** Transcript of Adam Taylor’s talk is below.

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. — Lev. 19:18

As evangelical Christians in America, we are grieved by the violence that has consumed Israel and Gaza and we are troubled by the ways our faith tradition has been used to justify it. Yet even as we witness gross distortions of faith by Christian nationalists in public life, we also celebrate how people from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions around the world are coming together to cry for peace. So say cease-fire, some say a “cessation of hostilities,” some say humanitarian pause. Some just say, “Stop for the babies!” But the world is experiencing a kind of Pentecost as people cry out in different tongues with a unified call to end the violence.

Judaism teaches through the prophet Amos that God hears a united remnant against injustice. Islam teaches that “God is with the group.” And Jesus prayed that we all might be One, even as he and his Father are One. There is power in the unified cry of faithful people.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share moral convictions that ground our response to this moment.

We believe that every human being is created in the image of God. Both the Talmud and Islamic teaching say that to save a single life is to save all humanity, and Jesus extends the law of love for kin and neighbors even to those who are our enemies. Together we believe that every Israeli life is precious; every Palestinian life is precious; every single life is precious.

We also share the conviction that vengeance belongs to God. While governments have a right and duty to ensure security, our traditions insist on restraint and limits when the state exercises its power. No government knows enough to become the ultimate arbiter of justice.

Finally, our traditions share a commitment to justice, especially for those who are weak and vulnerable in this world. Whenever there is an imbalance of power, God hears the cries of those who are suffering and calls us to join their cry for justice.

Because of these shared convictions and our knowledge that a “three-fold chord is not easily broken,” we join our voices with Jews, Christians, and Muslims around the world who are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the safe return of all hostages and civilian prisoners taken in the present conflict.

While “cease-fire” is a technical term of international law, our faith demands that we outline a basic moral call to CEASE-FIRE.

Confront and stop immediately indiscriminate violence against any civilian, especially women, children, and the sick.

End the denial of basic necessities to any population, including food, water, electricity, fuel, internet, and medical supplies.

Affirm the image of God in every human being.

Stop the practice of holding hostages and ensure the safe return of all hostages and prisoners home.

Exercise nonviolent power to build a just peace for all people.

Faithfully work as Jews, Christians, and Muslims to support a viable alternative to the brutality of Hamas and to challenge the Netanyahu administration’s practices of occupation and apartheid.

Insist that human rights for all people are nonnegotiable.

Raise a moral cry against murder, indiscriminate violence, war, and public policies rooted in vengeance, no matter which faith is used to justify violence.

Engage nonviolently to interrupt the violence that is being carried out against fellow human beings.

As people who are committed to manifesting beloved community and overcoming violence of any kind against any person or people, we steadfastly demand that justice be done and seek to protect the dignity of all human life regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or national identity.

We need a cease-fire for God’s sake, for the future’s sake, for the sake of the babies who are dying, and for the sake of our own humanity.

Jesus said, “If you live by the sword, you will die by the sword,” and, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made clear, in an era of nuclear weapons that can destroy the whole world, our ultimate choice is not between violence and nonviolence, but between nonviolence and nonexistence. Killing our future is worse than wrong; it is an act of despair that denies God’s hope.

Our faith compels us to lift up this moral call for a cease-fire. We invite any who share this conviction to join people of faith around the world who are praying and taking action for peace.

Bishop William J. Barber, II
Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, Yale Divinity School
Repairers of the Breach

Shane Claiborne
Red Letter Christians

Mae Elise Cannon
Churches for Middle East Peace

Rodney Sadler
Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation, Union Presbyterian Seminary

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, Yale Divinity School

**Transcript of Adam Taylor’s talk at the vigil:

These remarks were drawn in part from the article published on Sojourners, Dear Christians, Cease-Fire Is Not Surrender.

Beloved—I want to thank Churches for Middle East Peace and all of the other faith leaders here tonight for this powerful witness. As we mark 44 painful and tragic days since the horrific massacre of Israelis by Hamas on October 7 and the estimated 12,000 Gazans who have lost their lives due to Israel’s bombing campaign, we continue to grieve and lament with all the families who have lost loved ones and we pray for an immediate end to the violence in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.  

This unconscionable suffering and violence breaks the very heart of our God.  While we pray that hostages can and will be a released through a temporary pause, we know that temporary is not nearly enough.  If our nation can negotiate a temporary pause, then surely, we can also negotiate a permanent one through a ceasefire to help end the war.  We also know that a ceasefire is not a surrender, instead it is a courageous step toward peace.   

Contrary to the misguided logic of war, we know that there is no true military solution to this crisis. Jesus said “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God” These countercultural words from Jesus’ sermon on the Mount reverberate across time and space are equally relevant and urgent today.  Yes beloved, this is a time for peacemaking — and that starts with a ceasefire. As peacemakers, we must honor the image of God in every Israeli and every Palestinian. We must be clear that our condemning of Hamas’ actions and ideology and our support for Israel’s right to security does not negate our deep commitment to justice and liberation in Palestine!  And while we must strongly oppose both antisemitism and Islamophobia, we must be clear that condemning actions by the state of Israel should not be conflated with antisemitism!

