No Christian should agree with the Witherspoon Institute's "there is no fundamental right to marry"

The story, "There Is No Fundamental Right to Marry", appears here, from which this bit of nonsense:

"We possess fundamental rights to things such as life, liberty, and property because these things are intimately connected with our self-ownership. As Locke helpfully explains, we own property in external objects because we own our free actions of appropriating them, and we own our free actions because we own ourselves. For Locke—as well as for the American founders and Lincoln—this was as far as our fundamental rights went."

Evidently Catholics still don't read Paul much. Those who do will recoil at the idea that "we own ourselves". This is the sort of Enlightenment revolution in thinking which was characteristic of the transition from the Age of Faith to the Age of Reason, and is still the sticking point between the so-called conservatives of modernity and the real pre-modern variety. Christians recognize no such idea as owning the self because they believe that they "are not their own":

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." -- 1 Corinthians 6:19f.

The truth is that there are no fundamental rights such that we can distinguish between those rights which inhere in us and those which don't. Life? It comes to an end. One cannot stop the Grim Reaper. Liberty? There is no such thing. Even the freest man must eat, drink, eliminate and breathe. Property? In death you cede it to another. You cannot take it with you, not even the coin in your mouth. It goes to the Ferryman.
   

The right to marry is an alien idea to those who know it simply as what must be done. If there is no marriage, who will exist such that there is a country a hundred years hence which still can reasonably be called the one you grew up in?

America, for example.

Personal narrative and testimony, formerly the stuff of religion, now insulate secular speech from critical examination

Seen here, but the author has no clue that this is the Christian religion's peculiar "gift" to America:

Herein lies the folly of oversimplified identity politics: while identity concerns obviously warrant analysis, focusing on them too exclusively draws our attention so far inward that none of our analyses can lead to action.  Rebecca Reilly Cooper, a political philosopher at the University of Warwick, worries about the effectiveness of a politics in which "particular experiences can never legitimately speak for any one other than ourselves, and personal narrative and testimony are elevated to such a degree that there can be no objective standpoint from which to examine their veracity." Personal experience and feelings aren't just a salient touchstone of contemporary identity politics; they are the entirety of these politics. In such an environment, it's no wonder that students are so prone to elevate minor slights to protestable offenses.

Memory allows us to be more like God, who uses his to cut off but also to forgive

"Memory is actually the human way of approximating God’s mode of existence. In other words through memory, we can be more like God. It allows us to have many things present, in a sense, all at once. God is eternal; to be precise He does not need to ‘remember,’ for all things are fully present to Him at once."

-- John Cuddeback, here

Tommy never badmouthed his old bandmates. ... "In my dealings with them I tried to harness as much of the brilliance, but a lot of times I got burnt. ... I think about them all the time. They are all always present in my consciousness -- in my daily life, they're always with me.”

-- Tommy Ramone, here

The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

-- Psalm 34:16

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

-- Jeremiah 31:34

Cretans are always lazy bellies

A certain one of them, a prophet of their own, said -- 'Cretans! always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies!'

-- Titus 1:12

Don't call people names

Echidna, the she-viper of Greek myth, c. 1552

Like "snakes" and "the offspring of snakes"?

"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"

-- Matthew 23:33

Photo source: here

See also: Bomarzo, Italy

Another country falls to anti-culture

From the story here:

"Ireland will become the 19th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriages once the necessary legislation is approved as expected. The first weddings could happen within six months. ... Congratulations poured in to Ireland from around the world, including from British Prime Minister David Cameron and US Vice President Joe Biden."

Ye have despised the poor

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

-- James 2:5ff.

Sell your possessions

-- Luke 12:33

The Catholic Church in America is the nation's single largest charity

The Economist reported here in 2012:

The Economist estimates that annual spending by the church and entities owned by the church was around $170 billion in 2010 (the church does not release such figures). We think 57% of this goes on health-care networks, followed by 28% on colleges, with parish and diocesan day-to-day operations accounting for just 6% and national charitable activities just 2.7% . . .. In total, Catholic institutions employ over 1m people, reckons Fred Gluck, a former McKinsey managing partner and co-founder of the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, a lay organisation seeking to improve the way the church is run. For purposes of secular comparison, in 2010 General Electric’s revenue was $150 billion and Walmart employed roughly 2m people.

