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Lead with love not fear
The currency of our culture today is fear. It generates political activity and holds people in power. To the “right” or to the “left,” the currency of our political religions is fear. It raises money fast. It gets people to vote. And all of that is going to lead to power and control. This is not the way of Christ.…
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The nuance of trouble
What has happened in the American evangelical church visibly over the past 10 years can’t be summed up in the one word we’d all like to use: Trump. As usual, it’s more nuanced than that and this essay by Tim Alberta gives so much of the nuance we need.
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The gift of character
In a time when character has not even been the conversation when it comes to politics and solving big issues, Mitt Romney has put it on full display as a senator and leader. He leaves the Senate after one term and is talking honestly about what we’ve known all along: the GOP has become the POT (Part of Trump) and…
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The further abuses of our false “national religion”
The Party of Trump… excuse me, the “Republican Party”… debate last week was only something that was worth watching clips that were entirely predictable. The sad scene of almost every candidate raising their hand to say they would potentially support a convicted felon who orchestrated an attempted coup if he were the party’s nominee in the general election was only…
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Politics as religion is ugly
We’ve replaced Christianity and other clearly defined religions with the hologram of politics. Within so many white Christian contexts (“right” or “left”) we simply want to “worship” with people who think like us… politically. (We call it “theologically,” but let’s be real.) David French raises the warning yet again in this piece. We don’t just raise differences of opinion anymore.…
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National Religion
I am making my way through the Old Testament and have come to the end of 2 Kings. In Chapter 22-23 there is the story of Josiah, who became king of Judah when he was only 8 years old. When he was 18, he issued an order that the Temple be restored. In the cleaning out of the Temple, the…
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Keeping sanity in another crazy election cycle
Up until about 7-8 years ago I was eternal optimist. There were simple things I still believed in and could still hold in tension the flaws and blunders of life and people. That was almost squeezed out of me completely. And still, here we are in another election cycle that will probably prove to be more insane than the previous…
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The heartache and beauty of the last few years
There are few books I take the time to re-read. My most re-read book is probably Thomas Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain. Spiritual memoirs that truly speak to the soul are truly rare. There may be two more I’d add. (I have them on Audible read by the authors so I’d say to “re-listen”.)
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Taking the way of power
Recently I heard a phrase: “The religious right has become the post-Christian right.” This is something that is possible beyond politics in America. James gives this warning:
Tag: Politics
