Blogaround

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1. The uncanny sex fiends of Christianity Today (No. 2) (posted September 1) "Take a moment for gratitude here. This could’ve been you — raised and groomed for leadership in an ultra-Calvinist sect that conceives of God’s grace as something that reveals itself to us primarily through fear and shame. Imagine what it would mean to have been indoctrinated (literally) to believe that grief and loneliness aren’t natural, human emotions, but sinful flaws through which Satan works to tempt us. (To fully appreciate that, understand that you would have been taught your whole life that those adjectives — “natural” and “human” — refer to something dirty, wicked and depraved. Thus, Calvinism.)"

2. When Peer Review Lets You Down: A YEC Quote Problem (posted August 31) "Roughly half of Christ's references to Scripture were quotations from Genesis." Nope.

3. The Enduring Myth of Black Criminality (posted September 10)

4. Watch Elizabeth Warren’s Speech in Defense of Planned Parenthood (posted August 4) "The government doesn't fund abortions, period. A vote today to defund Planned Parenthood is not a vote to defund abortions. It's a vote to defund cancer screenings and birth control and basic health care for millions of women."

5. How a Tradition That Says ‘Thou Shalt Not Lie’ Justifies Deception (posted September 1) "When you are absolutely, fundamentally certain of what your deity thinks about something, it’s not a hard leap to think that your deity would want you to do almost anything to achieve those ends. And that makes the decision to lie about the facts quite easy, even if your own holy book tells you not to."

6. What Jesus Meant When He Said, “I Didn’t Come To Bring Peace, But A Sword” (posted September 8) "When you love people radically like Jesus loved many outside of Christianity will say, “Wow, that’s a kind of Christianity I could go for!” but you will quite often end up a prophet without honor in your own hometown and among your own family."

7. ignoring friendship is destroying the Church (posted September 11) "I have never, not once, heard a message on the topic 'this is how you can have a good friendship.'"

8. Everybody in dresses: Why does gender neutral clothing always mean ‘boy’ clothes for girls? (posted September 11) "There is such a devaluing of anything traditionally feminine that we’d rather chuck it out triumphantly than ever demean our boys with it."

9. Rallying to Help a Homeschooled Christian Kid Who Got Thrown Out After He Came Out (posted September 10) "In addition to forcing him to move out of the house, Joel’s parents demanded that he stop using his last name—their last name—publicly. Joel, she explained, still loves his parents and doesn't want to cause them more pain. So he agreed to stop using his last name."

10. Protecting ‘our Christian values’ (posted September 12) "'You’re doing a lot to help the refugees,' one woman asked. 'What are you doing to protect our Christian values?' That is an amazing question — almost eloquent in its obtuse blasphemy."

11. the pitfalls of the middle ground (posted September 2) "The “middle ground” is a way for people who don’t really want to admit to being sexist or homophobic bigots to look and feel like they’re really Nice Christians™."