The church is the largest single charitable organisation in the country. Catholic Charities USA, its main charity, and its subsidiaries employ over 65,000 paid staff and serve over 10m people. These organisations distributed $4.7 billion to the poor in 2010, of which 62% came from local, state and federal government agencies.

The American church may account for as much as 60% of the global institution’s wealth.

Christian Piatt explores the idea that Jesus was crazy

Here.

The context of apocalyptic is glaringly missing, but it's still an amusing read, including the insane commenters, who remind me of nothing so much as the proverbial moths drawn to the flame . . .

"But like a moth drawn to the flame, here I am talkin' 'bout Jesus just the same".

At best only 30% of us cannot tell a lie, but the regular preaching of the law nips it in the bud for the rest

So says surprising new research, reported here:

'But there is an extremely simple way to curb dishonesty dramatically — just remind people to not be dishonest. All you have to do is show people some kind of reminder of a moral code, and the urge to lie dissipates. In one experiment Ariely describes, researchers asked 500 students at UCLA to try to jot down as many of the Ten Commandments that they could remember. After that, they took part in the matrix experiment. None of them recalled all the commandments, and yet none of them cheated, Ariely said. This was true regardless of whether the students were religious or not. Simply reminding them that Thou shall not lie has a weirdly powerful effect. 

'The study was replicated at MIT, but without the religious context: Students were asked to read MIT’s “moral code” before the matrix task. Again, no one cheated, Ariely said — this, despite the fact that MIT doesn’t even have a moral code. “It is not about heaven and hell and being caught,” Ariely said. “It’s about reminding ourselves about our own moral fiber.”'

-----------------------------------------------------------

Lutheran theology famously speaks of the law as a curb, a mirror and a guide (Riegel, Spiegel, Zuegel). It keeps society in check, shows us our failings when we see ourselves as we truly are, and directs those who are domesticated by it on their way. It is the first of these which is confirmed by the matrix experiment, and argues for the reintroduction of the Ten Commandments in American life.

Denny Burk is not far from the kingdom of God

Denny Burk makes a persuasive case here that "the least of these" in Matthew 25:40, 45 (not 46) specifically refers to Jesus' followers, against the popular, secular misappropriation of the saying which says it refers to the poor. As Burk stresses, this is not a novel or even controversial point. 

Now if Burk could only recognize the overwhelming evidence of the Synoptics that the call to discipleship requires personal poverty of Jesus' followers (Luke 14:33), we'd really be getting somewhere.

That's where the misunderstanding arises in the first place. The liquidation of assets by converts in response to the preaching of the gospel is the means by which Jesus imagines both the expansion of his movement and how provision is to be made for the needs of his followers, who are by definition supposed to be missionaries who have no possessions themselves.

Hospitality to missionaries is a sign of acceptance of the message, as Burk says. But the message is also a call to poverty in a world which is soon coming to an end.

Transfigured six days after these sayings, or eight days?

Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

-- Matthew 16:28f.

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

-- Mark 9:1f.

But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.

-- Luke 9:27f.

The world is not your oyster

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

-- Matthew 16:26ff.

The good news is also the impending bad news

 

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. ... The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

-- Matthew 13:30, 41f.

Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

-- John 4:35

Fearfully and wonderfully made, or just a lowly worm?

  

 

 

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

 

 -- Psalm 139:14

Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

 

 -- Isaiah 41:14

I desire mercy not sacrifice

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

-- Matthew 9:13

But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

-- Matthew 12:7

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

-- Hosea 6:6

Red Letter Rachel is preoccupied with the wrong first person

Rachel Held Evans, quoted here:

My mother used to tell me that we weren’t the type of people to air out our dirty laundry.

What she meant was good Southern girls didn’t go around talking about their troubles or divulging their secrets.

But this is a cultural idiom, not a Christian one.

We Christians don’t get to send our lives through the rinse cycle before showing up to church.

We come as we are–no hiding, no acting, no fear.

We come with our materialism, our pride, our petty grievances against our neighbors, our hypocritical disdain for those judgmental people in the church next door.

We come with our fear of death, our desperation to be loved, our troubled marriages, our persistent doubts, our preoccupation with status and image.

We come with our addictions–to substances, to work, to affirmation, to control, to food.

We come with our differences, be they political, theological, racial, or socioeconomic.

We come in search of sanctuary, a safe place to shed the masks and exhale.

We come to air our dirty laundry before God and everybody because when we do it together we don’t have to be afraid.

