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Review of "The Myth of Persecution" by Dr. Candida Moss
Dr. Candida Moss has provided a popular-level (as distinct from scholarly-level) account of what she calls the “myth of persecution.” Unfortunately, popular-level readers may be misled by the scholarly-style nuances that Dr. Moss uses to make her case. Nevertheless, there are a number of interesting features in her work. The overall purpose of the book…
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Rhetorical Excess – Religious Persecution and Idolatry
Rhetorical flourishes are like any other form of emphasis. They work well when used occasionally and accurately, and not when used constantly and diffusely. In her book, The Myth of Persecution, Dr. Moss complains that the religious right in the U.S. is too quick to decry leftist politics as religious persecution. Claiming that “Christianity is…
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The Myth of Whose Persecution?
Ironically, in the acknowledgments section, Dr. Moss portrays herself as feeling persecuted! She writes (p. 261): I might not have had the courage to see this book through to completion, were it not for the friendship of Dan Myers, who directed me to various relevant news items, encouraged me to stand my ground, and assured…
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Candida Moss’ Surprising Omission of Jesus and Hebrews’ Appeal to Abel
One surprising omission from Dr. Candida Moss’ book, “The Myth of Persecution,” is discussion of Jesus’ own framework for persecution. Jesus, you recall, stated: Matthew 23:29-36Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, “If we had been in the…
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Please Register Your Bible Study with the Government
I was saddened to see that there is religious persecution taking place in San Diego, CA (link to article). The local authorities are threatening to force regular home Bible studies to get government permits or shut down. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see copycat persecution in other jurisdictions within the next few years as…
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An Inconvenient Conciliar Truth – Part 17
An Inconvenient Conciliar Truth – Part 17 Some folks seem to find relying on councils a comfort. For these folks, there are some inconvenient facts that they must face. This post is the seventeenth in what has become a multi-part series. Second Vatican Council (1962-65) – Freedom of Religion Promoted You will recall that in…
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An Inconvenient Conciliar Truth – Part 16
An Inconvenient Conciliar Truth – Part 16 Some folks seem to find relying on councils a comfort. For these folks, there are some inconvenient facts that they must face. This post is the sixteenth in what has become a multi-part series. Fourth Council of the Lateran (1215) – Jews Officially Persecuted I must immediately qualify…
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Thoughts on the Gospel and Government
One of my friends in an Internet chat room I visit, recently challenged me to consider what form of government is most conducive to the spread of the gospel. I believe this brother wanted to suggest that a pluralistic, liberal (original sense of the word) republican democracy is the best form. There are ways in…
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What’s Not to Like?
At Dave Armstrong’s blog, a post entitled: “Why is the Catholic Church so Hated?” caught my eye (to give you some background, Dave Armstrong is himself a papist). The format of the post is as follows: 1) A “Presbyterian” woman makes a claim that she sees a lot of “hatred” for “the Catholic Church.” 2)…
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Poor Gen. Pace
General pace recently made headline news for stating that homosexual behavior is sinful, and that he will not condone it (link). He immediately got labelled a “bigot” by those who either don’t recognize that homosexual behavior is sinful or who do not care. The reason that I use the adjective “poor,” though is not so…