Defending the Common Good
For Truth, Justice, and the Christian Way of Love
(Defending the Common Good, Part 1) Resuming our Bi-monthly Schedule with a New Managing Editor People of any faith strive to be “in the world but not of it.” Our values must stand in opposition to “the swamp” of greed, vanity, and hunger for power. For Christians, our faith has a
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(Defending the Common Good, Part 2) “Come…for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me,
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You’ve surely heard of sanctuary congregations, restaurants, universities and cities. You probably have listened to their political opponents snark and snarl when they say the word “sanctuary”. But it is a religious word that they are politicizing. I write to create a safe space for that word. Religious institutions often
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In the McCarthy Era, newspapers had a problem. They tried hard, as we might say in modern parlance, to be “fair and balanced.” But, in trying to do so, they actually made things worse. Senator Joseph McCarthy would accuse various Americans of being Communists and Soviet spies. Newspapers would then
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“You know that those who are supposed to rule over the peoples lord it over them. . . but it should not be so among you. For whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.” —Jesus
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The journey to faith in blue jeans and flip flops Editor’s Note: As youth, how do we enter a tradition that values the common good? What culture of inquiry, based in trust, leads to a sense of responsibility that goes beyond rigid obedience? Here is one time-honored way: summer camp.
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Confrontation and Confession in Charlottesville The events in Charlottesville this weekend remind me how dangerous it can be to be proud of your identity. In the midst of that ultimately violent confrontation, I was proud to see Presbyterian clergy among the many people of faith standing up to the massed
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Faith in a Time of Climate Peril Within a song or hymn, one can often find insights into how to cope with setbacks and hardships. The old African-American spiritual “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” presents a dim reality: a “darker midnight lies before us, for the time is drawing
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Praying with the Korean People The political environment of the Korean Peninsula has long been characterized by a state of temporarily suspended war, ever since the Korean Armistice Agreement of 1953. Since then North Korea has repeatedly threatened to end the ceasefire, and both countries have violated paragraph 13(d) of the
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Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and
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Building Community Together in the Health & Faith Cooperative Editor’s Note: In Defending the Common Good, we cannot forget the crucial role of healthcare, nor the need for health providers to find new ways of relating to communities. This article does not do cost/benefit analysis, but instead addresses the creativity
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On this Labor Day 2017, the question for faith communities is whether we can own our share of responsibility for today’s rising inequality and authoritarianism. Flooded Houston, the epicenter of a fossil fuels empire that accrued enormous wealth by turning land into unlimited concrete for profitable development, is now the
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A spoken version of this sermon was originally given on Saturday, July 8th, 2017, as the closing sermon of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s “Big Tent” gathering in St. Louis. The subject of our learning today—Racism, Reconciliation, and Reformation—does not allow us to tie things up in a neat bow. So
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Pathways to Sustainability Editor’s Note: The nature of recovery lies in the recovery of nature. With fires raging in the West and hurricanes hammering Texas and Florida, many of us wish our country were still trying to fulfill its Paris climate pledge, and not gutting the EPA or unleashing polluters.
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Notes For One Pillar Community Lincoln quoted Jesus when he said, “a house divided against itself cannot stand” (Matthew 12:25). Jesus also referred to a nation or city divided, and Lincoln was right to apply the verse to a United States divided over slavery. The verse comes from an
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