Whole nations have died every year without hearing the gospel, so what's the point of delaying the end if it's already too late to evangelize them?

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. -- Matthew 24:14

World Death Clock here.

Outed for being secretly uncollegial, Yale University Professor of Philosophy publicly erupts with hatred for much more distinguished Oxford Christian colleague

Reminds me of the outburst directed at yours truly's happy disposish by another philosopher on the day after Ronald Reagan's reelection in 1984. I guess it comes with the territory, but what idiot expects us to believe he believes anything will stay private on Facebook? Maybe Yale should recheck his credentials.

Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy, 344 College St, New Haven, CT 06511-6629, 203-432-1689, jason.stanley@yale.edu, whose public Facebook attack on University of Oxford Emeritus Professor of Philosophy Richard Swinburne is quoted here:

"'F*ck those assholes' ... wildly understates my actual sentiments towards homophobic religious proponents of evil like Richard Swinburne, who use their status as professional philosophers to oppress others with less power. I am SO SORRY for using such mild language. I am posting this on 'public' so that there will be no need for anyone to violate any religious code of ethics and take pictures of private FB pages to share my views about such matters."

The "Nones" mentioned in the Bible: Just maybe some of ours are descended from them

  

 

 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

-- 1 Kings 19:12ff.

Roman Catholic sainthood process corrupted by cash

Reported here:

[T]he saint-making process has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations per candidate with virtually no financial oversight.

To liberals Donald Trump's charity isn't charity unless everybody knows about it, especially the IRS

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. -- Matthew 6:1ff.

Treats Family Restaurant: Best Place to Eat in Lonsdale, Minnesota

Story here.

The fag "Christians" can hardly wait for us to die out

Can you feel the love?

Quoted here:

[Trey] Pearson tells me that, when it comes to same-sex relationships, he believes Christians “are more divided than ever” but also shifting quickly. He says, “I think after the older generation dies out, that homosexuality will become predominantly affirmed in most churches.”

At which point the Muslims will cut you, man, er, whatever you are.

Sociologists at University of Minnesota completely miss enormous growth of antipathy against whites and blacks, focus on Muslims and atheists instead

From the study here:

"[A]nti-atheist sentiment is persistent and durable, still higher in 2014 than for all other groups except Muslim Americans. ... While Muslims have surpassed atheists as the least-accepted group, Muslims and atheists still receive the most negative evaluations compared to all other groups in 2014, as they did in 2003."

You have to do the math from table 2, which is a job sociologists apparently won't do, but here's the growth in the share saying the group shown does not agree with the respondent's vision of American society in the last decade:

Whites: +364%

Blacks: +267%

Jews:    +138%

Asians:  +134%

Hispanics: +125%

Recent immigrants: +105%

Conservative Christians: +97%

Muslims: +73%

Homosexuals: +30%

Atheists: +5.8%

Where's the huge increase in antipathy toward whites and blacks coming from in the last decade?

Asians recently represented the fastest growing minority in the US at 3.4% year over year, followed by Mixed race at 3.1%, Hispanics at 2.2%, Blacks at 1.3% and Whites at 0.5%. "The distinction of being the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the United States has alternated between Asians and Hispanics in recent decades", Pew Research said in 2014.

Why "Roman Catholic" is an oxymoron

There is no such thing as a "Roman" universal church.

There is a Roman church. There is a church of Jerusalem, of Alexandria, of Damascus and Antioch on the Orontes. There is a Constantinopolitan church. There is a Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia, another in Poland. There is a Church of England. There is a Wisconsin Synod Lutheran Church, a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, an Episcopal Church United States, a First Baptist Church of Dallas, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Muslim barbarians in Dhaka, Bangladesh flood the streets with the blood of their animal sacrifices

Our new country's going to be great!

Why did Jesus appear to go quietly to his death?

Jesus is reported to have said little at the trials which shortly preceded his execution.

This is often understood to mean that Jesus previously had resigned himself to the idea that it was God's will that he be crucified, but only after wrestling with God in prayer in the garden before his arrest, so that he did nothing to stand in the way of the inevitable once events had gotten underway in earnest. This "Stoical" demeanor later became an important part of early Christian preaching about Jesus' crucifixion, for example as reported in Acts, and became an important model for taking persecution with equanimity:

The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth. -- Acts 8:32

This fact of Jesus' silence at his trials is well known from the Synoptics:

And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. -- Matthew 26:62f.

