These characters are used not to pit Christians against Jews, but to help us understand classism within the Jesus stories and the conflict between upper classes (the elites) and the lower classes (the marginalized). Read more
These characters are used not to pit Christians against Jews, but to help us understand classism within the Jesus stories and the conflict between upper classes (the elites) and the lower classes (the marginalized). Read more
Throughout history Christians have used the label of Pharisee as a disparaging or derogatory title very carelessly and in very antisemitic ways. Some Christians continue to do so today. We can do better. Read more
Love and justice are connected in the gospels. Proclaiming love, specifically a universal love of which everyone is the object, and embracing the directive to practice that love for every one of our neighbors, will necessarily move us to make sure every person around us has what they need to thrive. Read more
This definition brings to my mind Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, the economic justice found throughout the entire gospel of Luke, and the repeated challenge to the political status quo through stories full of political symbols and meaning, in Mark. Read more
Christianity has a long history of harmfully categorizing things of "the flesh” as evil and things of the “spirit” as good. Read more
That the kind of people we choose to be today will impact the kind of world we compose tomorrow. Read more
There are others who no longer believe in Christianity’s high claims, but who still engage the work of living the golden rule, practicing the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount, and modeling an ethic of personal and social love above all else. Read more
Yet there’s a way for us today, with our focus on establishing justice on Earth and making our present world a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone as objects of a Divine, universal love, to reclaim these words in a life-giving way. Read more
What is bread that is only temporary and what is bread that leads to life everlasting? What are sustainable, renewable, long-term ways of supporting life? Read more
This would make much more sense if we define the bread of life as the ethical, social and political teachings found in the Jesus story. Read more
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