I turn 39 in a couple weeks. It’s been a rough year financially with unexpected medical debt from a surgery. If anyone wants to bless me, my Venmo is @MatthewHartke.
@Jack_JC_ And by “contribute meaningfully” I just mean be up to speed on the conversation, ask interesting questions and make interesting arguments at the point where that conversation currently stands. Not asking for a PhD thesis or anything, just *thoughtful* engagement with the subject.
“Maximal Data”? I think you meant to say “Maximal Data That Can Be Construed In Support of Gospel Reliability, Which IMO Should Overrule All Other Data” 💁♂️
Mark 16:7 (“tell his disciples and Peter”) singles out Peter not because it looks forward positively to a special appearance to Peter so much as it looks back negatively to Peter’s denial. The biting implication is that Peter does not at this point stand among the disciples.
@Joel7Richardson Fair enough. If I could ask one more question though: Can you at least see (even if you don’t agree, given what you think you know) how someone could in good faith (i.e. for non-dumb, non-vile reasons) come to *not* support Israel?
@Joel7Richardson One could easily read the OP not as an appeal to common humanity, but rather as a one-sided statement of support for a regime that has consistently devalued the common humanity of many, a statement which itself devalues the humanity (“dumb or vile”) of critics of that regime.
@Joel7Richardson Ah yes, a self fulfilling prophecy. Say something inflammatory enough about a sensitive cultural or political issue to get 16k views on x dot com and watch as the amygdala-inflamed opponents (and bots!) confirm your bias. A classic.
“Usually when people say this”
Just stop. You don’t have to finish that sentence. You don’t have to make a generalization that will likely cause people who have and/or are still experiencing real spiritual abuse to doubt themselves even more.
Good qualification. But as someone who came from IHOPKC, experienced spiritual abuse under Bickle, and was dismissed and re-traumatized for years for trying to speak up about it, I think it’s probably best NOT to dismiss out of hand or belittle people who claim such experiences.
To be clear, there is real spiritual trauma. I think of recent situations like Mike Bickel at IHOP KC, for instance. He is a horrific person totally disqualified from the ministry.
But I have a hard time believing the average Internet Atheist has gone through that.