With war raging once again in Israel and Palestine, it seems far more people have opinions to proclaim about it than openness to listening. After the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas in which more than 1,600 people were killed…
Orange Shirt Day calls attention to the horrors of native boarding schools
When Phyllis Webstad was 6, her grandmother took her to town to buy a new outfit for the first day of school. “I chose a shiny new orange shirt. It was bright and exciting, just how I felt about going…
In this war, there are no ‘good guys’
Normally, I’m a defender of the so-called “mainstream media,” in part because I am one of that group. However, when it comes to understanding and reporting on Israel and Palestine, almost all media outlets have failed Americans who seek clear…
It’s Al Mohler vs. Andy Stanley, part two, with Christianity Today joining the fray
“Farewell, Andy Stanley.” So seems to be the response from Al Mohler, Christianity Today, and many other evangelicals to Stanley’s defense of North Point Community Church hosting the Unconditional Conference for LGBTQ Christians and their parents. Sam Allberry, writing for Christianity Today, argues Stanley “seriously undermined”…
Why some retired clergy lose faith and leave church
“Be merciful to those who doubt.” — Jude 22 I belong to a support group of seven retired Mainline clergypersons. Six of the seven no longer affirm historic, creedal, orthodox, traditional theology. The same six members of the group…
What does Shannon Harris think now?
We first met her nearly two decades ago as a neatly wrapped character named Shannon Hendrickson in a bestselling “Boy Meets Girl” book written by her ex-husband about his theology of courtship after kissing dating goodbye. The character we were…
The importance of remembering the March on Washington in 2023
On Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech that touched millions of people around the world. King is painted as the main character of this event because of his speech, but what…
Why the Haitian shoe seller can’t sell shoes
Last month, controversy around the true nature of former NFL football player Michael Oher’s relationship with his adoptive family, depicted in the 2009 movie The Blind Side, reignited a conversation around “white saviorism” — the tendency for privileged white Westerners…
As the House of Ni’isjoohl Pole returns to native lands, museums and missions agencies wrestle with their history of collecting artifacts
After nearly 100 years in captivity, a long-lost member of Nisga’a Nation in northern British Columbia, Canada, is finally heading home. The House of Ni’isjoohl Pole, a 36-foot-tall totem pole carved from a red cedar tree, has been on display…