The Common Good

God's Politics Blog

Rejecting Intolerable Rhetoric

by Ian Danley 02-29-2008

In Arizona it is clear that the immigration issue is more than just a political debate; human lives hang in the balance. Families we have come to love are finding themselves in increasingly desperate circumstances. For us the question to the church seems clear: "Who will speak for those denied a voice?" Locally the rhetoric has become intolerable as families - families in our churches, [...]

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I Love My Name

by Omar Al-Rikabi 02-29-2008

The Cost of War

My parents had an agreement: If my father could name his children, then my mother could raise us in the church. So I was given a full Muslim name, but I was baptized as a Christian. Growing up I never really liked my name very much - Omar. For a little kid in Texas, a foreign [...]

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Fresh Fellowship

by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson 02-29-2008

The Global Christian Forum is a new phenomenon bringing together Christian churches from throughout the globe and the different parts of the Christian community - from Pentecostal to Catholic, historic Protestant to Orthodox. In the March issue of Sojourners, Wesley Granberg-Michaelson [...]

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Defending the Facts on Obama's Faith

by Jim Wallis 02-28-2008

I don't endorse political candidates, but I will defend them when it becomes necessary. On this, I agree with my friend, Richard Land, the conservative Southern Baptist leader who is often identified with the Religious Right. Richard and I agree that faith has a place in politics and, when we agree on fundamental moral questions, have worked together. Richard says, "I have [...]

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Brothers and Sisters at the Borders

by Rev. Samuel Rodriguez 02-28-2008

In the past year, political expediency, xenophobia, and extremism defeated reason, compromise, and reconciliation in the immigration debate. The level of animosity directed towards the immigrant community, particularly the Latino community, stands at an all time high. We cannot stay silent.


The world once again bears witness to the actions taken, not just by our Congress, but by the [...]

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We the Purple

by Marcia Ford 02-28-2008

A few weeks ago, as I was reading David Kinnaman's book unChristian-a look at the way late teens to 30-year-olds perceive Christianity-I found myself nodding in agreement. Not only did I fully understand this younger generation's negative attitudes, I've also harbored many of those same opinions over the years. And today, in no arena of life is this more evident than in the political sphere, where partisanship in the church has repelled [...]

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Bloodshed in Northern Iraq

by Michele Naar-Obed 02-27-2008

The Cost of War

In what has been described as the largest cross-border attack since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the Turkish military is now into its 6th day of a ground offensive inside the Kurdish [...]

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Video: Jim Wallis and Diana Butler Bass on CNN

by Administrator 02-27-2008

Watch it:

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Prison Praise Music

by Nadia Bolz-Weber 02-27-2008

I'm always a bit anxious in new worship environments. As I settle into my plastic chair at New Beginnings Lutheran Church, I realize that now is certainly no different. At least, I think to myself, my cell phone won't go off in worship; it was confiscated by the guard before I went through the metal detector.

New Beginnings is a congregation on the inside of the Denver Women's Correctional Facility, and I've come with three others from my own community to share in their worship service. [...]

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A Religious Landscape Ripe for Revival

by Jim Wallis 02-26-2008

I haven't yet read the whole study released yesterday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life titled, "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey," just some of today's news reports. But what I have read confirms what I see on the road every week. U.S. citizens are on the move religiously. Many people are not staying in the churches of their upbringings. "This is not your parents' church," many now could say as they [...]

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