Throughout scripture, God commands both truth and action — and forbids their opposites. Leviticus chapter 19, verse 16 says: “You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand idly by when the blood of your neighbor is at stake: I am the Lord.”  And now, refusing to stand idly by means advocating that our own government use its power rightly.

And that’s why we’re here tonight. We are here to pray and to call on President Biden and his administration to apply maximum pressure to negotiate an immediate and durable ceasefire in order to help end the current war and restrain a wider regional conflict. We are here to ensure that sufficient medical aid, water, food, and fuel can reach Gazan civilians.  We are here to call for the immediate release of all hostages.  We are here to call for political solutions that provide lasting peace, security, and justice for all Israelis and all Palestinians.  It is time to replace the misguided logic of war with the imperative for peace. 

God, we pray that you will swiftly bring comfort for the grieving, freedom for the hostage, and lasting peace and justice to Israel and Palestine. We are reminded that you are rock in a weary land and a bridge over even the most troubled water.  Help us to stand on your rock today as we embrace your call to be peacemakers.  In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and liberator we pray, Amen.  

Add Your Voice to this Call for a Cease-fire

In May, Jewish settlers, who have long used Israeli domestic laws to forcibly transfer Palestinians from their neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, pushed to climax a court order to evict 58 Sheikh Jarrah residents, including 17 children, from their homes on the basis that the land under their apartments had been owned by a Jewish benevolent trust in the 19th century. 

These Jewish settlers have no family connection to that trust, but Israeli law allows them to become trustees and then “re-claim” land that had been owned by Jews in East Jerusalem at any time before 1948. This and many other Israeli laws allow Jewish Israelis to displace Palestinians—or demolish their dwellings as prelude to expulsion—within Jerusalem and across Green Line Israel. The systemic dispossession of Palestinians in East Jerusalem today is carried out under major one-way Israeli domestic laws enacted as early as Absentee Property law of 1950 (long before the 1967 war) and as recently as 2017 (the “Kamenitz laws”). However, there are no Israeli laws that allow Palestinians to return to lands they were displaced from either in 1948 or since 1967. Similar “legal” transfers of Palestinians’ land are happening elsewhere in Jerusalem, notably in two areas of Silwan. Israeli settlement policies are another example of ways Israeli laws are biased against Palestinians. 

As the May 1 court decision to finally implement the eviction transfer approached, there were demonstrations in Sheikh Jarrah by Palestinian residents and their Israeli and international allies. Peaceful demonstrations were increasingly attacked with violence by both Israeli police and Israeli ultranationalists. Omer Cassif, Israeli Knesset member, was beaten twice by police, becoming front-page news in Israel. Israeli police and ultranationalist violence increased in Sheikh Jarrah after violence around the Temple Mount/ Haram al-Sharif. Ramadam is the holiest time of year for Muslims, making dear worship at Islam’s third holiest site. Jerusalem Day celebrates Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in 1967, allegedly reunifying it. Ramadan and Jerusalem Day’s alignment this year were two ingredients in this recipe for disaster. Palestinians responded with increased demonstrations in East Jerusalem, in the West Bank, and across Green Line Israel. The combination of all of these factors exploded. 

READ: One State Solution in Israel/Palestine? A Conversation and Review

The recent flare up included stun grenades thrown by Israeli police into al-Aqsa mosque during prayers, Hamas threatening and then firing rockets in response to events in Sheikh Jarrah and on the Temple Mount, and Israeli ultranationalist provocations, were all proximate causes of the present explosion of fighting gripping the news. But this is only the latest round of violence that has regularly escalated every couple of years for more than a decade. The only differences this time  are the increased destructiveness of Hamas missiles and Israeli airstrikes; and the advent of fighting within Green Line Israel between Jewish and Palestinian Israeli proteseters. 

A shared Jerusalem has long been the stated goal of both Israeli and Palestinian leaders, whether in a Jerusalem exclusively under Israeli control, or in a Jerusalem as capital to an Israeli state and a Palestinian state.  However, Israeli policy, from the various discriminatory laws aimed at displacement of Palestinians, to the military occupation of the West Bank and police occupation of East Jerusalem and Hamas’ rockets, are just some of the ways the ongoing conflict continues to threaten a shared Jerusalem.  

Jerusalem is shared by three major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but Israeli policies make it less and less shared each day by Jews, Christians and Muslims.   Israel’s “legal” discrimination and displacement efforts at Jewish supremacy in Jerusalem, in the West Bank, and inside Green Line Israel instead produce religious fanaticism among Israelis and Palestinians alike, a systemic threat to the security, even the very lives, of Palestinians and Israelis alike. 

To break this cycle of violence, Israel must end the occupation and its enduring legal oppression. Israel’s government has presented the occupation as temporary, but it has lasted more than 50 years. The Interim Transition in the various Oslo Accords is still interim more than 20 years later, and there has been no positive improvement over the past decade or more. 

