A Year of No Thanks
We shouldn’t be grateful for COVID, for the political chaos, for the broken climate, for economic suffering. But we can be grateful through these times, while we are struggling in them.
In a New Moment, Do a New Thing
Fully understanding how American democracy went all the way to the brink in 2020 will take years of study, and we must embark upon it in a spirit of honesty and courage. But in the days between the election and inauguration, scripture is inspiring me to look forward.
Giving (Not Taking) is the Mark of the Believer
How Christianity went from a faith based on sacrificial giving to an institutional blessing of taking will certainly be a challenge for historians untangle. If there were ever a faith with the heft, logic, and compassion to oppose imperialism, colonialism, slavery, and exploitation of every kind, you’d think it would be Christianity.
When Religion Becomes Idolatry
Yes, I am talking about white supremacy, but the kind comfortably ensconced in a leather chair smoking a cigar. I am talking about xenophobia, but the kind safely domesticated behind a white picket fence. I am talking about homophobia, the kind that scapegoats before an audience of well-dressed parishioners.
A Practical View of White American Folk Religion Contrasted with Real Christianity
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.
For These Next Seven Days: A Prayer for Those Filled With Dread
Let not our hearts sink into anxiety and dread by the unceasing spin cycle of 24 hour news or the bread and circuses of the imperial intrigue. Instead . . .
The Fairy Tale of Caring
The whole idea of “caring” is seen as weakness, and nothing in an era like ours invites attack – verbal or physical – more than even a hint of vulnerability.
The Evangelical Gaze
When those privileges are threatened, it means danger for those in the margins and anyone who chooses to stand with them. Perhaps someday you'll join me where it's dangerous.
Keeping the Faith: A Call to Prophetic Resistance
It is an anthology of dissent consisting of essays and articles by Christians who are calling out the false piousness of the Trump administration. It is a collective work, comprised of voices both Democrat and Republican, conservative and progressive, and from ethnically and demographically diverse backgrounds.
Why “All Letters Matter” isn’t a Good Response to Red Letter Christians
Theoretically at least, a verse from Leviticus had as much weight as a command from Jesus. This kind of Bible reading has dangerous consequences.