Viral Faith

  The Supreme Court Romans 14:16-18 NIV  Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.   Today, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on the case " Kennedy vs Bremerton School District " in which football coach Joseph Kenedy often prayed after football games at the 50-yard line, frequently accompanied by members of the high school team.  A player who does not share Coach Kennedy's Christian faith, felt uncomfortable attending these prayer sessions and eventually the school board ruled that Coach Kennedy cannot continue to lead prayer with students as to do so promotes religion in public space.   Coach Kennedy felt that the school board's decision not to allow his public prayer gathering was an infringement of his first amendment rights...

Habakkuk 1:2-4 NRSV O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? 3Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous —  therefore judgment comes forth perverted. Yesterday, less than a two hour drive away, another awful tragedy occurred.  With recent mass shootings in Buffalo and in Santa Ana Ca, we were already numb due to the overwhelming grief.  We were once again shocked by the presence of evil against our most precious part of ourselves: our children.  Anyone with children, grandchildren, godchildren, nieces, nephews, students, players or neighbors, felt the need to sympathize with the families of the children, teacher, and law enforcement officer who lost their lives, but also with the hundreds who have been deeply traumatized due to the...

 "In the face of injustice, neutrality can never be an option. Silence makes the uncommitted bedfellows with hatred and racism--whether they like it or not."      --Miguel A. De La Torre in Burying White Privilege The violent entice their neighbors and lead them in a way that is not good. One who winks the eyes plans perverse things; one who compresses the lips brings evil to pass.   Proverbs 16:29-30 NRSV   Remember Patrick Wood Crusius? You remember the impact Patrick made in August of 2019? Most people have long forgotten the name and face of Patrick and his actions on August 3rd, 2019.  You are not alone if you are still struggling to remember.   Maybe his face will ring a bell: Anything? Patrick is a 23 year old who drove 650 miles to El Paso Texas to murder "Mexicans" because of his belief in one of the numerous replacement theories that believe that people of color are seeking to "replace" White Americans.  Patrick wrote a ma...

  "Reconciliation without a clear understanding of the needed reciprocity destines those in the pursuit of reconciliation to do so on preexisting constructs of power, ultimately rendering this endeavor toward reconciliation to be nothing more than a nuanced and complicated captivity for people of color"     --Rev. Brandon Green in Intercultural Ministry (Grace Ji-Sun Kim, editor) The early church (first generation after Jesus' death) was a multicultural, multi-ethnic, socially diverse movement.  The lives and social worldview of the initial followers of Jesus throughout the Roman empire were just as polarized then as our communities are today.  Yet, the difference is that they rejected homophily (anthropologic description of the desire to gather with people who are like yourself) and formed intimate communities made up of people who were radically different but radically in love with Jesus.  In these early communities, we see no diminishment in individual i...

"This was the primary message of the Biblical prophets; religiosity is not an acceptable alternative to doing the works of righteousness and justice." -- Dr. Marvin McMickle in "Let the Oppressed Go Free". Righteousness and Justice are among the most important Biblical words in the Hebrew Scriptures (what Christian's term the Old Testament).  Mishpat , the Hebrew word for "justice" appears in the Hebrew Scriptures over 400 times and Tzedekah , the word for "righteousness" occurs over 300 times.  The words are often used together as they are closely related terms. Tzedekah , or righteousness is far more expansive than how it is typically used in contemporary churches.  We often speak of righteousness in terms of our "rightness to a standard or set of rules".  Yet, the Hebrew word is a relational term.  In fact, there is no Hebrew word in the Scriptures for "individual".  The promotion of individuality is a relatively modern...

"Jesus' message about the kingdom of God lived out in this life has powerful implications for how we prioritize, peace, reconciliation, and enemy love in relationship with God and with others.  Ignore this aspect of gospel, and we are left with a religion that proclaims love and forgiveness while it advances through violent attitudes and actions." -- Bruxy Cavey in Reunion The book of Ruth begins with this innocent phrase "During the days when the judges ruled".  While it gives us chronological context (roughly 1400 to 1000 BCE) its purpose in the narrative is to give us cultural and political context.  The book of Judges documents the often violent, warring, and scavenging existence that coexisted with the spiritual bankruptcy of the people at the time.  The story of Ruth begins in famine in a time where the people of ancient Palestine were often vying for scarce resources.  This scarcity, led to violence.  In fact, one can look at contemporary society and...

  The Church and Societal Forces of Injustice   “Slavery was upheld by three sectors of society: religious, economic, and political.” —Tom Skinner in How black is the Gospel (1971)   One of the ongoing discussions among church leaders is the role of the church in regards to the formation, influence, and regulation of the societies in which they serve.  Many believe that churches are to promote the highest ethical standards and leverage its many privileges to encourage its surrounding society to embrace those same standards.  Others believe the church is a vendor of religious products that seeks to enhance the lives of its adherents, without any responsibility to those outside of its body.  I believe that the answer is clearly spelled out in Scripture, embodied by Jesus Christ, and promoted by the early Church.   Historically, it is important to understand the duplicitous role of the church in both bringing about justice and promoting inj...