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) should condemn the underlying causes of these threats to peace: occupation, land dispossession, and more. As as an evangelical pastor and the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), I call on the UNSC, including the United States government, to take strong and decisive action to maintain peace in the Holy City of Jerusalem, and to protect all of God’s children, Israeli and Palestinian alike. The “legal” forcible transfer of Palestinians in Jerusalem, in the West Bank, and inside Green Line Israel must end.  

Such UNSC action requires diving into long-term Israeli practices, not just the violence of the day. The dispossession of the families in Sheikh Jarrah at issue now, for example, is the end result sought by Israeli settlers in a lawsuit they filed in 1974 to dispossess Palestinian owners and residents from the buildings. Similar displacements, leading to Israeli settlers moving in after the forced transfers, have taken place in East Jerusalem often over the past two decades, 385 Palestinians displaced in 2020 alone.

If actions against sharing Jerusalem continue, the Holy City will continue sliding from light on the hill to a lit series of firecrackers, with the only questions being the length of time between explosions and their intensity. The Holy Land will continue experiencing an unholy maintenance of occupation by force, only limited by violent interventions. The Security Council  must go beyond managing violence, to opposing root causes of violence in order to build lasting peace. 

White supremacy is at the heart of anti-Asian hatred. American history is wrought with wrongs inflicted upon immigrants from China, Japan, and other parts of Asia. The very first act excluding immigrants to the United States specifically targeted Asian Americans in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. While Japanese Americans fought for the United States during the Second World War, many of their family members were detained and held in internment camps between 1942 and 1945. These are just some of the institutionalized ways anti-Asian racism has been systematically employed. This brief history doesn’t take into account the ideologies of “yellow peril” that pervade our society even today. The coronavirus pandemic and former President Trump’s identification of it as the “China-virus” only added fuel to the fire which allowed long seeded bigotry to rise to the surface manifesting itself in incidents of hatred including harassment, spitting on people of Asian descent, beatings, and escalating fears and exacerbating the emotional toll upon members of the Asian American community. 

Any act of violence toward a person because of the color of their skin, their place of origin, their sexual orientation, their ability or special needs, or any other perceived difference goes beyond just a violation of being “politically incorrect.” Rather, such violence allows the seeds of discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia, and other abhorrent “othering” to germinate within our society. We should be grieved by the smallest of offenses toward our Asian American neighbors – because when such hatred goes unaddressed, it has the potential to manifest itself in the worst of evils – such as the brutal killings that took so many Asian American lives in Atlanta this past week. 

We must be vigilant in rooting out the racist and xenophobic ideas that have pervaded American society since its conception — assumptions such as white male superiority and dominance, and assumptions of white supremacy and privilege. We all must do more to stop hated toward Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, people of color, and to eradicate hatred wherever it exists. Violence against communities triggers loneliness and isolation. In speaking with one Asian American friend about her experiences of racism, she said maybe the isolation we have all experienced from the coronavirus pandemic will make non-Asians understand what extreme isolation can feel like. What would it mean for us to stand in solidarity with our Asian American neighbors? We must reject assumptions of white privilege and acknowledge the realities of white supremacy that still pervade in our society today. If there is any doubt? Watch the news and see how the families of those who died in Atlanta are grieving. 

What can we do? Report incidents that you witness to groups like Stop AAIP (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Hate. Support community-based efforts that promote safety and restorative justice. Join with groups like the Anti-Defamation League, Say No to Christian Nationalism, Asian American Christian Collaborative, and others who are doing direct advocacy to address this issue. Sign this letter on “Saying No to Christian Nationalism” that specifically identifies ways the Christian community, especially evangelicals, must recognize and condemn the role Christian Nationalism plays in racist actions such as the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and the recent insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. In addition, a group of Christian organizations, led by mostly people of color, hosted a prayer vigil of lament in response to white Christian nationalism leading into Holy Week 2021. Consider joining them or others to grieve and stand in solidarity alongside our Asian American neighbors. They will be hosting a Week of Action responding to Christian Nationalism, anti-Asian hatred, and other injustices during the Week of May 16th. These are just initial steps we all must be willing to take to eradicate anti-Asian hatred. 

Even more disappointing for those working toward regional peace and security, was the timing of the strike during a critical moment for peace with the continued hope that the Biden Administration will make good on its promise to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Earlier in February, Biden extended an invitation to Iran to reopen talks on restarting the now-defunct JCPOA—or the “Iran Nuclear Deal” as it is colloquially known. Although Iran initially rebuffed Biden, it stated it would be willing to return under the condition that American economic sanctions on the country were lifted. The United States has the opportunity to step down from a position of leverage without asking for anything in return, instead, they further escalated the potential conflict by engaging in the deployment of arms. 

