I'd been holding off on posting and commenting on Brendan Kiley's excellent piece in The Stranger about Mars Hill Church, a locally headquartered religious franchise (not to be confused with "denomination"), until the church had issued a response, to which I could also link. They have done so. Mr. Kiley takes exception with their version of the facts.

Not really interested in getting into theology here, but the impression I get is that Mars Hill manages to combine the authoritarian Calvinism of the Puritans, the mindless literalism of Baptist fundamentalists, the gross marketing of American mega-churches, and the creepy contractual behavior control of the Scientologists. But hey--they're cool with tattoos and beer, so that can't be all that bad, right? 

Anyway, Mark Driscoll's pithy reply to the piece remains as stupid as ever.

 Ahem...

 I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self.

  Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.

He that rebels against reason is a real rebel, but he that in defence of reason rebels against tyranny has a better title to Defender of the Faith, than George the Third.