Everything That Rises

This week, I'm travelling with the youth from my church to camp in Virginia. Today, on the way to camp, we stopped for the day in Washington, D.C.(by the way, there is way too much to see in just one day). And now, as I'm finally ready for rest after a packed day in our nation's capital, I thought I might share a thought or two about what I experienced today. I was reminded that the true greatness of our country is not found in arrogant attempts at proclaiming such greatness, but in the humble ways in which so many women and men in this great land have fought (not only themselves but for) their sisters and brothers. They have not only fought on the battlefields of war. They have fought in the countless courtrooms of our nation seeking justice. They have fought in the state houses to pass laws to govern this great nation. They have fought from the Oval Office seeking to make the true and fair decisions that held the power to alter the course of human history. They have

To use as few words as possible, the simple answer to this question is “yes.” As a person of faith, particularly a person who follows Jesus Christ (a victim of the death penalty, mind you), I am of the conviction that every person is a bearer of the image of God. This is an ideology expressed by those who stand against abortion in the “pro-life” movement. I’m afraid, however, that most of their “pro-life” sentiments end at the maternity ward. It is my belief that being “pro-life” means I am against (unnatural) death, whether it be abortion, war, murder, or even the death penalty. The death penalty stands in stark opposition to being “pro-life,” because it is a practice that unnaturally ends the life of another human being. Furthermore, as a Christian I am convinced that the attitudes and reasoning behind the death penalty stand in contradiction to the teachings of Jesus. We still live with the motto “an eye for an eye…”, but Jesus says to us “if anyone strikes you on the right cheek,

*This is my most recent response for the "Religion Roundtable" for The Anniston Star (to be published 2/2/2013)             It is difficult for any of us living in the Western World, on this side of the Enlightenment, to find reality in something like demon possession. We live in the reality of science and medical research. If we see someone exhibiting behaviors that could be understood as demon possession, we chalk it up to a mental illness or perhaps a chemical imbalance. We have even looked back at Holy Scripture and the instances of demon possession in an attempt to explain them away as ancient misunderstanding of other illnesses. Now, I am not discrediting medical research or science (in fact I think more people of faith need to embrace science), nor am I looking to explain away the witness of ancient Scripture. I believe demon possession is a real thing, even in our Western, post-enlightenment world, because I see it all around us—only now the demons go by differe