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". . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling . . . whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

-- Philippians 2:12; 4:8

When taking things literally is funny

h/t ts

For ye have the homeless always with you: Aren't they already just like Jesus?

Mel Trotter Ministries: Trying to end homelessness in greater Grand Rapids for over 115 years.

And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

-- Matthew 8:20

Paul's idea of the kingdom of God would have been foreign to Jesus and John the Baptist

 

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

-- 1 Corinthians 15:50

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

-- Matthew 5:29f.

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

-- Matthew 18:8f.

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched . . . And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

-- Mark 9:43, 47

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

-- Matthew 24:22

And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

-- Mark 13:20

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

-- Luke 3:6

Proof that God shows partiality

Here.

When a man gets married he finds himself a mari, not a meryo

marry (v.) c. 1300, "to give (offspring) in marriage," from Old French marier "to get married; to marry off, give in marriage; to bring together in marriage," from Latin maritare "to wed, marry, give in marriage" (source of Italian maritare, Spanish and Portuguese maridar), from maritus (n.) "married man, husband," of uncertain origin, originally a past participle, perhaps ultimately from "provided with a *mari," a young woman, from PIE root *mari- "young wife, young woman," akin to *meryo- "young man" (source of Sanskrit marya- "young man, suitor"). 

The announcement of the apocalyptic kingdom brings death

"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. . . . And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. . . . And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." 

-- Matthew 10: 7, 21, 28

It's the silly season of conferring honorary degrees: No decent man would accept a degree he hadn't earned

H. L. Mencken, quoted here:

"No decent man would accept a degree he hadn't earned. Honorary degrees are for corporation presidents, real estate agents, presidents of the United States, and other such riffraff."

-----------------------------------

Yes, and theologians.

A libertarian whopper from Lawrence W. Reed

Here:

"It would hardly make sense for [Jesus] to champion the poor by supporting policies that undermine the process of wealth creation . . .."

In other words, Jesus couldn't possibly mean that capitalists should give away all their capital and come follow him.

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And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

-- Luke 13:2f.

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

-- Luke 14:33

Peter Enns stumbles into the truth, but hasn't quite dusted himself off yet

Here:

'[T]he Jewish messianic problem is that they wait and wait and wait for the messiah but he doesn’t come. The Christian problem is that he came and it made no difference.'

------------------------------------------------

It doesn't occur to Peter Enns that maybe both religions as they developed were false to their original selves. The longed-for prophet like unto Moses of the second temple period clearly was an incorrect interpretation of Deuteronomy, just as the ascended Lord of the Gospel of John and of Paul pays little respect to the teaching of the Jesus of the Synoptics that Jesus' generation faced imminent final judgment.

Libertarian individualism is incompatible with Paulinism

"None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's."

-- Romans 14:7f.

"Individualism regards man—every man—as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses an inalienable right to his own life, a right derived from his nature as a rational being."

-- Ayn Rand, "Racism" in The Virtue of Selfishness (1964), p. 129.

The popular understanding about Jesus was that he was a prophet, and perhaps the coming prophet like unto Moses

Moses Aaron and Hur by John Everett Millais

 

 

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

-- Matthew 16:13f.

And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

-- Matthew 21:10f.

And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

-- Mark 8:27f.

And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. ... Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

-- Luke 7:16, 39

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead; And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. ... And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.

-- Luke 9:7f., 18f.

Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

-- Luke 13:33

And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

-- Luke 24:18f.

And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. ... And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

-- John 1:19ff, 25.

The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

-- John 4:19

Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

-- John 6:14f.

Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. ... They [the Pharisees] answered and said unto him [Nicodemus], Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

-- John 7:40, 52

They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.

-- John 9:17

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

-- Acts 3:22f.

This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.

-- Acts 7:37

The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; ... And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

-- Deuteronomy 18:15, 17f.

And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses. And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

-- Deuteronomy 34:9f.

Thy money perish with thee

Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. ... And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

-- Acts 8:13, 18ff.

Candida Moss sure doesn't look like a yeastlike fungus of the peat bog

Theology faculty member, Notre Dame

Ich bin ein Häretiker!

Christianity is not a high religion where the lamb and the lion lie down together in a new utopia

"Peace" by William Strutt, 1896

 

 

Christianity is not a high religion where the lamb and the lion lie down together in a new utopia, but a low religion which affirms the world as it is with its hierarchy of violence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

-- Acts 10:10ff.

