Will the Real Truth-Tellers Please Stand Up?

Last updated on: September 5, 2012 at 3:39 pm By Jesse Lava

Of the many differences between this year’s Republican and Democratic National Conventions, there’s one that should be of particular importance to religious leaders: truth-telling. The GOP event was, sadly, lie after lie. On the first day, speakers repeatedly assailed President Obama for claiming that small business owners “didn’t build” their companies—which he never said. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich took the podium to insist that Obama gutted the work requirements from the 1996 welfare reform bill. False. Mitt Romney used... Read more

If You Are Truly Pro-Life, You’d Vote Democrat

Last updated on: September 4, 2012 at 5:22 pm By Eric Sapp

If you feel like “Life” is the sole issue Christians should vote on, I don’t see how you could do anything but vote Democrat. Read more

I Don’t Like Violence.

Last updated on: September 3, 2012 at 3:59 pm By Libby Shannon

It seems like such an obvious statement but with recent, and not so recent events, feels like something that needs to be said: I do not like violence. I have a visceral reaction every time news of another attack, another shooting, another horrific act breaks. I don’t sleep well because I know there’s violence on our streets, violence in our homes, and violence in our hearts. I don’t like violence. I don’t like that I live in a country that... Read more

The Content of One’s Character…

Last updated on: August 31, 2012 at 2:02 pm By Burns Strider

Fannie Lou Hamer led the Mississippi Freedom Democrats. She was impoverished, a sharecropper with hands calloused from the back-breaking work of hand-picking cotton. She couldn't read. And she had lived a life with no say about her own choices. Speaking before the DNC credentials committee, Hamer proclaimed "Is this America?" Read more

Ryan: Ivan the Terrible or Good Shepherd?

Last updated on: August 29, 2012 at 6:07 pm By Burns Strider

Paul Ryan’s discipleship of this atheist’s teachings shaped his belief in a form of distorted individualism that is more Russian novel than basic American goodness; more Ivan the Terrible than the Good Shepherd. Read more

Being Honest About the Gut Wrenching Realities of Rape and Abortion

Last updated on: August 29, 2012 at 10:05 am By Rachel Johnson

Rep. Akin did not show moral courage. Instead, he chose the wide and easy path of avoiding moral complexity by delegitimizing (literally) the experience of women who become pregnant as a result of rape. Rather than have the hard, honest (potentially politically costly) discussion about his moral convictions, Rep. Akin made up medical facts to dismiss the gut-wrenching decisions thousands of women face each year. Read more

Part 8-Countering the Right’s Pharisaical Approach to Piety

Last updated on: August 29, 2012 at 9:59 am By Eric Sapp

The tendency of many leaders of the religious right and Republicans to focus on purity and on following the letter of the law while ignoring its spirit is not a problem unique to American politics...the idea--repeated by the prophets, Christ, and then throughout the epistles--that more is required of us than simple belief or a statement of faith is made especially clear in James. "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and they shudder!” (James 2:18-19). Read more

Keep Calm and Remain Faithful

Last updated on: December 8, 2012 at 8:19 pm By Jessica Church

In light of moving onward and upward through my last year of college at The University of Virginia, I thought that the best topic for today's post might be the lessons I've learned this summer. Isn't that what they say, write about what you know? Go to where you want to be and be the salt of the earth. Believe and support the next generation of amazing clergy. Seek out community near and far. And above all, remain faithful... Because folks, this election doesn't look like it's about to get any nicer. Read more

Scripture Guide, Part 7–Wealth, Materialism, and the Bible’s View of an “Ownership Society”

Last updated on: August 27, 2012 at 9:07 am By Eric Sapp

The Ryan-Romney budget and Republican campaign talking points are based on an appeal to wealth and using wealth as a proxy for a person’s worth and value. Plenty of secular and economic arguments can be made for those appeals, but one cannot make a Biblical argument for those values. Read more

Scripture Guide, Part 6: The Blessedness of the Poor and Our Responsibility to Them

Last updated on: August 27, 2012 at 9:08 am By Eric Sapp

The Bible is quite clear and unambiguous about our responsibility to the poor. The question Republicans need to ask themselves is if they think the teachings of Jesus and the prophets are still relevant today…or do they need to be taken with a grain of salt and not at face value? Read more