So in writing that previous post I ran into the old problem (again) of calling people 'Christian' when their beliefs and behaviors are really distinctive to a particular subset. It's not quite Evangelical, not quite Charismatic, not quite Fundamentalist, not quite ... well, any specific branch of theology or doctrine. But what to call it? What to refer to it when talking?

Fundagelical? Evangamentalist? Charigelalist? Johnnycakes?

"I don't know if he even knows who he's praying to," [Tim Wildemon, president of the AFA] said.... David Barton, president of WallBuilders, a foundation that researches and promotes the Christian origination of American law and culture, said the Hindu belief in multiple gods contradicts the U.S. motto of "One Nation Under God."

Sometimes, I get angry. Often, I get angry at Christians. Why? Probably for the same reason that folks find it easier to get angry at a family member than a stranger. You know them well, you've seen their spots and wrinkles, and for better or worse, you think that they should know better than to do whatever it is that pissed you off.

Such deep longing for God... Repulsed, empty, no faith, no love, no zeal... What do I labor for? If there be no God, there can be no soul. If there be no soul then, Jesus, You also are not true.

Can you name the source of this quote? Care to take a guess? I know I was startled -- no fair checking the URL first.

A friend pointed me to a fascinating article in The New Republic profiling a handful of recent converts to the Orthodox Church. Not little-o orthodox, but Big-O Orthodox. You know, the ones that trace their doctrinal decisions and their lines of leadership back to the original apostles?

It's interesting in part because the principal subjects of the article live in Wheaton, IL -- the Rome of the Evangelical world, home do innumerable Christian colleges and publishers and organizations and churches. (Oh, man, the churches. Through the 80s, Wheaton was effectively a dry town -- I believe one, perhaps two businesses in the entire city were allowed liquor licenses, and grocery stores were SOL. Instead of bars, there were large swaths of Wheaton that had two, even three churches on a single street. But I digress.)

ReligionWriter takes an example from economist Tyler Cowen's new book and applies it to attending religious services. Tyler approves.

I honestly wonder if it's fair to call me an "ex-pat" of Christian culture. But I know it's fair to say I'm not in it.

Crossposted from my personal blog. This, in review, is perfect fodder for our little project here.

Here's my moment of oh-dear-God-I'm-getting-OLD of the day:

Fifteen years ago, Cornerstone Magazine published an expose' on "Christian comedian" Mike Warnke.

I've been a bit quiet for the past day or two, in part because I'm crunching on some work related deadlines and preparing for a weekend trip to LA for some training workshops. Some subtle new additions have been made to Growing Up Goddy in the background, though, so I'll point 'em out!

First, contributors can create blog posts, reviews of books and movies, and links to other sites. Links are automatically filed under the 'Links' section in the navigation tabs. If you choose 'Add to blogroll' as well, the link will appear in the list at the bottom of the sidebar.