Reading Time: 2 minutes A rumor over “contagious demons” has led to a lawsuit against two of the most prominent Christian educators in the country. It’s written by someone who doesn’t have a lawyer, is targeting one of the more powerful megachurch preachers in the country, wants millions of dollars in restitution, and involves demons. Here’s the short version […]
demons
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How John Milton changed Hell — again (Journey Into Hell #13)
Reading Time: 6 minutes Hi and welcome back! During our Journey Into Hell series, we’ve sure seen the Christian concept of Hell change a lot from its humble origins. And now, it’s changing again. John Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost, brought a unique point of view to Christians’ existing package of Hell-beliefs. That point of view would become an […]
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Hell in the 4th Century: Things get unreal (Journey Into Hell #9)
Reading Time: 7 minutes Hi and welcome back! Last time we visited Hell, we checked out what the second wave of Christians (2nd – very early 4th century) thought of the idea. And we saw these Christians slowly embellishing and extending the initial ‘lake of fire’ idea. Today, let’s see what the third wave of Christians in the 4th […]
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How NOT to Deal With Cognitive Dissonance
Reading Time: 6 minutes Recently, we talked about cognitive dissonance. That’s the unpleasant emotional state we get into when we get close to realizing we hold two contradictory beliefs. Christianity induces a lot of cognitive dissonance in its believers, and they’ve evolved a number of ways of dealing with it — none of them constructive. Today, let me show you how not to deal with cognitive dissonance.
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The Grand Finale of ‘This Present Darkness’ (LSP #155, Ch. 38-42)
Reading Time: 6 minutes In this installment, we finally witness the great battle between the forces of Good and Evil. And as the book wraps up, we get a look at the battle tactics of these spiritual warriors conducting their spiritual warfare. Today, Lord Snow Presides over a grand finale that somehow falls flat.
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The Conversion of Bernice Krueger in ‘This Present Darkness’ (LSP #154, Ch. 36-37)
Reading Time: 8 minutes Hi and welcome back! We turn our attention now to Frank Peretti’s 1986 novel, This Present Darkness. In this installment, the finale continues to build. And that means that Peretti continues to move a bunch of plastic cut-outs shaped like people around on his gameboard to their rightful places. So far, Bernice Krueger has escaped his […]
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The Fate of Pat Krueger in ‘This Present Darkness’ (LSP #153, Ch. 35)
Reading Time: 9 minutes Hi and welcome back! The showdown at Ashton continues today in Frank Peretti’s novel This Present Darkness. In this installment, we learn the final fate of Bernice’s sister Pat. Today, Lord Snow Presides over the ghastly fate of Pat Krueger — a fate that sounds all too evangelical. (Please click here to find the master list of […]
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False Accusations in Jesus-Land in ‘This Present Darkness’ (LSP #150, Ch. 30)
Reading Time: 7 minutes Hi and welcome back! It being Monday, we turn our attention to Frank Peretti’s cringefest 1986 novel, This Present Darkness. In this installment, we discover the literal only reason that anybody ever accuses TRUE CHRISTIANS™ of serious crimes. Today, Lord Snow Presides over the theology of false accusations in toxic Christianity. (Please click here to find […]
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The Dramatic Sorta-Rescue of Susan Jacobson in ‘This Present Darkness’ (LSP #149, Ch. 28-29)
Reading Time: 5 minutes In this installment, we witness a super-dramatic rescue! Moreover, it’s one that could have come straight out of the Bible itself: angels swoop in to aid Susan Jacobson, a character in mortal peril. Today, Lord Snow Presides over reminders nobody needed that nothing divine rescues anybody in the real world.
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Bobby Corsi’s Exorcism Fits and Creates A Pattern (LSP #147, Ch. 26)
Reading Time: 8 minutes In this installment, we briefly consider how the exorcism of Bobby Corsi perfectly fits the pattern that evangelicals confirmed and expanded during the Satanic Panic. Today, Lord Snow Presides over the strange way that evangelicals’ art confirms their beliefs — and also extends it outward.