Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Philosophical Fragments

Home
Evangelical
Morning Links: Obama's Crumbling Base, Rod Dreher, Andrew Ferguson, Scot McKnight, and Higher Education

Morning Links: Obama's Crumbling Base, Rod Dreher, Andrew Ferguson, Scot McKnight, and Higher Education

Last updated on: July 26, 2011 at 10:53 am by Timothy Dalrymple

Morning Links: Obama's Crumbling Base, Rod Dreher, Andrew Ferguson, Scot McKnight, and Higher Education 2011-07-26T10:53:18-04:00 Timothy Dalrymple

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In the News

1. “New Polls Confirm Obama’s Democratic Base Crumbles.” Michael Warren comments.

2. Andrew Ferguson with a rather devastating portrait of Jon Huntsman.

3. Why are conservatives such a minority at so many graduate schools?

4. Rod Dreher with an excellent piece on Anders Breivik and his “Christianity,” which makes some similar points to my own article.

In the Pews

1. Scot McKnight on “Labeling the Norwegian Killer.” I don’t disagree that the insanity of a mass-murderer typically puts him beyond normal categories like “Right” and “Left,” or “Christian” or etc., but (1) I do think it’s important to make the case that Breivik is not a Christian by any remotely plausible definition of the term, and (2) sometimes it’s legitimate to look into the ideology, religious or otherwise, that motivated and undergirded the act. In fact, if you begin by making the case that people such as Breivik are beyond categorization, this will come across as special pleading. I think you should first make the case that he is not Christian, and then make the case that the categorizations that apply to sane people do not apply to unhinged, immoral monsters like Breivik. In some cases, you will find a legitimate (and yes, I understand that defining that term here would be difficult) ideology underlying a madman’s actions, and that ideology should not be held accountable. In other cases, however, there are ideologies and movements that have strong trajectories toward violence, and that needs to be recognized.

On another note, apparently the maximum sentence Breivik could receive, in the Norwegian justice system, is 21 years.

2. Ron Sider writes in Christianity Today on why you should not give to beggars on the street. I often do give, but Sider, who is about as pro-social-justice as you can get, makes a good case.

3. This from New Yorker magazine is clearly a skeptical, unsympathetic-outsider take on The King’s College in NYC, but it does raise some troubling questions concerning whether Dinesh D’Souza is proving too divisive for the school and might lead to faculty defections. A story-line to watch, perhaps.

What I find irritating about the story are all the little allusions and insinuations. Take the following:

Smith and Dantzler take me to their dorm on Ludlow Street. Like dorm rooms everywhere, Dantzler’s smells of pizza boxes and unwashed socks. There is no King’s meal plan, Smith explains, so “the wealthier kids go out a lot, and the rest of us eat ramen and paninis.” (A female student later tells me that some young men at King’s have a different strategy: They gather in the women’s dorm and ask the ladies to cook for them.)

You see? Class- and gender-based discrimination! The writer doesn’t have to make the point explicitly, but of the thousands of details he might have noted, you can be sure he noted these for a reason. And we can be pretty sure what the reason is. The fact that this sort of thing happens at colleges of all stripes all around the country — I saw it all the time at Stanford, where I was an undergrad — is apparently irrelevant.

BONUS: You might enjoy this video responding to the claim that the Jesus of the gospels is a “Recycled Redeemer,” a composite of other, mythical stories. (HT Francis Beckwith)

conservative politics

Previous Post

July 25, 2011

Was Anders Breivik Really a Christian?

Next Post

July 26, 2011 Guest Post: Louis IX, Richard the Lionheart Welcome Renaming the Crusades as "Cru"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abortion adoption Africa Aging AIDS America Worship American history Americolatry An Open Letter to a College Freshman animals Apologetics art Atheism Authors Barack Obama Bible Biblical Scholarship Billy Graham Blogging Bono Book Review Books That Change Lives Breakfast Links Bulletin Board Business Children Christian Approach to Politics Christian Media Christian Right Derangement Syndrome Christianity and Homosexuality Christians in Government Christmas Chuck Colson CLS v Martinez Comic Creation Creativity and the Arts Cross Examinations Cross Investigations Daily Fragment Daily Trinity Death debt Deep Thoughts on Fatherhood depression economy education Election 2012 entertainment Environment Epistemology Erik Campano Euthanasia Evangelicalism Evangelicals and Gays Everyday Transcendence evil evolution Facebook Jesus faith Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics faith and reason family Feminism foreign affairs Franklin Graham Future of Evangelicalism Galen D. gay marriage George W. Bush Guest Posts Guns Gymnastics Harold Camping Heaven Hell Holidays Hollywood Homosexuality iam2.org Illegal Immigration immigration Immigration Reform Injustice Inspiration Interviews Islam Jeremy Lin Jesus jesus christ John Mark Reynolds Johnnie Moore Judgment Day Just War Theory Killing Osama Link of the Day Lists of the Week Mark Goldblatt Marriage Military Missions Mitt Romney Modern Western Thought Monastic wisdom Mormonism Morning Hash Morning Report Motherhood Movies Obamacare Old Testament Orphan Care Palin Parenting Pastoral Resources Patheos Peace Between Religions PEPFAR Persecution Peter Wehner Peter Wehner Philosophy Political Quotes of the Day politics Politics and Economics Pornography Prejudice Prisoner Rape Question of the Week Race Radical Faith Rapture Ravi Zacharias Rick Santorum Russia Salvation Sarah Palin Scandals Science Science and Faith Separation of Church and State Series sex sex slavery social justice Social Justice Ministry Spiritual Disciplines sports Steven Tyler Suffering Suicide Sunday Funnies T. Dalrymple Tea Party Technology terrorism The Christian Media Files The Daily Trinity The Electorate The Ethics of Rhetoric The Future of Seminary Education The Middle East The Obama Presidency theological Theological Renewal Theology Uncategorized Understanding Evangelicalism Vocation war War and Peace With Distinction Word to the Wise Writers

Select a Month October 2015 June 2015 May 2015 March 2015 December 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz