Reading Time: 14 minutes To save his job, Christian Watts clung hard to a time-tested, long-honored evangelical get-out-of-scandal-free card: calling upon Christianese to escape the writing on his wall.
change
Posted inCulture
Evangelical reform: Who’s gonna force accountability on pastors?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Whenever things go hideously wrong in any evangelical group, evangelicals tend to think that The Big Problem Here was a lack of accountability. Had proper accountability existed in their group, nothing bad would have happened because nothing bad could have happened without someone noticing it and addressing it. Scandals, in particular, happen because whoever caused that scandal drifted away from their accountabilibuddies.
Posted inGeneral
Change: A Very Special Lord Snow Presides (LSP #221)
Reading Time: 5 minutes Of late, some of you have heard some rumblings about Roll to Disbelieve making a platform move in the near future. These rumblings are true.
Posted inGeneral
The Cargo Cult World of Evangelical Marriage Counseling
Reading Time: 8 minutes Today, let me show you how good advice goes bad in the cargo cult of evangelical marriage counseling.
Posted inGeneral
Mark Driscoll: Bullies Keep Bullying (LSP #200)
Reading Time: 8 minutes None of us thought Mark Driscoll would learn a thing after losing Mars Hill and Acts 29, the church-planting umbrella group he helped create, back in 2014. And nope, he sure hasn’t.
Posted inReligion
Josh Duggar and His Entirely Unsurprising Child Porn Charges
Reading Time: 11 minutes Hi and welcome back! Last night, we got the news that Josh Duggar — eldest ultra-evangelical son of ultra-evangelical Quiverfull-type parents — had just been arrested. No charges had been filed yet, but no bail had been set, either. Well, we found out today what the charges were: possession of child porn. I hope nobody’s […]
Posted inReligion
Evangelicals’ Strategies for Avoiding Change (Don’t Work in Real Life)
Reading Time: 10 minutes Hi and welcome back! Lately, I’ve had evangelicals’ inability to change on my mind. It’s been reminding me powerfully of an episode from my past. See, an evangelical co-worker of mine tried to use his tribe’s strategies for avoiding a big change in our workplace. And the attempt backfired catastrophically. Today, let me show you […]
Posted inGaming
That Time Someone Tried to Revitalize an Online Game I Staffed
Reading Time: 9 minutes Revitalization efforts tend to fail because once a group is solidly entrenched in a particular way of behaving and thinking together, it’s almost impossible to create lasting change in its members. Long ago, I learned that lesson in spades on an online game. So today, let me recount for you that time someone tried — and failed — to revitalize a game we played.
Posted inReligion
Sean McDowell and the Problem With Resurrection Claims
Reading Time: 9 minutes Now, I want to show you why resurrections, as a concept, are so silly. Christians have never, ever, ever, ever demonstrated a single one of their miracle resurrection claims as true. Today, I’ll show you why they can’t, and why that matters.
Posted inGeneral
Roll to Disbelieve Fall Fling Super Special! (#12)
Reading Time: 3 minutes Hi and welcome back! Gosh, the spigot of summer just turned off around here. It is FALL, overnight! And at the turn of seasons, a young blogger’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of SUPER SPECIALS. Enjoy this curated collection of past hits from Roll to Disbelieve. Change, Change, Change. When I was Christian, one thing I took for […]