Gallup has a new map up, rating each state by religiosity. Respondents answered whether religion is an important part of their lives, and the map reinforces some of the usual stereotypes about the religiosity of the Deep South and the lack of religiosity in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest. However, I think the most important parallel is the religiosity map with the electoral map. Take a gander: Religion and politics, still bedfellows. (HT: Mark Silk) Read more
My friend, Patton Dodd, has a piece up on Slate in advance of Alexandra Pelosi’s HBO documentary, The Trials of Ted Haggard, premiering tonight. Patton used to work for Haggard and New Life Church, primarily as a writer and editor, so he writes about Haggard with some authority. Money Quote from Patton: Two years have gone by with little more than occasional peeps from Haggard, and now he’s back in The Trials of Ted Haggard, an HBO film directed by... Read more
The Original Sin SeriesIntro–Intuition–Definition–Genesis–Jesus-Paul-Augustine-Calvin-Conclusion Let me start with some throat-clearing. At least one friend and not a few commenters were bothered by the fact that I wrote about my own intuition before I started reflection on the biblical passages at play. One friend told me that, as a self-proclaimed Protestant, I should begin with the Bible, where Protestants always begin. Firstly, don’t read too much into my decision to write about my intuition first. It has something to do with... Read more
Noah, a self-described conservative, makes a calm and helpful comment under Same Sex Marriage Blogalogue: Press Pause, To be really honest, the comment section makes me sad. It is sad to me that people become so ugly when discussions arise over A vs B. I lean more conservatively on the issue but it doesn’t mean that I advocate for hate crimes. I am somewhat in quandary why a conservative on this issue is given the same status as those who... Read more
The Original Sin SeriesIntro–Intuition–Definition–Genesis–Jesus-Paul-Augustine-Calvin-Conclusion Some commenters are concerned that I’m setting up a straw man — that is, I’m leaving the doctrine of Original Sin undefined so that I can then dispute an unformed doctrine. So I will defer to the BBC, and their excellent summary of the doctrine. This will be our working definition of Original Sin: What is original sin?Original sin is a Christian doctrine that says that everyone is born sinful. This means that they are born... Read more
Scott M points out some of the most significant intellectual problems with the doctrine of Original Sin: There are many ways in which this peculiarly Western variation of Christian belief distorts the faith. I mentioned one, the fate of infants who die, because that’s something I immediately noticed when I began turning to Christianity. It’s something that matters deeply to me. While the Roman Catholic Church has moved away from limbo, this is still a theological issue. That is also... Read more
Several of you have been dropping comments under other posts, asking why this much-pimped series petered out so quickly. Well, here’s the deal: Rod chose to stop the blogalogue very shortly after it started. Both of us were inundated by comments that were, well, less than kind. Rod has a more stringent comment policy on his blog, and he found himself constantly monitoring and deleting comments that didn’t meet his standards. Although it is possible for Rod to rejoin the... Read more
“Come Let Us Reason Together” is the governing document of a group attempting to bridge the chasm between evangelicals and political progressives. I signed on, not because the document is a comprehensive statement of all ways that these two groups can work together, but because it is a step in the right direction. Well, a bunch of lefties got all ornery about the document, and now Robby Jones has taken to Religion Dispatches to defend himself and the statement. It’s... Read more
The Original Sin SeriesIntro–Intuition–Definition–Genesis–Jesus-Paul-Augustine-Calvin-Conclusion Well, much to the chagrin of my biblicist commenters, I’m not going to start this series of reflections on Original Sin with the Bible, but with my own intuition. (Don’t read too much into this. I will get to all of the questions that many of you have posted so far. And, to those funny, funny commenters who accuse me of starting my own religion-without-the-bible, just take a dep breath and see where we go with... Read more
So many great comments under Original Sin: A Depraved Idea, so I’ll just highlight Virgil’s. Do yourself a favor and go read the others. There is very little that is “traditional” about the doctrine of original sin, until we get to Augustine and his revivalist Calvin to promote the doctrine. Again, numbers do not necessarily bring validity and objectivity to an issue, in fact the opposite is probably true. What if instead we consider the covenantal aspect of creation, and... Read more
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