February 1 Christian Carnival Posted
(2012/2/2)
… at All Things New. Thanks to Deb for hosting! ()
Even-Tempered Response to Mark Driscoll
(2012/1/14)
Eddie Arthur provides an even-tempered response to a recent interview by Mark Driscoll. ()
I Can Haz - the Ontological Argument
(2011/12/30)
… or not. I’ve always thought the ontological argument for the existence of God was pretty silly, so I can’t resist linking to the kitteh version. ()
Is the American Church in Prison?
(2011/12/29)
Christians in many countries face imprisonment, but is it possible the American is imprisoned metaphorically by our way of thinking? Eric Carpenter thinks we are, and suggests some things to rethink.
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Worship Music Criticism Criticized
(2011/12/18)
… by Lisa Robinson. And she does a good job of it. ()
I’ve been somewhat dismayed at this brouhaha.
I think Palin was a disaster, and appeared way out of her depth. But on the other hand, some of the recent reports have been over the top. Most specifically, I never considered the “Africa is a country” slur to be at all plausible. The basis for this was only ever third hand innuendo, with no record of context or names for who inferred that Palin was unaware Africa was a continent, or why.
A whole pile of folks who should have known much better jumped on this story at once, apparently willing to believe the worst on the basis of nothing. It was shameful; especially from people who would generally like to think of themselves as part of the “reality based community”… folks who like to think of themselves as rationalists and people who follow evidence and reason. But in a couple of cases that went out the window.
An alternative picture on whether Palin thought Africa was a continent or not is given at ABC news, by Palin staffer Meg Stapleton. Read it here: Palin Aide Fires Back at Reported McCain Camp Slams.
But “she knows it’s a continent,” Stapleton said. “It was just a human mistake, just like Obama saying 57 states. I don’t think anyone ever doubted that Obama knows there are 50 states.”
One can reasonably say we have a “he said, she said” situation. But the onus is most definitely on the anonymous sources who give no detail; and in the absence of better documentation, Stapleton’s story on this is far more credible.
The failure of some allegedly pro-rational bloggers to handle this with more common sense and reason is very disappointing.