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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“Don’t just do something, stand there.” The first thing to do in a crisis or even disaster is not to panic. This is not “fight, flight, or paralysis,” but steadiness, rooted in the inner security of faith. A national or international crisis is something that it helps to have a denomination to address, and an
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On March 23, 2020, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a global ceasefire because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war…That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world. It is time to put the armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.” Many nations responded while others did not. Not unlike the Olympic Truce, called for every two years before the Olympic Games, this ceasefire is necessary and hopeful for our world, but war
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General Editor's Corner
by Chris Iosso, General Editor
“Don’t just do something, stand there.” The first thing to do in a crisis or even disaster is not to panic. This is not “fight, flight, or paralysis,” but steadiness, rooted in the inner security of faith. A national or international crisis is something that it helps to have a
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Warren gave as her core motto at the end of the last debate a reference to Matthew 25, seeking to recognize herself and the divine even in the “least of these.” Whatever the ideological fine points, there she spoke to the egalitarian core of the Democratic soul. While her goal
MoreOut of the tombs
by Lee Catoe, Managing Editor
In the past year, oh what a year, we have seen so much in such a small amount of time. We have been consumed by a plague and pandemic that has killed our siblings especially are siblings of color and those who are poor. We have seen no justice
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Where are the demons? What are the demons? What are the unclean spirits? Questions Christians have been asking for thousands of years. Demons have been equated with mental illness. Demons and unclean spirits have been equated with “being different”, being differently abled, being “crazy”. In scripture, it is the
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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. In this monthly column, ‘Setting the Inner Compass,’ 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. In this monthly column, Setting the Inner Compass 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
The Latin American community is not a single monolithic group; instead, it reflects the diversity of the continent’s colonization and is part of our past and present. Today in the United States, the Latin community demonstrates racial diversity and distinctive heritages. The native population is still strong with their traditions
MoreIn light of the recent Supreme Court Decision that prevented the Trump administration from revoking the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) policy due to failure to provide adequate justification, immigration is back on the top of everyone's mind. Questions of the border particularly the US Southern Border have
MoreEven the stones
by Henry Koenig Stone
Resurrection in a Broken World Henry Koenig Stone What does resurrection mean in a broken world? Events in this last week have me rethinking the place that resurrection takes in my personal theology. I am far from convinced that the length of a life in any way measures its value.
MoreSimmons College of Kentucky hosted “Philanthropic Redlining: The Illusion of Inclusion Part II” on Feb. 6th as part of The West Louisville Forum: Solutions for Urban America. Philanthropy is a loaded word. To understand why, we need to look back at the history of redlining in American cities. The connection
MoreFormer Editor Ginna
by Ginna Bairby
An Opening Editorial Yes, you read the title right. I am racist, and so is the majority-white denomination I serve, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I’m not particularly happy to admit this about myself or my Church. True, I have never engaged in explicitly hateful actions based on a person’s race
MoreInstitutions, Hospice Nurses, and Midwives This issue of Unbound has been incredibly rich. We’ve heard about ways that the many churches that comprise the Church universal work together to participate in God’s reign – from the halls of power in Washington, DC and the United Nations to small churches in
MoreBinding Wounds, Unbinding Chains
by Rev. Patrick David Heery
The following sermon was preached by Rev. Patrick Heery on November 13, 2013, at the Presbyterian Center’s weekly chapel service. We lift it up this week on Unbound in commemoration of the biblical “Massacre of the Infants,” even as we remember the present-day altars upon which so many of our
MoreReport from Patrick David Heery, contributing editor Religious journalists from all over the country and from Canada gathered together on Thursday evening, April 4, to celebrate their best work. Every year, the Associated Church Press (ACP), the oldest Christian press association in North America, invites its member publications, including such
MoreRedeeming Realism
by Raymond Roberts
On February 1, 2019, the United States withdrew from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). Signed in 1987 during the Reagan administration, the INF treaty was one of several treaties that dramatically reduced the Soviet and American nuclear arsenals (for a graph showing these remarkable reductions, click here), instituted trust-building
MoreThis is an inaugural column that I hope will become a regular feature in Justice Unbound. I have decided, with good input from Chris Iosso, to call this column Redeeming Realism. The purpose of this column is to engage in theological reflection in support of faithful participation in God’s world.
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