Current Affairs and Causes on Questioning Authority

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Interpretive strategies have gone through cycles

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 20:1–17, Genesis 22:1–14 , Micah 6:6–8 , Luke 10:25–37 , Matthew 5:17–20, Psalm 82:3–4

Interpretive strategies have gone through cycles of strict-constructionist (or Originalism) and broad-constructionist (or Living Constitution) perspectives. Originally the procedure of interpreting th...

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Jesus Caught in the Middle of Modern Society

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 53:3–5, Daniel 3:16–18, Micah 6:6–8, Matthew 23:23–24, Luke 4:16–30, Psalm 2:1

Jesus, as always, gets caught in the middle—along with a good number of his followers. Many people in America today were brought up in strict Christian homes and churches of one sort or another. There...

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A Guard Against Paternalism

Author

Kent Annan

Keywords

Justice

Scripture

Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:10, Isaiah 1:17, Micah 6:8, James 5:16

Practicing confession is one way to guard against paternalism in both extreme and more subtle ways. For example, we can tell stories of justice in a way that discounts other people’s agency—that is, t...

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Blurring the Lines

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 3:16-28, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 3:5-7, Matthew 22:15-22 , James 1:5 , Psalm 119:105

Richard Mouw, the former president of Fuller Seminary and a professor of philosophy, shares an amusing anecdote from a lecture by the esteemed Catholic ethicist Charles Curran. During his talk, Curran...

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Not Heeding the Call

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Hebrews 13:16, Galatians 6:9-10, Proverbs 3:27, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:14-17

Just the other day, I was out on a bike ride for some exercise. Because I work for a high-end cycling company, I had the opportunity to test ride one the bikes we make – a bike that comes with a price...

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Justice is Personal

Author

Andy Crouch

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Leviticus 19:15, Galatians 3:28, James 2:8-9, Amos 5:24, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17

When did the topic of justice become important to you?” Gideon Strauss posed that question to two dozen people crammed into our living room one fall evening in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Some of us wer...

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Has Religion been a Force for Evil in Human History

Author

Francis S. Collins

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:7-10, Isaiah 58:6-10, Micah 6:6-8, Matthew 23:27-28 , James 1:26-27, Psalm 146:7-9

A major stumbling block for many earnest seekers is the compelling evidence throughout history that terrible things have been done in the name of religion. This applies to virtually all faiths at some...

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How We Get our Calling Wrong

Keywords

Scripture

James 4:17, 2 Corinthians 4:5, Micah 6:6-8, Matthew 16:23, Jeremiah 17:9

First, we get our calling wrong when we imagine that God needs us, to be the hero of our own story, rather than Christ. Second, we routinely misdiagnose the problem of our world, underestimating estim...

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Author

Albert Lutuli

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:34-35, Isaiah 1:17, Proverbs 31:8-9, Acts 17:26, Micah 6:8, James 2:1, Galatians 3:28

To remain neutral in a situation where the laws of the land virtually criticized God for having created men of color was the sort of thing I could not, as a Christian, tolerate.

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Confess Your Mixed Motives

Author

Kent Annan

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, James 1:27, Isaiah 1:17, Romans 12:2, Galatians 6:9-10

In U2’s song “One,” Bono sings, “Have you come here to play Jesus / To the lepers in your head?”2 Yes, if you are involved in justice work, you probably have. So have I. This isn’t bad. Just honest. W...

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Author

Jonathan Walton

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, James 2:8, Romans 12:2, Luke 1:18-19, Matthew 6:33

Martin Luther King was shot because he preached and practiced allegiance to a different kingdom and rigorously opposed our present system.

Quote

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Keywords

Justice

Scripture

Matthew 23:23, Jeremiah 22:3, Proverbs 21:3, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17, Amos 5:24

You know my friends, there comes a time when people get tired of being trampled by the iron feet of oppression ... If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong, the Cons...

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One Night I Went to Church — Sermon Illustration Tuesday

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Justice

Scripture

Galatians 3:28, Romans 12:21, James 2:1-4, Jeremiah 22:3, Amos 5:24, Micah 6:8

One night I went to church Confronted by rampant inequality and discrimination built into the laws, Black Christians were a driving force in making the American public confront the racism in our mid...

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They Came for Me

Author

Martin Niemoeller

Keywords

Scripture

James 2:15-16, Hebrews 13:3, Matthew 25:35-36, Micah 6:8, Jeremiah 22:3

In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the...

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Almighty God, too often we settle for

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:18, Psalm 51:10, Isaiah 1:17, James 2:13, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:6

Almighty God, too often we settle for brokenness in our lives. Rather than offering forgiveness, we hold onto offense. Rather than pursuing justice, we turn away . Rather than offering mercy, we c...

