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For years, I have sat in dialogue rooms across from people whose politics, experiences, and understanding of the place we both call home were very different from mine.…
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Finding God in Unexpected Places: A Spiritual Encounter on the Ganges
I grew up in the stifling heat of the Bible Belt. So when I first stepped into the Varanasi noon sun, I didn’t wilt. Certainly didn’t flush like the European…
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Why we got arrested last week — and why we’d do it again
(RNS) — Not all of us will go to jail. But each of us can ask, what does courage look like right now? Editor’s Note: previously published on Religion News…
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What I Wish You’d Say Instead: Grace, Not Condemnation – A Letter to the Church
To the pastors, preachers, teachers, and leaders — I’m writing this because I need to. Not to fight or argue, but because I’ve sat with this feeling for way too…
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Dear Pope Leo
May 15, 2025 Dear Pope Leo, I am just one of your sheep, one among the 1,400,000,000 on those Baptismal scrolls. Every ancestor I have as far back as I…
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Jesus Was an Ambassador of Love
I was born “other.” Around age five I knew I was different than other people. I cannot tell you how I knew so young. Yet it is not uncommon for…
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The Catonsville Nine: Good Trouble
On May 17, 1968, the Catonsville Nine, which included two Catholic priests, went into the Selective Service offices in Catonsville, Maryland, and burned several hundred draft records in a direct…
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Dressing For Justice: The transformational power of Isaiah’s fast
Despite her maternal role and appearance, my older friend was into cars. She had long anticipated driving a formula one car. Maybe that was why I didn’t expect that she’d…
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Reclaiming Jesus from Politics: How the Lamb of God Got Tied to an Elephant—and Why It’s Time to Set Him Free
By Susan Parker“Jesus is my Savior. Trump is my President.” That banner hung proudly less than a mile from our newly purchased home in Arlington, Texas. I remember stopping my car, staring…
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Pope Leo XIV calls for peace in Ukraine and Gaza in symbolically rich Regina Coeli
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Leo offered a novelty by singing the Regina Coeli, a Latin prayer said during the Easter season which recent popes usually just recite. Editor’s Note: previously published…
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Original Mother’s Day Proclamation: Call to Feed Gaza
How can we celebrate Mother’s Day while another woman’s child is being starved? We are reading the Mother’s Day Proclamation, originally called “Appeal to Womanhood” to appeal to all women…
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Mother’s Day Reflections
On June 2, 1872, Julia Ward Howe began the celebration of Mother’s Day as a holiday to honor mothers by working for an end to all war. Psalm 11:1 – 6 In…
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Sympathy for the Addicted
Most in recovery have some understanding of their disease, of disguised self-interest pulling upon their will in the form of good intentions. Within our thinking is the familiar, the easy,…
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Rays of Light in Sorrow
“There’s a sorrow and pain in everyone’s life, but every now and then there’s a ray of light that melts the loneliness in your heart and brings comfort like hot…
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We Will Not Bow, Be Bought, or Back Down: A Moral Call to Action for Faith and Conscience
I. Why We Have Moral Mondays We gather because silence is not an option. We gather because injustice is not abstract—it is legislated. We gather because faith does not belong…
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Shane Claiborne, four other faith activists arrested while protesting GOP budget bill
By Jack JenkinsWASHINGTON (RNS) — ‘Stir the conscience of our nation. Let justice rise up on these very steps, let truth trouble the chambers of the Capitol,’ Shane Claiborne said as he…
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“A Kind of Shattering”, an excerpt from “Holy Hurt”
Philosopher Michelle Panchuk says the word trauma is “multiply ambiguous.”(1) We use the word to mean what happened to us but also what happened to us because of the trauma— as well…
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Mahmoud Khalil: A Call to Creative Love from the Shadow of Detention
By Jer SwigartIn his most recent letter from a detention center, Mahmoud Khalil—a soon-to-be father, a husband, a beloved community leader—continues to embody a courageous hope that should stop every one of…
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We Must Arrest the Attention of the Nation
After arrest at US Capitol, we have been released. We are OK, but all is not well. In the rotunda of the US Capitol yesterday, while praying in front of…
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Special RLC Podcast: Arrest the Attention of the Nation… Moral Mondays in the Nation’s Capitol
