What boxes do you and I cross to try and gain salvation? Read more

A great deal of talk in evangelical Christian circles centers on religious freedom and values. It is a theme on display at the Values Voter Summit where President Trump spoke this week (refer here, too). We want to make sure we have carved out space to exist and worship in our increasingly secular world, and believe it is not only an American legal right, but also a divine command. The German pastor, theologian and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer (shown here with... Read more

The widespread abuse of women is still with us. Read more

Many people look back at Christopher Columbus as a self-made man who discovered a new world. How often do we think that Columbus himself might actually be our own creation: we made him into the man of our imaginations. For example, I grew up learning in school that Columbus discovered America. Did he? No. Actually the First Nations people were here first. They discovered it long before him. Columbus did not discover them. They knew they themselves existed long before... Read more

We all experience conflict. It is part of life. How we approach conflict can make or break relationships. We can learn a thing or two from how the Apostle Paul approached conflict in his relationship with the Corinthian church. One of the key factors that led to conflict between Paul and the Corinthians was their false boasting. They boasted in all the wrong things, as exemplified by the “spirit people” (pneumatikoi). Some think Paul was insensitive to the spirit people... Read more

What do the debate about bending the knee and protesting during the singing of the national anthem honoring the U.S. flag and the debate over gun control in view of the tragedy in Las Vegas, Nevada have in common? In my estimation, the connection is not simply the fact that Colin Kaepernick went to the University of Nevada. Am I wrong in assuming that many of those who take offense at NFL players protesting what those athletes perceive as racial... Read more

Larry Rasmussen’s brief essay on the reception of Bonhoeffer in the United States is quite telling. While anecdotal, his reflections on the widespread interest in Bonhoeffer during his tenure at Union Theological Seminary conveys the sense that there is a bit of something for everyone to find appealing in Bonhoeffer. Feminist students were drawn to Bonhoeffer’s emphases on sociality and solidarity in his theological ethics, while struggling with his apparent patriarchal reflections. African Americans resonated with him as a white... Read more

This post contains intense references to self-harm. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, please don’t. Please know that you are not alone. Please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255. A quote often attributed to Camus reads, “Should I kill myself or have a cup of coffee?” While there is no evidence to suggest that Camus ever asked this question (for an assertion that it is a false attribution, refer to this article, page 45), it does appear to... Read more

The following is an interview with Tisha M. Rajendra (Ph.D.), author of Migrants and Citizens: Justice and Responsibility in the Ethics of Immigration (foreword by Daniel G. Groody, CSC). The book was just released by Eerdmans. Dr. Rajendra is associate professor of theological ethics at Loyola University Chicago. Here is my endorsement for the book: “Political machines and media outlets bombard us with stories about migrants here and abroad. Though once supposedly hidden from sight, we are confident we now... Read more

Cobain may have been ransacked by Christian moralism, and saw how Christianity had imploded and was used to enslave rather than free people. Read more