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Scene from Piatt family’s Pulp Christmas video/YouTube
We’ve created a Christmas monster: a grotesque assemblage of pagan, Christian and capitalist symbolism into something that resembles something we’re both attracted to and repulsed by at the same time. We’re fueled by an admixture of both guilt and greed, while the domestic economy pins its annual hopes on our propensity for spending far more than we have or want to spend.
All in the name of baby Jesus.
It seems that we have no means of escaping the vortex of materialism, partly because whoever is the first not to buy gifts is the cheap jerk who throws the whole transactional nature of gift-giving out of whack. But one Christmas, a few years back, my wife, Amy, and I had finally reached our limit. We were in the midst of our Financial Peace budget slim-down and Christmas spending was an obvious target.
Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo courtesy RNS/Auswandern Malaysia/flickr.com
The government of Malaysia expelled a group of Singaporean tourists for chanting Buddhist prayers inside an Islamic prayer room where they erected a large Buddhist painting on the wall facing Mecca.
The government also revoked the permanent resident visa of the businessman who allowed the Buddhists to pray at his beach resort in Johor state, about 185 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Muslim-majority Malaysia.
The government’s response is the latest in a series of crackdowns on behavior deemed disrespectful of Islamic traditions and beliefs.
As climate change takes its toll on the Earth, many people are paralyzed by inaction—perhaps not out of fear or guilt, but because of despair. To confront climate change, we may need to first deal with our sense of grief, argues Katharine M. Preston in “Mourning for the Earth” (August 2013, Sojourners).
Watch this film essay to learn more about the five stages of climate grief.
In “Waiting on God,” from the July 2013 issue of Sojourners magazine, Episcopal priest Linda Kaufman shares how she fell in love with Jesus all over again. While exploring myriad ways to know Christ, Kaufman watched “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” a TED Talk by Simon Sinek, which helped her realize that people make decisions based on values and belief rather than reason or logic.
Church in Massapequa, N.Y. offers help. Photo courtesy of Mike DuBose.
This week marked six months since Superstorm Sandy left entire communities devastated, families homeless, and many with little hope. But in the midst of this natural disaster, many banded together. As is true with many of our nation's tragedies, recent and throughout our history, communities form and hope emerges amid struggle. Sandy taught us about resilience. It showed us what it truly means to reach out, serve, and love our neighbor.
One young filmmaker in New York, Farihah Zaman, caught that resilience and acts of service on video. Here, she shows us how tragedy can turn into a joint effort to acheive the common good.
Japan and Siberia. Elements of this image furnished by NASA. ixpert / Shutterstock
Today is Earth day! More than 1 billion people in 192 countries are participating in Earth Day festivities, which means there must be some good videos out there on the Internet commemorating this occasion, right? Right. So here are the five of our favorites videos — in no particular order — celebrating the Earth and the day designated for it.
1. Where did Earth Day come from? Get some info about Earth Day.
Resources to help you join the battle to stop the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline
While many people continue to believe there is no climate crisis, those most affected by global warming—particularly in the global South—know otherwise. According to Sojourners magazine’s interview with Malawi activist Victor Mughogho, the “impacts are quite severe on the ground.”
Rose Marie Berger writes in the May 2013 Sojourners magazine cover story, “For God So Loved the World,” that people of faith are key to reversing climate change. It will take a holy power shift to compel God’s people to care for creation and “launch an irresistible force for change.”
In creative and bold ways, people of faith from various religious traditions are doing just that. Together, they are raising their voices and taking action to address climate change.
Be a part of the movement to redefine the public's perception of North Korea.
A half a century after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. penned “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King’s prophetic words continue to reverberate. In “To Redeem the Soul of America” (April 2013), author and historian Vincent G. Harding recounts his time with King and explains how King’s “living letter” impacts each of us today.
Watch this video to learn more about King’s historic letter.
Protesters marching with the social activist group CREDO for stronger gun laws. PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images
President Obama addressed the nation on Wednesday morning to establish a commission led by Vice President Biden on stronger gun safety laws. Gone was the passion of his address at the interfaith service in Newtown and in place we have back the above-the-fray politician.
However, one point was clear. “If we are going to change things,” he said, “it is going to take a wave of Americans … standing up and saying ‘enough’ on behalf of our kids.”
Will Obama’s address beat the National Rife Association’s messaging strategy?
On Friday, Dec. 21, the NRA will hold its first a press conference after the Newtown, Conn., massacre—and America’s first reasonable conversation on stronger gun laws will come to an end.
Video camera operator, © Rido/ Shutterstock.com
Our country just hit a tipping point. Leading up to the election, contentious posts filled our Facebook feeds, and bickering pundits caused more stress than is healthy. We split ourselves down the middle. But in the aftermath of the election, out of the rubble, a new consensus is forming—that we need to come together to solve the nation’s most pressing and impending problems.
We believe what we need right now is to come together and have a robust discussion about the “Common Good.” It’s an old concept that’s being reinvented by a new generation. From caring for our neighbors, whether next door and across the glove, it’s also the theme of Jim Wallis’ newest book, On God's Side, set to release from Brazos Press in early February of 2012.
Jim’s book is the beginning of the conversation, but he can’t have it by himself. An essential part of the common good is a multi-faceted, community-driven exploration of what that really means.
This is where you come in.
We’re looking for one- to three-minute submitted videos that examine what the common good means to you. We’ll send you an advance copy of Jim’s book for inspiration, and you take it from there.
The best part? We’ll pay you $1,000.
Afterwards, we’ll promote your video on all our platforms. You can expect nationwide publicity, and a huge bump in your viewership. Your portfolio will thank you.
Here’s the process:
Start applying today, November 16th. The application is HERE. It’s pretty straightforward. Submission deadline is December 10th, and we’ll let you know by the 12th if you’re 1 of 3 finalists. You send us a rough cut by January 16th, and a final cut on January 30th. January 30th comes, we get a final cut, and you get $1,000.
Want in?
From the Man in Black to the Beastie Boys and everything in between -- we give you a little compilation of video salve to help you get through election night.
What do you have to say about "living abundantly"? How do you deal with anxiety when you think about the future of churches?
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
~ John 10:6-10