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

-- Isaiah 65:25

. . . especially Rob Bell

15.7 million black Christians say Presbyterians must repent for sin against the church for redefining marriage

Seen here:

"NBCI and its membership base are simply standing on the Word of God within the mind of Christ. We urge our brother and sisters of the PCUSA to repent and be restored to fellowship."

"PCUSA's manipulation represents a universal sin against the entire church and its members. With this action, PCUSA can no longer base its teachings on 2,000 years of Christian scripture and tradition, and call itself a Christian entity in the body of Christ.  It has forsaken its right by this single wrong act."

"No church has the right to change the Word of God. By voting to redefine marriage PCUSA automatically forfeits Christ's saving grace. There is always redemption in the body of Christ through confession of faith and adhering to Holy Scripture."

"In this case, PCUSA deliberately voted to change the Word of God and the interpretation of holy marriage between one man and one woman. This is why we must break fellowship with them and urge the entire Christendom to do so as well."

Luke's Jesus predicts it, but Luke never says that Pontius Pilate scourged Jesus or that Jesus was scourged

And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

-- Luke 18:33

Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

-- Matthew 27:26

And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

-- Mark 15:15

Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

-- John 19:1

You cannot serve God and mammon

 

 

 The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. ... Therefore I love thy commandments above gold, above fine gold.

-- Psalm 119:72, 127

When doubting the resurrection got you fined, imprisoned and dead

From Phil Jenkins, here:

'Between about 1690 and 1740, the British Isles were home to several quite brilliant scholars and thinkers who applied critical scholarship to the Bible and Christian tradition generally. I stress “British Isles” because some were Irish or Scottish as well as English. We know them collectively as the Deists. Major figures included John Toland, Thomas Woolston, Thomas Chubb, Anthony Collins, and Matthew Tindal. Their assault on orthodoxy was many sided, but they ranged widely over both the Old and New Testaments. ...

'It was in the early eighteenth century that there came into existence a culture with the critical tools and the relative freedom to examine this question, and the Resurrection soon came under attack.

'In England, this was a central issue in the pamphlet wars known as the Deist Controversy (c.1725-35). Woolston wrote (1727-29) an attempted demolition of the literal Resurrection, together with most of the Miracle stories. The resulting legal reaction led to Woolston dying in prison . . ..'

From the Wikipedia entry, here:

The Discourses, 30,000 copies of which were said to have been sold, were six in number, the first appearing in 1727, the next five 1728-1729, with two Defences in 1729 1730. For these publications he was tried before Chief Justice Raymond in 1729. Found guilty of blasphemy, Woolston was sentenced (28 November) to pay a fine of £25 for each of the first four Discourses, with imprisonment till paid, and also to a year's imprisonment and to give security, for his good behaviour during life. He failed to find this security, and remained in confinement until his death.

Moses and the American founders

From James P. Byrd, here:

[T]he story of Moses and the Exodus was one of the most cited biblical texts in revolutionary America. In 1776, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, about “a Parallel between the Case of Israel and that of America.” John Adams had heard this preached in a sermon, and he thought it was enlightening because it “indicated strongly the Design of Providence that We should be separated from G. Britain.” ...

In 1776, when Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson discussed what should be on a “Great Seal” for the new nation, they both thought of the Exodus story. As John Adams reported, Franklin wanted the seal to feature the parting of the Red Sea, with Moses raising his staff while Pharaoh and his chariots of soldiers drowned as the waters closed in on them. In contrast, Jefferson wanted another scene from the Exodus, with the Israelites led through the wilderness by a cloud in daytime and a pillar if fire at night.

Some of the founders saw themselves as politically enslaved by the British “pharaoh,” King George III, and his oppressive policies. ... [M]any patriots adopted this story, viewing themselves as the new Israel, and naming George Washington the American Moses. ... 

[Thomas Paine] turned to 1 Samuel 8 to make his case. Paine asserted that God did not want the people to have a king. God warned that kings would oppress them, and so they did, Paine argued. 

