American Altar: Poetry, Gun Violence, and the Gods to Whom We Sacrifice
We Americans are much slower to see the idols of our own times and cultures.
What I Learned About God by Praying for Osama bin Laden
Like every other college student and most Americans, I didn’t know the name Osama bin Laden. I also didn’t know God.
For Afghanistan, Hospitality is the Least We Should Do
This knowledge should lead us to lament the terrible damage we have caused, and this should then shape how we move forward.
The Christian Right and the Decline of White Evangelicalism
In short, the quantitative and qualitative evidence – and, I will add, my own anecdotal evidence – strongly support the argument that the Christian Right has been a primary factor in the decline of white evangelicalism in the last decade and the dramatic rise of the nones since the 1990s.
Mother Earth Has Suffered Enough: We Need Stronger Methane Rules
Rains and snows came when they were supposed to, bringing much needed refreshing to our community and land. Now, we are in a prolonged drought. We are in a national sacrifice zone with the nation’s largest methane hotspot hovering overhead.
Liturgy for Flag Removers
May we not litter our sacred spaces with the flags that we do not (ought not) worship. Christ, have mercy on our American dreams.
How Much Hate Does It Take to Make a Hate Crime?
But that type of Jesus: inclusive, universal, loving, forgiving; was nowhere to be found at Crabapple First Baptist. And so Long learned to hate.
Maybe It’s Time to Rethink the Second Amendment
The Second Amendment offers neither the moral authority nor unlimited legal authority for gun ownership. It is time that Americans, and especially my fellow evangelical Christians, refocus the faith they have placed in that article.
Never Again: A Litany for Rebuking Mass Shootings
I desperately need for not one more presidential term, one more year, one more month, one more sermon, one more day to go by without the country and the church—filled with good, smart, and compassionate people—getting more creative about gun control. I desperately need for this litany to never be used by another community, another soul, ever again.
A More Holistic Response to the Immigration Crisis
One of the key obstacles in moving progressive immigration policies from support to reality is the lack of passion and hope.