Civil Commotion

But there is one who is far greater than this storm, and that is the Creator of all, infinite in His power. This kind of storm is a display of the power that he has unleashed just in this cosmos. It is only a hint of that infinite power that he possesses unto himself. A storm with this intensity, already having destroyed so much and killed so many, also requires a deeper explanation. And the question is why? Why? The answer from the Christian worldview, of course, is the effect of human sin on the cosmos and on planet earth, made very clear in texts such as Genesis 3 and Romans chapter 8. We as Christians come to understand that, yes, there will be meteorological explanations. There will be explanations in terms of modern science and all of its ability in terms of explaining the storm. But the most important explanation of this storm, the most important explanation of anything that kills and destroys, is that it is a representation of the force of sin set loose in the cosmos by our human iniquity, by the sin of Adam and Eve and the consequences of that sin set upon all of creation.

Albert the Pious, cartoon character

In other words, y’all are no damn good.

Well … that’s the Christian teaching, all right. And the smug ignorant viciousness of it ought to put such as Mohler outside of polite company forever. Shame on anybody who is on even civil terms with that odious creature, or any bellowing fool just like him. No deference, ever. These people are not part of the decent, educated world — and the decent, educated world needs to make certain they understand it.

I’ve wondered over the past few weeks whether any important newspaper would endorse Trump for the presidency.

With just a little over a month until election day, Donald Trump has racked up zero major newspaper endorsements, a first for any major party nominee in American history.

Clue: Your hometown weekly is not a major newspaper.

Where to begin?

Does he include the Nazi ovens as part of His “perfect plan to glorify his Son”? What about the Puritan genocide of the Indians they encountered when they first came to America? The witch burnings? Honestly, all I get out of the ruined lives that infallibly surround the devout is to stay away from them.

Albert the Pious is praying for those affected by Hurricane Matthew.

So, definitely, y’all are good to go sit on the beach and drink.

Bruce Gerencser’s blog features a guest post today that likens religious teachings to a form of gaslighting — a type of abuse that discredits the victim until they no longer trust themselves to reach sound judgments.

It is a form of manipulation where the person who is being gaslighted will begin to doubt his or her own memories or reasoning. It’s seen as an abusive tool as the subjects will become doubtful and distrustful of, ultimately, themselves. Gaslighting is about being dismissive of someone’s arguments and about invalidating people’s feelings. “Are you sure it happened that way?” might be an example. It’s a way of discrediting someone before they’ve even begun to speak. You could say it’s what Job’s friends do to him as they invalidate his words and talk over his arguments.

When you take this further, it might be that God is gaslighting us. “Do not lean on your own understanding.” The Bible constantly warns us that as sinful people, we should not to trust ourselves, nor our sinful hearts.

I admit I’ve never thought of it quite this way, though I’ve sure spent a lot of time trying to show people how inherently degrading Christianity actually is and being sarcastic about this very point. It’d be well worth your time to go read the entire thing.