Christians serve a Lord who was beaten, marred, and crucified by a power that routinely tortured and killed those it considered its enemies. The crosses of the Roman imperial order were ominous realities and nefarious practices of a republic that had lost its way and long ago yielded to the temptations of power. Torture of any human being, (if by this we mean the inflicting of excruciating pain on someone) including those who are considered the most heinous criminals, diminishes our common humanity. People of different faiths, humanists, and atheists throughout history have warned of the scars that torture leaves not only on the body but on the soul, psyche, and conscience of the tortured, the torturer, and the society that condones these practices.

Continue »

While I do not hold to a hierarchy of sins I do believe that all sins do not impact the neighbor in the same way. Sin alienates us from God, our fellow-human beings, and the rest of creation. Certainly, the impacts of these sins are exponentially increased when they are exhibited in systems and powers that exert influence and power over others. Reinhold Niebuhr warns us that the dangers of hubris, pride, envy, greed, lust, etc., are heightened in groups.

In my observations of the worst of contemporary culture (there is much in it also to celebrate), I am concerned with how consumerism and ethnocentrism is tearing our world apart. In short the sins of prizes (how many things can I own) and pride.

Continue »

The Question: Which "ism" is more entrenched in America, sexism or racism? Which should religion address?

Emmanuel Levinas argues that much of Western thought "suffers from an allergy to the other." All over the world this is demonstrated through the unlimited lists of isms; sexism, ageism, racism, classism, etc. There is no monopoly on hatred of the other.

This reality is manifest in the ill-treatment and prejudice against people because they belong to a certain demographic which is different from our own. The histories of genocides, slaveries, concentration camp internments, and holocaust against groups like Armenians, Jews, Native Americans, African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, are all examples of the sin of racisms and xenophobia. In addition, the history of patriarchy and kyriarchy has left too many women ill-compensated, marginalized, exploited, abused, raped, and murdered at the hands of a society that sees woman as less-than man.

Continue »