The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (5/6/16)

Greetings from my new home!  We have officially moved and are now in the process of unpacking.  Thankfully, I found the charging cable to my laptop last night and so today I make my official return to blogging. 

A lot has gone on in my absence.  I couldn’t possibly begin to address it all here, this would be a 20-page long post.  However, I do want to take the time to address some important things which have occurred.  So, without further ado, I present to you “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”

The Good

1.        Tomorrow (May 7,2016) will be the launch party for the iAm Project at the Highlands Church in Denver, Colorado.  This organization was created by Isaac Archuleta and Michael Stark to address the gap which exists between the LGBTQ+ community and the Church.  I will let them further introduce their work and vision themselves. 

2.       Rob Bell recently interviewed Richard Rohr on The Rob Cast.  There is so much I want to say about this interview, so much good content.  This is truly a must listen episode

https://www.podbean.com/media/player/xurf5-5e4e7d 

The Bad

3.       Rachel Miller recently reviewed a number of passages from Doug Wilson’s classical Christian education curriculum.  I this post she outlines a number of the more than 100 instances of plagiarism she found in the text.  For those unfamiliar, this is the third plagiarism scandal that Wilson has been attached to.  For information on the first two, see here and here.  https://adaughterofthereformation.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/plagiarism-wilson-and-the-omnibus/

4.       Ryan Stoller has written an excellent article for Cindy Wang Brandt’s Unfundamentalist Parenting.  In this post he dissects the common myth that anti-transgender bathroom laws protect children from sex predators.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unfundamentalistparenting/2016/05/how-bathroom-bills-undermine-child-protection/ 

Likewise, Roger Canaff has contributed to the conversation, arguing a point close to my own heart, the disturbing reality of sex abuse within the church and how arguments about bathroom laws distract from actual threats to child safety.

http://rogercanaff.com/site/2016/04/child-molesting-female-impersonators-are-a-myth-child-molesting-religious-males-are-not/

5.       Mark Silk has written a post exposing the three Wheaton College board members who openly and unabashedly testified as character witnesses on behalf of now-convicted serial child sex predator Dennis Hastert, former US Speaker of the House.  Again, Wheaton has demonstrated the lack of institutional integrity that seems to be becoming all too common on their campus. http://religionnews.com/2016/05/02/wheaton-tarnishes-itself-hastert/

6.       Warren Throckmorton recently wrote a post regarding K-LOVE radio’s pledge drive.  Within he exposes the operating costs of being “positive and encouraging” and points out that the CEO of the station makes a half-million dollars a year salary.  In short, Throckmorton points out that K-LOVE may not need your money as badly as they claim to. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2016/05/01/k-loves-pledge-drive-money-behind-the-music/

The Ugly

7.       Doug Wilson – noted racist, misogynist, and homophobe – was recently allowed to speak at the Q Conference in Denver, Colorado.  I find the lack of discernment on behalf of the conference disturbing.  If they did not vet Wilson before booking him, then they have demonstrated the degree to which they do not care about careful and respectful engagement, despite their claims to the contrary.  If they were aware of Wilson’s track record and still scheduled him, then they have shown that they lack all integrity and are only concerned about using a controversial figure to raise attendance.  In either case, they granted credibility to an abusive pastor with a history of claiming minors can consent to sex.  That is to say, there is no actual defense for their actions, their tagline be damned.  Their inclusion of Wilson is a statement that ticket sales matter more than victims and integrity.

8.       North Carolina’s famously bigoted HB2 is on its last leg.  The law has been declared a violation of both Title VII and Title IX by the Justice Department of the United States.  North Carolina has been given until May 9 to comply with the government’s findings and put in place a plan to immediately repeal the law.  Failure to comply with this could cost the state over $2 billion in federal education funding. 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article75601912.html

While I applaud the Justice Department, the fact that these laws represent increasingly popular opinions among religiously and politically conservative Christians is an indictment on the state of the American Church and a clear indicator that fear, not faith, is at the center of our beliefs.

9.  It appears Hunter Frederick and Tullian Tchividjian continue to have problems with honesty and integrity.  I personally spoke at length with Frederick shortly after the news broke that Tchividjian had lied extensively about his pastoral abuses. He ensured me at the time that Tchividjian had no intentions of making any public appearances and would be stepping away from the limelight for some time.  However, despite these claims, Tchividjian appeared as a “speaker who didn’t speak” at a prayer breakfast last month.  Warren Throckmorton has provided some commentary on this incident as well as some humorous, and seemingly inept, commentary from Frederick’s on exactly what the appearance entailed.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2016/04/15/is-there-a-comeback-in-the-works-for-tullian-tchividjian/