Safe Haven

5 Thoughts For Today 5. I don't believe Christian and Republican are the same thing, but the Democratic Party is completely opposed to everything good, true, and right that I believe in. I don't have the desire to be "cool" and "winsome" or whatever young Christians think they are doing. I'm happy and proud to be Republican. 4. Where they may have good points, they squander them by cowardice. 3. Rand Paul is a coward, too. You were right the first time on the drone strikes, sir. 2. Why has no Republican presidential candidate in recent memory had the guts to be opposed to the death penalty? 1. There will be a challenge from the social-con Right (Santorum?) and quasi-libertarians (Paul), but the base and the establishment will settle on Rubio. Yes, this is exactly what I think will happen. Then again, I thought Mittens would win.

5 Thoughts For Today 5. I will be dressed to the nines on Saturday. It's so unfair to the other dudes. 4. Nobody said life was fair. 3. I think Facebook Chat is broken. 2. No, I haven't seen the new Star Trek movie. Of course, I want to. What kind of stupid question is that? 1. Prayer, or Miami Vice? Welcome to my extended vacation.

The truth of the matter is that I'm probably smarter than you. I have a freakish ability to retain information. I'm also an avid reader, and absorber of new information. If I find someone smarter than me, I usually become his or her student. Even though I am allergic to anything that requires actual effort, I realized several years ago that I still out-work most people out of sheer curiosity. So, I will eventually write some books, and teach some stuff. But humility is in precisely this: No matter what happens, I'm still the guy with barbecue sauce on his pants.

I was a Bible-reading fool that day. 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Hebrews. We went to Adoration and got caught in the rain, too. Overall, a great day. Me and Jeffins and Paulie had gone to Adoration last week some time. It was good, but I'm still carrying the Painful Thing, and I'm not near over it. What does it mean to forgive? If you find out, let me know. I never got a chance to ask Him about my career. Better luck next time.

I don't believe in penal substitutionary atonement. Oh, look, the world is still turning, Christ still reigns, and I am waiting for Him. What person decided that we had to believe that the Father was punishing the Son for the specific sins of specific people, who then go free? What about the rest of them? And another thing: doesn't it seem like some guy just decided to make this the end-all-be-all of "the gospel," and then guilted everyone else into it? This is why every person who wants to be provocative starts essays with, "I believe in [insert stupid, barely passable Protestant formulation of some truth], BUT..." Has no one thought any of this through? Whose fault is it, if you fail to respond efficaciously to a gospel invitation you never got the grace to heed? Wouldn't any reasonable person conclude that the "good news" isn't for them? For whom did Christ die? I've got a problem with the idea that the drama of the Cross is a ...

This is not a blog to come and feel bad about yourself. I have no platform to "minister" to you and tell you how bad you really are. And that's mostly because I don't know. But this passes for religion for some people. You get the feeling God just puts up with us for the sake of His Son. I don't know, but my "Jesus loves you" would sound pretty hollow at that point. Jesus loves me and all of us more than we could possibly know. I KNOW that. I'll say that. If there's something in the way, go deal with it! But then move on. We fail; He still loves. If that judgment still falls on us, it's because we have finally forsaken Total Love. This is what Papa Francis was talking about last week. He's not a universalist; he's making the distinction between objective redemption, and subjective redemption. Objective redemption is the fact of what Christ did for all of us; subjective redemption is the application, the reality of that work experi...

Holy marbles! I didn't even know the Indianapolis 500 was today. Open-wheels just doesn't even have the resonance that it did even when I was a kid. I think Dale Earnhardt has a lot to do with that. NASCAR dominates the American motorsports conversation. Jeff Gordon dominated NASCAR in the mid-90s and following, but people forget that he emerged primarily as a rival to Earnhardt. You think Jeff Gordon and the rest of them are hosting Saturday Night Live without that blazed trail? Don't kid yourself. The biggest, most popular star in NASCAR is Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and he's never won a championship. THAT'S how big a shadow Earnhardt still casts over the sport. [Are you saying Junior is getting by on his daddy's name?--ed.] Look, I'm not saying he's a talentless hack. But...yes. Meanwhile, the reason open-wheel racing (IndyCar) plays second-fiddle is because of Tony George, the former president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the chief instigator ...