Christianity can quickly devolve into caste systems, where faith communities are divided by the haves and the have-nots, the rich and the poor. Instead of unifying ourselves in Christ, we are dividing ourselve ...

The week of Christmas had always been an exciting time for my friends, my brothers, and me. We knew we would wake up on Christmas morning and find video games, toys, basketballs, clothes, and all of the things ...

Many Christians may be surprised to hear a sermon during Advent that focuses on challenging our cultural assumptions about the meaning of Christmas, but doing so may be the most faithful witness a pastor can o ...

For those who seek to follow Jesus we are challenged with one of his core teachings: "You cannot serve both God and mammon." Mammon: wealth, riches, money, stuff. Ther ...

I am not compelled to "reclaim" or "rescue" Christmas from the many who ignore and the few who despise its magnificent origins. Are you put out that a commun ...

I'm one of those lefty liberals that have declared a War on Christmas. Yes! Sign me up for the War on Christmas! But maybe not for the reasons you might imagine. Ah — I L ...

Let’s start “A Christmas Tithe.” Let’s spread the idea to our kids, our families, our friends and neighbors, and to the members of our congregations. Religion is far too judgmenta ...

Peace starts by altering our patterns of desire so that we can do the things that matter most – identifying with the needs of others, especially the poor. When you really dro ...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- In the days following Thanksgiving, there's already Black Friday and Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday to kick off the holiday shopping season. Now, a group of charities and corp ...

While November and December are supposed to center on celebrations of Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas, the emphasis has shifted with each passing year toward a collective carnival of capitalism, or in othe ...

I’m coming to terms with the realization that I’m a big, fat fake. But at least I’m in good company. I’m coming to terms with the realization that I’m a big, fat fake. But at lea ...

There’s the trend of “third space” ministry, getting out of the four walls of the church building and meeting people in different, typically “secular” contexts. Author and theolog ...

What seems to be glaringly absent from these vocal Christmas Crusaders is any protest against the gross consumerism, greed and selfishness that arrives every year with holiday season. ...

The Morning News: Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Census Shows 1 In 2 People Are Poor Or Low-Income Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of America ...

Even if Black Friday were not so terrible for working families, and even if it did not threaten to steamroll Thanksgiving under the weight of Christmas-season merchandising, I would still be opposed to it. Bla ...

In an international meeting last week with economists, business executives, non-profit organizational leaders, and theologians, my colleague Stewart Wallis of the New Economics Institute succinctly su ...

Anna has a heart for equipping churches to make small and big changes for the sake of creation care and stewardship of the earth's resources. How can Christians do this, you ask? Read our conversation to ...

The Hebrew scriptures recount time and again how God blesses the earth with enough provision and food for its inhabitants. The Hebrew scriptures recount time and again how God ble ...

<p><a href="/sites/default/files/images/101230-plowshares.jpg"></a>On December 13, a Tacoma-based jury declared five Disarm Trident Now <a href="http://ickevald.net/resistan ...

Many of us are asking how we can "un-co-opt Christmas" from consumer culture. Asking questions like:</p> Many of us are asking how we can "un-co-opt Christmas ...

When I picked up a copy of Daniel Schultz's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1935439146?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wwwbeckygarri-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9 ...

Yesterday, I asked some <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2010/07/07/we-must-ask-moral-questions-about-our-oil-addiction-part-i/">moral questions about our oil addiction</a>. ...

Our sins are hidden in our sanitation. Last week on the New York subway, I read an article about the connection between sanitation and self-deception. Our sins are hidden in our s ...

The recent blizzard of bunk coming from climate change deniers giddy over the recent Snowmageddon that paralyzed the nation's capital is a classic case of putting ideology and politics before scien ...

Tracey Bianchi God’s design for our lives includes stewardship of everything we have received. Most followers of Jesus give of their finan ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/finding-our-way-in-the-new-economy/"></a></p> I recently heard a clip on NPR referencing a new ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/finding-our-way-in-the-new-economy/"></a></p> 'Tis the season. As we get into the full ritua ...

Bishop James Jones A biblical vision for saving the earth. We describe ourselves in many different ways—for ex ...

Naomi Wolf, author of <a href="http://naomiwolf.org/the-beauty-myth-book/"><em>The Beauty Myth,</em></a> discusses how images fueled by consumerism are used against women. ...

As an urbanite fortunate to live within walking distance of work and trendy restaurants, I rarely drive these days. As an urbanite fortunate to live within walking distance of wor ...

<p>Halloween is over. I was standing in the kitchen tonight pilfering through the bowl of chewy, crinkly wrapped treats that my children acquired last night. Poor things. They do all the work of running ...

So I've been having a few interesting conversations about my book <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0830836284?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=sojo_blog-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp= ...

Cathleen Falsani “No pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater than central air.” — The demon Azrael in Kevin Smith’s film Dogma ...

Adam Hamilton ’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free, ’Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ours ...

In a <a title="http://www.nae.net/index.cfm?FUSEACTION=editor.page&amp;pageID=569&amp;idCategory=1" rel="#someid0" href="http://www.nae.net/index.cfm?FUSEACTION=editor.page& ...

In this clip, Pastor Efrem preaches from the book of Proverbs, specifically chapters 10-18, in which there is a contrast made between the righteous person and the wicked person. I ...

Ed Spivey Jr. With the nation facing fiscal uncertainty (actually, complete and absolute certainty—just like the in­evi­table wedgie I got ...

Elizabeth Palmberg In a society that glorifies thinness and individualism, the occurrence of eating disorders has risen sharply. How can C ...

In what ways do you find community and healing from our consumer culture's profoundly screwed-up body images, supersized portion size, and meals in front of the TV? Sojourners wants to know!</p> ...

<blockquote><p>It is often pointed out that some of the places most lacking in hope are not the industrial wastelands or the bleak landscapes shorn of beauty, but the places where there is too much ...

<em>Bible readings from the Revised Common Lectionary: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51; 2nd Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.</em></p> Bible readings f ...

That U.S. megaphone of amazing grace, Shane Claiborne, was recently moved to tears after witnessing a youth gathering in Australia. That U.S. megaphone of amazing grace, Shane Cla ...

Valerie Weaver-Zercher Helping parents resist the siren song of marketers. The branding of childhood is almost ...

<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W5t_VeoxZA"></a>As per usual, on Friday, we had all sorts of Buy Nothing Day festivities (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/economy-special-focus/"></a></p> <p>"Consumption" isn't a bad word. Even as we watch the excesses of the consumer eco ...

All of you who have a pulse know that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the single most crazy shopping day in the United States. All of you who have a pulse know that the Friday af ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/economy-special-focus/"></a></p> Since the early 1990s, a guerrilla campaign has been waged by ...

<p>The day after Thanksgiving, thousands of Americans head for the shopping malls for a ritual known as Black Friday, called such as it's a day when many retailers move from the red (losses) into th ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/economy-special-focus/"></a></p> I recently saw a promo piece on The History Channel for their sh ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/economy-special-focus/"></a></p> Last year, America spent $700 billion on oil imported from the M ...