Reborn on the Fourth of July
Logan Mehl-Laituri grew up in a community that celebrated military service. His faith reinforced his love of country and his sense that that love was best expressed by fighting its battles. Then he went to w...
You Can Help George Win a Van
One year ago this week, as the birds were hatching on our porch and the rose bush was in full bloom, our friend George was shot, just four blocks up the street. The bullet that hit his neck lodged in his C...
Can we have a Rational Conversation about Guns?
How many more shootings, local or national, do we need?
How many more school shootings do we need before have anything like an adult conversation about these playthings of death that we love so much?
I know...
Hungry for Virtue
Christian responses to The Hunger Games have run in one of two directions. Some see the trilogy as a powerful critique of violence and the role in plays in contemporary society. Others wonder whether refusing t...
Hero of War: “Rise Against” Violence or Lose Your Humanity
© 2006 | "We Could Be Heroes" | TheGiantVermin | Flikr
Many of us dream of becoming a hero. To be the one who saves the day. To know what it is to find victory for the sake of the distressed. This quest le...
The Tale of Two Shootings
Back in the day, my college mid-term and final exams often had an essay question that began, “Compare and contrast…” We were asked to show our knowledge of what we had been studying by discussi...
When You Can't Find Your Words
Trayvon Martin's parents attented the Million Hoodies March. Photo: NYMag.com
It’s been almost a month since the slaying of Trayvon Martin. This particular African-American child was intentionally shot thro...
Indicting Violence: A Pacifist Review of "The Hunger Games"
75 years after the end of the world, reluctant teenage heroine Katniss Everdeen brings it to an end yet again.
Welcome to The Hunger Games, a trilogy dripping with the weight of oppression and the dread of ...
Reverence for the Sacred Land: A Response to Endemic Violence in Central America
For five years I lived and worked in the outskirts of San Salvador with an organization supporting marginalized families living with HIV/AIDS. Though the agonizing combination of poverty and HIV formed a part ...
Steve Jobs, God’s Vision & Here I Stand: #OccupyWallStreet NOT Afghanistan
This week marks ten years since the occupation of Afghanistan started. I’ve just sat down to throw some thoughts on paper in between speaking engagements in New Zealand. The news here is all Rugby World Cup and...