After watching a little bit of the Texas Senate debating religion in schools today, I am convinced of two things. Texas senators need serious history reeducation Texas is where separation of church and state has gone to die Today I…
To revitalize the church in America, look to the working poor
There is an old trick used by religious leaders to prevent the possibility of questioning what they say: The leader or pastor comes into a meeting declaring they have a word from God. Then this pastor will state some proposal and…
The Emperor’s New Clothes: Speaking truth to power
In Hans Christian Andersen’s timeless tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” an emperor’s obsession with vanity blinds him to the obvious truth that he’s been deceived by two con men. When the emperor parades through his kingdom in his supposed “new…
Closure of DOJ probe doesn’t mean no SBC sex crimes
The United States Department of Justice has shut down its investigation into sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention. Attorneys for the SBC Executive Committee said they were notified last Wednesday of the investigation’s closure, and since then prominent Southern…
Yes, Franklin Graham, President Trump is profane
Franklin Graham, in a move that would make a Pharisee proud, is complaining about President Donald Trump’s public profanity. Graham disconnects Trump’s words from his deeds. He offers a half-baked condemnation of the president’s words. But it is Trump’s deeds…
The MAGA Paradox: When political symbols in schools become tools of exclusion
Walking into my son’s Atlanta-based Jewish school, I was immediately confronted with a sight that left me unsettled: a child dressed as President Donald Trump, complete with a white MAGA hat, for Purim. As I processed my reaction, I considered…
Grief and resilience: A model for facing change
“All change is loss; all loss must be grieved.” This saying is attributed to Don Garner, retired professor of Old Testament, and he has the credentials to be heard. Not only was he a teacher with a specialty in wisdom…
Humpty Dumpty has fallen off the wall
The meaning of the 19th-century nursery rhyme “Humpty Dumpty” has been clouded in mystery since it first became popularized in Lewis Caroll’s book Through the Looking Glass published in 1871. Caroll depicted Humpty Dumpty as an anthropomorphic egg, fragile and…
The Ken Paxton Cruelty Show continues
Does Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton just sit around his office and think of new ways to be cruel? Sure seems like it. The churchgoing Southern Baptist, who was impeached by the Texas House but spared conviction by Trump loyalists…
Why we can’t convince some Christians to love their neighbor
It shouldn’t be this difficult to convince conservative Christians to love their neighbor. But in seemingly every example of someone in power mistreating the marginalized these days, the Religious Right sides with the person in power. The presence those on…
What I learned when I asked women if church is safe for them
Is the church a safe place for women? Well of course it is, right? I would have thought the church was a safe place, too, until the results came in from my research with more than 2,800 women who worked…
No Good Samaritan
Most of us have a warm and fuzzy image of Jesus. We envision strolling through the countryside, eating loaves and fish with him, basking in the miracles of the sick who are healed and sent home whole again. It’s cozy…