land remains a respected and respectable member of the establishment. But when the chief “ethics” spokesman of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination unloads a racist rant on... Read more

100 years ago

Last updated on: April 14, 2012 at 6:50 pm By Fred Clark

“If your ship is sinking – Keep Playing.” Read more

Layout tweaks open thread

Last updated on: April 14, 2012 at 9:50 pm By Fred Clark

OK, so, you’ve probably noticed a slightly different look here. Patheos is tweaking some stuff sitewide, most of which doesn’t affect this blog — except, we hope, to make it easier to find from the front pages of Patheos. But as you can see, there’ve been some tweaks here as well. This is still a work in progress, so please let me know of any new bugs, glitches, typos, dead links, omissions, atrocities, etc., and we’ll try to get those... Read more

Do Republicans realize they’ve just called for the repeal of welfare reform?

Last updated on: April 13, 2012 at 4:19 pm By Fred Clark

The “welfare reform” passed during the Clinton administration was based on the idea that welfare recipients would be required to work. Welfare reform was billed as the end of the free ride for all those lazy moms sitting at home doing nothing except raising their kids and cashing their AFDC checks. The new law replaced the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children with TANF — Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. And TANF meant those lazy moms were going to... Read more