“As much as any other voice in Scripture, Hosea fulfills the child’s dictum, (and) when told that no one knows what God looks like, responds, ‘They will when I finish.’ When Hosea has finished his sketch, we have a full…
Weaponizing America: Every neighbor a threat
Something clicked within me recently while half-listening to a news report. The report concerned yet another police killing of a citizen and, as I recall, the reporter’s words went something like this: “Police chased the man on foot for two…
We know the truth, and it is not setting us free
At the annual gathering of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship last week, I heard at least one speaker repeat the words of John 8:32: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” In fact, as I recall,…
The oxymoron of being both anti-abortion and pro-gun
The recent mass murder events help to nudge the conscience, a conscience that has been beaten senseless by the incessant beating of the anti-abortion drum and the idolatrous-like worship of the Second Amendment. The oxymoron of being both anti-abortion and…
Sympathy does not defeat white supremacy
On May 14, 2022, an 18-year-old white man killed 10 Black people and wounded three others at a TOPS supermarket in a Black neighborhood of Buffalo, N.Y. He drove more than 200 miles from his home in southern New York…
If ‘guns don’t kill people, people do,’ how should we respond?
You probably have heard the simplistic explanation, often delivered proudly as if it is the very first time someone has thought to say it: “Guns don’t kill people, people do!” This retort is most often given after another senseless murder…
We have ‘soft targets’ of war here at home too
With the news of so many tragic events over the past few weeks, I have been struck by the thread that seems to run through so much of the carnage-filled images continuously in the media. The interviews from mass shootings…
Mass shootings, DNA swabs and gospel triage: America 2022
Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my Lord burn hot; you know the people, that they…
In the gun violence debate, let’s stop scapegoating mental illness
In the book of Leviticus, we read these instructions to the high priest regarding the day of atonement: Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of…
Yes, there is a way out of our national gun violence epidemic
There is a lot of discussion about gun violence after the mass shooting in Ulvade, Texas, and the alarming number of mass shootings across the United States. I suspect all of us have hurt deeply as the news of these…
No, there are not two equally valid sides to some issues
In the 1980s and ’90s, while I was teaching English, I also was a debate coach. High school debate is a lot of fun, primarily because the drama of teenagers is just as present there as it is on the…
White supremacy and firearm idolatry: America’s Baal
“And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD (be) God, follow him: but if Baal, (then) follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” — 1 Kings…