Well, there’s nothing fancy about this recording, but we wanted to get it out there quickly. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and I jumped on screen today to talk about why he was…
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Rev. William Barber arrested in Capitol Rotunda after praying against Republican-led budget
By Jack Jenkins(RNS) — While arrests of protesters at the Capitol is not unusual, the response to Barber’s prayer was unusually dramatic: After issuing verbal warnings, dozens of officers expelled everyone in…
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Liberation Makes Reconciliation Possible
By Mark AnslemIn a recent article in Christianity Today, Justin Giboney, cofounder and president of the AND Campaign, writes: “Our divisions rob the church of credibility.” He continues: “Not everyone is ready…
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We must now say, “I am Pope Francis”
To honor a prophet, continue his unfinished work Today the world pauses to celebrate the life and mourn the loss of Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday at 88…
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“The Good Mother”, an excerpt from “Mother, Creature, Kin: What We Learn from Nature’s Mothers in a Time of Unraveling”
So many of the stories we hear today are about a world falling out of being. Falling away. Falling from grace. The US Fish and Wildlife Service proposes declaring twenty-three…
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“The Red and the Black”, an excerpt from “Pilgrim: a Theological Memoir”
The Red and the Black I guess you could say I have been a red-letter guy since I was ten years old. That’s when my mother gave me my own…
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Good Trouble on Good Friday 2025
We got into good trouble on Good Friday. Twenty-six people were arrested for a nonviolent direct action at the headquarters of Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest weapons contractor, where the…
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For the Emo at Easter: Stages of Grief when ‘Losing’ a Savior
Two Easters ago, my Dad, in his favorite pastel-striped bow tie, was surrounded in prayer and anointed in hugs for an hour after service. The ‘love mob’ around his wheelchair…
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When ‘If’ Comes Calling: The Voice of Temptation
By Andrea HugIf. It’s a two-letter word with so many possibilities – so much potential and hope! It’s a dream that provides direction and meaning. And in America, we dream BIG! We…
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The Holy Thursday Revolution
This table is the hinge of history. The table is the point. Thursday is the Last Supper and the First Feast. The Holy Thursday Revolution.
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Your Kin-dom Come
I’m not sure when I first genuinely encountered the kingdom of God. Perhaps it was in that moment during eighth grade when I first audibly heard God speak to me,…
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Efficiency’s Insufficiencies
Efficiency’s Insufficiencies: Holy Week lessons from Judas and Mary When the president gave Elon Musk the floor to share about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) during the oval office press…
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Isn’t the World Lent-y Enough Already?
Just before Lent this year, I sat down to think about what I might engage as a Lenten practice to no avail. When people asked me about what I was…
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Today’s Pharaohs
By Ariel GoldPhoto credit: Freedom Seder Hagadah, on display at the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme in Paris France, Credit: Ariel Gold In 1969, amid the turbulence of the Civil Rights movement…
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Stations of the Cross Illustrated by Men on Tennessee Death Row
May these paintings open our hearts up to the profound depth of God’s love, and may they stir in us a passion for extending that love and grace to others.…
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Suffering as Sacrament: The Book of Job & ‘the Invisible Transcendent Society’
By Dan YiGod is love. […] You cannot even remotely imagine how He suffers. – Søren Kierkegaard The mystery of the poor is this: That they are Jesus, and what you do…
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Forgiveness Is an Act of Justice
By Nathan GeerThere seems to be a chronology to the work of forgiveness: forgiveness within leads to forgiveness without. According to the patterns of forgiveness we see in Jesus, we first do…
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The Symptoms of a Nation Approaching Spiritual Death
When we recognize that something which impacts anyone of us can quickly impact all of us, we know everyone must learn the signs of what the disease looks like before…
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Jesus & Divine Metamorphosis of Easter
If Easter wasn’t a Debt Payment, then what was it? “He made him who did not know sin to be sin for our sake, so that through him we might…
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Keep Listening and Don’t Give Up – A Sermon on Luke 9:28-36
I wonder if Jesus’ disciples found themselves thinking, sometimes, I don’t know if this is what I signed up for. I wonder this as I read the part of the…
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Survive—together.