And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. -- Mark 14:60f.

And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. -- Matthew 27:11ff.

And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled. -- Mark 15:2ff.

And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.

 -- Luke 23:8f.

But you would be hard pressed to find this silence in the Fourth Gospel.

In John, by contrast, Jesus is not at all silent but has quite a lot to say at his trial, as a reading of John 18 amply testifies. And there is no evidence of any personal struggle in prayer, either, in the Garden of Gethsemane preceding his arrest, but rather a bold, self-assured confrontation with his betrayer. The only evidence of silence from the whole episode is more of Jesus pausing for effect than refusing or being unable to speak:

And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. -- John 19:9

But that too passes as Jesus shortly does give reply.

In comparison to the Synoptics John's account is almost surreal, as if there is lurking there a Jesus who could actually be thinking he's not going to die and that God is still going to intervene at the very last second. In the end all the human drama is wrung out of John's wooden account in the service of a comprehensive theology about a descending and ascending incarnate Logos. 

But if it may be doubted that John is writing history, reasons remain to doubt the Stoical model susceptible from the Synoptic accounts as well.

For one thing, from the accounts of the struggle in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane one cannot conclude there was any succor such that Jesus was now prepared to go quietly to his fate. The closest thing we get to that is in Luke 22:43, where we are told an angel appeared from heaven to strengthen Jesus. (Who was awake to see this?) But immediately after that Jesus is back on his knees praying again, in worse shape than before, sweating blood.

For another, Matthew 26 and Mark 14 omit the appearance of any angel, but the ongoing anxiety despite prayer is palpable in both accounts in that Jesus repeats his prayer three times asking that "this cup pass". While Luke has Jesus engaged in supplication only twice, all three include some form of the petition "not my will but thine be done", as if Jesus is still dwelling on what he wants to be the reality, but still is not.

Furthermore, the psychological terminology used in these accounts in the Garden is striking but is rarely allowed to paint a picture of the depressed state of mind into which Jesus is descending.

And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful (λυπεῖσθαι) and very heavy (ἀδημονεῖν). -- Matthew 26:37

The terms signify grief leading to tears, and a feeling of being lost and totally out of place (the KJV translation shown leaves quite a lot to be desired).

Mark says he was struck with terror, and felt lost:

And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed (ἐκθαμβεῖσθαι), and to be very heavy (ἀδημονεῖν). -- Mark 14:33

As if those terms weren't enough, both Matthew and Mark pile up worse ones in the immediately following verses. Jesus is "beyond sorrowful", so sad he could die.

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful (Περίλυπός), even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. -- Matthew 26:38

And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful (Περίλυπός) unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. -- Mark 14:34

And Luke piles on that he was in utter agony, a terrible struggle with himself.

And being in an agony (ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ) he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. -- Luke 22:44

What we have here is a man falling into a major depression, full of fears, feeling as if lost in unfamiliar country, isolated and alone, suddenly driven to repetitious behavior, perhaps seeing things, and speaking of dying.

It's a short step to catatonic stupor, in which you say nothing and become so rigid you just stand there and take it.

Communists hate reactionaries in the same way that atheists hate . . .

. . . penitents.

Yeah, I'm talking to you Damon Linker.

He went away sorrowing because he was the owner of a great estate

106 private acres including 21 acres of stocked lake, boathouse, workshop, gazebo on yonder shore, and a vineyard

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions (ἀπῆλθεν λυπούμενος ἦν γὰρ ἔχων κτήματα πολλά). -- Matthew 19:22

And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions (ἀπῆλθεν λυπούμενος ἦν γὰρ ἔχων κτήματα πολλά). -- Mark 10:22

In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life

Bad religion: Uh oh, someone somewhere just committed a thought crime

"‘Racists Anonymous’ groups at churches: The first step is admitting you have a problem" says the headline at The Washington Post.

"Some churches are forming racists anonymous groups for those brave enough to join" says the hypertext.

"For those feeling guilty enough to join" is more like it.

A 74 year old self-described former activist in the civil rights movement years ago, mentioned in the story, has signed up because "he found himself driving up behind an expensive car recently, and then looking to see if the driver was black or white."

A fat lot of good the civil rights movement did him, huh?

Nor education, either, apparently . . . The man is a retired college administrator.