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,
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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
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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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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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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
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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
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Since you are reading Unbound, I suspect you are appalled, as I am, by the prospect of a Trump presidency, and that you are going to vote for Hillary Clinton on November 8. According to the binary logic of American electoral politics, the only way to stop Trump is to
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Back in 2005, I wrote an essay entitled “Shame as a Political Virtue.” [1] It began as follows: I was standing in the checkout line at Blockbuster Video and couldn’t help but notice two young boys running wild near by. One of them ran beside a shelf with toys on
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Part of the fallout from this electoral season, regardless of who wins or loses, is the acrimony that has been generated by the primaries and the general campaigns. Yes, there has been mud-slinging in the past; yes, there has been controversy. But a number of commentators suggest that this election
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Originally Published August 10, 2016 at http://publicliturgies.blogspot.com/2016/08/principalities-and-powers.html. Regardless of possible calamities with the fall elections, the two part series in the NY Times this week makes clear who’s in charge. It’s the Brookings Institute, or the American Enterprise Institute, or the Center for International Studies, etc. Two of them are
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