Opinion
There’s Still No Room for Jesus
As I reflect upon and contemplate the Christmas story this year, I cannot help but imagine Mary and Joseph arriving at the church’s steps today, carrying their little bastard with them. How would they be treated? There is plenty of space in the pews of the churches, but would there be room for an undocumented, unhoused and unwed family?
Look Back | 5 Suggestions to Cope With Grief During Holiday Season
While carrying the burden of grief during the holidays is challenging enough, often those who struggle during this time of year feel as if they cannot express their grief because there is an expectation to be joyful despite the pain we feel.
The Forgotten Mary
Mary is a good guide, but not because she is sinless and always takes the right steps. In fact, if we read the gospel account carefully, we will see that she experiences doubts and hesitations. She often misunderstands her son’s purpose and mission and sometimes even opposes him.
Beating Christian Nationalist Swords Into Ploughshares and Answers Into Questions
Christian nationalism may be able to relate to the theological legacy of Pharaoh, Babylon, Assyria, Rome, the Beast, and perhaps even Joshua. However, those analogies would generally invite indictment and damnation in serious Christian biblical theological discourse.
By the Way | Premillennialism, Evangelical Political Apathy and Bad Architecture
As American evangelicals adopted dispensational premillennialism, their attitudes toward society changed dramatically. If Jesus were to return any minute, why bother making the world a better place?
The Moral And Biblical Cases Against Mass Deportation
I teach in a 70% Hispanic high school in northwest Georgia. Although it has its challenges, it is generally a good place to work. The students are quiet but respectful, dutifully taking notes and completing their assignments. I worry that some of my students are in danger of being deported.
Hungering and Thirsting For Righteousness: Alexei Navalny’s Christian Witness
Anyone who reads Alexei Navalny’s posthumously released memoir “Patriot” without connecting the dots between Vladimir Putin’s Russian and Donald Trump’s America is either not paying attention or didn’t learn to connect dots in preschool.
The Advent of The Beloved Community
Advent reminds us that the Beloved Community is already in this big, wide world around us. Because of the birth of Jesus into the lowly manger, the Beloved Community is already in the lowly, humble people and the lowly, humble places around us. Because God is a God who is with us, the Beloved Community is already here.
Lights on the Tree, Darkness in the Streets: Why Christmas Under Capitalism Betrays the Gospel
To celebrate Christmas without addressing poverty or at least protesting the unjust systems that create it is to betray the very meaning of the holiday.
IMAGE: Christmas Consumerism
Witness: See What I’m Saying
Walmart stores announced their rolling back their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative (DEI) and will no longer use the term. I roll over in bed. “Rest is resistance,” I repeat after Tricia Hersey, the Nap Bishop.
Bonhoeffer’s Ethics and Luis Mangione: Is Murder Ever Justified?
Violence from the far-left and the far-right extremists are equally evil. And yet, we find ourselves at a moment where such violence is not only celebrated but becoming normative and legitimate.
Cough and Repeal: Why the Affordable Care Act May Go Away
Jesus did not believe in free market capitalism. Heck, he wouldn’t have even known what it was back then. Jesus certainly did not know about insurance companies, co-pays, and the Affordable Care Act. However, Jesus knew the importance of compassionate actions.
Advent and the Coming of Christ
The traditional narrative of Jesus has often been co-opted to serve the interests of empire, turning the radical teacher from Nazareth into a symbol of worldly dominance. Yet, the true message of Christ’s life and ministry is a call to dismantle systems of oppression and to bring good news to the poor.
Make the Yuletide Gay: Navigating the Holidays as a Queer Person
My Christmas is queer in the sense that I usually celebrate it with people I’m not biologically related to, and a lot of those folks are queer like me. We laugh, play games, eat good food and gather on days other than December 25th. It’s queer in the sense that it’s quirky and not what the hegemony tells me it’s supposed to look like.
Good Faith Film Review | The Order
In his book “Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew About the Bible,” Michael F. Bird discusses the debate over the Bible’s inerrancy. He notes the ongoing rivalry within evangelical circles, which says, “Some people preach the inerrancy of the Scriptures, but what they really mean is the inerrancy of their interpretation of Scripture.” This came to mind when I watched the new film “The Order,” directed by Justin Kurzel.
The Anti-Intellectual Worldview of Trumpism
The values of intellectualism have been foundational to Western and Eastern societies for millennia. Unfortunately, they are under attack by Trumpism and its support of an anti-intellectual culture, where foolish individuals are being elevated to the heights of leadership with little to no qualifications.