opinion

Tom Ehrich 2-07-2012
"Facebook" illustration via Wylio http://www.wylio.com/credits/Flickr/3185202042

"Facebook" illustration via Wylio, http://www.wylio.com/credits/Flickr/3185202042.

Even though I use Facebook frequently, I doubt my usage pattern will justify a $100 billion valuation for the company or send a new crop of Silicon Valley paper millionaires to Ferrari dealerships.

I never click on sidebar ads, I immediately block all games, and I have no intention of using Facebook's virtual money. I've done some advertising -- to little effect -- and will do more, but not much.

On the other hand, I find Facebook intriguing, sobering and oddly encouraging. To me, Facebook is an intriguing window on the world. It's the raw stuff of human diversity, not filtered through self-serving politicians or media summaries. When I decided to "friend" people whose views differ from mine, little did I know how much we differ.

Name an issue — say, the recent dust-up over breast cancer funding for Planned Parenthood — and I read not only the rage and indignation of fervent extremes, but deep divisions within the sensible middle. The hope that we could find common ground by moving to the middle could be delusional. Divisions are still there, but maybe they're just calmer.

Austin Carty 9-22-2011
I wrote yesterday of Peter Rollins' new book Insurrection.
Ernesto Tinajero 8-31-2011

The evangelical world expands to a far-off horizon and the topographical valleys and peaks cover landscapes that are both long and wide. Many in the media seem to have little knowledge of how large of a space the evangelical map covers. So, with this said, I welcomed Ross Douthat's thoughts in Monday's New York Times. His column, "American Theocracy Revisited," places good markers on the fears that Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann's presidential runs are nothing more than an attempt at theocracy.

In much of the coverage of these two campaigns, the evangelical world gets flatten, stereotyped, and portrayed as only coming from one narrow point. Whether or not you agree with this view, the fact remains that any group that includes Miroslav Wolf, Jim Wallis, RC Sproul, Rick Warren, Joyce Meyers, Philip Yancy, Chuck Missler, Rob Bell, Albert Mohler Jr, TD Jakes, Amy Grant, Tony Campolo, Lucy Swindoll, Debrah Joy Winans, and so many more hues and colors of evangelicalism should not be placed in one bag and shaken into one lumpy mess, while saying that any one of their diverse views politically are the one true color. I know many will view this list and say who should or should not belong, and then justify their choices. A coherent political agenda could not be drawn from such a list of people. But following Jesus and making Jesus known in the world is at the core of each of these people's identity. Many on the list may disagree as to the best way to provide for the widows and orphans, but all would agree that we must care for them.

Debra Dean Murphy 7-07-2011

I couldn't bear to watch any of the coverage of the Casey Anthony murder trial. I heard snippets of information on occasion: intimations of incest; a car that "smelled of death"; fist fights breaking out as the curious and obsessed (or the profoundly bored?) tried to get a seat in the Florida courtroom.

Hannah Lythe 6-23-2011
[Editors' note: As part of Sojourners' campaign to end the war in Afghanistan, we will run a weekly Afghanistan news digest to educate our readers about the latest n
Julie Clawson 6-10-2011
I was at the pool with the kids recently and couldn't help but overhear a very loud and opinionated conversation happening near me.
Hannah Lythe 6-02-2011
[Editors' note: As part of Sojourners' campaign to end the war in Afghanistan, we will run a weekly Afghanistan news digest to educate our readers about the latest n
Brian McLaren 5-13-2011
On my personal blog, I traced my journey on the issue of homosexuality and explored the cha
Jeannie Choi 4-22-2011

Monks. Al Franken. Oysters. Here's a little roundup of links from around the Web you may have missed this week:

Hannah Lythe 4-07-2011
[Editors' note: As part of Sojourners' campaign to end the war in Afghanistan, we will run a weekly Afghanistan news digest to educate our readers about the latest new
Andrew Simpson 3-08-2011
Reading the recent headlines of immigration news has hardly been uplifting, with multiple state legislatures attempting to pass http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/29/arizona-style-imm
Jim Wallis 3-04-2011

I like teachers. My three sisters are teachers in the public schools. They are all very good teachers; Teri won teacher of the year in her district. Two of my wonderful brother-in-laws are, or have been, teachers. One of my nephews just got accepted to Teach for America.

Eugene Cho 2-24-2011
In a pluralistic world of a plethora of thoughts, ideas, philosophies, and worldviews, it makes total sense to me that Christians need to be equipped and engaged in "contending" for the gospel.

Elizabeth Palmberg 2-21-2011
If corporate fronts designed to look like grassroots efforts are known as http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/10/who-lit-the-fire-under-the-right-wing-po..." target
Agree with her politics or not, Lara Logan is charting territory in which we still see very few women as the chief foreign correspondent at CBS News.
Jeannie Choi 2-04-2011

Rosa Parks. Football Injuries. Egypt. Here's a little round up of links from around the Web you may have missed this week:

Ernesto Tinajero 1-14-2011
A bullet discharged. Then another. And another. And another. And suddenly, a grocery store is transformed from the mundane to the horrible, hell on earth. People lay dead.
Duane Shank 5-25-2010
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut attorney general and Senate candidate, got himself into hot water last week when news accoun
Kathy Khang 4-16-2010
I have a problem. My internal filter doesn't always work.