“What is needed for empowered, privileged Christians who support a corrupt administration today to follow Zacchaeus’ example? What is needed for Christians to take more seriously Jesus’ commands to stand with the vulnerable and those on the margins rather than the systems that harm them?” Read more
In Spirit, Jesus' teachings on patriarchy and divorce call us to reject seeing anyone as a disposable means to our own pleasure and gratification. People matter. Read more
Interpretations are not eternal. They change with time. As we see the harmful fruit of present interpretations, we can make those interpretations give way to new ones, in the hope that new interpretations will bear the fruit of life. And if we see that our new interpretations also do harm, we will challenge them too. Read more
If you believe God loves someone, justice for them isn’t far behind. Love for those on the margins is the seed out of which the reality of God’s inclusive, just future sprouts. Read more
Where do you see establishment push back against a vision of future society that is more distributively just, today? Maybe these passages can offer us some encouragement as we stand up to injustice. Read more
"I agree with Robinson. Jesus' vision for the world was one where people took care of people. It was a call not to rest your peace of mind about the future in hoarded wealth. When we have to choose between more wealth or people, Jesus called us to choose people." Read more
“This I believe is the genius of the ethic of enemy love that Jesus and many others in history have taught. Rightly understood, it enables one to stand up to one’s enemies while not becoming like them.” Read more
I’m not sure what Christianity’s future is. But I do believe that, to the best of our ability, we must rediscover the gospel Jesus himself taught, not merely a gospel about him. We must then take these teachings and weight their fruit, asking what they may offer our work of love, compassion, and justice, today. Read more
A resurrection that doesn’t follow standing with those on the undersides and edges of society isn’t authentic resurrection as defined by the Jesus story. If Christianity does not discover how to stand with women, people of color, immigrants, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and gender-nonconforming people, it’s not a Christianity I want to be a part of. Read more
“First, this ethic does not mean that we should expect reconciliation without change or reparations from our enemies . . . To expect the victims of violence to reconcile with their oppressors in the midst of ongoing oppression, even when the injustice is systemic, is in itself violent.” Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In