By Joel A. Bowman, Sr. In his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used the phrase “the urgency of the moment.” As he spoke truth to power, enumerating various aspects of racial inequality, he … Continue reading The Urgency of the Moment: A Call for Christians to Confront Racism
“Why should you take by force that from us which you can have by love? Why should you destroy us, who have provided you with food? What can you get by war?. . . What is the cause of your … Continue reading The Cure for GRT Paranoia is Metanoia – Part 1
Faust is a German cautionary tale of one who makes a deal with the devil to get unattainable knowledge and temporary powers. It teaches the folly of trading something of supreme moral importance for power, riches or satisfaction. In America, … Continue reading At These Crossroads
The language of Christian Nationalism is the language of conquest. America is Israel, the analogy goes; the Promised Land is the North American continent. Just as ancient Israel was given a divine mandate to conquer the land of Canaan, so … Continue reading After the Exile
Back when I was in elementary school in the early 60’s, we started the day with pledging allegiance to the American flag, that is, except for a Muslim kid whose family were members of the Nation of Islam. Although I … Continue reading One Nation, Under God?
This past month has been a roller coaster of exhaustion and anger for many reasons, but there are a few identity pieces that collided this month in such a way that I am still metaphorically brushing off the rubble they … Continue reading Who Is Protected In A Dark Room?
In their book, Taking America Back for God, sociologists Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry define Christian nationalism as “a cultural framework – a collection of myths, traditions, symbols, narratives, and value systems – that idealizes and advocates a fusion of Christianity with American civic life.” Continue reading What’s Unchristian About Christian Nationalism?
As a missionary, I spent 14 summers on Navajo Reservations. These were some of the richest and most memorable experiences of my life. I was fortunate enough to learn of a world that was vastly absent from the history books … Continue reading Shape Shifters
In fact, justice-seeking protests are collective expressions of grief and anger at the callousness of white America. Since European Americans assume grief is to be done in private, many totally twisted the expression of grief in the streets with old stereotypes used to marginalize the legitimate anger of Black folks. Continue reading Church Segregation: A White Supremacist Tradition
Three-Fifths 