Nicholas Kristof's false dichotomy
Weblog was a bit surprised at the beatingNew York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof took from some religious folks back in March when he complained about the lack of evangelicals in the nation's newsrooms. (CT sister publication Books & Culture had a fine response from historian Mark Noll that deserves wider recognition: it's available here.)

And last May's Kristof column on evangelicals being "the new internationalists" brought quite a bit of praise, though most observers asked "where has he been?"

But Kristof will be fortunate if yesterday's blackout shut down his e-mail server. Today's column is, in a word, bad. And he's going to get slammed for it.

Noting that Americans are three times as likely to believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus (83%) as in evolution (28%), he writes, "The faith in the Virgin Birth reflects the way American Christianity is becoming less intellectual and more mystical over time."

That's right. If you believe in the Virgin Birth, you're anti-intellectual. And, along with a quote from Hans Küng (who continues to practice theology in spite of the Vatican's revocation of his license), here's how he proves it:

...

That's right, not only did he lump Jesus' virgin birth and Mary's assumption together as equal dogmas (one is in the Bible, the other is not), he ignores the huge number of serious biblical scholars who do accept the Virgin Birth.

But what's really troubling about Kristof's column is what he's really troubled about: "I'm troubled by the way the great intellectual traditions of Catholic and Protestant churches alike are withering, leaving the scholarly and religious worlds increasingly antagonistic."

In other words, if you actually believe the stuff your church teaches, ...