Good old Rush Limbaugh really stuck his stick in the hornet’s nest with his outrageous comments in February calling Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a “slut”. If you are just returning from an extended research tour at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica and have not heard of the Limbaugh-Fluke controversy, you can get up to speed with the Wikipedia article […]
Archives for April 2012
What’s an education worth?
For the last few months university students in Quebec have been “on strike” from classes because of the government’s intention to raise tuition by $325 a year over five years for a grand total of an additional $1625. It is an interesting turn of a phrase. Calling this a strike is about as ridiculous as calling […]
Do mushrooms provide the key to hell?
I don’t like mushrooms. That’s bad enough. But things are even worse. I don’t want to like mushrooms. If you could wave a magic wand over my culinary aversion I wouldn’t want you to. I don’t want to start liking mushrooms. Not all my dislikes are like that. I don’t like Swiss cheese either. But […]
Can you ever have too many war documentaries?
The other day I watched the Academy Award nominated 2011 documentary “Hell and Back Again”. The film was directed by Danfung Dennis and follows a soldier in Afghanistan who is severely wounded in battle and then has to reintegrate to civilian life. Dennis does an amazing job of capturing incredible and shocking footage from his […]
Does evangelical pessimism need a makeover?
When I was growing up I was taught dispensational premillennialism, an eschatology (theology of last things) that has as one of its hallmarks an unshakeable pessimism about the imminent future. Basically, things will keep getting worse until Jesus returns and establishes his kingdom. Dispensational pessimism continues to form a broad swathe of North American conservative […]
Does universalism undermine Christian mission?
It is a common objection to the doctrine of universal salvation. And Walter expresses it well: the Christian message loses its urgency–less pews would be filled, less tithes collected, and less need for dangerous missionary trips if everyone makes it to heaven. To put it bluntly: fear of a terrible hell fuels the growth of […]
Did Bon Scott really want to go to hell?
Bon Scott, the immortal first lead singer of AC/DC, has impeccable rock and roll credentials. Widely considered one of the greatest frontmans in history, he solidified his resume by becoming a martyr for the God of Rock when, in February 1980, he died by choking on his own vomit after a night of binge drinking. […]
C.S. Lewis’ view of hell and why it doesn’t help (much)
George MacDonald, the nineteenth century fantasy writer and universalist, was one of the most important influences on C.S. Lewis. While Lewis never adopted MacDonald’s universalism, his familiarity with MacDonald’s writing undoubtedly contributed to Lewis’ own wrestling with the doctrine of hell as eternal conscious torment, and his search for a less morally disturbing account of […]
When Archie got Jesus: A history of Christian Archie comics
When I was growing up I had a stack of Archie comics that was about fifty inches high (and that’s not even counting the dozens and dozens of digests). To this day I lament the fact that I gave those treasured comics away when I hit university. What was I thinking?! One day in the […]
Does God trick people into hell? Lessons from Jack Chick
When I was growing up I used to search the large tract rack in our church’s foyer. The rack had hundreds of tracts stuffed together in a haphazard mess. The goal of the search? The coveted Chick tract. Jack Chick was (and is?) a mysterious, reclusive individual who reportedly lived (lives?) in Southern California and spent […]
A heavenly update
Today I received another contract offer for my book on heaven, this one with Baker. After careful consideration and consulation with my literary agent I decided to accept the Baker offer. I have enjoyed working with Baker on my forthcoming book God or Godless (with John Loftus) and I look forward to working with them […]
Should we “teach the controversy”?
In “Monkeying around with common sense” I offered a critique of Tennessee’s new bill for teaching scientific controversies in school. My critique consisted of pointing out that this kind of method would be frowned upon in other knowledge discourses like history and English. So it seems inappropriate for this bill to single out science as […]
In the mall but not of it
I continue to regain my strength after teaching a course this past weekend on Christian worldview in Grande Prairie, Alberta. That’s one reason why it’s been so quiet in the blog as of late. It’s a five hour drive each way with 11 hours of lecturing sandwiched in the middle. For an appropriate metaphor you might think […]
Monkeying around with common sense: Tennessee’s anti-evolution bill
According to the Huffington Post, a bill is about to be enacted into law in Tennessee which intends to offer protection to teachers who want to encourage their students to explore “controversial” scientific perspectives. I’ll quote Huff Post quoting sections of the bill and then offer some commentary: In an effort to cultivate “intelligent, productive, […]