Editor’s Note: This piece was first published on the Freedom Road blog on Substack on March 26, 2025 and is reprinted here with permission. We no longer have a federal…
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Waiting With Intention
I love the Japanese artform of Kintsugi, which takes broken pottery and repairs it with golden lacquer. Rather than discarding what is broken or seeking to cover up the cracks,…
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A Christian Argument for Compassionate Politics
By Alasdair DowTo begin, let me dive into new territory. Usually when you write a political article the aim is to make a grand point with what is wrong with someone else’s…
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“Christ in the Rubble”, an excerpt
Introduction Why would a pastor write a book exposing the horrific realities of Gaza? Is it the role of the church to speak publicly—even urgently and insistently—about politics and warfare?…
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But What Does it Mean To Be Great?
By David TitusMatthew 20:25-27 – Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not…
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Lenten Reflection on Isaiah 58
By Art LaffinGreetings of peace to you this Lenten Season. Lent is a time for personal and societal repentance, radical conversion and transformation. Living under the brutal occupation of the Roman empire,…
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Community
By Steve FawverI often find it easy to overlook the power of community – deep connection with those around us in life. Recently I have been drawn to a new perspective through…
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“Prayer at this Kairos Time” an excerpt from “Arise and Witness”
Introduction to “Prayer at this Kairos Time” (Art Laffin) This undated prayer by Anne is as relevant now as when she wrote it. A dictionary definition for Kairos is: the…
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When God Chooses to be Silent
By Susan GrantI began digging my grave just short of two decades ago. The first thrust of the shovel into the ground came on a day that started out as ordinary. As…
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Faces in the Movement: A Q&A with Khia Shaw-Wilson, United Women in Faith’s Transformation Officer
There are a host of women driving meaningful change. We don’t always see them but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist or that their work isn’t impactful. Coinciding with Women’s…
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Bouncing Off The Floor
By Lenny SmithSometimes you have to reach bottom, in order to bounce off the floor and fly up into the air. Back in 1973, I was out of work, again, and pretty…
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The Radical Forgiveness of Saint Patrick and Maewyn Succat
Are you angry? Are you resentful and bitter over the past? Are there those whom you cannot or will not forgive? Maewyn Succat would tell us that with God’s help, there…
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Confession: Good for the Soul, Good for Us All
By David WatersIn the first reflection of our Lent Series, “Wearing Ash within a World on Fire,” Jer Swigart shared that in our broken world “Lent must be more than a personal…
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What Would Jesus Really Do?
By S.M. ReedS.M. Reed holds two Master’s degrees, one in Theology and one in Psychology. She was raised in church and has been involved in different ministry and leadership positions for most…
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A Biblical Understanding of Romans 13
A Biblical Understanding of Romans 13, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities…” Editor’s Note: This piece was previously published on Noah Filipiak’s blog on February 6, 2025. “Let…
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Entering Deeply into the Story in a New Way: Introducing “Radical Bible”
Many years ago, my wife and ministry partner, Sue, and I were leading a church group in a Lenten series on the Gospel of John. Typically, we had about 45…
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Dividing Bone and Marrow – What Asexuality Can Offer the Church
By Gee Bree“Okay, so you guys don’t kiss, but like, do you want to have sex with him? Make babies with him?” It was a pointed question my college friend was asking…
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Liturgical Resurrection
This week we honored Ash Wednesday, marking our entry into Lent, the late winter womb of the liturgical year. While the noise of the secular rings about me, I am…
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“Facing the Darkness” an excerpt from “Arise and Witness”
Prologue by Anne Montgomery, RSCJ, Facing the Darkness “A voice from the dark called out, ‘The poets must give us imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar imagination of…
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Songs of Oneness for the Non-Religious or Unaffiliated
Friends, I’d like to introduce a new collection of songs which I just recently recorded and released: “Human Spirituals, Songs of Oneness for the Non-Religious or Unaffiliated.” As the title…
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Welcome the End of the World
By Lenny SmithSo many have a very confused set of ideas about “the end of the world.” First, I want to present what I consider to be the meaning of “the world.”…
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Wearing Ash Within a World On Fire
