{"id":35850,"date":"2017-12-22T07:56:20","date_gmt":"2017-12-22T12:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/?p=35850"},"modified":"2017-12-22T07:56:20","modified_gmt":"2017-12-22T12:56:20","slug":"lbcf-no-165-dear-captain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/","title":{"rendered":"LBCF, No. 165: ‘Dear Captain’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Originally posted May 23, 2008.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read this entire series, for free, via the convenient\u00a0Left Behind Index<\/a>. This post is also part of the ebook collection\u00a0The Anti-Christ Handbook: Volume 1<\/a>, available on Amazon for just $2.99. Diversity; fetus; transgender; vulnerable; entitlement; science-based; evidence-based.\u00a0Volume 2 of The Anti-Christ Handbook<\/a>, completing all the posts on the first Left Behind book, is also now available.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Left Behind,<\/i>\u00a0pp. 438-440<\/b><\/p>\n

New Hope Village Church\u2019s Sunday service is drawing SRO crowds.<\/p>\n

Rayford and Chloe watched for Buck until the last minute the next morning, but they could no longer save a seat for him when the sanctuary and the balcony filled. When Bruce began his message, Chloe nudged her father and pointed out the window, down onto the walk before the front door. There, in a small crowd listening to an external speaker, was Buck. Rayford raised a celebratory fist and whispered to Chloe, \u201cWonder what you\u2019re going to pray for this morning?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(Out of sympathy for Chloe\u2019s embarrassment, we\u2019ll just ignore Rayford here and pretend that whole fist-pumping bit didn\u2019t happen.)<\/p>\n

Post-Event I would think every house of worship would be jammed with overflow crowds like this one. This is one of the things we humans do in the wake of tragedy \u2014 we gather together, often in churches. One baby trapped in a well will fill every pew in town for a week. The Event is a much bigger deal \u2014 imagine\u00a0every<\/i>\u00a0baby and young child on the planet lost down that well.<\/p>\n

A mere 13 days after The Event, the world would still be reeling from the trauma and the impulse to gather together and hold vigils would be overwhelming. People wouldn\u2019t be able to hold vigils at the scene of The Event because it happened everywhere and nowhere. Churches would thus be the most likely place for such vigiling to occur \u2014 they\u2019re easy to find, open to the public, and they\u2019ve already got candles and experience conducting this sort of thing. Schools might be another gathering place* \u2014 somewhere people could leave notes at impromptu shrines piled high with flowers, candles and stuffed animals. But those empty schools might also be a bit too much, too overwhelming. All those stuffed animals mouldering in the rain \u2014 the last of the pre-Event plush manufactured before the stuffed-animal companies closed their doors on a world without children.<\/p>\n

After the Event, there would be shrines like this at every school, playground, and Chuck E. Cheese. But there are no memorials to any of the missing children in \"Left Behind.\"
After the Event, there would be shrines like this at every school, playground, and Chuck E. Cheese. But there are no memorials to any of the missing children in \u201cLeft Behind.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So even though most Americans don\u2019t go to church on most Sundays, most would likely do so on the Sundays following The Event. Out of civil custom, if not religious conviction, they would have swarmed their local churches and thus, rather quickly, people would have begun to notice a pattern \u2014 an undeniable, unmistakable clustering of missing\u00a0adults<\/i>\u00a0at many of these churches. Each of those churches would have their own versions of Bruce or Loretta, people who could tell them what had happened.<\/p>\n

Every local paper would\u2019ve soon been reporting this story, some reporting it as theory, but more than a few likely reporting it as fact, supported by the evidence that only certain adults of a particular kind seemed to be among the vanished. That evidence would make this explanation far more convincing than Nicolae\u2019s official story about electromagnetic something or other.<\/p>\n

The Rapture theory would thus have been old news long before Buck even started on his\u00a0Global Weekly<\/i>\u00a0story. While Bruce was conducting secret meetings with his inner-core core-groups, Loretta would be appearing on\u00a0Larry King Live,<\/i>\u00a0playing the in-case-of-rapture video for the entire country.**<\/p>\n

None of that happens here in\u00a0Left Behind,<\/i>\u00a0of course. All those other towns are filled with Other People and the authors don\u2019t really care or wonder about Other People all that much. They imagine that New Hope Village Church is an exception \u2014 perhaps the only church drawing such crowds. But even the Other People filling New Hope\u2019s sanctuary barely register in this story:<\/p>\n

Bruce played the former pastor\u2019s videotape, told his own story again, talked briefly about prophecy, invited people to receive Christ, and then opened the microphone for personal accounts. As had happened the previous two weeks, people streamed forward and stood in line until well after one in the afternoon, eager to tell how they had now, finally, trusted Christ.<\/p>\n