Ideas have consequences: The time value of money is being destroyed by the Christian West

The 10-year government bond currently yields less than 1% in the following countries of Europe:

Switzerland: -.18

Germany: +.18

Czech Republic: .23

Netherlands: .26

Denmark: .28

Austria: .31

Finland: .32

France: .38

Belgium: .41

Sweden: .41

Latvia: .54

Lithuania: .59

Ireland: .78

In these nations of Europe and the world, the 10-year government bond currently yields less than 2%:

United States: 1.93

Portugal: 1.65

United Kingdom: 1.54

Canada: 1.44

Norway: 1.34

Italy: 1.22

Spain: 1.15

Slovenia: 1.08

The only others of note are:

Hong Kong (former British colony): 1.50

Israel (!): 1.11

Japan (conquered by America): .33

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Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD?

Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? ...

Those who lend money without charging interest,

and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.

-- Psalm 15:1, 5

Do good and lend, hoping for nothing again.

-- Luke 6:35

There is no human person named Jesus of Nazareth? Scripture repeatedly says people knew such a person, including the ascended Christ himself!

  

 

 

 

"Jesus of Nazareth, a man" or "Jesus is a divine person" . . . only?

 

Here. 

Subordinationism of one kind or another is inevitable, as illustrated by William Lane Craig

Here, where the full humanity of Jesus is denied because it is subordinate to the one divine person:

[T]here is no human person named “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus is a divine person, and medieval theologians were careful never to refer to Jesus as a human person.

 

Oops:

Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know.  

-- Acts 2:22

 

 

 

 

And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.

 

-- Luke 24:19

Rachel Held Evans joins the enemies of Christ

Quoted here:

"I felt drawn to the Episcopal church because it offered some practices I felt were missing in my evangelical experience, like space for silence and reflection, a focus on Christ’s presence at the communion table as the climax and center of every worship service, opportunities for women in leadership, and the inclusion of LGBT people."

The formerly pro-slavery denomination has blessed same-sex unions since December 2012.

Atheist John Gray notices that secularism presupposes the sacred, and ends up affirming an atheist form of original sin

Here:

The trouble is that it’s hard to make any sense of the idea of a universal morality without invoking an understanding of what it is to be human that has been borrowed from theism. The belief that the human species is a moral agent struggling to realise its inherent possibilities – the narrative of redemption that sustains secular humanists everywhere – is a hollowed-out version of a theistic myth.  ...

If you set aside any view of humankind that is borrowed from monotheism, you have to deal with human beings as you find them, with their perpetually warring values. ...

[R]eligions have their own distinctive flaws. But the fault is not with religion, any more than science is to blame for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or medicine and psychology for the refinement of techniques of torture. The fault is in the intractable human animal.

FDNY hires lesbian chaplain to minister to 0.2% of New York's +10,000 firefighters

It's only $20,000 of the taxpayers' money.

From the story, here:

Maybe it is her short, spiky hair, or the cigarettes, which she gives to the men repairing the wiring in her Brooklyn apartment. Maybe it is because she swears. For whatever reason, the Rev. Ann Kansfield does not fit the stereotype of a minister. ... 

As of this year, there are 44 female firefighters in the department, the most in its history, but the number has not risen much over the years and they are a tiny fraction of a force of over 10,000 firefighters. ...

Steven Sanfilippo, the president of FireFLAG/EMS, a fraternal organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender firefighters and emergency medical workers, said homophobia occupied a less prominent place in firehouse culture than it once did. ...

But Mr. Sanfilippo said he suspected there were many closeted firefighters who had not joined his group, which has about 15 active members. “Sometimes it’s easier to carry on your career without anyone busting your chops,” he said.

Luke's Jesus says that in a real sense God's kingdom has already come like a thief in the night

The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.

-- Luke 17:20f.

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The individualistic interpretation which says "within you", that is inside of the individual in some mystical sense, instead of "in your midst" is excluded by the plural. Luke has Jesus claiming that the kingdom is present wherever Jesus happens to be at the moment.

The cure for fanaticism

The cure for fanaticism:

a good dose of reality;

in serious cases multiple doses of reality may be required, applied liberally;

in the severest cases nothing works except death; in such cases the patient usually asks for it.

Maybe Alabama's Ellin Jimmerson should get a new Bible

Quoted here:

"[O]ur idea of one man one woman in a union based on love just doesn't appear in the Bible."

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For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 

-- Mark 10:7ff.

My sin hurts you, your sin hurts me

No man is an Iland, intire of itselfe; every man
is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine;
if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe
is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as
well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine
owne were; any mans death diminishes me,
because I am involved in Mankinde;
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

MEDITATION XVII
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
John Donne 

I don't wonder why God allowed ISIS to burn a man alive

I wonder why we allowed them to.