By Chris Haw and Shane Claiborne It was way back in 2004 that the spark for the Jesus for President campaign was born – by a bunch of post-evangelical Christians trying to figure out how to engage the political circus that happens every 4 years. It started as a little bible study looking at the politics of Jesus and the social dimensions of the Gospels. Four years later, in 2008, Jesus for President became a book (Jesus for President) and... Read more
By Jeff Fulmer I’m ready for this election to be over. As with most hotly contested campaigns, it’s been full of half-truths and outright lies. And, while I have my opinion on the source of the vast majority of deception, the casual observer simply sees partisan bickering and endless gamesmanship. The result can be a cynical electorate who loses interest in the whole political process. I’ve noticed many Christians who seem to fall into this category. Already suspicious of politicians, they... Read more
After spending the last two years exploring a non-partisan Christian ethic of politics in the column and book called Faithful Citizenship, it feels, frankly, bizarre to have to choose a candidate for president now that the election is upon us. But when I go into the early voting booth this week in Texas, despite the fact that my vote will not matter at all in this reddest of red states, I will be casting my vote for President Barack Obama.... Read more
“Life is that gift from God. And I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen…” Indiana Republican U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock Republican US Senate candidate Richard Mourdock recently declared his belief that if a woman conceives through rape, that conception was God’s intention. I doubt Mourdock intended to open an important public theological discussion about the degree to which God wills what happens in the world,... Read more
Recently, Billy Graham’s organization purchased full-page ads in a number of major USA newspapers calling for a return to biblical principles. His ad was hailed by conservatives as a witness to the biblical values conservative Christians affirm. While Graham is entitled to his opinion, there is good reason to assert that his ad cherry-picked biblical principles, choosing minor biblical issues – indeed, issues not directly addressed in scripture – and omitted the most important and pervasive biblical values: care for... Read more
This post is adapted from a talk I gave at USC’s annual Hassan Hathout Fastathon on 10/18, an event conducted by our student Muslim community to take a day of fasting to raise funds for a Muslim charity that feeds the homeless on LA’s Skid Row. Students from many religions participated. I got very hungry at about 11:30 am today. I forgot I was fasting, and might have gone out the door to lunch except that Faaria (the student who... Read more
This election—as in the last, and the one before that—we are told that certain issues are the only measuring sticks for us as Christians. If we’re Catholic or conservative evangelical Christians, we’re told that we have to vote one way on abortion and gay marriage; if we’re progressives, we’re told we have to vote another way on abortion and gay marriage. But while there’s certainly a case to be made that moral issues and social justice should be pivotal to... Read more
Marcus Borg is the reason I fell back in love with Jesus. Actually, I had never really fallen out of love with Jesus, because I had never really fallen in love with him in the first place. Yes, I grew up Christian, loved my Church, was confirmed, attended youth group, and had a deep appreciation for God and God’s desire for us to love and care for others, but truth be told, I had never really had much of a tingly affair with the... Read more
I offer here a categorization and listing of ways that people think about God. It’s far from complete. Some categories overlap with each other. I’ve been thinking a lot about the subject lately, in the course of reading Nicolas of Cusa from the 15th century and Charles Hartshorne from the 20th, theologians who had strikingly similar views of divinity in some respects. I offer this list in order to stimulate my own thinking, and hopefully yours, about the tremendous variety... Read more
By Clay Morgan Whoa. Along with other non-family friendly phrases, that was the general reaction from millions of people after watching the last three minutes of the season three premier of AMC’s The Walking Dead which pretty much lunged at us through television screens like a man swinging a hatchet. I’m not going to spoil anything major but in case you didn’t already know, this show is not for the faint of heart. More on the new episode in a moment. One... Read more
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