One should be reminded that civilians often suffer the greatest consequences of military intervention. Iran’s people, meanwhile, have been caught in the crossfire of the conflict. The people of Iran suffer the brunt of economic sanctions imposed upon their state. By continually escalating tensions through retaliation, President Biden effectively further legitimizes fears that U.S. policies vis a vis Iran will follow the historical path of military intervention in the Middle East such as has been the case in Iraq and Afghanistan. The use of military force makes the prospect of diplomacy and peaceful conflict resolution an even fainter possibility. 

READ: US Missile Strike in Syria: What You Should Know

The United States must recognize the harmful effects of its current and historic foreign policy in the Middle East, and begin working toward a better future. A future that is grounded in the principles of de-escalation, reconciliation, and inherent human dignity and worth. Until it does so, the cycle of destruction will continue forevermore. No longer can acts of retribution, shows of force, and senseless acts of violence define our actions abroad. Like President Biden himself said in his election campaign, we as a country must look once more towards diplomacy, empathy, and accountability (directed towards our neighbors in the global community as well as ourselves) as our guiding principles abroad if we wish to see a better world yet.

Ultimately, lasting and meaningful peace cannot be achieved through force of arms—nor will retributive action ever prove itself an effective deterrent against continued hostility. Only through diplomacy and peaceful engagement can one truly begin to walk the road to political reconciliation, the final victory over the bitter scourge of conflict waiting at its end. As Jimmy Carter said, “War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.” We call on the Biden Administration to make good on their promises to make diplomacy the hallmark of our foreign policy. This cannot be achieved through the utilization of further force. Indeed, we call on the Biden Administration to turn away from the use of military strikes that will only cause further harm to the most vulnerable. Refraining from further military strikes and re-entering the JCPOA is a necessary start. 

As a historian, I have both read and written about heroes who have gone before us, and I laud the historic, 100-year old 1920 decision that gave women the right to vote. I don’t take that liberty – and privilege – lightly. One of my most profound memories over the years was marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and celebrating the monumental 1965 Voting Rights Act that helped so many disenfranchised black Americans further step out of the shackles of Jim Crow Laws and legal discrimination of our nation’s history. The right to vote is not something to be taken for granted. I know in my heart and spirit that voting is a privilege, but too often I have been immobilized.

No candidate was ever good enough. While I care deeply about social programs and access to resources and education for people living in poverty, I don’t believe the government is the most equipped or has the best record at successfully implementing such programs. How could I be a social justice advocate and not vote for the Democrats? Growing up as a daughter of a family who owned a small business, I’ve adhered to political perspectives that espouse fiscal conservatism. While being faithful to my family of origin, how could I not vote Republican? My social progressivism and fiscal conservatism could never be reconciled in any one candidate. I felt stuck and also didn’t believe my vote would make a difference. Perhaps that’s how you feel during this election season.

I believe in personal liberty and free choice – that women should have the right to be able to choose how to live in their own bodies, but I also believe the human embryo has the right be protected and the inherent right to life. There has not been one presidential election that allowed me to vote with integrity on issues that I care deeply about while also being attentive to the perspectives of my friends and community – many people of color and people from marginalized communities across the United States.

Since I could not vote with integrity, I didn’t vote. Until now.

READ: We Ring Our Bells for You, America

Why is 2020 different? This year, the division between people in our country has become so severe that some have said it seems like a civil war – numerous battles waging with a strong line between two extremes . White conservatives on one side of the battle field and progressive people of color on the other; or pro-life on one side and pro-choice on the other; or individuals concerned about climate change and the environment against supporters of big business, the oil industry, and other commercial enterprise. The list of divisions could go on and on.

Given different interests, perspectives, party-lines, and concerns, for whom should I vote? And how do I vote with integrity? This year, I have become convinced that not only am I morally responsible to vote, but that I have a spiritual obligation as well.

Prior to the 2016 election, I sat beside the mother of a young black man and heard her weep in fear of what the presidency of Donald Trump might do. She told me that if he was elected, she feared for her son’s life. Back then, people might have thought her fear was unfounded or exaggerated. Now in 2020, ask the mothers of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others how the terror of racial hatred being unleashed in our country has affected them. Don’t get me wrong – racism and bigotry have been present since the founding of our nation. But, never before in modern history has the supremacy of white people been so esteemed and lauded by a man in the highest position of our country.

We cannot ignore the damage of this presidency and the devastating impact this president has had on people of color. When we vote on November 3, 2020, may we hold the stories of these families and may we take the cries we have been hearing from the streets with us into the voting booth as they call for police reform, racial justice, and remind the world that black lives do matter.

And as we vote, may we not hold to any party lines – because the issues facing our country are bigger than whether or not you are a Democrat or a Republican. Party loyalty will not get us out of this mess and another four years of this presidency will cause irreparable damage to the lives of individuals and to our nation.

Vote for love of country. A country where, for hundreds of years, immigrants have come with hopes for a better future.

Vote for love of neighbor – and not just the neighbor who looks like you – but the neighbors who are saying “enough is enough” and that they can’t live like this anymore.

