Same-sex marriage is the law of the land. Outcries to the contrary, the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision did not herald the demise of religious liberty in America.
Sunday’s coming: Freedom from Racism
He shot them at prayer meeting. On June 17, in the year of our Lord 2015, a 21-year-old white supremacist millennial named Dylann Roof shot nine members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., in cold blood…
Why I struggle to jump on the terrorism bandwagon
I’ve never visited Charleston, S.C. My perspective and reflection is limited by my experience — like everyone else. As I listened to the reports and read articles, comments and threads popping up all over the Internet and social media, I…
Time for panic or hope?
The Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting wrapped up last week. As usual there have been several statements and statistics which are causing at least minor stirs. Their announcement of a court petition to uphold the traditional definition of marriage may…
God isn’t fooled
After listening to multiple responses from candidates for president and television commentators to the shooting that occurred at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, it seems like most of them have an aversion to calling the shooting solely a racist incident….
Dylann Roof and the sound of silence
Fools said I, You do not know Silence like a cancer grows. The slaughter of nine innocent people gathered for prayer at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., was horrific, deplorable, sickening, cruel and heartless. It was not senseless.
The Mother Emanuel Nine and the Parable of the Sower and the Soils
South Carolina became my adopted state 30 years ago. Understanding and appreciating its culture is a continual journey of social and religious understanding. The story of the Emanuel Nine provides a new dimension of learning. This tragic incident is personal…
Something inside
On Thursday morning, 50 of us are jammed into a Sunday school room singing chants. Most of the “us” are scholars — elementary school students — for Freedom School. This is the first day of six weeks that will be…
Does God hate our sympathy? The AME massacre and social media
In the wake of the AME massacre in Charleston, S.C., I’m beginning to wonder if sympathy is a sin. Everywhere I turn I hear sympathy: “Our hearts go out to the victims and their families” or “Lord, have mercy!”