The title of this blog post is the subtitle of Jimmy Carter’s latest book (well, unless he has cranked out another one in the last year or two–which wouldn’t surprise me!), A Call to Action. It came out in 2014, and mine is autographed–I will always wait in line for Jimmy Carter! I finally got…… Continue reading Women, Religion, Violence and Power
Category: Social Justice
Why Talk about Sin?
So, what are your views on “sin”? Much of how you might answer that question depends on your background–how you raised, and whether you were raised as a Christian (or Jew or Muslim), and what kind. I have written about sin before, but I was prompted to do so again by this article in The New…… Continue reading Why Talk about Sin?
The Parliament of the World’s Religions
I just returned from The Parliament of the World‘s Religions and I’m still processing the whole experience. It was my third time to go, and I think this was the best time yet, because I had six Gettysburg College students with me. I was so proud of them: they engaged the whole experience with enthusiasm,…… Continue reading The Parliament of the World’s Religions
Who Do You Say that I Am?
No, this post is not about Jesus’ identity, but about the identity of roughly 1.4 million Americans who identify as transgender. The story broke on Sunday that the Trump administration is seeking to more narrowly define gender as something immutable and unchangeable, determined exclusively and definitively by genitalia at birth. [Read about it here: Transgender Could…… Continue reading Who Do You Say that I Am?
Reflections on “Just Mercy”
The first year students at Gettysburg College are all reading Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson. Stevenson is a lawyer who founded the Equal Justice Initiative, an organization that works to defend those most in need of an advocate, especially those wrongfully convicted–including those on death row. It is a powerful…… Continue reading Reflections on “Just Mercy”
Emmett Till, in 2018
There’s a new podcast that I have started listening to called “This Day in History Class.” It’s from one of the hosts of “Stuff You Missed in History Class,” one of my favorite podcasts, and it has become kind of a stand-in for “The Writer’s Almanac”–that podcast was hosted by Garrison Keillor, and it was…… Continue reading Emmett Till, in 2018
The Catholic Church, The President & Abuses of Power
If you don’t live in Pennsylvania, you might have missed the story, but those of us who live here couldn’t escape it. And, if you are a regular news reader/watcher, surely you saw something about it: it has received national news coverage. Of course, I am talking about the huge scandal in the Catholic Church…… Continue reading The Catholic Church, The President & Abuses of Power
Recent Perversions
According to the first online dictionary that comes up with a Google Search [the extent of my research], the first definition of “perversion” is the following: “the alteration of something from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended.” It is only the second definition that references…… Continue reading Recent Perversions
James Cone: In Memoriam
James H. Cone passed away on Saturday, April 28th, at the age of 79. [Read a tribute here: James H. Cone dies]. Today, then, it is both a privilege and a pleasure to share some reflections in tribute. It is no exaggeration to say that Cone was one of the most significant theological voices of the…… Continue reading James Cone: In Memoriam
Commemoration & Hope in April
The first two weeks of April are filled with significant commemorations, and I’m not even talking about Easter and Passover. April 4th of this year was the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. April 9th was the commemoration of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his execution by hanging at the Flossenburg concentration camp…… Continue reading Commemoration & Hope in April
Happy Lutheran 