The UN Climate Summit known as COP26, which took place in Glasgow, Scotland, this month, was notable for the older, white men who dominated the official sessions and the much more diverse and younger crowds demonstrating outside. Less visible were representatives of religious groups from around the world, although many were there and some had…
All Lives Matter
With all the horrible news these days, one story that stopped me in my tracks recently was Scott Simon’s tribute to Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died at the hands of police in 2019 in Aurora, Colorado. Last week three police officers and two paramedics where indicted in his death. As he walked…
Why I Fly My Flag
On the 4th of July, I flew my American flag, as I do on most national holidays. But doing that as a white Christian could now label me with an ugly form of patriotism that believes that only those who share my racial and religious identity are true Americans. An African American wondered aloud to…
Stuck
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is being drained of life by two things that have long been its strengths: theological diversity and institutional connection. Since its earliest days, Methodism has made decisions through delegated bodies, and the General Conference (GC) is the sole entity that can set policy and speak for the UMC. This process…
UMC Fracture
The last three posts have looked at the breakdown of society in this time of historic social change. They have focused on US politics, but I return now to The United Methodist Church (UMC), whose continued fracture over LGBTQ inclusion offers a perfect illustration of this moment of change. The UMC recently announced that its…
Dangers of Propaganda, Part 2: The Believers
In this second post about the role of propaganda in the recent election, we look at the millions of Trump supporters who believe his claims that the election was rigged. In trying to understand how a large swath of American voters could believe such a specious claim, we make the mistake of assuming there is…
The Dangers of Propaganda, Part 1: The Liars
When the dust of the 2020 election settled, Republicans were so stunned by Biden’s victory that more than half believed Donald Trump’s lies about a rigged election. Even while savoring victory, Democrats were stunned that 74 million people had voted for Trump, 10 million more than in 2016. The election results and the polarized responses…
The Times They Are a-Changin’
My interest in social change dates to a seminary lecture by homiletics professor David Buttrick at Vanderbilt Divinity School in 1998. I have always been a big picture thinker, and Prof. Buttrick literally drew a map that has shaped how I see that “big picture” ever since. The class was Theology of Proclamation and Worship,…
A Lost Cause?
This week we witnessed the actions of desperate people: a narcissistic president who cannot accept the reality that he lost election to a second term, and the violent mob he incited to storm our nation’s capitol in an attempt to disrupt the democratic process. These actions are the culmination of a dangerous ideology privileging white…
And on Earth Peace
Christmas reminds us again just how fractured the Christian community is. While many Christians fall somewhere in the middle, there are opposite factions pulling the church in different directions, and they see and celebrate Christmas differently. The most visible form of Christianity in the US is comfortable with empire and sees American democracy and free-market…