Chloe told her father she had wanted to be first, as he had been, but by the time she made her way down front the last row of the balcony, she was one of the last.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s verbatim: \u201c\u2026 she made her way down front the last row of the balcony.\u201d And so is \u201cthe previous two weeks,\u201d even though The Event happened 13 days ago, on a Monday night, and I\u2019m pretty sure you can\u2019t fit three Sundays into 13 days.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this would be a good time to mention again that\u00a0Jerry Jenkins runs a writing school, with a starting tuition of only $1,365. Their critique service is also available to non-students. For just $30, \u201ca team of writing professionals\u201d will \u201cevaluate your work on the basis of five core issues: Proper language usage, Pacing, Presentation, Purpose and Persuasiveness of the content.\u201d (In Jenkins\u2019 defense, \u201cContinuity\u201d isn\u2019t one of their five core issues.)<\/p>\n

Chloe \u201ctold her story, including the sign she believed God had given her in the form of a friend who sat beside her on the flight home.\u201d<\/p>\n

These folks really know how to bury the lede. Chloe\u2019s \u201csign\u201d from God isn\u2019t really all that compelling when compared to what everyone in the room witnessed firsthand 13 days ago. Worse than that is the way Bruce never seems to move beyond a basic I-told-you-so message about the Rapture. He told Buck this is the same theme he plans to preach every Sunday. If I were one of those Other People gathered at New Hope I wouldn\u2019t be nearly as interested in this endless rehashing of prophecies fulfilled as I would be in prophecies yet to come. What happens next? Bruce knows, but he\u2019s not telling. And the congregation knows he knows, but they\u2019re not asking. This is deeply weird \u2014 particularly since part of what Bruce knows is that everyone in that room will be dead within\u00a0six years, 11 months and 19 days<\/a>, and most sooner than that.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

When the meeting was over, Rayford and Chloe went outside to find Buck, but he was gone. They went for lunch with Bruce, and when they got home, Chloe found a note from Buck on the front door.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Closer inspection would also likely have revealed footprints and cigarette butts in the shrubbery outside of Chloe\u2019s bedroom window. I\u2019m joking. There\u2019s nothing creepy at all about the idea of him avoiding contact with them at the church, then looking up their home address and driving to their house to leave a note while they\u2019re not there. Nothing creepy at all about that.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t that I didn\u2019t want to say good-bye. But I don\u2019t. \u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s how the note begins. The odd lack of a salutation there has the same presumed familiarity as starting a phone conversation, \u201cHi, it\u2019s me.\u201d I wouldn\u2019t recommend using \u201cHi, it\u2019s me\u201d after only one date.<\/p>\n

That lack of salutation also means there was a 50\/50 chance that Rayford, rather than Chloe, would\u2019ve found this note first. The fact that the entire note is included in this Rayford-POV section implies, at least, that he must\u2019ve read it after his daughter did. The end of this section is much more entertaining, though, if we imagine that Capt. Steele found the note first, believing it was addressed to him:<\/p>\n

\u2026 I\u2019ll be back for bureau business and maybe just to see you, if you\u2019ll allow it. \u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHmm,\u201d Rayford thinks. \u201cPerhaps my passionate sincerity has begun to persuade him and he wants to hear more about my new-found faith. \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2026 I\u2019ve got a lot to think about right now, as you know, and frankly, I don\u2019t want my attraction to you to get in the way of that thinking. And it would. \u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cOh, my,\u201d Rayford thinks, remembering that Buck did look strangely\u00a0sweaty<\/i>\u00a0the other night at the restaurant. \u2026<\/p>\n

You are a lovely person, Chloe \u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oh,\u00a0phew.<\/i>\u00a0\u201cHoney, I think this is for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

You are a lovely person, Chloe, and I was moved to tears by your story. You had told me before, but to hear it in that place and in that circumstance this morning was beautiful. Would you do something I have never asked anyone to do for me ever before? \u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cOh, my,\u201d Chloe thinks, remembering that Buck did look strangely\u00a0sweaty<\/i>\u00a0the other night at the restaurant. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026 Would you pray for me?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oh,\u00a0phew.<\/i><\/p>\n

I will call you or see you soon. I promise. Buck.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I will see you soon. I promise. And now I know where you live.<\/p>\n

\u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013<\/p>\n

* The Event took place at night here in the States, but I\u2019d imagine a very different atmosphere at school buildings in those countries where it took place during school hours. There school buildings would be cordoned off with police tape as moon-suited government investigators armed with geiger-counters and EMF-readers scoured the kindergarten desks for some clue as to What Happened. And what of the teachers, left bewildered in their suddenly empty classrooms? Some would have gone mad. Others would have been arrested and interrogated, and still others scapegoated and slaughtered by angry mobs. \u2026<\/p>\n