And if you are a follower of Jesus, vote because constructive political engagement is one of the ways we can faithfully live out Christian practice. Jesus always responded to the needs of the marginalized and sacrificed his self-interest for the sake of others. For Republicans and white Christians who feel like they would be losing something by not voting in line with the Republican party: more is at stake in the 2020 election than simple party loyalty. The moral rectitude of our nation and the spiritual integrity of our faith is at risk.

If white evangelicals, like myself, cannot stand in solidarity with people of color and say this hatred and bigotry must end, then what witness will we be able to offer to the world?

This post first appeared on The Christian Post.

With every mile traveled toward this sacred place where I went to meet with God, the troubles and realities of the world became more obscure. I actually believe the ridiculously long journey to Iona is a part of the sacredness of retreating there; the distance seems spiritually significant. As the final ferry approached the landing terminal, I became overwhelmed by the harsh beauty of the place. When I had seen pictures, I thought they had been doctored because the water was so overwhelmingly brilliant and so vibrantly turquoise. Sparkling. Clear. Pure. White sand beaches line the very short length of the island. (I later learned that one of the most beautiful beaches is called “White Strand of the Monks” [Traigh Bhan Nam Monach], commemorating where several of Columba’s followers were slaughtered during a Viking invasion. Even in such a sacred place, the violence of the world had broken through.) 

Iona has been called a “thin place” by many—a place, as Tracy Balzer puts it, “from earth to heaven” where the line “between the spirit world and the physical world” is paper thin. She describes a thin place as “any place that creates a space and atmosphere that inspires us to be honest before God and to listen to the deep murmurings of his Spirit within.” On the island, there is not much to do besides worship, be still, and meet with God. I wrote in my journal that evening, “Why do I feel closer to God here? Perhaps because Iona is a thin place closer to heaven and the spiritual realm than some of the ‘thick’ places in the world.”

The kingdom of God, which we often can glimpse in those thin places of the world, encapsulates the fullness of God’s heart for justice. Justice is the promise that one day the world will be made right. The book of Revelation reminds us that the kingdom is a place where there are no tears, where Christ will be glorified and the brokenness of the world will be fully healed:

“Never again will they hunger;

never again will they thirst.

The sun will not beat down on them,”

nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb at the center of the throne

will be their shepherd;

“he will lead them to springs of living water.”

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Rev 7:16‑17)

READ: The Moral (and Legal) Case for Emptying NC Prisons

This is a picture of God’s divine justice. Through Christ, the brokenness of the world has been redeemed, and one day justice will completely prevail.

The Bible is a book about justice. Kingdom justice. Biblical justice. And social justice. For God did not send his son Jesus into the world to condemn the world but to reconcile the world to himself. John 3:16 is the heart of the gospel. Christ came to save the lost and broken so that the world might be reconciled to God and once again made right, the way God intended for it to be. 

I’ve become increasingly convinced that the gospel of Christ cannot be fully expressed without both salvation and justice being integrated and pursued. Biblical justice is the manifestation of the full gospel of Christ. We see this throughout the Scriptures from God’s initial view of creation as “good” and his proclamation that Adam and Eve, man and woman together in community, not only reflect the image of God (imago Dei) but are deemed by the Creator as “very good” (Gen 1:31). 

The prophets continually talk about justice and how worshiping and honoring God is directly linked to the pursuit of justice. And justice is certainly woven intricately throughout the entirety of the gospel. Consider Luke 4 Jesus’ very first recorded sermon in the Gospels—where he proclaims the words of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, / because he has anointed me / to preach good news to the poor.” His words would have reminded those listening of the promises of the Year of Jubilee from Leviticus 25, which was a vision of how God intended the world to be—free from slavery and oppression, where blindness exists no more, the impoverished are released from economic poverty, and captives are set free. Jesus was declaring himself the fulfillment of the Year of Jubilee. 

The gospel cannot be dichotomized into only spiritual provision or only material deliverance. Both—the spiritual and the material—are necessary components of the good news of salvation. Proclaiming Christ without responding to the needs of those who are poor and oppressed is inadequate. Comprehensive biblical justice is the scriptural mandate to manifest the kingdom of God on earth by making God’s blessings available to all humankind.

Taken from Beyond Hashtag Activism  by Mae Elise Cannon. Copyright (c) 2020 by Mae Elise Cannon. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com

Our ability as followers of Jesus to courageously seek unity in the body of Christ while responding to the political divisions of our day will determine the efficacy of our Christian witness. I’m inviting you to join with other evangelicals and Christians across the political spectrum to affirm that Christians of goodwill can have divergent political perspectives or to call the immoral actions of our president to account. Let me explain.

