Among the unavoidable claims of the gospel is that those following in the way of Jesus will be wounded. The Way leads to abundance, but it is not painless. A false gospel — or a half-gospel — wounds, but not in a way that brings about healing. White Jesus wounds the body and soul of everyone he encounters, but lacks either the power or the gentle touch to bind up our wounds.
2017’s top religion stories are a doozy
The year 2017 may not have been the biggest ever for religion news in the U.S. or the world, but it has to be close.
Alliance Baptists protest ‘fake’ N.C. bathroom bill repeal
Representatives of a progressive Baptist group that decided last year to protest rather than boycott North Carolina’s controversial “bathroom bill” said April 28 the so-called repeal of HB2 may have helped the state’s economy but does nothing to protect people…
Prior to health care replacement bill being pulled, range of Baptist leaders said ‘no’
A Baptist minister joined hundreds of interfaith clergy and community leaders in a Capitol Hill rally March 22 opposing the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act as legislation moved to an expected showdown vote on March 24.
Helicopter preaching
In early July, I called the Rev. Dr. Darryl Aaron, pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C. It was the latest moment in our country’s crisis of racism and violence, as we mourned Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. My…
Progressive Christians counter agenda of the Religious Right
Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Jews and Presbyterians were among nearly 100 people gathering Monday, Sept. 12, in Frankfort, Ky., as part of a national march in more than 30 state capital cities across the United States countering the political voice of…