Stay Classy, Freedom From Religion Foundation

Last Tuesday, the Freedom From Religion Foundation ran a full page advertisement in the Washington Post with the headline “It’s Time To Quit The Catholic Church“.  The ad, which has an overabundance of “scare quotes” (rightfully noted by E. J. Dionne), is a full page polemic about the Catholic Church, Catholic Clergy, and Catholic Laity that is juvenile, at best, and downright...

Five Reasons The Gospel Coalition Is Wrong On Gay Marriage

Thanks to my friend, Brian LePort, for the heads up on The Gospel Coalition’s link. In a blog post yesterday, Kevin DeYoung, member of The Gospel Coalition and pastor of Unity Reformed Church, posted five reasons why Christians should continue to oppose Gay Marriage.  I had hoped for a well-reasoned list where, even if I disagreed with it, I could understand and respect his viewpoint. Alas, it was not. Here...

I Still Have A Dream… Thoughts On Amendment 1

I would love to say that I was surprised by last night’s Amendment 1 vote in North Carolina.  I really would. But I cannot. You see, when the structure of power is challenged, power often punishes those who dare seek justice through repression, oppression, intimidation, and violence.  These are the tactics of those ruled by fear….not by love. We see it in the violence perpetrated upon protesters in...

If You Want To Know Someone’s Priorities…

…take a look at their checkbook. I heard this saying a few years ago.  People can say what they believe, what they support but, in general, what their checkbook register says often tells the truth. There’s a certain political party in the US that loves to tout its Christian credentials.  Unfortunately for them, the credentials they tout, almost exclusively, are: Opposition to same sex...

Chris Hedges On Walter Benjamin And Capitalism

From the Chris Hedges piece titled “Welcome to the Asylum“ Walter Benjamin argued that capitalism is not only a formation “conditioned by religion,” but is an “essentially religious phenomenon,” albeit one that no longer seeks to connect humans with the mysterious forces of life. Capitalism, as Benjamin observed, called on human societies to embark on a ceaseless and futile quest for money...