After hearing a series of sermons on Jonah, I’ve started seeing this reluctant prophet in unexpected places. Jonah used to be safely confined to a wooden puzzle at my Aunt Ruth’s. You removed the big fish...
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Every Mennonite in the small town of Goessel, Kan., knows the date 1874. It is emblazoned on the “Turkey Red Wheat Palace,” erected on the centennial of Mennonites’ migration to the Great Plains from...
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“I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians...
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I’d like to try to point out, as a progressive Christian, something that has been bothering me about progressive Christian political theology — a paradox, tension and inconsistency that keeps popping...
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The original name for what would eventually became known as Christianity was “the Way.” You won’t find “Christianity” in the Bible, but you will find “the Way” seven times in the book of Acts. If...
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This post is a sermon (audio version here) given April 9, 2017 at Washington City Church of the Brethren. Our gospel reading this morning is about Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, just days before...
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Christians around the globe followed the U.S. election with as much interest as did citizens of the United States. Election Day found me in an international meeting in Germany. I went to bed long before the...
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Pagan astrologers read it in the stars — a new king of the Jews had been born. And so the magi came from the Orient bearing their gifts and accidentally got tangled up with the current king of the Jews — a...
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The book of Revelation does not have a positive reputation these days. For many Christians it is seen as hopelessly complicated and obscure. In my opinion, it is indeed the case that understanding Revelation...
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As the political climate degraded this fall, I found a bit of relief in the CBS comedy-thriller BrainDead, a satire set in a Washington that’s been invaded by extraterrestrial insects feeding on the brains...
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The tragic decisions of American Christianity to align itself with a political party has now landed in a pool of manure with a plop. You may be thinking of the Christian Right, and you’d be right. You may be...
[read more]Certain stripes of patriots recoiled in horror on Aug. 26 when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat during the national anthem to protest oppression of people of color. The controversial action...
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I offer what follows as a thought experiment, an attempt to flesh out a recent late night rumination. I finished reading a fine book by Douglas Fry, Beyond War: The Human Potential for Peace. Fry, who is an...
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The key to understanding Paul’s wrestling with the “what about Israel?” question in the Book of Romans is to recognize that he concludes with a strong affirmation of God’s saving intentions. In their...
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For me, and most people I know, the word “empire” has a negative connotation. As well it should. The economic and military might of human empires has been one of the most destructive forces in history....
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For his final State of the Union address, President Obama delivered a characteristically eloquent and passionate speech. He issued a heartfelt call for unity and cooperation in a country whose political...
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The authors of this book are friends of mine. I have long admired their commitment to the Christian task of peacemaking and vigorous activism for social justice. In this volume they invite us “to read the...
[read more]When people in the church talk about sin, they often add a highly theological meaning: Our sins are an offense that separates us from God. This relational rupture is said to be the crucial reason we need a...
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A couple of folks I really respect — Kate Gould of Friends Committee on National Legislation (a.k.a., the Quaker Lobby), and Jim Wallis of Sojourners — were recently on The O’Reilly Factor. I normally...
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