I was recently at a book club facilitated by Abolition Apostles, a Christian abolitionist ministry, where we discussed the book The Fall of the Prison: Biblical Perspectives on Prison Abolition by Lee Griffon. Micah Herskind, a Public Policy Associate at the Southern Center for Human Rights and a Christian abolitionist, led that day’s session and said something that has stayed with me since. He was speaking about retributive justice and its connection to the Christian faith and said, “Do we believe in prisons because we believe in Hell or do we believe in Hell because we believe in prisons.”
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Moderate and progressive Christians have always found it hard to take Donald Trump seriously as a false messiah, much less an actual one. In the name of Trump, some 1000 or so extremists invaded and occupied the Senate and House chambers for several hours on January 6, prompting many Republicans and Democrats to refer to those sites as “sacred” spaces that had been desecrated by force and vandalism. For some, democracy may itself be sacred, by which they mean of highest value. The ritual of publicly counting the electoral votes from the states was thus a sworn duty that was
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Our country is in the midst of twin pandemics. One, the coronavirus pandemic, is dominating headlines. The other is a nationwide spike in gun violence. Gun violence is up in cities across the country. On Independence Day Weekend, violence broke out in cities nationwide, including two shootings in my hometown of Dallas that left one dead and four wounded. That local violence has tragically continued since then. Summer violence is, sadly, an American tradition. Each summer, as the temperature goes up, so do incidents of gun violence. This year, if anything, is worse than usual. In June, murder and shootings
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Out of the tombs
by Lee Catoe, Editor
During Holy Week, I can’t tell you how many photos, portraits, paintings, digital graphics I saw of Jesus with a 6-pack. Not a 6-pack of beer. Not a 6-pack of Coke. BUT BULGING ABS along with rippling muscles, flowing conditioned hair, and amazing quads. There on a cross is a
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Brooke Scott, a young, Black leader in the Presbyterian Church USA, in an Instagram Story question, asked, “What does it mean to you that Jesus still had scars after the resurrection?” Flipping through my Instagram stories, I held my finger on this question, and stared at it for about 15mins.
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Setting the inner compass: A Poetry Column
by Dave Brown
Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me. ‘Setting the Inner Compass’, is a column where I share
MoreReading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me. ‘Setting the Inner Compass’, is a column where I share
MoreJustice is a Verb
by David Mills
Let’s start with an association game. I want you to think about the largest church or largest church congregation you’ve ever seen. What denomination is it? I’m sure that there are several different answers to this question depending on who you are and where you live. Here in the Southern
MoreThe recent, tragic death of George Floyd and the resulting Black Lives Matter protests currently occurring throughout the United States and the world have fanned the flames of a movement that has burned for over sixty-five years. With new names and organizations entering the movement, the fight for civil rights
MorePublica: Theology in Public Life
by Yenny Delgado
Abya Yala theology assumes a contextual, historical, and ancestral reflection, which is the axis of our theological proposal. The name comes from the Guna language and means “land in full maturity and land of vital blood.” The Guna people inhabit the meeting points of the north and south geographically, to
MoreWhen we think back about Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his word and legacy, it is impossible not to reflect on the “I Have a Dream” speech. However, his memory and prophetic voice go beyond this one speech and still resonate loudly today. Dr. King spoke truth to
MoreThe Word in Transition
by Mack Griffith
In Luke 15, the evangelist recounts three parables of Jesus, all with a common theme of finding lost things. The first two are the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. In both stories, one sheep/coin is lost, and rather than settling for what remains, the shepherd (15:1-7)
MoreIn the first chapters of the Gideon narrative (Judges 6-7), an angel approaches Gideon while he is hiding in a wine press and informs him that God is calling him to be the judge and deliverer of Israel. As transgender people must grapple with disbelief, acceptance, and coming out, Gideon
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