Tag: violence

  • Why does Jesus tell the disciples to buy swords?

    Why does Jesus tell the disciples to buy swords?

    Does Jesus really suggest we bear arms in Luke 22:35-38? The answer is no. But that doesn’t make the passage any less confusing.

  • Continuing a failed war on terror is a moral failure

    Continuing a failed war on terror is a moral failure

    The great moral failure wasn’t only in launching the war on terror, it has been in continuing it in spite of all the moral and statistical evidence. The social share title reads “The scene of America’s longest war is now world’s terrorism hotspot”. Nearly 18 years into the war on terror, this headline should be…

  • Pipe Bombs and Fascists

    Pipe Bombs and Fascists

    We hide the truth behind violence and blind justifications. And yet our fears make the danger all the greater for those seeking the truth. Reading this morning that two more pipe bombs were prevented from being delivered to prominent Democrats, media, and civilians chills me to the bone. It leaves me fearful and confused; frustrated…

  • Prayers for Gaza

    Prayers for Gaza

    As of this morning 60 Palestinians were declared dead and over 2,300 were injured in a massacre along the fence in Gaza. Moving the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was what Rachel Shabi called “a deliberate upturning of international conventions.” And timing it for this auspicious date was an intentional thumb on…

  • Seven Stories and Revealing the Nonviolent Bible

    Seven Stories and Revealing the Nonviolent Bible

    The trouble with violence and the Bible isn’t just in the way we read it or even that it’s baked into our theology. We can’t even see Jesus at the center when our convictions are founded on violence. I was pretty young when I first asked “what’s so good about Good Friday?” Probably 10 or…

  • Ending Violence

    Ending Violence

    In the Passion, we become the witnesses, not only to the brutality put upon Jesus, but to the violence we impose upon one another. the Crucifixion destroys the justification for violence Good Friday  | John 18:1-19:42 It’s often said the Passion preaches itself. Its power is self-evident. But it doesn’t quite preach like the fire…

  • Predatory Society – A Pathology of Cruelty

    Predatory Society – A Pathology of Cruelty

    In a challenging new essay for Eudaimonia & Co., Umair Haque names 5 social pathologies of collapse. And I think they can kickstart a conversation around our culture’s greatest needs. This is my reflection of the fifth pathology: a predatory society. In movies, an easy way to get the audience to connect with the characters on screen is to show…

  • School Shootings – A Pathology of Violence

    School Shootings – A Pathology of Violence

    In a challenging new essay for Eudaimonia & Co., Umair Haque names 5 social pathologies of collapse. And I think they can kickstart a conversation around our culture’s greatest needs. This is my reflection of the first pathology: rampant school shootings. I remember how I felt when I first heard about the school shooting at Columbine High…