On August 22, 2019, the Washington Post published this brief letter to the editor as a part of their commentary on “evangelicals for and against Trump.” My letter began, “I am white. I am evangelical. I love Jesus, and I love the Bible. I am fiscally conservative but socially progressive… Black, Latino, Asian and other ethnic groups that help make up the beautiful diversity of the United States and who also believe in Jesus and the Bible (i.e. evangelical Christian tenets) find Mr. Trump to be an abomination of the ideals of liberty, freedom, and equality that the United States is supposed to represent.” I encouraged readers to listen and elevate the voices of leaders of color who uphold “their ideals of evangelicalism while also promoting principles of love, mercy, compassion, and justice.”

Now, at the dawn of a new decade, the question of who gets to define evangelical political perspectives in the United States is more acute than ever. On December 19, 2019, the general editor of Christianity Today Mark Galli wrote an editorial called “Trump Should Be Removed from Office” calling for American Christians to break the silence and reveal “the president’s character” and his “blackened moral record,” because the very witness of our Lord and Savior is at stake. The international media exploded and a few days later, CNN reported that nearly 200 evangelical leaders slammed Christianity Today in response to the editorial. The media seems to believe that the vast majority of evangelicals agree with those 200 leaders in their unadulterated support of the president and his policies. They are wrong.

How should Christians and people of faith respond to the questions surrounding our president’s character? I wholeheartedly agree with Christianity Today that it is possible for Christians to hold beliefs across the political spectrum and maintain Christian integrity. While I at times have much in common with my friends and community who identify as liberal evangelicals, we often have different political perspectives and theological frameworks. It is okay that we may vote differently. However, there are times where the gross moral violations of those in leadership demand Christian unity.

As the New Year begins, we must now speak out in response to the immorality of our president. We can no longer afford to remain silent. After Galli’s CT editorial was published, I found myself deeply distressed. I lead a bipartisan nonprofit based on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., that works with Republicans and Democrats. We have relationships with the State Department and White House and seek to inform and influence U.S. policies related to the Middle East. There are many reasons I should not be engaged in this fight. There are many reasons I could choose to remain silent. I suspect many Christians around the U.S. have excuses similar to mine about why it is permissible for us to not engage. I no longer believe we have a legitimate excuse.

In response to Mark Galli’s piece, several evangelical and Christian leaders joined me in a statement released on Christmas Eve in support of Christianity Today. We had more than 500 signatures within the first 24 hours over Christmas. The majority of the original signers were not the “usual suspects” and, in fact, many of them rarely speak out about political issues.

Compelled to respond to the critiques of Christianity Today, signers included individuals like American theologian Richard Mouw, President Emeritus and Professor of Faith and Public Life at Fuller Theological Seminary; Sam Logan, President Emeritus of Westminster Theological Seminary and Associate International Director of the World Reformed Fellowship; George Marsden, Professor of History Emeritus, University of Notre Dame; Richard Foster who first introduced many evangelicals to spiritual disciplines; Ron Sider and Nikki Toyama-Szeto of Evangelicals for Social Action (ESA); and author and former editor of Today’s Christian Woman Dale Hanson Bourke. At the writing of this piece, the statement has more than 1,500 additional signatures. We hope you might add your name to our statement here.

The statement begins, “The United States evangelical and Christian community is at a moral crossroads. Our country has never been more politically divided with white evangelical Christians at the heart of much of the political discord.” One of my goals in writing was to affirm that people of good faith, who adhere to Christian values and the teachings of the Bible, can have divergent political views and perspectives about the role of the government in responding to society’s problems. In this political moment, the reported almost unilateral support of white evangelicals of President Trump harms Christian witness both in the United States and around the world.

Christians cannot turn a blind eye to the morally questionable characteristics we witness in our political leaders, particularly the morality of the president of the United States. Christian theologian Richard Foster said today: “A grossly immoral president encourages an immoral society.” I write about these realities in my new book Beyond Hashtag Activism: Comprehensive Justice in a Complicated Age (out May 2020 with InterVarsity): “White evangelicals voting for Trump and evangelicals of color all claim to follow the same Jesus yet often could not be further apart in their understanding of social realities like racism, immigration, incarceration, gender, and many other issues.” The disunity of the Christian body and the inability of white evangelicals to listen and heed the concerns of our brothers and sisters of color harms our Christian witness and is a failure in our attempts to honor Christ.

My own belief in Jesus has been deeply influenced by the teachings of Tony Campolo. I’ll never forget the ways the Holy Spirit touched my heart in hearing Campolo’s teaching about poor children dying around the world from preventable causes during the 1990 Creation festival when I was 13 years old. I was honored when he later invited me to be a part of the Red Letter Christians (RLC) community that is committed to loving Jesus and living out his “red letter” teachings in response to the needs of the world.

RLC has been courageously playing a critical role in expanding the national conversation about evangelical perspectives and politics. Regardless of whether or not you agree with their specific conclusions, RLC has been responding to the “toxic Christianity” that has been manifested in white evangelical support of President Trump and his policies. Tony Campolo and RLC invite American Christians to join them in their call to “Support CT’s Call for Impeachment and Removal” of President Trump. The RLC statement says, “impeachment hearings make clear that the president has gone too far with his lying and abuse of power.” As of December 30, more than 2,000 individuals added their names to the RLC statement.

