1. U.S. Religious Leaders Embrace Cause of Immigrant Children
After protesters shouting “Go home” turned back busloads of immigrant mothers and children in Murrieta, Calif., a furious Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, sat down at his notepad and drafted a blog post detailing his shame at the episode, writing, “It was un-American; it was unbiblical; it was inhumane.” ...continue reading2. White Guilt Will Not Save Us From Police Brutality #JusticeForEricGarner
This weekend, I was on Twitter, and there it was again. Another hashtag, #EricGarner, #JusticeForEricGarner. Much like in the past #Justice4Trayvon, #JusticeForRenisha, #RememberRenisha. I saw the horrorifying, gory headlines, and I was afraid to click the linkbait. What happened this time?...continue reading3. Double Bind and Cheap Grace (Part 2)
PART 1 (read first)
“Grace” is a concept that, though founded in all of Christian Theology, I’ve seen adopted in Christian jargon that is especially prevalent in the evangelical church under Western, White cultural captivity (to adopt the phrase by Soong-Chan Rah).* In Christian Theology, “special grace” (what people usually think of when the term is evoked) refers to Christ who was crucified for the sins of those who did not deserve a sacrifice. This powerful, theologically loaded, expression has been adopted especially in the evangelical church as a way of dismissing oppression...continue reading4. Not Another Charity Case
Vast amounts of ink have been spilled pointing out how our attempts at charity go about it wrong. TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie came under fire for his model, which donated a pair of shoes to someone in a developing country for each pair sold, arguably leaving foreign markets flooded with an overabundance of shoes and putting locals out of business. (Mycoskie may be improving his business model these days.) Other criticized aid ideas include cartons of unwanted T-shirts sent to African nations; short-term missions trips, if not planned well; and, generally, any idea that involves a relatively wealthy and privileged person thinking she can use physical resources to stem the tide of a disaster by buying, building, or visiting...continue reading5. From Behind the Walls, Pt. 1: Jesus Under Lockdown
That Friday, I saw Jesus in the infirmary.
Encountering Christ in prison was one of the primary purposes for my first visit behind the walls nearly 4 ½ years ago. I have often struggled in my life to understand how and where God “works” in the world. Everything changed for me when, at 19, I stood next to my father before the death-filled ovens of Auschwitz in Poland on a cold, wet winter day, and he said, “Whatever you believe about God has to make sense right here or it can’t make sense anywhere.” From then on, little has made sense. But I have held tightly to Jesus’s claim in Matthew 25 that he is encountered when we encounter the “least of these”: the hungry, the naked, the alone, the sick, the imprisoned. German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote of learning to the see the world “from below…from the perspective of those who suffer.” When we see the world “from below,” we see where Jesus is hanging out. This particular day, he was in the infirmary, and his name was Charlie Vick...continue reading
That Friday, I saw Jesus in the infirmary.
Encountering Christ in prison was one of the primary purposes for my first visit behind the walls nearly 4 ½ years ago. I have often struggled in my life to understand how and where God “works” in the world. Everything changed for me when, at 19, I stood next to my father before the death-filled ovens of Auschwitz in Poland on a cold, wet winter day, and he said, “Whatever you believe about God has to make sense right here or it can’t make sense anywhere.” From then on, little has made sense. But I have held tightly to Jesus’s claim in Matthew 25 that he is encountered when we encounter the “least of these”: the hungry, the naked, the alone, the sick, the imprisoned. German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote of learning to the see the world “from below…from the perspective of those who suffer.” When we see the world “from below,” we see where Jesus is hanging out. This particular day, he was in the infirmary, and his name was Charlie Vick.
- See more at: http://www.redletterchristians.org/behind-walls-pt-1-jesus-lockdown/#sthash.0ckoaSCf.dpuf
Encountering Christ in prison was one of the primary purposes for my first visit behind the walls nearly 4 ½ years ago. I have often struggled in my life to understand how and where God “works” in the world. Everything changed for me when, at 19, I stood next to my father before the death-filled ovens of Auschwitz in Poland on a cold, wet winter day, and he said, “Whatever you believe about God has to make sense right here or it can’t make sense anywhere.” From then on, little has made sense. But I have held tightly to Jesus’s claim in Matthew 25 that he is encountered when we encounter the “least of these”: the hungry, the naked, the alone, the sick, the imprisoned. German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote of learning to the see the world “from below…from the perspective of those who suffer.” When we see the world “from below,” we see where Jesus is hanging out. This particular day, he was in the infirmary, and his name was Charlie Vick.
- See more at: http://www.redletterchristians.org/behind-walls-pt-1-jesus-lockdown/#sthash.0ckoaSCf.dpuf
From Behind the Walls, Pt. 1: Jesus Under Lockdown
White
Guilt Will Not Save Us From Police Brutality #JusticeForEricGarner -
See more at: http://politicaljesus.com/#sthash.2nwpXNL2.c3B5aa80.dpuf
