Here is an alien story from another world. It’s from 3,000 years ago, or what we think of as “biblical times.” That’s the right word in this case, since this story is from the Bible. It’s the story of the prophet Nathan coming to condemn King David for his sin. Before he can convince David to repent, Nathan has to convince him that he’s done something wrong, so first he tells the king a story. It’s a story about the... Read more
Time magazine has named “The Protester” its “Person of the Year” for 2011. That seems like the right choice to me. “In 2011, protesters didn’t just voice their complaints,” Time’s cover story says, “they changed the world.” And they’re still changing it. That’s what makes this a good choice for the story of the year. In the spring of 2011 we watched demonstrations across the Arab world — starting in Tunisia and then spreading to Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and... Read more
William H. Willimon may be best known as the co-author, with Stanley Hauerwas, of Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony. Love it or hate it (I loved it, mostly), that’s a book that requires readers to contend with what it has to say. The main point there being, roughly, that Christianity took a wrong turn around about the time of Constantine and still has a lot of work to do disentangling itself from Empire. Willimon is also the bishop... Read more
Old links, like old bananas, shouldn’t be allowed to go to waste. So when I find myself with a surplus of unused links and bookmarks, I try to mash them up and make something delicious. George Clooney, a movie star, is heading for the stage, where the Academy Award-winner will star in: … the West Coast premiere of “8,” a play chronicling the historic trial in the federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8, written by [American Foundation for Equal... Read more
Via Matt Yglesias I learn that the complete archives of Vogue magazine are now online. Those who can afford it — the subscription apparently costs $1,575 a year — can access “every single page from every issue dating back to the magazine’s American debut in 1892.” I mention this in the hopes that TV writers will pay attention and note that this makes Vogue astonishingly exceptional. The complete archives of most publications dating back to 1892 are not archived online.... Read more
Let’s say we arrange a private student loan, you and I. I agree to lend you $10,000 at 8 percent interest. After you graduate and get a job (for the purposes of this hypothetical, we’ll pretend that’s easy, or at least possible) you begin making payments. This works out nicely for both of us. Your tuition got paid, and now I’m reaping a neat little 8-percent return on my investment. But you know what’s even nicer than an 8-percent return?... Read more
Tribulation Force, pp. 443-445 After crushing insurrectionists in several locations with deadly force, the “potentate” of the one-world government addresses the world via radio: “Loyal citizens of the Global Community,” came the voice of Carpathia, “I come to you today with a broken heart, unable to tell you even from where I speak. For more than a year we have worked to draw this Global Community together under a banner of peace and harmony. Today, unfortunately, we have been reminded... Read more
It’s kind of a hectic Tuesday, with some holiday errands further delaying an already late Tribulation Force post (it’s coming). But here’s a few brief items in the meantime … Rick Perry’s ad rated “False” by PolitiFact So, can kids pray and openly celebrate Christmas in school? Absolutely, we conclude, though public school officials are barred from advancing a religion or making children pray or celebrate solely the Christian aspects of Christmas. The Supreme Court has not held that students... Read more
Luke 14:15-24 Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to... Read more
Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin shares a story about the late CBS newsman Walter Cronkite. I’d never heard this story before, yet it’s familiar to me and, I suspect, familiar too to many others like me. On Dec. 11, 1973: Mark Segal of the Philadelphia-based Gay Raiders posed as a reporter for the Camden State Community College newspaper and called CBS asking permission to watch the broadcast of the CBC Evening News with the legendary Walter Cronkite from inside... Read more
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