{"id":10566,"date":"2012-10-02T20:04:49","date_gmt":"2012-10-03T00:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/?p=10566"},"modified":"2015-06-30T18:18:08","modified_gmt":"2015-06-30T22:18:08","slug":"culture-warrior-baffled-by-symbol-with-two-short-parallel-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2012\/10\/02\/culture-warrior-baffled-by-symbol-with-two-short-parallel-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Culture warrior baffled by symbol with two short parallel lines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In order to stop the momentum of those un<\/em>-signing the \u201cManhattan Declaration<\/a>,\u201d the group\u2019s executive director has unveiled a new logo. (Yes, it\u2019s an organization now, not just a document \u2014 a manifesto can\u2019t cash checks<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Eric Teetsel describes his inspiration<\/a> for this logo:<\/p>\n

When I moved to Washington I noticed these small blue stickers with two yellow lines permeating the city. They were on cars, t-shirts, and lamp posts. It wasn\u2019t long before I Googled \u201cblue sticker yellow lines\u201d and discovered it is the logo of the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation\u2019s largest gay rights organizations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The new logo for what\u2019s left of the \u201cManhattan Declaration.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Teetsel is surely aware that two parallel lines make an equal sign, he just can\u2019t bring himself to say<\/em> it. Teetsel won\u2019t allow the word \u201cequality\u201d to be spoken, or even thought.<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s some high-level weaseling there \u2014 the sort of self-deception that\u2019s so flimsy and desperate that even a large part of Teetsel\u2019s own brain is probably mocking him more mercilessly than anyone else.<\/p>\n

(See earlier: \u201cThe fatuous foolishness of the Manhattan Declaration<\/a>.\u201d)<\/p>\n

* * * * * * * * *<\/p>\n

Patrick Mitchel (via<\/em> Rachel Held Evans<\/a>) reviews a \u201ccomplementation\u201d book purporting to explain \u201cWhat the Bible Really Says About Men and Women<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Author Claire] Smith\u2019s obvious implication is that other readers who come to different conclusions must not be letting the Bible speak clearly \u2013 presumably due to feminist bias (she speaks of this in the opening chapter). There is more than a whiff of arrogance here \u2013 does she really think that other evangelical Christians are not coming to the text with equal sincerity and seriousness as she is?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ooh, me, me, pick me!<\/em> The answer is \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, she really does<\/em> think that other evangelical Christians are not coming to the text with equal sincerity and seriousness as she is.<\/p>\n

Or, rather, that those who do not agree with her interpretation do not share her sincerity and seriousness because they are not really<\/em> Christians.<\/p>\n

Or, rather, that she\u2019s acting on the pretense that they are not really Christians in the same way that Eric Teetsel is acting on the pretense that he\u2019s never seen an equal symbol before.<\/p>\n

* * * * * * * * *<\/p>\n

Rachel Barenblat (a.k.a. The Velveteen Rabbi) posts a sermon on Jonah<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Why does Jonah run from God? Because he knows that once he goes to Nineveh and preaches teshuvah, the people will repent and God will forgive. And they do, and God does, and Jonah is furious. Sometimes it\u2019s hard to let go of our childlike fantasies of a world of simple equations, where those who do good are rewarded and those who do evil are struck down.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s an excellent four-sentence summary of the book of Jonah. And an excellent four-sentence response to folks like Teetsel and Smith.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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A former managing editor of Prism magazine, Fred worked in the parachurch nonprofit world for a decade and then for a decade in the newspaper biz. He began blogging in 2002. In 2003 he began writing a review of the best-selling Left Behind series. Eight years later he still hasn\u2019t finished reviewing the second book of that series and the experience has left him a broken shell of a man. Fred knows the difference between the possessive \u201cits\u201d and the contraction \u201cit\u2019s,\u201d and he is acutely bothered when others mistakenly confuse the two, yet he himself just kind of instinctively types the apostrophe whether or not it belongs there. Some feel this is his greatest hypocrisy, but those who know him better know better. He\u2019s guilty of much greater hypocrisies. Jesus loves Fred far more than Fred loves Jesus, but he at least has the decency to recognize the unfairness of that lopsided relationship and he has long wished that he were better at maybe kind of sort of doing something more to correct that some day. A Baptist, an amateur, a Gen-Xer, a Gemini and a Mets fan, Fred lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and two teenage daughters. You can reach him via email at slacktivist at hotmail dot com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/author\/fredclark1\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Culture warrior baffled by symbol with two short parallel lines","description":"Being a culture-warrior means pretending you've never heard of equality: \"When I moved to Washington I noticed these small blue stickers with two yellow lines permeating the city. They were on cars, t-shirts, and lamp posts. 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