The rank falsehood of Pat Robertson’s “history”

On Wednesday morning, Dr. Robertson stated that the nation of Haiti made a pact with the devil. “True story”, he said, and claimed that this explains why Haiti  suffered so much in the years since. Au contraire: everything about his statement is false. Robertson’s claims: “Haiti was under the heel of the French, Napoleon III [...]

Pat Robertson and Haiti – where angels fear to tread

I had a great birthday. January 12 was a happy day for me, all day long. But a couple of days later I discovered what a big tragedy it was… an earthquake hit Haiti, killing maybe 100,000 people. Aside from the small donation I sent to World Vision, there isn’t much I can do. I [...]

Benjamin Button – more about death than life

I took my wife to see the Curious Case of Benjamin Button on Christmas day. We both enjoyed it a great deal. It’s a love story, and an adventure story. Someone compared it to Forest Gump, but it’s never as emotional as that masterpiece, nor as funny. But it’s got some humor, I’d give it [...]

Benjamin Button Biblical?

I’m excited to see “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” I may even go see it tomorrow. It’s a love story in which Brad Pitt plays a freak of nature who is born as an old man and lives his standard, finite life in reverse… starting out with an aged body but immature mind, and [...]

Not the last lecture

The world has lost Randy Pausch. Temporarily. The Carnegie Mellon prof who gained acclaim and then wrote a best-selling book about dying of cancer has passed away in the last few hours. He was 47. His story is particularly touching to me because he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at precisely the time that my [...]

Somewhere between nowhere and goodbye

I just finished a couple of major deadlines in my secular work and I celebrated by watching a movie in my hotel room. I’ve seen Million Dollar Baby before, but this movie is told so cinematically, so emotionally, that even when I know the plot ahead of time I find myself going through the same [...]

Q: What about Violence and Lust in the OT?

Eyoel writes: But I really need your brotherly help this time… This week, I’m going to debate a [person who does not accept Jesus as the Son but does believe other sacred texts which I do not believe are true]. I have seen [friends like him] pick the violent verses of the Old Testament (and [...]

Q: Why was Jesus sent to Earth?

Hi, Brian and Kimberly, My apologies for taking so long to answer you. Jesus told us that God’s motivation is love, and that his goal is to bring life to whoever believes in Jesus. John 3:16 Of course, the mainstream traditional teaching is that most people self-select themselves out of that opportunity, by choosing to [...]

Happy Heretic, meet Happy God

I’m happy to rediscover Judith Hayes, the Happy Heretic. I’m a happy heretic myself, being convinced that most of Christianity is dead wrong about the end game God has planned.  In her most recent post, Judith points her incisive wit at the 7 visions of Hell described in an article she reviews. All the views, [...]

"Gospel of rational hope"?

Pastor Glenn Parkinson of Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church writes in his blog that he is starting to wonder whether the media is doing more than reporting on a culture in crisis. He suggests they are promoting a “culture OF crisis”. It’s a clever turn of phrase, and reflects, I think, a view that is [...]