Christian Piatt, father, son, and holy heretic has a list of the top 25 Christian blogs. I had never heard of Mr. Piatt until a couple of the historians I follow mentioned him.
I went to the list, mind you, not expecting to see Old Life since the skepticism and sarcasm here qualifies for the most part as sub-Christian. But I was curious to see what might qualify. This caught my eye (boy did it — see below) at number 13:
13) Sarcastic Lutheran: Nadia Bolz-Weber’s writing convicts me. And I doubt that she’s trying to do that. But that’s what happens. Her humility and love (and occasional sass) challenges my life and faith.
Now if you go to the link, you get here with a big page-not-found message. So I searched for Nadia Bolz-Weber, hoping to see some of that sass for which I so enjoy Lutherans. And what I found was eye-opening (image above).
Bolz-Weber’s home page is all about her, her tatts (apparently), and her next speaking appearances. But alas, no sass. I suspect the ELCA sucked it all out of her.
B-W’s home page does take you to her blog. Any sass there? How’s this?
Today we just got to hear that awesomely weird story of when Jesus casts a legion of demons out of a naked dude and into a herd of pigs – pigs who then throw themselves over a cliff and drown in a lake. It was this story that made my friend heather post the following question on my Facebook Page: “Dear Nadia. How can I get on board with Jesus when so much pork was wasted in the lake?”
– Signed, A bacon-loving ChristianWhich I guess means that the demon possessed pigs diving off a cliff and drowning in a lake story is one that vegans and bacon lovers can unite around.
Perhaps. But she never resolves the question of bacon:
Bottom line: Who cares. I don’t think demons are something human reason can solve. Or that human faith can resolve.
I just know that demons, whether they be addictions or evil spirits, are not what Jesus wants for us. Since basically every time he encountered them he told them to piss off. And here’s the thing: the authority to do just this – the authority to face what tell us lies, to face what keeps us shackled, to face what keeps us out of control, alone and in pain and tell it in the name of Jesus to piss off is an authority that has been given to us all in baptism. Baptism is as radical as exorcism. So remember our reading from Galatians: For as many of you who were baptized in Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female (gay nor straight)
Which means, you dear people of God are clothed with the one whom demons fear. Claim it. And tell those demons to piss off. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Luther would not have avoided the earthiness of the original question (and he did not even wear tatts).
Old Life 