Race – Page 11 – Red Letter Christians

A Former Confederate State Just Voted To Abolish Its Death Penalty

February 6, 2021

But it’s worth celebrating Virginia, the “home of the Confederacy,” as the first state in the old Confederate South to abolish the death penalty. The two facts are related, because the death penalty cannot be separated from our history of race and slavery in America.

Where Do We Go from Here?

Diana Oestreich

January 18, 2021

Church Life, Peace & Nonviolence, Race

Our country is aching to see the strength it takes to accept responsibility for more than our own individual acts. To be wrong, and admit it. To be the first to apologize. To accept the hard truth that we’ve sown bitterness and are reaping violence. Violence doesn’t start in our fists, it is born in our hearts.

Revolutionary Love Is The Way To Racial Healing

Michael-Ray Mathews

January 18, 2021

Church Life, Interfaith, Race

Within our denominations, grassroots justice organizations, organizing networks, and movement partners, we have engaged in the best of our sacred traditions to pursue a vision of Beloved Community, of an America that is yet to be, of a nation where ancient breaches are repaired.

Insisting on Healing May be the Death of Us

Meagan Ruby Wagner

January 15, 2021

General, Practical Justice, Race

Christians are often among the worst at calling for unity in the aftermath of great injustice; there is a pervasive idea that Jesus was a really nice guy who wants more than anything for people to get along and have a good time.

What is In Your House?

Jennifer Farmer

January 13, 2021

General, Race, Women

“First and Only” is a leadership resource for Black women who have found themselves in the position of being the first or the only. Unlike most leadership books, my work speaks to the unique challenges that Black women face and posits that a spiritual practice is a key to liberation and sustainability.

Capitol Storm: What Should Come as No Surprise

Meagan Ruby Wagner

January 8, 2021

General, Politics, Race

Let us tell our children the truth about what happened this week at the Capitol: white supremacists and domestic terrorists, deceived and deluded and power hungry, attempted to violently overthrow the government. They faced very little opposition.

Next Most Faithful Steps in Healing Divided Community

Dori Baker

December 14, 2020

Church Life, Practical Justice, Race

Our journey together ended with a question: What is the connection between the small acts of neighborly love that most Christians don’t think twice about in our everyday lives—stopping by the road to help a stranded traveler, stocking the local food pantry, helping an elderly neighbor take out her trash—and the larger, necessary acts of love that look like public policy?

On Thanksgiving: An Honest Home in the Uncomfortable ‘Both’

Britney Winn Lee

November 25, 2020

Creation & Environment, General, Race

But this little plot of land, where my son swings from oak branches beside the bayou . . . where we make mashed potatoes for three instead of twenty-three . . . where I call home . . . is much more than just a settler's trophy. We live in Caddo territory, or so it was before the Treaty of Cession of 1835.

A Practical View of White American Folk Religion Contrasted with Real Christianity

Jonathan Walton

October 31, 2020

Politics, Race, Theology

81% of White Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump to Make America Great Again. But it was not Christianity that got him elected. White American Folk Religion (WAFR) did. This ideology, not Christianity, is the oxygen burned in the spiritual fire of the United States.

Why I’m Voting for the First Time in 28 Years

Mae Elise Cannon

October 29, 2020

Politics, Practical Justice, Race

For Republicans and white Christians who feel like they would be losing something by not voting in line with the Republican party: more is at stake in the 2020 election than simple party loyalty. The moral rectitude of our nation and the spiritual integrity of our faith is at risk.