TFTM: Leave the gun, take the salvation

Last updated on: January 17, 2012 at 9:40 pm By Fred Clark

Left Behind II: Tribulation Force, Part 3 “When your fiancé comes, he can stay here too,” Cam-Cam tells flirty not-Alice as she settles in to his apartment, and hundreds of conservative youth pastors sigh in relief as the movie crosses back into mostly acceptable territory. It’s clear now how the movie’s version of the book’s romantic-confusion subplot will unfold, with Chloe jumping to the wrong conclusion about Cam-Cam and not-Alice and bursting into silly girl-tears. It’s just so much more... Read more

Who decides who is a ‘minister’?

Last updated on: January 17, 2012 at 1:50 pm By Fred Clark

Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School vs. EEOC involved the “ministerial exception” to many laws governing employers and the workplace. That exception reflects both an effort to avoid state entanglement in religious disputes and, more broadly, a bit of common sense. For example, say you’re the owner of a pizza place and you’re looking to hire a new delivery driver. You can’t put up a sign that says, “Jews Need Not Apply.” And you can’t put up a sign that... Read more

Dives and Abraham: Martin Luther King Jr. demolishes Mitt Romney’s talk of ‘envy’

Last updated on: January 16, 2012 at 6:26 pm By Fred Clark

The Rude Pundit points us to the sermon the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered at the National Cathedral in Washington on March 31, 1968, the final Sunday of King’s life. That sermon, “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution,” includes an extended look at the parable of Lazarus and Dives. The character of “Dives” isn’t actually named in the parable — but it’s the traditional name assigned to him because Dives is Latin for The 1 Percent. King’s remarks on... Read more

More thread for those who wish to discuss Ron Paul

Last updated on: January 16, 2012 at 4:35 pm By Fred Clark

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. — Martin Luther King Jr. Since we’re now approaching 300 comments on the previous Ron Paul-related post, it may be good to get some fresh, front-page thread for those who would like to continue that discussion. I’ll turn to Tim Wise to push the conversation forward a bit: “Of Broken Clocks, Presidential Candidates, and the Confusion of Certain White... Read more

‘An Act for establishing religious Freedom’

Last updated on: January 16, 2012 at 1:34 pm By Fred Clark

This statute, written by Thomas Jefferson, was passed 226 years ago today by the Virginia General Assembly. Jefferson was rightly proud of that. The evangelical Christian voting bloc, influenced by lying con artists like David Barton, may cite the first line here as evidence that Jefferson believed in an Almighty God and creator. And influenced by folks like Francis Schaeffer and Charles Colson, the members of that voting bloc may further cite that first line in support of the notion... Read more

How do you say ‘perestroika’ in Burmese?

Last updated on: January 15, 2012 at 2:15 pm By Fred Clark

“Burma joy as freed prisoners head home“ When Ko Ko Gyi arrived at Rangoon airport the crowd had been waiting several hours and rushed to greet him. People almost jumped on him, shouting, cheering, thronging him, calling out his name. Ko Ko Gyi is one of the best known of the 88 generation of student leaders, along with Min Ko Naing, the most famous. … This latest prisoner release is much more significant than previous ones. Under the current government,... Read more

The further adventures of Charters & Caldicott

Last updated on: January 15, 2012 at 2:23 pm By Fred Clark

You don’t suppose there’s something in this fellow’s story, Caldicott, do you? After all, people don’t go about tying up nuns. Dan Heaton at Pop Matters reviews the new DVD release of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes. This is a great old film, and one those who know me well know is one of my favorites because it’s a classic example of the Innocent Person Embroiled in an International Scheme — which is my favorite movie in all of its... Read more

Sunday favorites

Last updated on: January 14, 2012 at 6:34 pm By Fred Clark

Amos 5:16-24 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord: In all the squares there shall be wailing; and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! alas!’ They shall call the farmers to mourning, and those skilled in lamentation, to wailing; in all the vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through the midst of you, says the Lord. Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you want the... Read more

On names, naming and name-calling

Last updated on: January 14, 2012 at 6:25 pm By Fred Clark

So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field. — Genesis 2:19-20 I regularly visit Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy blog in part because... Read more

Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran School is a very bad school

Last updated on: January 14, 2012 at 1:08 pm By Fred Clark

Before saying anything about the Supreme Court decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School vs. EEOC we first need to say something about the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran School itself. It’s a bad school. It’s a very bad school and no parent should consider sending their children there. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran School teaches children bad things. It teaches children wrong things and untrue things. It does not provide a decent eduction. It’s a bad school. I’m not referring here to... Read more

Which prophet did King Manasseh supposedly put to death by sawing?