When Mike Pence substituted the American flag for Jesus in his speech during last week’s Republican National Convention, he continued a long tradition of American fundamentalist Christianity, which seems to have a problem with Jesus. Pence did not misspeak. His…
Faced with generational crisis, Christian universities eye two paths
I began college in the fall of 2006 as a pre-med honors student with an undeclared major, an ambivalent relationship to religion, and a less-than-positive attitude about the entire affair. I wanted to go somewhere big, prestigious and, most importantly,…
I’m standing with the kneelers. Will you join me?
From the beginning, I’ve stood with the kneelers. It’s time for you to join me. The unnecessary furor began in August 2016 when the quarterback for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers was joined by one teammate to take a knee…
Lessons from a late summer pilgrimage
Walk the Walk was a walking pilgrimage of racial reckoning, resolve and love organized and supported by Red Letter Christians, Faith and Action, Vote Common Good, Greater Things, and the Truth and Conciliation Commission. Covering the 120 miles between Charlottesville,…
Chadwick forever
My world stopped last Friday when news of the passing of Chadwick Boseman hit the internet. Chadwick, at the age of 43, was announced dead after a four-year battle with Stage III colon cancer. News that shocked his fans all…
Letter to the Editor for August 31
Read our latest Letter to the Editor here. And if you have a public comment to make as a Letter to the Editor, see our guidelines here. What would the Apostle Paul say about Donald Trump? Earl B. Chappell III,…
In times like these: Love of hope and hope of love
Does hope mean anything anymore? What is the point of hope in this season? I’ve asked myself those questions, along with many, many others in the preceding months and today. I look at the mess we’ve made of the United…
History shows the view is best from the margins
Sometimes an obscure social science dissertation about historical events tells you exactly what you need to know about what is going on right now. I have just read a little-noticed 2019 book called Protectors of Pluralism: Religious Minorities and the…
Christians, we have an older glory
“Let’s fix our eyes on Old Glory and all she represents …, let’s fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith and freedom, and never forget that, ‘where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,’…
Church in the Age of Conspiracy Theories
It was two separate conversations with two thirty-somethings from two different states within two days: “My parents have become radicalized during COVID,” they lamented. The common theme in both discussions was that their senior adult parents had spent months in…
Five ways to practice tikkun olam and repair the world
2020 is not going so well. There’s a devastating novel coronavirus. Millions of people are unemployed. Hurricane season has started. There are murder hornets and locusts and bubonic plague. And then the Feds came uninvited to Portland. Some folks are…
On banning conversion therapy: Listen with your heart
Editor’s note: On Aug. 25, Baptist pastor Bob Browning testified before a joint committee hearing of the Kentucky Legislature, speaking in favor of a bipartisan bill in both chambers that would ban state-approved, licensed counselors from using so-called “conversion therapy”…