{"id":57627,"date":"2022-02-18T07:00:24","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T12:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/?p=57627"},"modified":"2022-02-16T18:27:13","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T23:27:13","slug":"feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/","title":{"rendered":"Feb. 18 Flashback: Younger than the Happy Meal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Jeremy Piven-in-Grosse Pointe Blank<\/em> voice: \u201cTwenty years, man. Twenty years<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

From February 18, 2012, \u201cThe \u2018biblical view\u2019 that\u2019s younger than the Happy Meal<\/a>\u201c:<\/p>\n

In 1979, McDonald\u2019s introduced the Happy Meal.<\/p>\n

Sometime after that, it was decided that the Bible teaches that human life begins at conception.<\/p>\n

Ask any American evangelical, today, what the Bible says about abortion and they will insist that this is what it says. (Many don\u2019t actually believe this, but they know it is the only answer that won\u2019t get them in trouble.) They\u2019ll be a little fuzzy on where, exactly, the Bible says this, but they\u2019ll insist that it does.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s new. If you had asked American evangelicals that same question the year I was born you would not have gotten the same answer.<\/p>\n

That year,\u00a0Christianity Today<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 edited by Harold Lindsell, champion of \u201cinerrancy\u201d and author of\u00a0The Battle for the Bible<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 published a special issue devoted to the topics of contraception and abortion. That issue included many articles that today would get their authors, editors \u2014 probably even their\u00a0readers<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 fired from almost any evangelical institution. For example, one article by a professor from Dallas Theological Seminary criticized the Roman Catholic position on abortion as unbiblical. Jonathan Dudley quotes from the article in his book\u00a0Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics<\/a><\/em>. Keep in mind that this is from a conservative evangelical seminary professor, writing in Billy Graham\u2019s magazine for editor Harold Lindsell:<\/p>\n

God does not regard the fetus as a soul, no matter how far gestation has progressed. The Law plainly exacts: \u201cIf a man kills any human life he will be put to death\u201d (Lev. 24:17). But according to Exodus 21:22-24, the destruction of the fetus is not a capital offense. \u2026 Clearly, then, in contrast to the mother, the fetus is not reckoned as a soul.<\/p>\n

Christianity Today<\/em>\u00a0would not publish that article in 2012. They might not even let you write that in comments on their website. If you applied for a job in 2012 with\u00a0Christianity Today<\/em>\u00a0or Dallas Theological Seminary and they found out that you had written something like that, ever, you would not be hired.<\/p>\n

At some point between 1968 and 2012, the Bible began to say something different. That\u2019s interesting.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the whole post here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MTV has been around longer than this “biblical view.”<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-57627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFeb. 18 Flashback: Younger than the Happy Meal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MTV has been around longer than this "biblical view."\" \/>\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\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feb. 18 Flashback: Younger than the Happy Meal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MTV has been around longer than this "biblical view."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"slacktivist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-18T12:00:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-16T23:27:13+00:00\" \/>\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=\"2 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\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/\",\"name\":\"Feb. 18 Flashback: Younger than the Happy Meal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-18T12:00:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-16T23:27:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#\/schema\/person\/32666545e535b697afb93d9848dcfc47\"},\"description\":\"MTV has been around longer than this \\\"biblical view.\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Feb. 18 Flashback: Younger than the Happy Meal\"}]},{\"@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":"Feb. 18 Flashback: Younger than the Happy Meal","description":"MTV has been around longer than this \"biblical view.\"","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\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Feb. 18 Flashback: Younger than the Happy Meal","og_description":"MTV has been around longer than this \"biblical view.\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/","og_site_name":"slacktivist","article_published_time":"2022-02-18T12:00:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-02-16T23:27:13+00:00","author":"Fred Clark","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fred Clark","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/","name":"Feb. 18 Flashback: Younger than the Happy Meal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-02-18T12:00:24+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-16T23:27:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#\/schema\/person\/32666545e535b697afb93d9848dcfc47"},"description":"MTV has been around longer than this \"biblical view.\"","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2022\/02\/18\/feb-18-flashback-younger-than-the-happy-meal\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Feb. 18 Flashback: Younger than the Happy Meal"}]},{"@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\/57627","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=57627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}