Analyzing Christianity
The false certainty of discernment in ‘Before You Lose Your Mind’
Evangelicals’ certainty in discernment is bad. Use these progressives’ certainty in discernment instead. Yep yep!
Analyzing Christianity
The Problem of Suffering and Christianity’s useless god
Christianity suffers from a lot of capital-P Problems, and one of them is the Problem of Suffering. It gets the capital letter because Christians have never successfully squared the circle of an omnimax, loving god who still allows so much suffering in the world. And it turns out that progressive Read more
Analyzing Christianity
How friendship evangelism preys upon the bonds of friendship
Lately, we’ve been checking out the friendship evangelism techniques pushed by a minor evangelical leader named Larry Dixon. For a few years now, he’s been on a tear about the benefits of being an evangelical like himself. We’ll talk more about the specific entries in this 52-part series later, but Read more
Analyzing Christianity
How evangelicals rationalize unanswered prayer
Long, long ago I fully believed in the power of prayer. I believed that a real live god stood by to receive my prayers, then granted them out of love for me—except, of course, when he didn’t grant them at all. In this way, I was like most Christians today. Read more
Analyzing Christianity
Antiprocess in the wild: How evangelicals avoid unpleasant challenges
It must be an absolute hoot to have any kind of disagreement with Larry Dixon. And by ‘hoot,’ I mean it must be incredibly frustrating for the person with facts on their side.
Analyzing Christianity
Antiprocess shields: How they work and why people use them
Antiprocess allows people to maintain their beliefs even in the face of overwhelming evidence that they don’t have the facts on their side.
Analyzing Christianity
How evangelicals rationalize their predatory ‘friendship evangelism’
Most folks don’t like to take social risks. Evangelicals aren’t any exception to that rule. So they seek out ways to cushion those risks as much a they can.
Analyzing Christianity
How diversity can break the back of white evangelicals’ Christian nationalism
Sure, they’ll simper and preen and claim it’s all being done cuz they just wuvvvvv heathens and want to be a goooood wiiiiitnesssss to us. But the damage to our rights, our liberties, and our democracy will look the same as if done by people who want total control over our lives because they despise us.
Analyzing Christianity
George Barna frets anew over ‘extinction’ of ‘biblical worldview’
When you hear any evangelical use the term biblical, you’re hearing an attempt to grab authority.
Analyzing Christianity
Weird Christianity strikes again as a promised cure for the decline
Years ago, I noticed that quite a few younger evangelicals strive mightily to practice what I’ve come to call Weird Christianity. It’s equal parts oneupsmanship, Original Christianity, and yearning for something genuine and real in their religion full of false claims. So Weird Christianity scratches all kinds of itches in Read more