Yes, America is politically divided–badly so. But this is nothing new. The truth is, this country has always been divided. Historically, the only times our division goes away is during time of crisis. Anyone older than their mid-20s can certainly remember the last time Americans put our division aside. Who could forget how different it felt in the weeks following September 11, 2001 when it seemed our entire nation was on the same page? It was amazing to experience that... Read more
I hear it all the time and it never fails to make me cringe–this is a Christian nation. I don’t cringe because I am anti-Christian–I am one. I cringe for two reasons; one, this is, in fact, not a Christian nation and two, when many of the people running around saying it act the way they do, say the things they say, and support the causes they support, they bastardize what it is to be a Christian and it causes irreparable... Read more
Like a lot of people, lately I’ve been struggling with finding optimism about my beloved country. As a student and teacher of our history, I understand that things have never been as good as they sometimes seem–that the concept of the good ol’ days is a myth. I try to keep that in mind as I look to our future. I try to remember that ours is a long history of struggle to live up to our own lofty ideals–a... Read more
Someone has said that not all Trump supporters are racists, but all racists are Trump supporters. While universal statements are hard to prove, this one seems to be pretty close to the truth. There are a lot of things that bewilder me about how some of my Christian friends and family can continue to stand firmly behind the Trump administration. Yet, on some level, I do understand their thinking in voting for conservative candidates. For example, I get how, if... Read more
Before I begin, I should come right out and admit that I don’t know exactly where I am going with this. Forgive me but, if I sound scattered, that’s just a reflection of my thoughts. As the White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders is a natural lightning rod for controversy. She has the unenviable job of facing the press and trying to clean up the President’s daily messes. Because it is often her job to come to the defense... Read more
I write this from the cradle of the American Civil War. Just down the road from my current location is the town of Manassas, Virginia. In July, 1861, it was the site of the first major battle of the Civil War. On ground now set aside as a memorial, the first significant blood of that conflict was spilled. At the end of that battle, almost 900 people lay dead in the very fields I walked on yesterday. It was a... Read more
The imagery washed over me in waves of disgust, awakening me in the wee small hours–again. There was the ugliness of the mother with young children in a parking lot screaming racial epithets and cussing out a black man for having the nerve to start his car engine and startling her kids–there was the woman stopped at a traffic light, pulled up along side an Asian lady, window down, fingers mockingly pulling her eyelids back into slits, vitriolic, racist hatred... Read more
It is among the most frustrating things in the always frustrating amalgamation of Christianity and politics. The topic of abortion is the ultimate deal breaker and the great divider. Perhaps above all else, it is the issue that drives so many fundamentalist Christians to the polls to vote for Republicans. There is no getting around it, Republicans, to this point, have won the battle for the narrative in the pro-life/pro-choice debate when it comes to the vast majority of Christians.... Read more
Ignorance, they say, is bliss. I never really bought into that old saying, but now I am beginning to see the truth in it. I was once, generally, much happier. Things were less complicated before my politics began to change. Life was simple when I allowed myself to walk under the umbrella of Conservative Christianity. The people I spent the most time with walked under the same umbrella. Together, we convinced ourselves we were staying dry and felt secure that... Read more
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We Need More Mr. Rogers Christians
He was a man of deep Christian faith, an ordained Presbyterian minister, and a Republican. Yet, he angered the Christian Right with his message. He must have been doing something right. As I watched the new documentary about Fred Rogers yesterday, I was greatly moved, sometimes to tears, by this sweet, gentle man who was such a big part of my childhood. I was moved by his assertion that love, or the lack of it, is at the core of... Read more