By Jer SwigartAsh Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season of reflection, repentance, and preparation. It’s an invitation to journey inward, to confront our temptations, acknowledge our failures, and move toward…
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Unchristlike Theology Hurts People
Despite the unending news cycle, I’m still reflecting on Vice President JD Vance’s comments in his January 29 Fox News interview. He outlined a paradigm for love, saying, “There’s this……
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Rising Above All Divides
On January 18, 2023, I stood on the stage at the MissionConnexion conference in Portland, Oregon, alongside my friend Dan Sered, the COO of Jews for Jesus and a Messianic Jew whose…
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The Struggle for Hope
I began January 2024 as a pessimist. The year ahead held two big decisions and I was fearful of both. When the United Methodist Church voted to rid its Book…
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Why Christians Should Be Concerned with Climate Displacement and Border Militarization
By Ilka VegaWe are weeks into a new administration, and it is abundantly clear that our nation is facing an existential threat to programs aimed at addressing the climate crisis. First, there…
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Immigrants Are People
By Mark AnslemIt should go without saying, but it needs saying: Immigrants are people. To many people, however, immigrants are not people. The conversations that continue to be had about immigration in…
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An Altar Call from Tony Campolo
By Tony Campolo Transcript: We are facing a problem and that is that we’ve run out of time, and we have to close this thing down. I was going to preach. I’m…
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Tony Campolo on Red Letter Christianity
By Tony CampoloListen to Tony discuss the ideas and scripture behind the Red Letter Christians movement.
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The Babylonian Captivity of the Church
By Tony CampoloEditor’s Note: Previously published on the RLC blog on April 2, 2020. When St. John wrote the book of Revelation, he was trying to help the first century Christians understand…
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Praying in a Broken Time, excerpt from “The Prayer of Unwanting”
Excerpted and adapted from THE PRAYER OF UNWANTING by David Williams (Broadleaf Books, 2025). Reprinted here with permission of Broadleaf Books. Praying in a Broken Time I’m not particularly great at praying.…
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How to Pursue Transformation, Not Just Change: an excerpt from “Letting Go, Finding You”
We have all had experiences of being so sure after we read a particular book or attended an inspiring conference that our lives would never be the same again. We…
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“I’ve Got Questions”, an excerpt
You don’t often get fortune-telling in a Baptist church, so when it happens, you sit up and take notice. Perhaps prophecy is a better descriptor. I was about thirteen years…
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John the Baptist vs. Herod: The Prophetic Cost of Speaking Truth to Power
Just a day after the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the United States, President Trump, Vice President Vance, their families, and other important political figures…
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“The Anti-Greed Gospel”, an excerpt
Money. Mammon. Riches. All names for the same rival god, the service of whom the Scriptures call greed. Mammon lies at the root of lynching, of racial violence, of racial…
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Woke Bibles Need to Go
We are living at a time when it’s hard to keep up with the many threats to our American Values. Woke policies that prioritize DEI – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion…
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The Golden Age of Idolatry Begins: Trump, MLK Jr., and the Golden Calf
It frustrates me to hear people say, “I don’t like talking about politics or spirituality,” when these are two crucial topics that shape our lives. Politics determines our rights, the…
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Tony Campolo’s Celebration of Life Service January 25, 2025 | Eastern University
On Saturday, January 25, 2025, Tony’s family, friends, and supporters gathered to celebrate his remarkable life and legacy. The service includes a slideshow of Tony’s life and friendships, special music from Eastern University’s Dr.…
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Generosity: A Solution to Atrocity
I remember, as a child in school, learning about the big-name human atrocities throughout history. Typically dumbed down and severely whitewashed versions of things like the transatlantic slave trade, the…
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Requiem for ‘the church building’ – a thing never mandated via Scripture
By Dan Yi“[L]et us worship God again in simplicity, instead of making a fool of God in splendid edifices; let us be in earnest again and stop playing.” – Søren Kierkegaard (‘The…
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Inauguration Week Was a Collision of Two Christianities
Between the Christianity of Trump and the Christianity of Christ, we recognize the widest possible difference. Editor’s Note: previously published on Religion News Service on January 24, 2025. Photo caption:…
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The 47th president, toxic leadership and moral collapse
