By Miguel De La Torre During the recent Memorial Day weekend, we heard a lot of patriot rhetoric about those who gave their lives protecting our freedom. While I respect those who join the armed services out of a sense…
The parable of the vineyard from the margins
By Miguel De La Torre One early morning, a certain vineyard owner sets out to hire laborers. He goes to the local bodega where laborers usually wait to be hired, negotiates a fair day’s wage and sends them to his…
The sin of heterosexism
By Miguel De La Torre I met Tommy (not his real name) back in the 1980s at our local church where I served as deacon and Sunday school teacher. We became close friends and talked about many things. Both of us…
Seeing and shooting
By Miguel De La Torre By now we are all familiar with the Feb. 26 tragic story surrounding the fatal shooting of the unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch crime captain, “stood…
Being thoroughly — and really — pro-life
By Miguel De La Torre Most of those who self-identify as “pro-life” or say they are believers in the “sanctity of life” are, in reality, neither. To truly be pro-life is to believe that all life, created by God, has…
A conservative view on racial profiling
By Miguel De La Torre When the issue of racial profiling is raised, there are usually three responses. First, there is a group of Americans who would argue that racial profiling is a myth. This false consciousness is maintained in…
Racial profiling continues to be the norm
By Miguel De La Torre Maybe the Cambridge police did not act “stupidly,” but did they act typically? Maybe the renowned historian overreacted, but if you lived a lifetime of racial profiling, would you have acted differently? Maybe the police…
Truly supporting our troops
By Miguel De La Torre Regardless of one’s feelings about the war in Iraq, it is important to provide support to the young men and women who put their lives on the line in obedience to their country’s call. One…
Of sheep, goats and aliens
By Miguel De La Torre We should always be careful with biblical interpretations that divorce theology from action. How do we guard from reducing the mystery of God into a simple salvation formula that cheapens what was costly to God?…
U.S. border a bleeding scar for migrants
By Miguel De La Torre Feb. 20 marked the one-year anniversary of Josseline’s death, a 14-year-old girl whose demise went unnoticed. She died of thirst and exposure to the elements of Arizona. She died because of prevailing United States policies….
A pop quiz for biblical literalists
By Miguel De La Torre No one reads or interprets the Bible literally — regardless as to what they profess. To do so is simplistic, if not dangerous. All of us read our bias, our theology, and our social location into the…
Why I am a heretic
By Miguel De La Torre Yes, I am a heretic — but then, I’m getting ahead of myself. As some of you might remember, I recently wrote what turned out to be the most controversial column in the history of…