Evangelical Politics in the South

“This is a diverse state. If you get in your car in downtown Raleigh you can be in the equivalent of Silicon Valley in 20 minutes, feel as if you are in Alabama in 25 minutes, and get a sense of Berkeley in 30 minutes. You don’t have to leave the state to find places [...]

Are Myths Needed in America?

In Neil Campbell and Alasdair Kean’s book, American Cultural Studies: An Introduction to American Culture, there is an interesting quote by Lynne Cheney about what history books should be like,

“As Cheney wrote in 1988, history textbooks needed to be like those of the ‘early decades of the century… filled with stories – the magic [...]

The American Creed

On November 4, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama delivered a historic speech from Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, declaring victory after a long campaign for the White House. Rhetorically, the speech was, in my opinion, not just a breath of fresh air but a drive up to the mountains after living in Los Angeles your [...]

Tears of Validation

One of the hallmarks of Jesus’ ministry was the inclusion of the outsider and the marginalized back into the folds of community life. Case in point, Zacchaeus (c.f., Luke 19:1-9). Great odds where stacked against Zacchaeus from ever being welcomed into the community: he was a tax collector (actually the “Chief”or “Head” toll collector which [...]

Politics Reborn

Today I clicked a link to a video on CNN called “Political Sign Shocks Boy.“  Oh my, I thought.  Whatever did the sign say?  How old was the boy that was so surprised?  Was it racist or vulgar or otherwise appalling?
Lo and behold, it was a video about a boy literally being shocked by a [...]

Doomsday 2012?

An article by the Associated Press discussed a recent attack by the conservative Christian Right group, Focus on the Family Action, against Barak Obama.  This attack went beyond showing voters Obama’s voting record on abortion or his healthcare plan or even his tax increase on people making over $250,000 a year; the attack instead attempted [...]

Politics as usual?

I went a long time in this election without a decision. Now, I am like a lot of Evangelicals (little cringe when I use that title cause all the baggage) who –through the writings of McLaren, Shane Claiborne, Greg Boyd, and a score of others– have moved from the right and ventured into the moderate-to-left [...]

Spread the Wealth Around

In the last week Obama has caught heat from the right for telling Joe Plumber his plan is to “spread the wealth around”. While I don’t believe that Jesus was a rich-abhoring communist, Obama’s words are closer to the economic plan God gave the Israelites in the form of their Law. Sure, this Robin Hood [...]

“America is the greatest force for good in the world” (McCain)?

This statement haunted me last night when I heard him say it during the debate and afterwards when I was going to bed. This is not an easy statement to throw around and yet when he said (and then Obama agreed with it) it I thought that actually might be a common thought among many [...]