and how to lead like Jesus in the midst of it. Editor’s Note: previously published on author’s Substack (Right Side Up) on January 22, 2025. On Monday I watched the…
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What was the Faith of the Bleeding Woman? (Mt 9:20-22)
In Jesus’ day, the presence of blood meant a person was unclean and required specific ritual practices to become cleansed. To touch others or other objects without such ritual cleansing…
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Speaking the Truth in Love
So grateful to my dear friend and sister Bishop Mariann Budde for bearing witness to the love and mercy and compassion of our God. This is what it looks like…
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The Black Utopians excerpt (from the chapter “Promise Land”)
“Excerpted from THE BLACK UTOPIANS: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America by Aaron Robertson. Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Copyright © 2024 by Aaron Robertson. All…
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King Day and Inauguration Day confluence sparks plans for rallies, prayer, hospitality
Editor’s Note: First published by Religion News Service on January 16, 2025. WASHINGTON (RNS) — As President-elect Donald Trump takes his oath of office for a second presidential term, the…
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Another View on Violence
My dad wrote a piece you might have seen on December 10th called “Violence in All Its Forms is Wrong.” He reminded us, amid a veritable ocean of jokes at…
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Christian No More
By Bill MeffordWhen I first dedicated my life to Jesus I was 12 years old and did not totally understand what I was doing. At the same time though, it was very…
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An Admonition to Christians to Show Greater Compassion to Palestinians
By Alex AwadEditor’s note: Previously published on ComeandSee.com on Dec 31, 2024. Reprinted here with permission. On a beautiful summer day at a public park in Eugene, Oregon, my wife and I…
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The Lamb Of God Is Not The Lion Of Judah
By Lenny SmithI really shouldn’t have to make this claim to Christians, any Christians who know the Bible. Apparently, there are even many pastors and theology teachers who haven’t been able to…
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Jesus Don’t Live in Tennessee No More.
Jesus don’t live in Tennessee no more. He moved a few days ago when Governor Bill Lee announced this new execution protocol. Jesus don’t reside in places of such arrogant…
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To the Christian Nationalists Who Attacked the Capitol in Jesus’ Name
Remarks on the Anniversary of the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 https://www.facebook.com/ShaneClaiborne/videos/jan-6-reflection-on-the-insurrection/567820336126801/ Editor’s Note: This piece originally appeared in Religion News Service on January 6, 2023. In the New…
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Discovering the Doctrine of Discovery, an excerpt from “Knock at the Sky”
Excerpted from Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible by Liz Charlotte Grant ©2025 (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.). Reprinted by permission from the publisher.…
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Resisting the Sin of Sodom
By Bob EkbladHostility towards strangers and aliens is the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah which resulted in their destruction in Genesis 19. This is visible when the men of Sodom surround Lot’s…
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Christ in the Rubble
Advent 2024 – Red Letter Christians Christ is Still in the Rubble: A Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac (December 20, 2024 – Replay & Transcript) Christ in the…
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Religious traditions can help with holiday blues, mental health experts say
Editor’s Note: First published by Religion News Service on December 16, 2024. Photo credit: First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C., held a Blue Christmas service on Dec.…
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Statement on Biden’s Commutation of US Federal Death Penalty Cases
Breaking news today: President Biden will commute most but not all US federal death penalty cases. My response below: Every move away from the death penalty is a move in…
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God Does Not Win Elections: A Theological Perspective
Today’s political landscape relies heavily on God’s role in government. Leaders and politicians claim to be on God’s side or, more explicitly, that God chooses their side. In this article,…
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Christ is Still in the Rubble: A Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac
It has been 440 days. 440 days of constant bombing. Nonstop. 440 days of starvation. On top of 17 years of siege and imprisonment. Tens of thousands killed. Injured. Forever…
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Witness to War: Lessons from a WWII Translator
Historical takeaways on war, peace, and blind nationalism through the eyes of a soldier. “The Translator” This time last year, a destructive war ignited across the Middle East. Ceasefire talks…
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Christians Must Call on President Biden to Show Mercy to All on Federal Death Row. Here’s Why I Agree.
For those who, like me, turn to the Bible for our guiding principles, it is clear that God’s justice is wrapped up in mercy. The oft-cited reference to “an eye…
