Rather than telling people caught in desperate sin how far their sin has removed them from God, why not invite them to come to worship? Think of how much difference there is between saying “Stop being such a s ...

Last week was one in which what God envisions for our world seemed so very, very far away. Last week was one in which what God envisions for our world seemed so very, very far a ...

Throughout the United States, people of faith are on the front lines of the effort to replace life-without-parole sentences for children with age-appropriate accountability measures that focus on rehabilitatio ...

Because I’m a believer in people – and more so – because I believe in the power of redemption, reconciliation, and restoration, I want to see Manti Te'o do well – not just as a football player – but as a ...

For many centuries Christmas Day worshippers have been hearing these words as their New Testament reading: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all” (Titus 2:11). Grace, everyone used to k ...

It’s not surprising that a third of my peers say they are religiously unaffiliated. Our religious lives are too complex these days to fit in neat boxes with one-word labels. I may be a “Christian,” but does t ...

NEW YORK — Manhattan was a traffic nightmare as the United Nations General Assembly was in session and security precautions ramped up. Iran's president gave his usual insulting address. Israel's prim ...

Swimming against a global tide of religious violence and political polarization, about 550 religious and humanitarian leaders met recently in the birthplace of St. Francis to propose a new way forward: love an ...

At its heart, both the Sikh and Amish message is that of the indomitable human spirit, guided and inspired by faiths that practices peace, particularly when it is met with quite the opposite. ...

Anne Marie Roderick Concrete, Steel, and Paint, directed by Cindy Burstein and Tony Heriza THOSE OF US who ar ...

I thought I’d offer a final list of things to do rather than pop off with these phrases that may mean little or nothing to the recipient, or worse, may cause unintended – but lasting – harm. ...

But shouldn’t we be the first ones to come alongside those who have fallen to show mercy, love, grace and compassion? Of all people in this world, shouldn’t Christians always root for restoration? ...

When people commit an offense against us, our natural inclination is to commit an offense against them. Not just any offense, but an offense that is bigger, badder, and one that hurts far more. We call this re ...

On Ash Wednesday, Catholics and many others will walk around with ashen crosses (or, by the end of the day, what look like indeterminate smudges) on our foreheads. Those ashes are strong symbols of core princi ...

I, for one, am quite willing to join the "forgive, forget and move on" crowd, but it does make me wonder if Evangelicals are going to sound believable when they say that they tend to vote Republican ...

Everybody needs forgiveness. But it’s hard to face that. It feels threatening, like an accusation. So we tend to get defensive and start justifying ourselves, rather than seeing the one we’ve hurt. ...

Brittany Shoot Contrition seems more popular than ever. THE RITUAL, LANGUAGE, and practice of forgiveness hav ...

Yesterday Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber announced a moratorium on all executions in the state Yesterday Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber announced a moratorium on all executions in the ...

A (usually) twice-daily round up of news related to Sojourners commitments to social justice and the poor. THE KANSAS CITY STAR : In 'God's Country': Voting Wa ...

An afternoon round up of news related to Sojourners commitments to social justice and the poor. A (usually) twice-daily round up of news related to Sojouners commitments to ...

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the ...

An eye for an eye, a life for a life. This is one way -- based, some argue, in scripture and biblical ethics -- that proponents of capital punishment justify the death penalty. ...

Today Religion News Service reporter Daniel Burke has an absolutely stellar, exclusive interview with Terri Roberts, the mother of Charles Carl "Charlie" Roberts IV, who, on Oct. ...

September 18 was National Back to Church Sunday. It's OK. I missed it, too. September 18 was National Back to Church Sunday. It's OK. I missed it, too. ...

The Gate of Forgiveness, Jerusalem. Photo by Deror Avi. The Gate of Forgiveness, Jerusalem. Photo by Deror Avi. In the wake of Troy Davis' exe ...

