Tag: social justice
A Pagan Reflects on Thomas Merton, Politics, and Christian Grace
In other words, Christian charity is no longer real unless it is accompanied by a concern with social justice. Like many self-identified religious black sheep, time at home with Christian family durin... Read More
Stop Sympathizing and Start Supporting: A Close Look at What Moves us to Advocacy, Part 2
If you read Part 1 of this article, you have become acquainted with the members of the Rural Women’s Movement, many of them unmarried mothers who participate in my research project on the strugg... Read More
Beyoncé, Black Power & the White Church
Preparing a sermon recently as a guest preacher to a white christian congregation, I turned to the African-American lectionary for inspiration. (In Christian tradition, the lectionary assigns readings... Read More
Racism is an Honest Mistake
I want to tell you what I mean when I say that racism is an honest mistake, but first I want to be clear about some assumptions I’m making. The first is that I’m contributing to a conversation amo... Read More
Tearing Down Christmas Lights: The Reason for the Season
Last Wednesday, protesters in downtown Chicago started pulling lights off the city’s newly-lit Christmas tree. Marching to decry the death of Laquan McDonald at the hands of the police, they broke t... Read More
First Fruits: A Theology of Privilege
Temple service once included the practice of bringing bikkurim to the temple—the first fruits that grow from the land of Israel, the land that the Holy One promised our ancestors. These bikkurim are... Read More
“Right View” and Interfaith Dialogue
One “fold” on the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path toward enlightenment is Right View. “Right view” is the skill of dissolving interpretations in favor of drawing closer to the reality of the wor... Read More
“Stand together yet not too near together”: How Interfaith Dialogue Teaches Participants to Value Diversity
“Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart... Read More