ClobberBlog | Mormonism, Evangelical Christianity

Some brief thoughts on news from the past week:

~ I suppose I should say something about Barack Obama’s selection of Joe Biden for the VP slot. It’s a lackluster decision for sure, and I would agree with those who have argued that it demonstrates a lack of confidence on Obama’s part, an acknowledgement of and attempt to counter the much-touted “experience” critique. With Biden being only six years younger than McCain, it gives Democrats less room to play the “wrinkly old guy” card not to mention the “Washington insider” card. I think Obama would have been better off playing to his strength as a rockstar candidate of hopey-changefulness by selecting someone edgier like Kathleen Sebelius or Evan Bayh. But you don’t have to take my word for it, I’m not voting for him.

~ The author of the screenplay for Basic Instinct found Jesus! Well, he’s Catholic now, and his conversion story is actually rather touching, so go read it.

~ There’s been some buzz in LDS circles about a Salt Lake City-based evangelical Christian band called Adam’s Road composed entirely of former Mormons. One of the young men managed to convert his parents, his mother abandoning a position as a tenured professor at BYU. They’re sponsored by my old friend Gregory Johnson of Standing Together ministries, and Greg is a great guy with a wonderfully respectful attitude towards the LDS church, so I’m sure he’s teaching them to show similar respect. A lot of the reaction from current Latter-day Saints has been predictably hostile to the young men’s story, which is just as irritating to me as seeing evangelicals treat new Mormon converts like crap, but it’s something I’ll be sure to keep in mind next time Mormons tell me they never act like asses towards evangelicals. Oh and by the way, in case you’re wondering, their music is meh.

~ The Bigfoot story was a hoax after all! Never saw that one coming. Guess the Mormon Cain is still at large.

~ In local news, Jessica Wemhaner of Lacey pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder after the body of her newborn daughter was discovered dead under the bathroom sink. If she had killed the baby just before she gave birth to it, instead of immediately after, it would have been perfectly legal, so I can’t imagine what everyone is so upset about… amirite?