Thomas Kidd has a great, brief piece about the theological dimensions of Pres Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2013/11/a-new-birth-of-freedom-the-gettysburg-address/ Pres Obama's handling of the Gettysburg 150th anniversary observance--deciding not to appear, even though most previous Presidents appeared, choosing to read a version of the speech that did not include the words "under God"--makes Dr Kidd's observations even … Continue reading The Theological Dimensions of the Gettysburg Address

So how did Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul respond to the script for the finale of Breaking Bad? Watch their initial read through. Pure greatness.   http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/11/18/breaking-bad-final-script/   - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Scot McKnight makes some lucid observations re John King's recent CNN report on Evangelical pastors & support for Obamacare: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2013/11/18/a-comment-on-no-comment/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PatheosJesusCreed+%28Blog+-+Jesus+Creed%29 I've argued here & elsewhere that the stated goals of Obamacare could be better & more cheaply achieved through other, simpler, less drastic means. Christians are obligated to provide for, to meet the physical needs … Continue reading Pastors, Obamacare, & “No Comment”

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2013/11/genesis-creation-and-two-very-different-portraits-of-god-or-you-cant-pin-god-down/ How do Jews read Genesis 1-2?

The purported rationale for Obamacare was: we need to do this to provide healthcare for 20 million (or 30, or 40, or 50 million; the number kept changing) who do not have health insurance. I say "purported," because the sprawling nature of Obamacare makes it clear that this is about much more than providing access … Continue reading Obamacare & Health Insurance

Explanations, Not Excuses I've spent the last thirty years or so dealing with people in a variety of pastoral and educational settings. One of the things that I've found to be true is that there's ALWAYS a reason for the way people are.People can be wonderful, and I've worked with many such people over these years. … Continue reading Explanations, Not Excuses