The Theology of Anthony Fauci, Donald Trump’s COVID-19 Expert

April 9, 2020 By Jim Coppoc

How does a lapsed Catholic and scientifically literate scion of an immigrant family become not only the chief truth-teller for the Trump administration, but also the trusted advisor of six presidents and the ground-breaking public health official who consistently sees and engages the social truths of each new crisis? Like anything in life, the answer is complicated. But one thread that keeps coming up is the moral and critical training Fauci received as the student of Jesuits in both high... Read more

Share This Holy Week Social Distancing Challenge!

April 4, 2020 By Jim Coppoc

Over the next eight days, the Christian world will find its way out of the season of Lent, and into the season of Easter, following the path of Christ’s final days on earth. Many of us are wondering how this sacred tradition will play out in a time of pandemic and social distancing. The story doesn’t change, but our participation and engagement will have to. So here, for you, is the Holy Week Social Distancing Challenge, a meaningful engagement for... Read more

The Resurrection Will Not Be Televised

April 3, 2020 By Jim Coppoc

In the year 1970, The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron released a pair of related spoken word poems that would change the way black America saw race, justice and revolution. The Last Poets, in “When The Revolution Comes,” railed against the colonizing powers of capitalism and Christianity, and Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” spoke in great detail to the pacifying effects of pop culture. Both challenged the complicity of those who would rather stay home and catch... Read more

Is #MeToo Dead?

April 1, 2020 By Jim Coppoc

Joe Biden is now the presumptive Democratic nominee. Tara Reade has accused him of sexual assault, and a number of other women have complained of sexual harassment and inappropriate touching. Eighteen months ago, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was accused by Christine Blasey Ford of sexual assault. Three other women subsequently came forward with similar accusations.  The accusations against Kavanaugh sparked weeks of outrage, demonstrations, and some very contentious moments on the floor of the United States Senate. The current accusations... Read more

Is God Still Speaking?

March 31, 2020 By Jim Coppoc

Growing up “fundamentalist,” I was taught that the Bible was sufficient, complete and eternal. That “not one jot” could ever be changed or expanded, and that all the answers to all of life’s questions could be found in the (King James) scripture we were given. I was taught that one of several reasons all Catholics were going to Hell was that they had a slightly different canon than ours. I was taught that any effort to look outside the Bible—for... Read more

Isolation in the Bible

March 30, 2020 By Jim Coppoc

Social distancing. Self-Isolation. Quarantine. We are facing a whole new reality that just a few months ago would have been unimaginable in American life. Article after article online talks about the biblical implications of plague and pandemic. There’s no need to revisit that territory. What we need to talk about instead is how we cope with isolation. Scripture after scripture tells us about isolation. Adam in the garden. Moses on the mountain. Paul in prison. In fact, in some ways,... Read more

A Christian Guide to Answering Homophobes

March 29, 2020 By Jim Coppoc

It’s Easter dinner, or Christmas. You’re sitting at a bar, or you’re cruising social media. You’re in a high school classroom, or maybe you’re in Congress. Wherever you are, at some point the topic of queerness arises, and someone winds up for a gut punch with the words “well, the Bible says…” It doesn’t. It really doesn’t. Anyone who has seriously studied the Bible knows this, but there’s a good chance your homophobic friend does not. The reason? A handful... Read more