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Faith, Genocide, and Silence
This evening, I had the opportunity to attend a powerful Zoom session hosted by Rev. Dr. Ben Boswell, pastor of Collective Liberation Church here in Charlotte, North Carolina. The featured speaker was Rev. Dr. Rodney Sadler, who many in our community may remember from his sermon during Black History Month at our own church, Caldwell…
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Frederick Douglass on White Evangelicals
Multiple Christian denominations have notable and lamentable histories of “getting it wrong, BIG TIME” when it comes to interpreting and applying the Scriptures of the Holy Bible. This is an outstanding article in Christianity Today, and an important history lesson to consider today on Juneteenth, as many profess a false gospel of “Christian Nationalism,” which…
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Belafonte and the Undertow
I have started to read “The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War” by Jeff Sharlet: The book opens with a touching and detailed portrait of Harry Belafonte, who I will admit I have not known a lot about previously. Belafonte was a good friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and pivotal to the…
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Healing the Broken Narrative
In this political moment of triumph as well as “barn burning” for the political far right in the United States, I am wondering how those of us with more progressive, liberal hearts are going to articulate a compelling narrative, “tell a different story,” to move our country and our world away from the precipice of…
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Trust and Democracy
Great keynote presentation by Jennifer Nadel of “Compassion in Politics” in the UK in today’s “Compassionate Action Conference.” We have a REAL crisis today worldwide, so many people do not believe in / do not support democracy. Autocracy is on the rise. Corruption is being normalized. “Trust is democracy’s oxygen, and we are running out…
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Do Unto Others
We need to “love our neighbors” and find ways to demonstrate both individually and collectively our commitment to “The Golden Rule.” While Jesus Christ famously shared the Golden Rule in his “Sermon on the Mount,” the golden rule is an ethic of reciprocity which has support within other religious, spiritual, and philosophical traditions outside of…
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Lessons from North Carolina
To “heal our culture,” we need to understand our culture. A few weeks ago, I bought a paper copy of “Lessons from North Carolina: Race, Religion, Tribe, and the Future of America” by Gene Nichol. Nichol is a lawyer and academic by trade, he has written several books, and this is my first time to…
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Sing Sing (2023)
I’ve added the 2023 movie “Sing Sing” to my movie watchlist. Here’s the trailer: (2.5 min) Synopsis: “Divine G (Colman Domingo), imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group with other incarcerated men. When a wary outsider joins the group, the men decide to stage…
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Cast a Truth Spell
Walter Rhein observes and contends, “Truth is a healing spell.” Walter is correct. Our very words can be powerful. Like the spells of Hogwarts students in Slytherin House or Gryffindor, we have the power to curse or bless with our words. When spoken, those blessings or curses not only affect others, but they affect and…
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Anti-Racism
Healing our culture requires us to engage in the work of “anti-racism.” In the introduction to his 2019 book, “How to Be an Antiracist,” author Ibram X. Kendi explains that “neutrality” in the struggle over racism is not possible. The opposite of “racist” isn’t “not racist.” It is “antiracist.” Kendi argues the process of undoing…
