Sometimes the most urgent topics aren’t the trending topics

I imagine, if you’re still reading, you’re a person of faith who already believes that the people of Gaza deserve to live free of fear, free of occupation.

Until there is a critical mass of human beings loudly opposing the massacre in Gaza, the bloodshed will continue.

There are millions of people of faith, all around us, who are either ignorant about the situation in Gaza, or indifferent. We need to reach them.

How? You can talk to people you know, and I can talk to people I know.

But there are millions more that neither of us know. Many of them come to Patheos for insight and inspiration.

If you look across the top of every page on the Patheos website, you’ll see a list of trending topics. Today it’s Lent, Soul, Resurrection, Joy, Feminism, and Gratitude. Those have been the trending topics for days now. Maybe weeks.

One of the trending topics needs to be Gaza. That requires action.

When Patheos algorithms notice that people are starting to read about Gaza, the website will (I’m told) boost posts about Gaza to a prominent spot near the top of the home page. More people will read about Gaza. Patheos executives will (hopefully) notice that the faith community cares about this topic, and will pitch in to amplify the message. The snowball effect will kick in. More authors will write about Gaza, more readers will read and learn and care – and so the call for justice and peace will grow.

Eventually, there will be enough pressure on our governments, and they will start to take action – impose weapons embargoes, make meaningful demands for ceasefire and justice, withdraw funding for Israel’s war. A just peace will come.

Don’t you want to be able to say, when that happens, that you did your part to help?

(Let me say, as I make these suggestions, that I’m not trying to get rich or famous on Patheos. I’m trying to help save the lives of my family – and hundreds of thousands of other people in Gaza. Patheos isn’t where an author goes to get rich – it’s where we go if we have a message that needs to be heard.)

Obviously it’s going to take more than a trend on Patheos to bring a ceasefire – but this is an all-hands-on-deck time. Every little bit helps.

Are you willing to take a few minutes to help end a genocide?

Hopefully, we as a faith community – and a Patheos community – can join the call to end the Gaza genocide – one of the great moral issues of our time. Most of the world is already there. We should have led the world on this, but since we didn’t, let’s follow.

Here’s how:

1. Share this post on your social media of choice.
2. Read and share other posts about Gaza (below, you will find a list of my Gaza posts, and you can search Patheos for more authors). Do it a whole bunch of times – we’re fighting genocide here.
3. Share the facts about Gaza with other people too – at your church, with your loved ones, wherever you have a circle of influence. If you have been too shy to speak up before, now is the time to stretch your comfort zone.
4. Drop a note to the Patheos editorial management team (link – fill irrelevant fields with “N/A”) and ask them to help make the faith community aware of the situation in Gaza. Remind them that this is not a political issue to sidestep. It’s a genocide– everyone should want to help bring it to an end.
5. Also, contact your representatives in Washington every day. They (allegedly) work for you.

Reach your Representative here.

Reach your Senators here.

Email President Biden here.

Tell them, “ENOUGH. CEASEFIRE NOW. NO MORE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL. STOP THE GENOCIDE. NOW – OR YOU’RE FIRED.” Tell them every day.