Category Archives: Culture
Recently a friend questioned how we understand rape in the Biblical texts, whether it is a sex act or an act of violence. This is a vital question because so often we gloss over sexual violence in our Sunday and Bible study readings without a second thought. Yet, as a people called by the Gospel—a … Continue reading How Do We Honor The Victims of Rape in the Bible
To Parent Forward is to Reject the Evangelicalism of my Childhood
For parents who grew up evangelical, it can be quite the ethical conundrum to justify the moral values espoused by the current president of the United States, whom 81% of white evangelicals put into power, to our children—a president who publicly boasts of demeaning women, inciting violence against vulnerable people, is arrogant, dishonest, lacks empathy, … Continue reading To Parent Forward is to Reject the Evangelicalism of my Childhood
Avengers Infinity War Forces Us To Re-Evaluate the Violent Return of God in Revelation
An all-powerful being sacrifices his beloved child to death and by doing so unlocks the power to “save” the world. Um…where have we heard this story before? Young people scared shitless that they aren’t going to be saved from the wrath of an all-powerful being? If you don’t know…you and I clearly grew up at … Continue reading Avengers Infinity War Forces Us To Re-Evaluate the Violent Return of God in Revelation
Are We Complicit if “Christian” Republicans Lied to Us?
As I watched the aftermath of the confrontation between the students from Covington Catholic and Native American Elder, Nathan Phillips it came as no surprise to me the instant, adamant defense of the actions of privileged students by chaperones, administrators, reporters, and powerful public leaders – people who are so sure of these boys rightness, … Continue reading Are We Complicit if “Christian” Republicans Lied to Us?
Ruth Taught Me The Power of Female Friendship to Overcome Death
The Bible holds within it stories of holiness elongated into a sustained encounter with another. We call that friendship. The story of Naomi and Ruth tells us how women’s friendship is sustenance through times of adversity and peril. This is a chronicle of survival and difference. At the beginning of the book of Ruth, two … Continue reading Ruth Taught Me The Power of Female Friendship to Overcome Death
Dear Lutheran Church, How The Hell Did We Get Here?
(An adapted excerpt from “Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S) Dear Church, how the hell did we get here? The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the whitest denomination in the United States. Many of our congregations are in decline, and our society is becoming … Continue reading Dear Lutheran Church, How The Hell Did We Get Here?