In her 1995 book Cults in our Midst, Margaret Thaler Singer (d. 2003) explores in detail the methods and processes of coercive persuasion. These methods are used not just by cult leaders, but by anyone who manipulates the behavior of others in . . . Continue reading →
Of Nice and Men
Heidelcast 67: Recovering Mother Kirk
Before there was Recovering the Reformed Confession, there was Recovering Mother Kirk a seminal book for all Reformed confessionalists who are looking for a way between revivalism and fundamentalism or between QIRC and QIRE. Darryl Hart published Recovering Mother Kirk just over . . . Continue reading →
Morabito: Soft Show Trials
There’s a more “civilized and softer” side to the idea of show trials, which was brought to us this week by Mozilla. It means that when someone carries a belief in his heart that doesn’t meet the approval of the preachers of . . . Continue reading →
A Conspiracy Of Silence
Yet the leaders of the “young, restless, and reformed” have not typically allowed that concern to curtail their comments in the past. Many of them have been outspoken about the teaching of Joel Osteen, for example. In their early days, when the . . . Continue reading →
Niceness: The Eddie Haskell Of Evangelicalism
I’ve recently said on a Mortification of Spin podcast that niceness is the Eddie Haskell of evangelicalism. It’s haskellmanipulating, but not really loving, manners without truth. Have we become more concerned with our expectations of politeness at the expense of truth? I . . . Continue reading →
The Michael Sam Case: Is Being Homosexual The Same As Being Black?
Late at night and sometimes in the middle of the night I listen to sport-talk radio as a distraction, so I can sleep. Sports-talk radio is usually inconsequential and it works. Sometimes, however, real life intrudes into Nebraska football talk. That happened . . . Continue reading →
No One Really Turns 5-Year Olds Loose To Save The World
This tribalism is damaging to children. Young people long to belong to something bigger than themselves (and this means bigger than their own generation). Children need community, structure, guidance, and history. In short, they need to belong to a culture instead of . . . Continue reading →
Millennial Confusion About Masculinity
In unguarded moments, the young men I work with acknowledge their disengagement, and more than that, they articulate a confusion and even ambivalence about what it means to be a man. They can make jokes about traditional male identity until the cows . . . Continue reading →
A Little Less Crowd-Pleasing
Can the Church commit itself to becoming more serious, more—may I say it?—devout, a little more courageous, a little less crowd-pleasing, a little less self-preoccupied, and a little less comfortable? Can the Church become the Church as it is supposed to be? . . . Continue reading →
No Truth Is More Needed Today
No truth today seems more self-evident in our culture than the fact that God is love. But this is not understood in its biblical setting where John immediately defines the nature of this love by saying that Christ was sent “to be . . . Continue reading →
The Damage Niceness Does
In this and moments like it, I find myself wishing I prized politeness less and had the interior freedom to kick out my friend and his mistress—or in some way to give the moral truth that has been jammed into a far . . . Continue reading →
The Gnostic Dualism Of The God Of Niceness
Dave writes to ask how we should respond to this: “I embrace the all-loving God of the New Testament and not the mean pompous God of the Old Testament”? We should respond to this proposition the way Christians have done since the . . . Continue reading →
Carl And Todd Are Not Nice
So far the best thing about the Mortification of Spin podcast has been the occasional appearances—an odd word for a aural medium—of Aimee Byrd. One of these days she might just roller-skate right over to Philadelphia and then whammo! Certainly they are proving . . . Continue reading →
Kevin DeYoung Isn’t “Nice” (Because He Laughs At Vanity)
Satire, sarcasm, irony, hyperbole–these are dangerous weapons, only to be wielded in spiritual warfare with caution and with great aplomb. But they are to be wielded at times. To poke fun at the oh-so-important, the perpetually offended, and the self-righteously sentimental can . . . Continue reading →
When Nice Is The Highest Virtue
In an age when being nice is the highest virtue, publicly confronting error from a well-known Christian is perhaps the last taboo in contemporary evangelicalism. I am a pastor. I write things that a very small number of people here and there . . . Continue reading →
Liberal Education, Religious Freedom, And Weak Arguments (Updated Again)
Originally Published October 8, 2013. Updates below. The University of South Florida is at the center of another debate about religious freedom (HT: David Murray). This time it involves a planned event at which Dr. Rosaria Butterfield, a former Lesbian, is to . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 43: See Something, Say Something
Denial is the refusal to believe what our senses are telling us, of seeking an alternate explanation. Thomas wanted didn’t trust his eyes. One of the earliest heresies faced by the apostolic church was the claim that Jesus humanity was only apparent . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 42: Fiona’s Crisis
The Heidelcast considers the case of Fiona, who was raised in a broadly evangelical congregation. In that tradition, the emphasis was on unity over diversity. The congregation tolerated different approaches to the sacraments and to the doctrine of salvation. What bound them . . . Continue reading →
Aimee Gets Niceness
There’s a difference between niceness and kindness. A nice person is agreeable, delicate and subtle. While this is very helpful behavior that is useful to society, these can also be very manipulative traits. A kind person is benevolent, compassionate, gracious and favorable. . . . Continue reading →
Of Virtues True And False: Niceness v Christian Virtue
Traditionally in Christian ethics there was said to have been seven virtues, the three theological virtues (faith, hope, and love from 1 Cor 13) and four cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance). Our word virtue is derived from Latin words for strength. . . . Continue reading →