Promise to Prove It All Night

Last updated on: June 24, 2011 at 5:32 am By Fred Clark

Find somebody itching for something to start … “Promise,” Pedro the Lion “Promise What You Will,” Iron & Wine “The Promised Land,” Bruce Springsteen “Promised You a Miracle,” Simple Minds “Promises,” The Cranberries “Promising Light,” Iron & Wine “Props,” Daniel Amos “Proud Mary,” Creedence Clearwater Revival “Proud Mary,” Leonard Nimoy “Proud Utility Infielder,” Houseguest “Prove It All Night,” Bruce Springsteen Leonard Nimoy’s “Proud Mary” is arguably better than William Shatner’s “Rocket Man,” but I have to say I really enjoyed... Read more

More new neighbors

Last updated on: June 23, 2011 at 10:30 pm By Fred Clark

In addition to the happy news of Jason Pitzl-Waters bringing The Wild Hunt to Patheos, there’s been a flurry of other folks to be welcomed to the neighborhood here. Dilshad Ali is the new editor of Patheos’ Muslim “portal” (seeing a journalist getting hired is a welcome change of pace). And Patton Dodd, whose name you may recognize from Killing the Buddha, has joined the Patheos team as well. Max Lindeman arrives with his Diary of a Wimpy Catholic and... Read more

Quench not the Spirit

Last updated on: June 22, 2011 at 1:21 pm By Fred Clark

Rachel Held Evans responds to the recent Southern Baptist Convention resolution affirming belief in “conscious, eternal suffering” for all non-Christians, i.e., Hell. She quotes from Rustin J. Umstattd, a theology professor at Midwestern Baptist seminary, who criticizes author Rob Bell for not realizing that we Christians, apparently, are not supposed to listen when our conscience starts screaming in protest: It is clear that Bell is not comfortable with the idea that billions of people may suffer in hell. But then,... Read more

What's next?

Last updated on: June 22, 2011 at 9:29 am By Fred Clark

“Giving the customer the absolute finest automobile that General Motors could possibly produce has proven to be the correct approach to the automobile business because this finance-generated effort to skimp and see how much cost can we strip out before people actually protest, I think is something that’s taught in the business schools and it has been extremely damaging to American business — and it doesn’t have to be that way.” — Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of GM What... Read more

TF: Jesus stole your children

Last updated on: June 21, 2011 at 3:12 pm By Fred Clark

Tribulation Force, pp. 396-397 As the former rabbi Tsion Ben-Judan shouts his redundant conclusion — “Jesus Christ is the Messiah!” — he has Buck Williams shouting along with him: Buck leaped from the couch in the green room, standing now, watching the monitor. Others had gathered, but he couldn’t help himself. He shouted, “Yes! Go, Tsion! Amen!” Woo-hoo! In your face, Judaism! Buck here illustrates another important point in our lesson on How Not to Do Evangelism. Fist-pumping triumphalism is... Read more

Farewell to the Big Man

Last updated on: June 19, 2011 at 1:43 pm By Fred Clark

RIP Clarence Clemons, 1942-2011, and thank you. Read more

Angry birds

Last updated on: June 16, 2011 at 4:26 pm By Fred Clark

I was attacked earlier today with some really nasty tweets — just the angriest, most aggressive tone you could imagine. So let me take a moment to respond directly to my accusers. I realize that you can’t help yourself — that you’re always going to launch these kinds of personal attacks whenever you think somebody’s getting a bit too close to home. It’s just your instincts, and I’m trying not to take offense, but I do want to clear up... Read more

Welcome to the neighborhood!

Last updated on: June 16, 2011 at 1:08 pm By Fred Clark

Jason Pitzl-Waters’ excellent Pagan blog The Wild Hunt is now here on Patheos. Huzzah! In addition to providing a wide-ranging, thoughtful guide to Pagan matters, the Wild Hunt is also one of my favorite blogs for keeping abreast of matters of religious freedom. The frequency and thoughtfulness with which Jason Pitzl-Waters writes is daunting (for other bloggers, but not for his readers), so while I’m very happy to be sharing domain space with The Wild Hunt, I’m also worried that... Read more

Use words if necessary

Last updated on: June 15, 2011 at 3:34 am By Fred Clark

(Stan T. suggested that this bit on evangelism might be more accessible reposted as a standalone piece, and I think he’s right. To avoid simply repeating myself, I’ve also added one more item to the list.) 1. Evangelism is hospitality. Hospitality means opening up your life to share it with others. Sometimes that means sharing your home or your food, but here it means sharing that which is centrally and essentially important to you, the core of your identity and... Read more

TF: How Not To Do Evangelism

Last updated on: June 13, 2011 at 4:59 pm By Fred Clark

Tribulation Force, pp. 386-396 Reading the Left Behind series has caused me to re-evaluate many of the “Bible prophecy,” End-Times works I encountered before opening these books. The more I read of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, the better that Hal Lindsay and Donald W. Thompson seem. Thompson was the auteur behind A Thief in the Night and its sequels, the premillennial dispensationalist thrillers that circulated in church basements and coffee houses for years before the age of VHS. Thief... Read more