“How can I protect myself was the interrogative thought of the hour floating around in the about seven of the minds present, although one of the earthier elders, Kenneth by name—not that it matters—was expressing it to himself in terms of covering his white little evangelical hinder parts. The remaining four elders were confident of their pastor’s innocence for all the normal reasons, and they looked at him expectantly, waiting for the next reassuring evangelical cliché, like so many show poodles waiting for their treat”
And Q.E.D.
Which Why There is So Much Fake Authenticity
“As an injunction to be true to oneself, to place the cultivation of the self at the forefront of all concerns, authenticity has become the overriding moral imperative of modern life” ().
Nation of Rebels, p. 270
A Mistake That Has Been Made More Than Once
“Chad had been all aura then—charisma, smiles, and eyes that penetrated what you thought at first was your soul, but then just turned out to be your clothes”
Weird White Guy Behavior
“From Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha to Carlos Castenada’s The Teachings of Don Juan, the countercultural rebels desperately longed for a way to opt out of Western civilization . . . The Tibetan Book of the Dead and the I Ching became the twin bibles of the emerging movement. The result was an enormous projection of countercultural longing and fantasy onto the non-Western world.”
Nation of Rebels, p. 255
The Problem is That It Won’t Stay
“Apart from his detestation of Lester, there was also the pastoral folly of counseling drunks. He had learned that lesson years before—like sweeping water uphill.”
Our Jaunty Little Peacock
A Scenario: Imagine with me, if you will, a youth retreat of some kind, guys and girls at the same camp together. Imagine further that some young buck has been down in the dining hall, with a puffed-out chest, challenging girls to arm wrestle with him, and thus far he has provoked seven girls in …
Audio Reading of Post
A Good Thing, Right?
“Since 1970, the average number of items for sale in North American supermarkets has increased from 8,000 to 30,000.”
Nation of Rebels, p. 245
Impatience Notices
“Chad was being a little bit slower on the motor skills front, and so John waited patiently for him. And by ‘waited patiently,’ John had been a pastor long enough to know it meant he was actually waiting impatiently. Whenever he was waiting patiently, he didn’t notice that he was waiting patiently, and John was noticing.”
Letters Appear, as if By Magic
Letter to the Editor: Thank you for faithfully pointing us to God's design as revealed through His word. Within your October 21st response to Rachel Miller, in your 8th paragraph, you ...