Going AWOL from the Culture Wars and Loving Humanity
"Save the Children" is a frequent Fundagelical battle cry. Anita Bryant used it in her anti-gay campaign in the '70s and recently, it was resurrected as a battle cry against transgender bathroom use. The argument went something like this: some pervert can just put on a dress and walk into the woman's restroom while your … Continue reading Save the Children.
In 1980, my Christian school showed a documentary made by Films For Christ Association. The documentary was called Footprints In Stone. I still remember the opening sequence. A group of men were building a dam to stop the flow of water in a river. The exposed riverbed showed footprints in limestone. They triumphantly pointed out … Continue reading Dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time.
Welcome to Fundagelical Scripture Twisting 101! You might want to take a few notes so you too can avoid doing all those pesky things Jesus taught. Let's start with love. That whole love your neighbor, love your enemy thing can be very inconvenient. You might have to buy a meal for a hungry person or … Continue reading Twisted Love
When I talk to my old Fundagelical High School friends and family members, it can be a frustrating experience. If I discuss a passage such as Leviticus 18:22 and attempt to contextualize it to the holiness code, limited scientific knowledge, patriarchal society, and cultural preservation, I get accused of twisting scripture and not understanding the … Continue reading The Bible is very clear, except those parts that aren’t, so we don’t talk about those.
Fundagelicals love them some mission trips. Every summer, as a youth pastor, I took teens on youth mission trips to the Mexicali Valley. We would set up a week-long series of children's Bible studies, women's Bible studies, and evening church services in small villages. We worked with the local missionaries to preach the word of … Continue reading We Bring Jesus To You Just Don’t Bring Him Back
Amazon announced it would do an Anita Bryant movie written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan. Anita Bryant for the younger folk reading this was a 1970's religious right anti-gay rights activist. She had been a runner up in the in the Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant, charted a few songs as a singer and was the … Continue reading Just because I oppress you is no reason to dislike me.
Fundagelicals love them some persecution. Of course, they aren't actually being persecuted. They love to believe they are being persecuted. In the same way, a wannabe hipster wears faux-vintage clothing, Fundagelicals dress in faux persecution to become wannabe martyrs. Since they aren't being fed to the lions anymore, they have to find new ways to … Continue reading Please Persecute Me.
In the late 70s, abortion became the wedge issue Fundagelicals needed to create their political machine. They deemed themselves pro-life. Are they really? They claim they want to end the tragedy of abortions and have worked fervently to create state laws that limit abortions. They finance and support candidates that oppose abortion and often are … Continue reading Fundagelicals Aren’t Pro-life.
I just read a great book by Jennifer Wright Knust called Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions About Sex and Desire. In the introduction of the book Knust comments on Revolve a "Biblezine" for girls. A Biblezine is a specially printed Bible, usually, just the New Testament, printed to look like a magazine with covers … Continue reading Fundagelicals and Sexual Responsibility
I lived through the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. Television news shows and documentaries were full of stories about the rise of Satanism among young people. 20/20 did a segment called The Devil Worshipers. Documentaries like Escaping Satan's Web terrified parents. At my Christian school and church, I received Chick Tracts that warned us how … Continue reading The Occult- The Twisted World of Jack Chick