Blog Posts By God's Politics Editor

 Lord, not only in the roar of a hard rain, but in the dousing, dipping, drenching of our baptism, call us to live into that new life that is your resurrection. Amen. - From Common River

Today it is not nearly enough merely to be a saint; but we must have the saintliness demanded by the present moment, a new saintliness. - Simone Weil + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

Lord, make it second nature for us to do what is right in your sight. Make us more concerned with abiding by the tenets of your kingdom than by human law. Amen. - From Common Prayer

God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female God created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and master it. Take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and everything crawling on the ground.”  - Genesis 1:27-28 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

White smoke billowed from the chimney atop the Vatican's Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, followed by bells ringing from St. Peter's Basilica — signaling the election of a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio, 76, current Archbishop of Buenos Aires, will be Pope Francis I.It took just two days and four votes for the 115 members of the College of Cardinals to elect the new pope.We will continue to update you as more information is released. 

The White House announced today the appointment of Melissa Rogers as new director of its Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. In a statement, former director Joshua DuBois called Rogers a "leader on religion and public life" and a "stalwart advocate for religious freedom." He added:Melissa is also a committed Christian and lifelong Baptist.  She is active in her local church – I know that Melissa has taught youth Bible study, she and her family volunteer with the church food pantry, and she takes care of infants in the church nursery – and she truly cherishes the role of people of all faiths and belief in American public life.Sojourners president and CEO Jim Wallis released the following statement: I’m privileged to know Melissa Rogers as both a valued colleague and a friend. Over the course of her career she has distinguished herself by her ability to thoughtfully and knowledgeably bring her faith and her understanding of the law to bear on important questions of public policy. Her genuine spirit and concern for others has earned her the trust of people on different sides of issues. Her deep competence on legal and policy matters will be very helpful in her new role. She will serve both the White House, the country, and the faith community well in this new position. I can't think of anyone who would have been a better choice for this key job at this critical time. Melissa is widely respected and trusted in the faith community, and many of us will support and assist her in any ways we can. Good choice, Mr. President!

I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against the sorcerers, the adulterers, those swearing falsely, against those who cheat the day laborers out of their wages as well as oppress the widow and the orphan, and against those who brush aside the foreigner and do not revere me.  - Malachi 3:5 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

On March 7, 1965, 600 people began a march toward Montgomery, Ala., from Brown Chapel AME in Selma. The group, let by civil rights activists like now-Congressman John Lewis and Rev. Hosea Williams, were stopped by state troopers on horseback. When the marchers refused to back away — standing their ground on the Edmund Pettus Bridge — the troopers attacked, beating, trampling, and tear gassing the participants.Today, that bridge made famous on Bloody Sunday, was declared at National Historic Landmark, along with 12 other sites, by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

When you harvest your land’s produce, you must not harvest all the way to the edge of your field; and don’t gather up every remaining bit of your harvest. Also do not pick your vineyard clean or gather up all the grapes that have fallen there. Leave these items for the poor and the immigrant; I am the LORD your God.  - Leviticus 19:9-10 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

I am your message, Lord. Throw me like a blazing torch into the night, that all may see and understand what it means to be a disciple. - St. Maria Skobtsova, + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

Lord God, when the hungry are fed, the sick healed, the lonely made family, the outcast brought in, the sinner forgiven, the tyrant transformed, and the enemy reconciled, we know your work by the fruit it produces. May our lives bear fruit worthy of your name. Amen. -From Common Prayer

You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy labourers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. - Deuteronomy 24:14 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

The Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday confirmed White House adviser John Brennan as CIA director on a 12-3 vote. The Democratic Senate leadership is attempting a quick vote, but ran into a problem as a filibuster began. The Associated Press reports:“Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., stalled the chamber as he took to the Senate floor to complain over what he said was President Barack Obama's failure to adequately answer questions about the legality of conducting lethal drone strikes against targets inside the United States. The Obama administration has said it does not intend to conduct such strikes."'No American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found guilty of a crime by a court,' Paul said. 'How can you kill someone without going to a judge, or a jury?'"Sen. Paul began speaking about two hours ago, you can watch HERE.

The princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within you suffers extortion; the orphan and the widow are wronged in you. - Ezekiel 22:6-7 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

People must not only hear about the kingdom of God, but must see it in actual operation on a small scale perhaps and in imperfect form, but a real demonstration nevertheless. - Pandita Ramabai + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

As the morning casts off the darkness, Lord, help us to cast aside any feelings of ill will we might harbor against those who have hurt us. Soften our hearts to work twoard their conversion and ours. Amen.

But Paul replied, ‘They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.’ - Acts 16:37 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Over the past two years, an alliance of faith, law enforcement, and business leadership has come together to forge a new consensus on immigrants and America. These relationships have been built through outreach in the evangelical community; the development of state compacts in Texas, Indiana, Utah, and Iowa; and regional summits in the Mountain West, Midwest and Southeast, where faith, law enforcement and business constituencies are strongest and support for immigration needs a boost.Sojourners has been an active partner in this new alliance. As a founding member of the Evangelical Immigration Table, we have worked to lift up faith voices in the immigration debate and drive a new immigration discussion based on moral values. In order to build momentum and increase collaboration, we’ve launched "Bibles, Badges and Business for Immigration Reform" (BBB) as a national network of faith, law enforcement and business leaders working together to educate and support members of Congress. 2013 presents a major opportunity for immigration reform, and this rising network of allies will become a driving force in the renewed effort.In the video below, Sojourners’ Jim Wallis and Lisa Sharon Harper discuss the importance of working with other constituencies to enact commonsense immigration reform.

Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. - Jeremiah 22:3 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Praised are You, Adonai our God, Guide of the Universe, who creates innumerable living beings and their needs, for all the things You have created to sustain every living being. Praised are You, the life of the Universe. A Jewish Blessing

You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. - Exodus 23:9 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Mary Sanchez, op-ed writer for the Kansas City Star, offers in her column something many of us probably didn’t know:“There’s a little-known fact about guns in America, and it’s one that the firearms industry and its political allies don’t like to dwell on: The rate of gun ownership in America is declining.“This has been the case for decades. Rates peaked way back in the 1970s, the era of disco balls and bell bottoms. In 1977, 54 percent of American households reported owning guns. In 2010, the last time the General Social Survey data was compiled, the percentage had shrunk to 32.”Sanchez concludes that the strong opposition to anti-gun violence measures is driven more by the need of gun manufacturers to sustain their market than it is about the Second Amendment.