In the wake of the violence of January 6, 2021, some observers wondered why the insurrectionists at the U.S. Capitol weren’t charged with domestic terrorism. The reason is simple: There is no standalone federal crime on the books for domestic...
Yaakov Rotblit once wrote a lyric that has taken on a life far beyond its origins as a love song: “You took my hand in yours and said to me, ‘Let’s go down to the garden. … Things we see…
For some reason, we insist on complicating Jesus. The grave could not contain him. Yet we have the audacity to be believe our theology can. Our complicated theological pursuits have led to self-righteous, self-serving endeavors aimed at being “right” and…
Sid Smith III is a man on a mission to help church choirs and music ministries flourish. He comes by this mission honestly, being the son of Sid Smith Jr., who was a pioneering Black church consultant in the Southern…
There is a quiet contradiction in America, one that lives in our homes, our churches, our calendars and our consumer habits. It is the reality that the most theologically powerful moment in Christianity — the resurrection of Jesus Christ —…
We are living in violent and deeply troubling times. In New York City, a teenager raised in Philadelphia participated in an attempted terrorist attack on Gracie Mansion. According to security experts, the attack is part of a rising tide of…
Each spring, the sacred calendars of Judaism, Christianity and Islam draw us into stories of liberation, sacrifice and divine mercy. Passover, Easter and the rhythms of revelation in the Quran all echo a central truth: God is present with the…
Public life in America feels increasingly volatile. Anger saturates political discourse. Across the ideological spectrum, our public conversations often mirror the hostility they claim to resist. Many people reach for the language of prophecy to justify the indignation they assume…
A pastor colleague recently told me something I can’t seem to shake: “If I’m not on staff, pastoring or preaching, I don’t go to church on Sundays. I’m just not a pew person.” At first, it sounded like honesty. The…
Days after being released from a year of detention, Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind Rohingya refugee who had been released from Border Patrol custody and abandoned at a Tim Horton’s 5 miles away from his home in Buffalo, New York, was found dead. He had been in custody…
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article included a quote attributed to Heather Cox Richardson that, upon review, could not be substantiated as authentically from her. That paragraph has been removed. Four days after his faith adviser compared…
One of the key differences I’ve noticed between the United Methodist Church and the religion in which I was raised is the focus on now versus later — “later” being heaven, the afterlife, eternity. The theology of the UMC (or…
On Good Friday, many of the white churches move quickly. They acknowledge the Cross, they sometimes name the injustice, and — almost instinctively — begin inching toward Easter, toward hope, toward resurrection, toward resolution. They quickly leave Friday and rush…
