Scripture speaks with many voices. How shall we interpret so that we hear what God’s Spirit intends?
Growing up, Nicole Martin recalls hearing stories from her great-grandmother, Estelle Cartledge, about helping her husband build a church in Pittsburgh during a time of segregation when women leaders were viewed with suspicion. Her great-grandmother’s response was simple: Do the work in front of you. Let God take care of the rest.
Thirst, that is what African American men and women in the U.S. were feeling in the 1950s and 1960s because of the discrimination and racism that they were experiencing.
The Prophet Isaiah had strong views about political issues of his day, and his words, which Catholics and others who use the Common Lectionary read over the four Sundays of Advent, are impossible to hear without applying them to politics today.
Dressed in a clerical collar and posing no threat, I was shot in the leg with a pepper ball by Illinois State Police while protesting outside the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Nov. 1.
When friends mention some new Christian artwork, movie or novel, I confess my first thought is usually, “I wonder how bad it is.”
It has been called many things — a protest, a movement, a civic awakening — but at its core, the “No Kings” moment in the United States has been something deeper: a moral rebellion against idolatry.
Did you know that the pumpkins we decorate our porches with are a significant contribution to climate change? Landfills are the third greatest producer of methane, and the majority of pumpkins end up in the landfill, rotting into methane and leachate.
Amos was not a professional prophet, but an uneducated shepherd who preached social justice and denounced exploitation of the poor by the rich. He was especially harsh on the rulers, priests and upper classes.
As a Christian in the United States, it’s hard to miss the blending of cross and flag. Bible verses are being quoted at political rallies and social media, not to call people to repentance or compassion, but to stir allegiance to a cause and country. But the Psalms tell a different story.
The Bible contains over 3,100 unique, named characters. And we get intriguing stories about unnamed characters, too.
