Tag Archives: evangelicals

Let Them Eat (Or Not Eat) Wedding Cake: Religious Conscience, Gay Marriage, And Empathy For Others

With regard to bakers who might balk, out of conscience, in making a cake for a gay wedding, I think many of us who are heterosexual and support gay marriage have a problem: our empathy goes all in one direction–toward … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

America’s Largest Cult: 64% of Evangelicals Hold to the Young Earth Creationist Belief That “God created humans pretty much in their present form at one time in the last 10,000 years or so.”

Physicist Karl Giberson, a former evangelical who now identifies as a mainline Protestant, has written an admirably clear-headed essay for The Daily Beast on contemporary evangelicalism’s fraught relationship with the theory of evolution. Here he is summarizing scientific illiteracy in … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Does God Love Uganda?

American evangelicals certainly think so, and a new documentary, God Loves Uganda, tells the story of their interaction with the country, and how that interaction is impacting cultural politics there (most especially in relation to a new death penalty law … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Evolution for Evangelicals: Biologos Recently Held a Conference in NYC

Here’s a bit of what Christianity Today reported about it: The most sobering moment for attendees of the Biologos “Theology of Celebration” conference in New York City, March 20–22 [2012], came when David Kinnaman of Barna Research presented findings on … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Newt Grointwitch Tops Willard (Mitt Romney) in South Carolina

Evangelicals in South Carolina have spoken. For president, they prefer a thrice-married serial adulterer and unapologetic Herderian to a Mormon. Informative. Who ever said the world was perfect? Andrew Sullivan lays out a plausible route forward for Republicans this year: … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ken Starr on Mitt Romney’s Mormonism

_____ Well put: If an unbeliever such as Jefferson or non-churchman like Lincoln can serve brilliantly as president, then America should stand — in an intolerant world characterized all too frequently by religious persecution — as a stirring example of … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Resentment Politics: Rick Perry Baits Gays

I think this remix on Rick Perry’s “Strong” ad illustrates rather nicely the ugly way that gays function as “out-group” in contemporary Republican politics:

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The War on Christmas Comes to Israel?

This curious ad comes from the Israeli government. Its purpose is to discourage Israelis from marrying American Jews or moving to America (as either of these might lead to such horrors as Christmas-celebrating grandchildren). Andrew Sullivan sees the ad as … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Evolution is true: Hebrew Bible scholar, Bruce Waltke, speaks truth to power—and is fired for it

A prominent scholar of the Hebrew Bible, and an Evangelical, Bruce Waltke recently stated the obvious—that evolution is true—and lost his teaching position at Reformed Theological Seminary for it. Here’s Inside Higher Ed today: When it comes to incriminating videos these days, the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

Gay Execution in Uganda: Pastor Rick Warren Tries to Walk His Fellow Evangelicals Back from a Precipice

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

John Calvin’s Geneva: A Little Reminder of What It’s Like to Live in a World Where Church and State are Combined

I’m kind of weirded out by people who express nostalgia for John Calvin, and call themselves admirers of his. I think it a useful correction to this nostalgia to actually recall what it was like, exactly, to live in John … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Scandal? When American Evangelical Christians Distribute the New Testament to Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, are They Doing Something Wrong?

The following video clip from Al Jazeera is being touted as damning evidence that Evangelicals are abusing their positions, and violating their military missions, distributing copies of the New Testament to Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan: I’m an agnostic, but … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Who Would Jesus Torture? Evangelical Christian Profession Highly Correlates with Support for Torture

A new Pew poll correlates Evangelical Christian profession with support for the torture of “suspected terrorists.” That correlation is 79%. See the poll results here. And see here and here for dissection of the poll. In other words, eight in … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Trip Down Sodomy Lane with Mike Huckabee and Ann Coulter

In January, Mike told Ann he’s against them Sodomites. Scout’s honor: Ain’t the contemporary Republican Party grand?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Authorial Purpose and Textual Conflation: When Evangelicals and Jehovah Witnesses Argue Over Jesus’s Divinity, are They Both Missing Something?

It’s a curious thing to see Evangelicals argue with Jehovah Witnesses, for they cannot seem to agree on a crucial question: Was Jesus, ultimately, just the “Son of God” or was he also “God incarnate”? Invariably, Jehovah Witnesses appeal to … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Camille Paglia on the Bible and Jesus

At Salon.com today, Camille Paglia is asked by one of her readers what she thinks of the Bible, and the prophecies in the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible) that were supposedly “fulfilled” by Jesus in the New Testament. Here’s what she … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

HATERoSEXual MARRIAGE: Defining Gay People OUT

Andrew Sullivan today asks a good question about anti-homosexual HETEROSEXUALS who would exclude gays from civil marriage recognition: Why are their marriages defined not by the virtues they sustain but the people they exclude?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Witchcraft Hysteria is Rampant In Africa: When Sarah Palin’s African Exorcist, Thomas Muthee, Prayed Over Her to Protect Her From Witchcraft, Here’s Some Context for Understanding His Prayer

In Africa, witchcraft functions the way that antisemitism did in medieval Europe—as an explanation for every community misfortune. This belief is both driven, and exploited, by fundamentalist charismatics like Thomas Muthee. Even children are treated as witches—and blamed for bad … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

John McCain Swiftboats Jesus!: If Jesus Were Running Against Republican John McCain, This Is The Kind of Ad We’d See

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thou Shalt Not Torture?: A New Poll Finds That Most White Southern Evangelicals DISAGREE

The Pew polling organization released a rather sobering piece of news this week. Nearly two out of three white, Southern evangelicals are okay with the American government using torture to obtain information from suspected terrorists. Money quote: A new poll released … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment