Rachel Ford is a programmer, and since 8:00 to 5:00 doesn't provide enough opportunity to bask in screen glare, she writes in her spare time. She was raised a very fundamentalist Christian, but eventually "saw the light." Rachel's personal blog is Rachel's Hobbit Hole, where she discusses everything from Tolkien to state politics.
If you were asked, off the top of your head, to come up with a list of potential reasons for the rise of Donald Trump, what would you say? You might start with things like (in no particular order) general political dissatisfaction, racism, xenophobia, “Islamophobia,” anger toward President Obama, etc. You may note that some people seem to perceive a disregard for civility as strength; that people perceive his “speak-first-think-later” tendency as openness and honesty; that his carefully crafted tough-no-nonsense-businessman image resonates with those who have spent the last seven years ranting about mom jeans. But if you asked the Ted Cruz-endorsing Texas Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert? Well, you don’t need a list for that. Gohmert’s answer is as simple as it is steeped in fantasy. As Gohmert explained to Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, people are embracing a king-like narcissist because they’re sick of Christians being persecuted by a king-like narcissist in America. Read more
The other day, I posted about the Florida subcommittee hearing on anti-abortion measure HB 865 and how that meeting took a racist turn when one of the supporters said that abortion needed to be banned because “white culture” was being lost to groups like Muslims and “the Mexicans” who didn’t “kill the babies” like white women do. On Tuesday, another subcommittee hearing ventured into similarly dicey waters. Pastor Anthony Swain urged lawmakers to pass a “religious freedom” measure because people need protection from gay people. Why? Because people of “a homosexual nature,” he said, were “forceful” — to the point of murder — against those of a godly disposition (which, as he told it, seemed to be defined as everyone who’s not gay). So straight people had to be legally empowered to discriminate against gay people. Read more
“Coach” Dave Daubenmire is a speaker whose ministry focuses on firing up Christians to win the “culture wars” through heavy use of sports metaphors. His website explains that, after winning a case against the “ACLU in the late 1990’s for mixing prayer with his coaching,” Coach heard the call to move out of coaching a high school team, to the job of coaching God’s team. PASS THE SALT was formed to encourage the Body of Christ to step into the cultural war. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood…” PASS THE SALT is convinced that God has given the Body a window of opportunity to take our culture back. When the coach isn’t worried about staged terror attacks designed to take away Americans’ guns; when he’s not blaming victims of anti-abortion violence for being attacked; when he’s not yearning for “some militant, violent, Christian Donald Trumps” on the political right; he’s got plenty to say about gay people. Read more
Got health problems? Well, I’ve got good news, friend. Behavioral cardiologist Dr. James Marcum has discovered (and written about) the “Ultimate Prescription” for good health. The founder of Heartwise Ministries doesn’t just have the ultimate prescription… it’s also the biblical prescription. It’s a new program he’s developed, with a free kick-off event taking place in Chattanooga at the end of this month. See? I knew it. You’re sold already. And you haven’t even listened to the promotional video yet: Read more