** LaHaye\u2019s End Times check list does not allow for this kind of mass-conversion and religious revival, but I don\u2019t see any way for it\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0to happen given the scenario the authors present. And just ask Hezekiah or Jonah what that would mean \u2014 what it\u00a0always\u00a0<\/i>means when the threat of judgment produces repentance and revival. The shadow would move back ten steps and God would relent from sending calamity. Nicolae would be swept away like Sennacherib and poor old Tim LaHaye would be left muttering that he\u2019s angry enough to die.<\/p>\n

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

If I were one of there at New Hope I wouldn\u2019t be nearly as interested in prophecies fulfilled as I would be in prophecies yet to come. What happens next? Bruce knows, but he\u2019s not telling. And the congregation knows he knows, but they\u2019re not asking<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[238],"class_list":["post-35850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-left-behind"],"yoast_head":"\nLBCF, No. 165: 'Dear Captain'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If I were one of there at New Hope I wouldn\u2019t be nearly as interested in prophecies fulfilled as I would be in prophecies yet to come. What happens next? Bruce knows, but he\u2019s not telling. And the congregation knows he knows, but they\u2019re not asking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LBCF, No. 165: 'Dear Captain'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If I were one of there at New Hope I wouldn\u2019t be nearly as interested in prophecies fulfilled as I would be in prophecies yet to come. What happens next? Bruce knows, but he\u2019s not telling. And the congregation knows he knows, but they\u2019re not asking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"slacktivist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-22T12:56:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/files\/2017\/12\/shrine.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fred Clark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fred Clark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/\",\"name\":\"LBCF, No. 165: 'Dear Captain'\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-22T12:56:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-22T12:56:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#\/schema\/person\/32666545e535b697afb93d9848dcfc47\"},\"description\":\"If I were one of there at New Hope I wouldn\u2019t be nearly as interested in prophecies fulfilled as I would be in prophecies yet to come. What happens next? Bruce knows, but he\u2019s not telling. And the congregation knows he knows, but they\u2019re not asking\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"LBCF, No. 165: ‘Dear Captain’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/\",\"name\":\"slacktivist\",\"description\":\""Test everything; hold fast to what is good."\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#\/schema\/person\/32666545e535b697afb93d9848dcfc47\",\"name\":\"Fred Clark\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7083ccd514d4fb8d5043041756d766a0?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7083ccd514d4fb8d5043041756d766a0?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Fred Clark\"},\"description\":\"Fred Clark is a graduate of Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now called Palmer Seminary), of Eastern College (now called Eastern University) and of the fundamentalist Timothy Christian High School (still fundamentalist and still called Timothy Christian High School, but not really thrilled to have a snarky, liberal, tree-hugging, pro-choice, pro-GLBT, peacenik, commie, evolutionist as such a vocal alumnus). 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":"LBCF, No. 165: 'Dear Captain'","description":"If I were one of there at New Hope I wouldn\u2019t be nearly as interested in prophecies fulfilled as I would be in prophecies yet to come. What happens next? Bruce knows, but he\u2019s not telling. And the congregation knows he knows, but they\u2019re not asking","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"LBCF, No. 165: 'Dear Captain'","og_description":"If I were one of there at New Hope I wouldn\u2019t be nearly as interested in prophecies fulfilled as I would be in prophecies yet to come. What happens next? Bruce knows, but he\u2019s not telling. And the congregation knows he knows, but they\u2019re not asking","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/","og_site_name":"slacktivist","article_published_time":"2017-12-22T12:56:20+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/files\/2017\/12\/shrine.jpg"}],"author":"Fred Clark","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fred Clark","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/","name":"LBCF, No. 165: 'Dear Captain'","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-12-22T12:56:20+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-22T12:56:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#\/schema\/person\/32666545e535b697afb93d9848dcfc47"},"description":"If I were one of there at New Hope I wouldn\u2019t be nearly as interested in prophecies fulfilled as I would be in prophecies yet to come. What happens next? Bruce knows, but he\u2019s not telling. And the congregation knows he knows, but they\u2019re not asking","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2017\/12\/22\/lbcf-no-165-dear-captain\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"LBCF, No. 165: ‘Dear Captain’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/","name":"slacktivist","description":""Test everything; hold fast to what is good."","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#\/schema\/person\/32666545e535b697afb93d9848dcfc47","name":"Fred Clark","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7083ccd514d4fb8d5043041756d766a0?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7083ccd514d4fb8d5043041756d766a0?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","caption":"Fred Clark"},"description":"Fred Clark is a graduate of Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now called Palmer Seminary), of Eastern College (now called Eastern University) and of the fundamentalist Timothy Christian High School (still fundamentalist and still called Timothy Christian High School, but not really thrilled to have a snarky, liberal, tree-hugging, pro-choice, pro-GLBT, peacenik, commie, evolutionist as such a vocal alumnus). 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\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/141"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35850\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}