There are more of us than you think. Dianna E. Anderson: “On Why the Bible is Not Clear“ On many controversial issues, especially those concerning women, the Bible is not “clear” and it is disingenuous, unfair, and hurtful to claim so without providing explained support. … Claiming “the Bible is clear” on something is a way to malign dissent and to shut down debate. The person who makes the claim “The Bible is clear” is essentially telling other members of... Read more
I was unaware of the etymology of “brouhaha.” I shall follow Marc Tracy’s example of preferring “kerfuffle.” Just now there’s an interesting kerfuffle over the doctrine of the Trinity, with yet another one of those evangelical declarations we compulsively generate seeking signatories to affirm this ancient teaching. Christians for Biblical Equality quotes Philip Carey to explain why 21st-century American evangelicals are rehashing a 4th-century theological argument: A whole generation of conservative evangelicals has embraced a new-fangled version of the ancient... Read more
Matt Stoller: “Mortgage Servicers: Getting Away with the Perfect Crime?“ The bad behavior is so rampant that banks think nothing of a contractor programming fraud into the software. This is shocking behavior and has led to untold numbers of foreclosures, as well as the theft of huge sums of money from mortgage-backed securities investors. Here’s how the fraud works: Mortgage loan notes are very clear on the schedule of how payments are to be applied. First, the money goes to... Read more
I recently listed Jonathan Dudley’s Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics along with other spiritual memoirs by younger writers challenging aspects of what they have been taught in the American evangelical subculture. “Memoir” isn’t really the right word for Dudley’s book, which is more impersonal and analytical than that implies. He steps back to examine ideas and ideologies rather than focusing on the particulars of his own story or journey. But that’s what this journey... Read more
“I was sick and you took care of me …” World AIDS Day, US | World AIDS Day, UK | World AIDS Day, UN | AVERT From (2015)Quilt.org: An HIV+ pregnant woman can give birth to an HIV-free baby 98 percent of mother-to-child HIV transmission incidents are preventable. Yet, more than 1,000 babies are born every day with HIV. And half of children born with HIV will die before their second birthday without treatment. So what will it take to... Read more
The ‘homogeneous unit principle’ in action “Kentucky Church Bans Interracial Couples” A small church in Pike County, Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples from most church activities “to promote greater unity among the church body.” Melvin Thompson, former pastor of Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church, proposed the ban after Stella Harville brought her fiance, Ticha Chikuni, to services in June. Harville, who goes by the name Suzie, played the piano while Chikuni sang. Before stepping down as pastor in August,... Read more
Father Gabriele Amorth, former chief exorcist for the Vatican, has never read any of the Harry Potter books. We know this to be true because of what he says about them: “In Harry Potter the Devil acts in a crafty and covert manner, under the guise of extraordinary powers, magic spells and curses.” He’s not saying that this is how the Devil is portrayed as acting in the Harry Potter stories — wherein Volde-you-know-who certainly does “act in a crafty... Read more
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born 176 years ago today. So of course I’ll take that as an excuse to re-read one of my favorite passages in American literature, from Chapter 31 of Huckleberry Finn, wherein Huck aims to misbehave. I’m sticking with the original language here, which is offensive and vile, and the only language Huck would have known, even if he had gone to the Sunday school or listened to Miss Watson. I about made up my mind to... Read more
The Consumerist reports on an annual holiday tradition from PNC Financial: According to the folks at PNC Financial, who have spent decades tracking the ups and downs of the gifts rattled off in the seemingly endless tune, the total cost of realizing the full “12 Days of Christmas” has crossed the $100,000 mark for the first time, coming in at a total of $101,119.84. … The single most expensive item on the list is the seven swans a-swimming at $6,300,... Read more
Richard Land has published an open letter trying to convince Newt Gingrich to give a “Checkers speech” on his checkered marital history. The Southern Baptist ethics czar urges Gingrich to: … pick a pro-family venue and give a speech (not an interview) addressing your martial history once and for all. It should be clear that this speech will be “it” and will not be repeated, only referenced. As you prepare that speech, you should picture in your mind a 40-something... Read more
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