Democracy, Violence and the Risk of Tyranny: An Interview with Prof. Paul Dumouchel

Last updated on: October 13, 2016 at 5:41 pm By Suzanne Ross

In this extraordinary election season, when democracy and peace seem to be under siege, we are presenting a series of in depth explorations of big issues that aren’t discussed in mainstream election coverage. This week we were honored to discuss political violence and the risks of tyranny with Paul Dumouchel, professor of philosophy at the Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan. Prof. Dumouchel’s book, The Barren Sacrifice: An Essay on Political Violence, guided... Read more

Wednesday Sermon: One Embraced a New Way of Living!

Last updated on: October 12, 2016 at 2:08 pm By Tom Truby

Pastors have a frequent question when they begin to discover mimetic theory. “That’s great. But how does it preach?” Reverends Tom and Laura Truby show that mimetic theory is a powerful tool that enables pastors to preach the Gospel in a way that is meaningful and refreshing to the modern world. Each Wednesday, Teaching Nonviolent Atonement will highlight their sermons as an example of preaching the Gospel through mimetic theory. In this sermon, Tom and Laura discusses Jesus healing 10 lepers.... Read more

A Message to White America About How to Decide If You’ll See “The Birth of A Nation”

Last updated on: October 11, 2016 at 4:40 pm By Suzanne Ross

Nate Parker’s 2016 movie, The Birth of a Nation, is based on the life of the African-American slave Nat Turner (1800-1831). It’s a movie rife with violence and brutality, turning an unflinching eye toward the endemic abuse and sexual exploitation of black women at the hands of their white owners. It blinks only to spare us the trauma of witnessing the assault itself. To use modern terminology, the movie explores the rape culture that existed as a justified component of... Read more

Discovering a New World of Hope Through Repentance: On the Convergence of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Yom Kippur Eve

Last updated on: October 11, 2016 at 11:37 am By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

A federal court ruled against Standing Rock on the eve of Indigenous Peoples’ Day / Columbus Day. The legacy of Christopher Columbus: “Destroying land, water and people since 1492.” It’s so bitterly ironic. I’m enraged and on the verge of despair. Studying Columbus’s atrocities, I come across a chapter from Howard Zinn about the genocide by Columbus in what would become Haiti. Then, noting the morbid cosmic synchronicity, I scroll downDemocracy Now’s “Headlines” page from the DAPL ruling to the death toll in Haiti from Hurricane... Read more

The Melvin Bray Interview: Politics, Racism, and Telling a Better Story

Last updated on: October 7, 2016 at 1:34 pm By Adam Ericksen

Our guest for this week’s installment of our Raven ReViews Election 2016 series was Melvin Bray, author of the upcoming book Better: Waking Up to Who We Could Be. (Pre-order now with the code Ship16 and receive 20% off!) Melvin is a gifted storyteller and writer whose approach to telling better stories about ourselves is especially pivotal in this election season. As we struggle with the issues of racism that have dogged the presidential campaigns, his insights are especially important for Christians.... Read more

Forming Faith with Families – Jeremiah, Planting Gardens, and Dance Parties

Last updated on: October 14, 2016 at 1:18 pm By Adam Ericksen

I recently became the Minister of Faith Development at Lake Oswego United Church of Christ. One of my duties is to make material about lectionary passages available for parents and their children. I’ll be sharing my weekly videos on upcoming lectionary passages in this Faith and Families series. Here’s the video for this Sunday and the text below! Jeremiah was a prophet who lived during one of the most difficult times in the Bible. Jerusalem was attacked and conquered by... Read more

Beyond Police Accountability: Building Cultures of Compassion

Last updated on: October 6, 2016 at 2:44 pm By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

House Bill 972 After the shooting Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina, it took an uprising and the pressure of thousands to compel the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to release portions of the tape of his shooting. It was noted at the time that the video of Scott’s shooting would likely be the last to be released by police. On October 1, House Bill 972 took effect, prohibiting the release of police body and dash camera recordings to the public.... Read more

Wednesday Sermon: The Power of Forgiveness

Last updated on: October 5, 2016 at 1:10 pm By Tom Truby

Pastors have a frequent question when they begin to discover mimetic theory. “That’s great. But how does it preach?” Reverend Tom Truby shows that mimetic theory is a powerful tool that enables pastors to preach the Gospel in a way that is meaningful and refreshing to the modern world. Each Wednesday, Teaching Nonviolent Atonement will highlight his sermons as an example of preaching the Gospel through mimetic theory. In this sermon, Tom explores forgiveness. To be a follower of Jesus is... Read more

“Am I A Racist?” Confronting Our Blind Spots with Melvin Bray

Last updated on: October 4, 2016 at 9:58 am By Suzanne Ross

The question, “Am I a Racist?” may be harder to answer than it first appears. Because answering “no” to the question is not necessarily an ironclad defense. Here’s why. Blind to Our Scapegoats Racism is a form of scapegoating and scapegoating has a tricky way of hiding in plain sight. Of course, scapegoating is easy to spot in others. We know it when we see it and it’s easy to condemn because we recognize it as a form of injustice.... Read more

Election 2016: Lessons from Hitler’s Rise to Power – An Interview with Dr. Robert Ericksen

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 11:56 am By Adam Ericksen

What lessons can we learn from Hitler’s rise to power?* How did the German people, including theologians and pastor, become complicit in the evil of Nazi Germany? And what can the United States learn from Hitler’s rise to power so that we don’t make the same mistakes? We discussed those question in the interview below with Dr. Robert Ericksen, world renowned historian and Chair of the Committee on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust at the Holocaust Museum. Dr. Ericksen is also... Read more