A General Assembly Policy Review with possible new applications of Reformed Christian Principles 2011 by Christian Iosso, Advisory Committee on Social Witness
Keep Reading
December 20, 2011, by Chris Iosso, A Christmas Editorial When we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we should also pray for Bethlehem. Most readers will know that the city is largely surrounded by a high cement wall. Israeli
Keep Reading
The affirmation of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was a “grievous mistake,” to quote the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). His statement reflected long church policy. Jerusalem is “not a thing to be grasped,” because it can never be simply an earthly capital. Jerusalem still has a mystical value,
More
Christians need to be careful with the phrase “bully pulpit,” a phrase often applied to the presidency. One is tempted to say, “bully, yes; pulpit, no.” It is hard to see any “pulpit” of stable moral authority undergirding the current Administration. Rather, we see the marketing of assertions and even
More
Past and Future Measures to Challenge Coercive Sexism. An earlier piece by Managing Editor Henry Koenig Stone addressed the call of Christians to engage individually with the MeToo movement and fight to reduce sexual harassment and abuse in the United States through critical self-awareness: “Choosing Vulnerability in the Wake of
More
Resisting the Creed of Greed (Part II) Click Here for Part I’s indictment of those pushing through the current tax plan. The short answer to the current Administration’s tax cut proposal is: “No.” The plan is just a way to reward greed and not to build up our country’s economy.
More
Resisting the Creed of Greed (Part I) This piece largely treats the House and Senate versions of GOP tax redistribution as one “vision”. Click HERE for a breakdown of the House and Senate version differences as of mid-November.[1] At publication, each bill has passed its respective house—only the reconciliation process
More
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
More
(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
More
Taking the High Ground in Texas Texas is not generally a swing state, though if congressional and state representation districts were drawn differently, more states would have fewer permanent incumbents. Until the Electoral College is eliminated, the votes of some states will be valued more highly than those in other
More
The Voice of a Congregation on Faith & Politics: Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church, Pearl River, NY In the brief statement that follows, a congregation first lifts up key values—not policies or positions—and then calls out divisive rhetoric. They go to scriptural themes and the Book of Confessions. We would note the
More
Aren’t Christian stakes simply justice stakes? Not entirely. Christian ethics, and mainly Reformed Protestant and Enlightenment versions of those, shaped the U.S. Constitution. They defined what goods government was to serve, what constituted legitimate authority, and how power was to be exercised; where government power ended and individual rights began,
More
Unbound Social