I live in Alabama where, apparently, a number of aspirants to political office are operating on the sad assumption that a majority of Alabama voters will reward them for being xenophobic, in general, and Islamophobic, in particular. Last week, in…
Beware the billionaires who promise to make America great
The growing number of billionaires joining the Trump administration seemed humorous at first. “How many billionaires does it take to change a light bulb at the White House?” None. Billionaires don’t change light bulbs. Thirteen billionaires — a baker’s dozen…
Evangelical leaders challenge Christianity Today on coverage of Gaza War
Disagreement over the Gaza war among evangelicals is no surprise given the complicated history in Israel/Palestine and Christians’ deep engagement with the Holy Land. Christianity Today, a flagship evangelical publication, has covered the situation in the Holy Land since its…
These Olympic boxers are not transgender but their experience illustrates transphobia
Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting went to Paris to box. Instead, the Olympic fighters unwittingly became punching bags in a fresh round of controversy over transgender athletes in sports. The fact that neither athlete is transgender — or, in fact,…
It’s complicated: Naming our bias
I began my work as senior editor of Good Faith Media almost three weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks against Israel. I never have been an expert on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Still, I have followed…
If 2023 was the Year of the Doll, so far 2024 is the year of trying to rip off the doll’s head
Toward the end of last year the phrase “Year of the Doll” became popular officially through a New Yorker podcast and unofficially on many social media platforms as people noticed the massive cultural effect from the Barbie movie and Taylor…
Orientalism and Gaza
I participated in one of the most beautiful and powerful conferences, “Land, People and Culture,” held at Dar al-Kalima University in Palestine, organized by Mitri Raheb. It was a transformative conference for me in so many ways as I got…
New study debunks the claim that conservatives are shut out of social media
A new report debunks conservatives’ claims that social media companies routinely censor conservative accounts and perspectives. The study by nonprofit Media Matters for America discovered that right-leaning internet pages generated more interactions than left-leaning or politically nonaligned pages from Jan….
A lesson from the Philadelphia Flyers: When inclusion becomes exclusive
To champion sexuality and gender inclusion while denying respectful disagreement reeks of hypocrisy. Take the recent case of National Hockey League player Ivan Provorov, a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers. For their Jan. 17 game against the Anaheim Ducks, the…
It’s a short distance from your Thanksgiving table jokes to queer people being shot dead
Are you alive? My phone began blowing up with texts, emails and messages early Sunday morning. Are you safe? This is not the first time I’ve experienced this. Are your people safe? My body remembers; we’ve been here before. Sunday…
If Jesus could be changed by a sass-mouthed woman, maybe legislators and governors can be too
In Texas, vehement castigations of Critical Race Theory are being thrown around when a last grasp at holding onto white supremacy is what was actually passed in the Legislature. This bill seeks to deny our hard truths, our painful history,…
Racism is never an innocent joke
I don’t think Baptists today are particularly gifted in the spiritual discipline of confession of sin. We’re glad to echo Romans 3:23 and declare that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, but we tend to avoid candid…