Evangelicals in the United States, including whites and leaders of color, remain steadfast in our convictions about the power and saving grace of faith in Jesus Christ. The beautiful diversity of those who choose to follow Jesus and our faith traditions demands that we protect the right to have divergent political perspectives.

Join us in our prayer that “Christians in the United States enter into the 2020 elections with a recommitment to the Good News of the gospel that calls us to righteousness in Christ, faithful Christian witness, and responding to the needs of our neighbor.” And for those who share the conviction with RLC that “Trump’s policies often are contradictions to what Jesus actually taught,” sign on in their call that President Trump be removed from office.

During the 2014 conflict in Gaza, the main power plant in Gaza was severely damaged. Limited access to electricity has been significantly exacerbated by the difficulty in purchasing diesel fuel due to a financial conflict between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. According to the Israeli human rights organization, GISHA, the only remaining reservoir is small and can supply fuel for only up to three days, placing Gazans in the dire emergency of facing total darkness for up to 21 hours a day. The electricity crisis significantly contributes to the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The limited electricity and fuel disrupts access to clean water. Lack of reliable electricity prevents regular operation of water pumps and wells. GISHA’s recent report, “Hand on the Switch: Who’s Responsible for Gaza’s Infrastructure Crisis,” states that water in Gaza is contaminated with six times the recommended suitable amount of chlorides and nitrates. This contamination forces Gazans to rely on trucked in bottled water because 95% of the water more readily available is unfit for human consumption.

B’Tselem’s (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories) report “Israel Cannot Shirk its Responsibility for Gaza’s Electricity Crisis” shows that sewage treatment plants cannot operate regularly, thus treatment cycles have decreased, resulting in only partially treated sewage going into the sea. Deeply impacting Gazans health, these unsanitary conditions can result in diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio. To amplify these issues, several main hospitals barely have enough fuel to operate for five days and are forced to rely on generators. The lack of reliable electricity significantly limits any opportunities for stability within civil society, because so many aspects of daily life depend on electricity.

Here are some of the profound ways daily life can be affected by limited electricity: Public transportation becomes unreliable. Schools, universities, and hospitals cannot operate with full functionality. Internet and cell phone usage is limited. Household appliances become inoperable – which includes air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter. Industrial and agricultural sectors are also affected impacting access to fresh food because crops cannot often be properly irrigated.

Tania Hary, executive director of GISHA, offered further insight during a webinar discussion I hosted with Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP). The webinar focused on the unsustainable realities on the ground in Gaza. For example, since January 2017, Qatar donated 12 million dollars to purchase fuel in an attempt to address the electricity crisis, but those funds will only last a few months.

In the darkest of times, we often need God the most. May this Lenten season allow us to seek light in the midst of darkness. As we experience the light of God, may we share that light with others. One tangible way of giving light is by donating a small inflatable solar powered light to a family in Gaza. For every $25 donation, a family in Gaza receives a light. The light will provide greater opportunities for students to study, mothers to cook meals for their families, and for children to play. In addition, for every light, one individual will take the message of the humanitarian crisis and limited electricity in Gaza to elected officials on Capitol Hill, seeking to address the systemic issues contributing to the problem.

We hope and believe that the individual solar lights we send into Gaza will be meaningful for families, but we acknowledge that without sustainable solutions to the crisis, Gazans could face yet another period of darkness. According to the United Nations, the electricity provision will need to double by 2020 in order to meet population demand or Gaza could become uninhabitable. As we send points of light into the darkness, we work and pray for the structural changes needed to make light a reality for Gazans.

I am grateful that the darkness of Lent is only a season… and soon the Light will come.

This article was originally printed in The Huffington Post.

Editorial Note: Originally published on Huffington Post.

Evangelicals and conservative Christians often seem to get a “bad name” in the press and popular culture. It is true that Christians, and evangelicals in particular, have our own portion of historic and contemporary failings. Nonetheless, there continue to be many redeeming qualities of the evangelical faith tradition and those who call themselves followers of Jesus.

1. People who identify as evangelicals are followers of Jesus, the Prince of Peace and Savior of the world. This is a good thing! Jesus’ teachings focus on both the love of God and love of neighbor (Luke 10:27). For evangelicals who take Scripture so seriously, the heart of Christian faith is that we are called to love one another.

2. Jesus teaches what it means to do good in the world and to treat one another with love and respect. Even other faith traditions such as Islam and Judaism acknowledge the teachings of Jesus as being of great value. The parables of Jesus are full of lessons about what it means to live rightly in community.

3. Jesus modeled what it meant to care for the poor, the “least of these” among us. Evangelicals have a rich tradition of caring for those in need through acts of compassion, charity, mercy, and justice. Marvin Olasky wrote a great book about this called The Tragedy of American Compassion.

4. Evangelicals believe that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That means, we are all in the same boat! We are fallen, fallible, make mistakes, and are in need of mercy and redemption. No longer must we strive for perfection, but we may rest in the truth that as humans, we are all in need of God.