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Rosa Parks & Helpful Comparisons

Author

Richella J. Parham

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:2, Luke 4:18-19, Ecclesiastes 3:7-8, Amos 5:24, Proverbs 31:8-9, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17

Very often, comparison to an ideal is a helpful practice, not a harmful one. Helpful comparisons are those that place a normal or ideal condition on one side of a scale and a real-life condition on th...

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Author

Miroslav Volf

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:21, Ephesians 2:10, Titus 1:16, Matthew 25:40, Romans 12:21, Isaiah 1:17, Micah 6:8

There is something profoundly hypocritical about praising God for God’s mighty deeds of salvation and cooperating at the same time with the demons of destruction, whether by neglecting to do good or b...

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One Night I Went to Church

Author

Fannie Lou Hamer

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:21, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 31:8-9, 2 Timothy 1:7, Psalm 27:1, Joshua 1:9

One night I went to church. They had a mass meeting. And I went to church, and they talked about how it was our right, that we could register and vote. They were talking about [how] we could vote out ...

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Author

Lesslie Newbigin

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17, Amos 5:24, Proverbs 21:15, Psalm 33:5, Isaiah 61:8, Psalm 106:3, Zechariah 7:9-10, Psalm 82:3, Jeremiah 22:3, Hosea 12:6, Deuteronomy 16:20, Jeremiah 7:5-7, Matthew 23:23

If we acknowledge the God of the Bible, we are committed to struggle for justice in society. Justice means giving to each his due. Our problem, as seen in the light of the gospel, is that each of us o...

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Preventing Vengeance

Author

Mia Levetan

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 4:8–15, Exodus 21:23–25, Micah 6:6–8 , Matthew 5:38–45, Romans 12:17–21, Psalm 46:9–10

I did some of my Clinical Pastoral Education Units in Gastonia. One of the units that I served was the Emergency Department. If there was an incident that was suspected to be gang related, they would ...

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Pursuing Truth Over Revenge

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Luke 23:34, Exodus 23:5, 1 Peter 3:9, Proverbs 24:17, Luke 6:35

During that time there was a pastor named Peter Miller, and all through his ministry in a small town in Lancaster County, he had a neighbor who took great pleasure in mocking and ridiculing Miller and...

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Deepening Our Attention

Author

Kent Annan

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 4:2, Amos 5:24, James 1:5, Philippians 4:6-7, Micah 6:8, Matthew 6:10

Simone Weil, a French philosopher, theologian and activist around the time of World War II, wrote a remarkable essay in which she connects the discipline of schoolwork with that of prayer. She argues ...

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What It Takes to Birth a Multi-Ethnic Church and a Just Mission

Author

Mekdes Haddis

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8

A House for All People Every summer my church hosts a week-long summer camp where children experience the beauty and majesty of the Lord. The first year we sent our daughter to it, she loved it and l...

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God of Wonder and Majesty–You are the

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Psalm 46:1, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 40:31, Philippians 4:6-7, James 1:17, Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 1:8

God of Wonder and Majesty–You are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End... our past, present and future. You’ve come in the past ...You’re here with us now ...and You’ll come again in power and g...

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Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:7, James 2:13, Psalm 85:10, Zechariah 7:9, Proverbs 21:21, Luke 6:36

Mercy, detached from Justice, grows unmerciful.

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The White Man’s Burden

Author

Kent Annan

Keywords

Justice

Scripture

Galatians 6:2-3, Matthew 6:1-4, Romans 12:10, Isaiah 58:6-7, 1 Peter 5:5-6, James 4:10, Micah 6:8

In the context of justice, I think what Christians need to confess about their pride isn’t so much about taking credit away from God but from the people we help. One version of this is sometimes refer...

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The Dark Side of the Web

Author

Andy Crouch

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Romans 12:21, Luke 4:18-19, James 1:27, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17

In October 2014 Wired magazine reported on the dirty work every social media company must somehow handle: moderating the deluge of exploitative, degrading content posted in unimaginable quantities aro...

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An Eye for an Eye

Author

James S. Hewett

Keywords

Scripture

James 2:13, Matthew 5:7, Zechariah 7:9-10, Proverbs 21:3, Micah 6:8

Zaleusus flourished as king of the ancient Greek Locrians in about 500 B.C. His government over the Locrians was severe but just. In one of his decrees he forbade the use of wine unless it were prescr...

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Struggling with Charity

Author

Kent Annan

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 13:16, Micah 6:8, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 19:17, James 1:27

On the fifteenth of each month, Alicia has thirty dollars withdrawn from her checking account to sponsor Belyse, a beautiful, brown-eyed girl from Kenya, who then gets school and a hot meal each day. ...

liturgy

Prayers of the People, Form III

Keywords

Scripture

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, James 1:27, Romans 12:15, Micah 6:8

The Leader and People pray responsively Father, we pray for your holy Catholic Church; That we all may be one. Grant that every member of the Church may truly and humbly serve you; That your Nam...

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