Commentary

11-21-2019

Jim Wallis, in conversation with William Matthews and Allison Trowbridge, explores the themes of Chapter Nine, “The Discipleship Question” from his new book Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus.

Jim Wallis 11-21-2019

What does discipleship look like?

I was in Tuscon, Ariz., this week for the final day of the trial of Scott Warren, a volunteer who helps migrants in the desert. He was charged with a felony for “harboring” and assisting “illegal aliens” with a potential sentence of 10 years in prison. I gave a statement outside the Tucson courthouse and then joined a group of clergy flooding the courtroom as the closing arguments were presented and the jury was sent out to make their decision.

Simran Jeet Singh 11-21-2019

Photo courtesey MarkCharles2020.com

Mark Charles describes himself as a dual citizen of the United States and the Navajo Nation. He is making history this year by becoming the second-ever Native American to run for president of the United States of America. I recently heard Mark speaking at the Aspen Institute about how white supremacy infiltrated Christian theology to justify colonialism, oppression, and genocidal violence. I also read his recent book on this topic co-authored with Soong-Chan Rah titled Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery.

Liz Lwanga 11-21-2019

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

Sustainable fashion is a rapidly growing movement. Honoring the labor, expertise, and material resources used to make clothes is also an essential way for people of faith to honor God. So how do we do that effectively? Thankfully, the solution starts no further than your closet. Here are five ways to dive in and begin embodying Christ’s righteousness in your relationship to your clothes.

11-20-2019

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) speaks to the crowd at a political rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 21, 2019. Photo by Rich Koele / Shutterstock.com

In the second season of The Soul of the Nation, Jim Wallis is sitting down with some of the presidential candidates to discuss how their faith informs their work. Following is a transcript of Wallis’ interview with Sen. Cory Booker, discussing Booker’s faith, the role of faith in the public square, his favorite hymn, and more.

Listen to the audio version of this episode here.

11-20-2019

Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 21, 2019 Presidential candidate Julián Castro greets supporters at the Polk County Iowa Democrats annual Steak Fry. Michael F. Hiatt / Shutterstock.com

In the second season of The Soul of the Nation, Jim Wallis is sitting down with some of the presidential candidates to discuss how their faith informs their work. Following is a transcript of Wallis’ interview with Julián Castro, discussing Castro’s Catholic faith and upbringing, why Democrats should talk more about religion, and more.

Listen to the audio version of this episode here.

Gareth Higgins 11-19-2019

Ed Norton (right) and Alec Baldwin star in Motherless Brooklyn. Photo courtesy Warner Bros.

Motherless Brooklyn, writer-director-star Edward Norton’s adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s 1999 novel, is confident enough in its own scope to begin with Shakespeare, and it certainly backs up this confidence with an argument. A quotation from Measure for Measure invites us to reflect on the nature of power: “O! It is excellent to have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.”

Karl_Sonnenberg / Shutterstock.com

The United States, in particular, is abandoning our founding principles and those that have sustained our position as the aspirational bastion of freedom and opportunity. Our failure is reprehensible: Even as we fail to protect children, we are daily compounding their trauma and harm through policies detention and separation. History will remember the cruelty of this administration, the atrophy of moral leadership, and the apathy of the American people.

11-19-2019

Pete Buttigieg speaks at campaign town hall meeting at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., Oct. 25, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

In the second season of The Soul of the Nation, Jim Wallis is sitting down with some of the presidential candidates to discuss how their faith informs their work. Following is a transcript of Wallis’ interview with South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, discussing Jesus, his personal faith, abortion, religious freedom debates, and more.

Listen to the audio version of this episode here.

Candace Sanders 11-19-2019

Image via 'Waves' trailer 

Every moment feels true to life, and the literal waves — the peaks of emotion and the sinking tragedies — carry viewers up and down, a rhythm as unpredictable as it as captivating. WAVES is a film for 2019, that does not shy away from the music and actions of teenagers living in 2019.

Kaitlin Curtice 11-19-2019

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

When we’ve decided to call ourselves woke, we are disregarding the journey of becoming woke along the way. When we say we are already decolonized, we are neglecting the seriousness of the journey toward decolonizing in all its complexities.

Lorenzo Watson 11-15-2019

Students walk on campus at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, FILE PHOTO: Sept. 20, 2018. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

Higher education student loan debt has become a hot topic in the current political debate, with several presidential candidates calling for either full or partial student loan forgiveness. And as student loan debt levels reach historic highs, it is clear this is a problem worth solving. One only needs to look back to the Great Recession to see how widespread out-of-control debt can shock the entire U.S. economy. The student loan debt crisis does not exist within a vacuum, however, and can be compounded by several issues that also need addressing.

11-14-2019

Jim Wallis, in conversation with William Matthews and Allison Trowbridge, explores the themes of Chapter Eight, “The Peacemaker Question” from his new book Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus.

book.sojo.net

Russell L. Meek 11-14-2019

Photo by Nycholas Benaia on Unsplash

Andy Savage’s website includes several blog posts about how to be a good parent and husband, but Jules Woodson says that he sexually assaulted her while she was a minor and he was her youth pastor at a Southern Baptist Church (SBC) in Texas.

Thirty million people cannot afford to wait any longer for affordable insulin.

People of faith outside conservatism have taken up the fight for religious freedom in a wide variety of contexts.

Jim Wallis 11-14-2019

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

“Blessed are the peace lovers,” for they shall be called righteous — on the right side. They will be known for what they will not do, for being against war, for preferring peace, for not fighting, for staying out of conflicts.

But that is not what Jesus said.

Ron Stief 11-13-2019

Dan Jones (Adam Driver) in 'The Report.' Credit: Facebook. 

The film juxtaposes the brutality of torture with the reality of its ineffectiveness.

11-12-2019

In the third episode of this new season of The Soul of the Nation, the Rev. Jim Wallis interviews Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

11-11-2019

Image via REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 

Among Christians in the United States, evangelicals are least likely to believe that climate change is real and human caused, according to public opinion polls and academic research. This is not the case in Brazil. There, evangelicals and Pentecostals – who make up about 30 percent of the Brazilian population – are just as environmentally concerned as other religious groups, public opinion surveys show.