So I’ve got a new pre-hung door that I need to install in a newly-constructed section of wall. Here’s the problem: The jamb of the door is 4″. A 2×4 is actually 3.5″ thick. Add a piece of 1/2″ drywall on either side, and you’ve got an opening of 4.5″. So WTF am I supposed to do about the extra half inch?
I checked all the doors at Lowe’s, and they’ve all got 4″ jambs. So how’s this supposed to work?
December 11th, 2007
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Blegging |
15 comments
Fred has a very interesting post up today:
Those of us Christians who do not believe that this newest testament is holy scripture thus find ourselves in a paradoxical situation: We’re asked, out of respect for our Mormon friends, to overlook this difference and to dismiss everything in that book as adiaphora and inconsequential trivia.
I have a hard time viewing such a dismissal as respectful of their faith. I want to say, instead, that the content of their holy book matters — that it shapes their faith and doctrine and identity in a meaningful way. If the Book of Mormon is meaningful, then it also seems reasonable to say that the teachings of this text distinguish Mormons from non-Mormons. And the category of non-Mormons here includes all of those Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Coptic and other believers traditionally referred to by the descriptive term “Christians.”
The comments are just as interesting. But I cannot help but wonder why this matters. Fred is right that to dismiss the differences between Mormon and Protestant and Catholic Christianity would be doing a disservice to those who take their Mormonism seriously. Fred is also right that telling people “I don’t care what you say, you aren’t a real Christian” is more than a bit on the arrogant side. But the fact that we have people so intent on claiming for themselves membership in some broadly defined Christian group is a little disturbing. If there was no discrimination based on not belonging to that group or if there was no concrete benefit to belonging to that gorup, then it would not matter if Protestants didn’t think Mormons were Real True Christians. It would be a point for friendly debate between neighbors and theologians. It would not, in any sense, matter to the public life of the country.
The candidacy of Mitt Romney, though, and to a lessor extent that of Huckabee, has shown us that it does matter. Romney has been trying for the entire campaign to prove that Mormons really are Christians, just like the evangelical and fundamentalist voters he so despertaly wishes to impress. Huckabee has benefited, to some extent, by the fact that he is manifestly one of that group. In the end, and depressingly, whether or not Mormons are Christians matters becasue a significant portion of our country cares more about what you are than what you do.
And that is a disturbing thing in a country as diverse as ours.
December 11th, 2007
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General, Politics, Church & State, Culture |
34 comments