5. The “Good News” of the Gospel is one of abundant and merciful grace. Because of Christ’s love for us, the grace of forgiveness is extended to all of those who are willing to receive (Romans 5:8). This is the best news of all! Even the criminal on the cross, who was executed next to Jesus, was welcomed into the kingdom. Jesus said to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). In our world today, this Good News of grace is manifested in evangelical ministries such as Prison Fellowship, which is committed to restorative justice because: “As Christians, we believe that Jesus — Himself brought to trial, executed, buried, and brought to life again — offers hope, healing, and a new purpose for each life.”

6. Evangelicals believe that we have access to God through the Holy Spirit. Spiritual disciplines and other intentional practices create space for us to commune with God and to be nourished in our souls. My book Just Spirituality: How Faith Practices Fuel Social Action (InterVarsity Press, 2013) talks about how our spiritual relationship with God helps fuel us toward greater engagement in the world. One such example, is the way the historic evangelist Watchman Nee of China committed to the study of Scripture as an essential way of staying intimately connected with God. Nee ultimately died in a communist prison because of his commitment to the Gospel.

7. Evangelicals have a deep and historic commitment to extending the love of Christ to the entire world through global mission. Missions is not always an extension of Western imperialism, but also includes movements of devout believers committed to learning alongside of communities from around the world. Consider the lives and ministries of Jim Elliot, James Hudson Taylor, Corrie ten Boom, David Livingstone, and Eric Liddell. While this is certainly an imperfect history, there is much beauty in the history of evangelicalism and global mission.

8. And lest we forget, evangelicals are some of the most committed to interceding on behalf of the world in prayer. Just this past week, thousands of followers of Jesus gathered in our nation’s capital at the 64th Annual National Prayer Breakfast. Hosted by Members of Congress, many gathered specifically to “seek the Lord’s guidance and strength as well as to reaffirm our faith and to renew the dedication of our Nation and ourselves to God and His purposes.”

These are just a few small examples of some of the contributions and assets of both historic and 21st century evangelicalism. The history of the evangelical faith tradition is full of incredible strengths and celebrations… and many moments of which we must lament and repent. For a discussion on historic and current sins of the church, please see the recent book I co-authored called Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith.

For more information about evangelicals in America, see Jonathan Merritt’s recent article from the Atlantic called “Defining ‘Evangelical‘” which details historic and contemporary definitions of the faith tradition.

Also see renowned historian Mark Noll’s extensive works about American evangelicalism. His books are well worth the read.

May we not “throw the baby out with the bathwater” in our contemporary discourse on American evangelicalism.

These are compelling words in the midst of a national climate of increased fear and discrimination toward the almost three million Muslim Americans living in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties hosted a meeting with American Muslim community leaders to discuss a proposed response to the anticipated incidents planned by hate groups opposing Islam over the recent Columbus Day weekend in several cities across the United States.

The gathering at Temple University sought to examine the present challenge of Islamophobia in America, particularly as it relates to Evangelicals and Muslims. Numerous high profile evangelicals were present including Jim Wallis of Sojourners and the Texas Baptist megachurch pastor Bob Roberts, Jr. The gathering was convened by prominent evangelicals, Rick Love of Peace Catalyst and Doug Johnston, president and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD), along with Howard Cohen of The Dialogue Institute at Temple University. The Dialogue Institute also hosted the event. Muslim leaders such Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, named as one of the 2011 Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, were also present. Abdul Rauf was the former imam of the controversial community center and mosque near Ground Zero in New York City.

Participants heard stories of the necessity to distinguish between Islamic extremism, terrorism, and adherents of moderate Islam. Muslim religious leaders, U.S. government officials, and evangelical church leaders presented from a vast array of perspectives and topics ranging from statistics about the American Muslim community to personal narratives of religious discrimination. Azhar Hussain, a Pakistani Muslim, told the story of a suburban American community where his nine year old daughter came home from school beaten up, with cuts and bruises, having been traumatized by a classmate who called her “dirty” and “a filthy Muslim” and told her to go back to where she came from, even though she was born in the United States. Later, Hussain learned the classmate had learned in Sunday school about the “evils of Islam” and that Christians should hate Muslims. Rather than be defeated by the traumatic incident, this young girl opened a lemonade stand to raise money for the Council on American-Islamic Relations and to educate people about the Islamic faith in the hopes of enhancing a better understanding of Islam.

In the spirit of a modern day freedom movement, the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative in Washington, D.C was founded as a new Christian human rights organization committed to empowering a global movement to advance religious freedom as a universal right. Elijah Brown, executive vice president, presented at the conference and reminded evangelicals of the responsibility to reflect more deeply on the Scriptures to see the image of God in all people in order to “counter the voices that promote fear of Islam, and model a new way forward by building relationships with those in our community who adhere to other faiths.”

It seems there is a growing movement of evangelicals and institutions committed to a new way forward: loving our Muslim neighbors rather than being compelled by hatred.