The takeover of the evangelical church by blowhard self-branders with an axe to grind and books/advertisements to sell is one of the most unfortunate consequences of the capitalistic trend of religion in late 20th century America.

Great piece in the NY Times this morning examining what happened…

Evangelicals Without Blowhards – NYTimes.com: “Centuries ago, serious religious study was extraordinarily demanding and rigorous; in contrast, anyone could declare himself a scientist and go in the business of, say, alchemy. These days, it’s the reverse. A Ph.D. in chemistry is a rigorous degree, while a preacher can explain the Bible on television without mastering Hebrew or Greek — or even showing interest in the nuances of the original texts.”

I surprise people when I tell them I consider myself an evangelical for many of the same reasons I consider myself a baptist. Thomas and I even did a show about that once and will hopefully revisit the theme on our now rebooted ThinkingBaptist podcast.

Maybe I’m a dreamer when it comes to my faith, but I’m not the only one.