Reading Time: 10 minutes When we were talking about churchless believers last week, I mentioned that I hadn’t seen a lot of Christians offering concrete strategies for bringing these believers back into church sheepfolds. The ones who do offer strategies tend to offer ones based around Jesus-ing harder. But that won’t work here any more than it’s ever worked anywhere in Christianity. Today, let me show you why Jesus-ing harder doesn’t ever fix anything — and why it can’t.
Mr. Captain
Posted inGeneral
Thanksgiving: What Is Most Important
Reading Time: 5 minutes Captain Cassidy grew up fervently Catholic, converted to the SBC in her teens, and became a Pentecostal shortly afterward. She even volunteered in church (choir, Sunday School) and married an aspiring preacher! But then–record scratch!–she brought everything to a screeching halt when she deconverted in her mid-20s. That was 25 years ago. Now a comfortable None, she blogs on Roll to Disbelieve about psychology, pop culture, politics, relationships, cats, gaming, and more–and where they all intersect with religion. She lives with an adored and adoring husband named Mr. Captain and a sweet, squawky orange tabby cat named Princess Bother Pretty Toes. At any given time, she’s running out of bookcase space.
Posted inReligion
Evangelical Marriages: Where Fantasy and Reality Collide
Reading Time: 7 minutes Today, let me show you how evangelicals’ broken system poisons members’ minds and relationships — and sows the seeds for marriages that are destined to fail.
Posted inGaming, Religion
Batman vs. Germ Theory (LSP #156)
Reading Time: 7 minutes Hello and welcome back to Lord Snow Presides (LSP)! We’re all done with Frank Peretti’s grueling slog of a Christian pipe dream, This Present Darkness. To kick off our reboot, I thought I’d begin with something Mr. Captain was talking about the other day. It’s the reason he just can’t take Christian evangelists seriously. I liked his take on […]
Posted inReligion
American Gospel: Christ Alone (Red-Hot Mega-Review!)
Reading Time: 18 minutes Yesterday, we watched American Gospel: Christ Alone. In this 2018 documentary, Christians bicker and argue about exactly what ‘the gospel’ even means. The documentary makers decide ultimately that it means not prosperity gospel. Today, let me show you this documentary — and we’ll see how well they make their case.
Posted inUncategorized
Promise and Peril: Lyman Stone’s Galaxy-Brained Solutions to Decline
Reading Time: 10 minutes Yesterday, we examined a big report by conservative culture warrior Lyman Stone on behalf of American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He had a lot of things to say about the decline of Christianity in America, and I detected a constant theme of fearmongering and potential exaggeration throughout his work. We’ve already covered what his assertions are. Now, here’s my assertion: Lyman Stone needs his target audience to be scared enough to buy his product, because ordinarily they’d recognize what a bad idea that’d be.
Posted inReligion
Sean McDowell’s Third Easter Question Also Fails Spectacularly Hard
Reading Time: 12 minutes In this video, Sean McDowell sought to answer three big important questions through the use of one Gospel myth: the Resurrection of Jesus. So far, he’s been batting zero! Today, we tackle Sean McDowell’s third big question, and we’ll see if he manages to salvage his reputation a bit this time around.
Posted inReligion
Weaksauce Substitutes and Daddy Issues in ‘This Present Darkness’ (LSP #124, Ch. 14)
Reading Time: 10 minutes In Chapter 14, we’ll discover how dangerous it is for Christians to seek out real experiences that compete with their beliefs. We’ll also encounter a character capitalizing on a young woman’s Daddy issues. Yes, today, Lord Snow Presides over two dangers fundagelicals dreaded in the Satanic Panic in the 1980s: counterfeit experiences and secrecy.
Posted inReligion
The Angel in the Back Pew in ‘This Present Darkness’ (LSP #121, Ch. 13)
Reading Time: 10 minutes In today’s installment, we discover a popular Christian urban legend when a literal angel shows up to church–and a second one in how demons show up too. Today, Lord Snow Presides over Christians who just can’t get over themselves.
Posted inReligion
Complementarians Are Angry About Wives Who Don’t Change Their Names
Reading Time: 10 minutes Today, I want to show you a doozy: a Christian guy who lost his top because I didn’t change my last name after marrying Mr. Captain. Along the way, we’ll travel down Memory Lane, look at some statistics, and make a wild stab of a guess about why complementarians hate this trend about as much as they hate no-fault divorce.