Category Archives: Resistance

Is “Christian Democracy” Possible in the U.S.?

As George W Bush’s former speechwriter Michael Gerson notes in the Atlantic’s latest cover piece: “One of the most extraordinary things about current politics … is the loyal adherence of religious conservatives to Donald Trump.” It’s so extraordinary, in fact, that it is hard to imagine Christian voters remaining loyal to Trump if faced with a better alternative.

Well, maybe. BUT finding “a better alternative” won’t be easy.

Still, there’s plenty of wisdom here. American evangelical Christianity COULD in theory find an alternative to the current regime, which mocks almost every aspect of its core. But I see four BIG hazards that will need to be overcome on the way there:

For King Day: Selma, Alabama — Protecting King, Protecting Obama

The Secret Service has to secure similar events every week, sometimes every day. So maybe this was a piece of cake for them. Compared to their skill, our mornings walks near Dr. King now seem utterly, almost comically amateurish.

But even so, somehow we came through it. Dr. King wasn’t called on to preach at our funerals. Instead, we lasted long enough to hear others preaching at his.

Does Scot Miller Have the Answer to American Quaker Decline?

But why on earth should any progressive throw over all that they’ve toiled so hard for to take up this new role?

Miller’s answer, in sum, is threefold:

1. Because Jesus said to, and if we’re to take him (and the Gospels) seriously, that’s what seriousness means;

2. Because it yields a different understanding of the world, and our place in it, one which is more true and promising; and

3. Because action from the bottom and at the margins has more impact than we can see with our media-distracted eyes & ears, especially if we can factor in the work of grace.

[Besides the Amish, the Catholic Worker movement is another useful model for comparison and study.]

The Deaths Of Racism, And Racism In Deaths

Helena then beckoned us through an opening in the low wall, into what seemed an empty field.
This plot was meant to be added to the cemetery (since UVA professors keep stubbornly falling short of immortality). But when archaeologists tested the ground, they discovered that it too was full of unmarked, and previously unknown graves.