When I was growing up, there was a house down the street from us which had slightly tattered window coverings and the front lawn was like a graveyard of broken things. When I wa ...

Americans have a hard time knowing how to respond to the sins of our colonial past. Americans have a hard time knowing how to respond to the sins of our colonial past. Excep ...

Ten days after 9/11, Rais Bhuiyan, an immigrant from Bangladesh, was working at a gas station in Dallas, Texas when a man walked in with a gun. Thinking the store was being robbed, Bhuiyan opened the cash regi ...

Smack dab in the middle of the Lord’s Prayer, obscured by old translations and otherworldly assumptions, is a radical cry for Jubilee justice “And forgive us our debts, as we al ...

Is it just me, or does anyone else think it's kind of weird how we've named Thomas, "Doubting" Thomas. We don't give the other characters in the New Testament little nicknames ... ...

In Christian confession, Good Friday is the day of loss and defeat; Sunday is the day of recovery and victory. In Christian confession, Good Friday is the day of loss and defe ...

Our ability to love others who have sinned against us flows out of our real experience of Jesus forgiving our own sins. Our ability to love others who have sinned against us flows ...

This past <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/palm-sunday/" target="_blank">Palm Sunday</a> marked the beginning of Holy Week for Christians -- a week of remembering Jesus' s ...

Here's a name for you: Rollen Stewart. Born Feb. 19, 1944. Ring a bell? Here's a name for you: Rollen Stewart. Born Feb. 19, 1944. Ring a bell? You probably know who he ...

I've been fascinated watching an earlier blog hunker down into a strong debate about Israel and the Palestinians (February 22, "<a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2011/02/22/when-will-3-5-million- ...

Sometimes when I'm bored I kind of like to fill in sound effects that I think the crowd listening to Jesus might have responded with. Sometimes when I'm bored I kind of ...

I haven't had the energy to sit down in a while to blog. Somewhere between the multiple Google calendars and multiple modes of communication life over-shared with me.</p> ...

In the November issue of <em>Sojourners</em>, Rose Marie Berger <a href="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&amp;issue=soj1011&amp;article=celebrate-the-peace-para ...

It's been ten years since the <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/jubilee/" target="_blank">prophetic call to Jubilee</a> was made in 2000. It&# ...

<p style="text-align: left;"><em>[</em><strong><em>Editor's note</em></strong><em>: The Senate will be voting on the <a href="https://secu ...

Humility is not easy. Humility is not easy. After all it shares the same root word as "humiliation." But the humility that allows us to say we are sorry and to change ou ...

<em>Emergent Village will be hosting its annual Theological Conversation this year in Atlanta, GA from Nov. Emergent Village will be hosting its annual Theological Convers ...

<p><a href="/sites/default/files/images/100809-heather-afghanistan1.jpg"></a><a href="http://www.iam-afghanistan.org/">Ten more lives were lost in Afghanistan last w ...

As a writer with a public blog, I've become used to getting hate emails. Sure, some people might leave offensive comments on a blog, but the real vitriol gets reserved for emails. ...

Certainly one of the most puzzling remarks in Paul's writings is found in 1 Timothy 2:15, "But <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/women/">women</a> will be saved through <a hr ...

A friend tells me that she finds it difficult nowadays to admit that she is a Catholic. A friend tells me that she finds it difficult nowadays to admit that she is a Catholic. My ...

I've become used to seeing images of protests on the news recently. I've become used to seeing images of protests on the news recently. While a few years ago these were ...

Utopia. It is the place that is no place. It is the reality that does not yet exist. It is the political economy that has no politics or economics. Yet. A utopian vision is important. ...

We live in an increasingly partisan world. This is not news. But it's the news "business," in many ways, that has made it so.</p> We live in an increasingly ...

On the papal plane, <em>Shepherd One</em>, en route to Portugal to visit the <a href="http://www.sacred-destinations.com/portugal/fatima-shrine-of-our-lady-of-fatima" target="_bla ...