The Common Good

Results for Life and Peace

Boston, Bombs, and the Scandal of God’s Criminal Justice
Originally Posted: 04/17/2013 - 8:48am | Type: Blog

As we journey forward in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy, may we be confronted and comforted by the reality of God’s abundant grace. I am tormented by what took place at ...

On Scripture: May April Tragedies Bring May Justice
Originally Posted: 04/17/2013 - 4:50pm | Type: Blog

texts for this week,  Psalm 23  and  Revelation 7:9-17 , speak defiantly to death calling ...

Sandy Hook families, gun advocates hold vigil on Capitol Hill until Senate passes bill
Originally Posted: 04/16/2013 - 4:35pm | Type: Press

April 15, 2013 Sojo in the News Veronica S. ...

Atheists Find a Sunday-Morning Connection with Other Nonbelievers
Originally Posted: 04/16/2013 - 4:48pm | Type: Blog

Sunday mornings at Houston Oasis may look and feel of a church, but there’s no cross, Bible, hymnal, or stained glass depictions of Jesus. There’s also nary a trace of doctrine, dogma, or theology. ...

All Eyes On Washington
Originally Posted: 04/16/2013 - 3:26pm | Type: Press

April 11, 2013 Sojo in the News Rabbi Mark Sameth ...

Suburban growth pushes politicians toward gun control
Originally Posted: 04/18/2013 - 1:51pm | Type: Press

April 12, 2013 Sojo in the News Philip Rucker ...

US Senate agrees to debate ambitious gun bill
Originally Posted: 04/16/2013 - 2:53pm | Type: Press

April 12, 2013 Sojo in the News Michael Mathes ...

How to Respond to a Marathon Massacre
Originally Posted: 04/16/2013 - 2:49pm | Type: Blog

“How do you defend against terrorists?” asked a colleague, as we processed news reports of two bomb explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. “How do you defend a ...

At makeshift National Mall graveyard, clergy demand gun control
Originally Posted: 04/18/2013 - 2:13pm | Type: Press

April 11, 2013 Sojo in the News Lauren Markoe ...

Sikhs joins other religions demanding strict gun control laws in US
Originally Posted: 04/16/2013 - 2:36pm | Type: Press

April 13, 2013 Sojo in the News NDTV.com ...

Christendom, Bias, and The End of Religion
Originally Posted: 04/16/2013 - 2:07pm | Type: Blog

Yesterday the Barna Group offered up a very interesting analysis of post-Christianity in the United States. But when we talk about the end of Christianity, which Christianity are we talking about? ...

Justin Bieber at the Anne Frank House: Our Addiction to Scandal
Originally Posted: 04/16/2013 - 10:53am | Type: Blog

On Saturday, the pop culture icon Justin Bieber visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam while on a world tour. At the end of his visit to the museum, Bieber wrote a message in the guest book. ...

Today, We Pray for Our Enemies
Originally Posted: 04/16/2013 - 8:49am | Type: Blog

It is in times and tragedies like those that happened in Boston that our call to pray for our enemies is most difficult. May we be faithful to pray for them despite our circumstances. ...

Where Idolatry Rages, Prophets Speak Out
Originally Posted: 04/15/2013 - 6:14pm | Type: Blog

Guns are dangerous idols. ... While the idolatry rages on, prophets are beginning to speak out. Guns are dangerous idols. While mass shootings are happening at an alarming rate an ...

DRONE WATCH: Four Killed in Pakistan Attack
Originally Posted: 04/15/2013 - 3:03pm | Type: Blog

First drone strike in nearly a month kills four in Pakistan.   On Sunday evening, the first U.S. drone attack in nearly a month killed at least four people in Pakistan. T ...

‘Death Cafes’ Normalize a Difficult, Not Morbid, Topic
Originally Posted: 04/15/2013 - 2:26pm | Type: Blog

The casual get-togethers are held at coffee shops, restaurants and, recently in Atlanta, at the historic Oakland Cemetery. Hosts are social workers and chaplains — no professional association, philosophy, or r ...

Pope Francis Orders Overhaul of U.S. Nuns to Continue
Originally Posted: 04/15/2013 - 2:17pm | Type: Blog

Nearly a year after the Vatican announced a makeover of the largest umbrella group for American nuns, Pope Francis has directed that the overhaul of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious continue. ...

God and Country: Jim Wallis’s biblically based challenge to Washington.
Originally Posted: 04/15/2013 - 1:55pm | Type: Press

April 15, 2013 Sojo in the News Paul Begala ...

Poll Says Muslim Brotherhood Has Soured Americans on Egypt
Originally Posted: 04/15/2013 - 1:51pm | Type: Blog

The Islamic political party known as the Muslim Brotherhood has soured American attitudes towards Egypt, arguably America’s most important Arab ally, since its candidate Mohamed Morsi won presidential election ...

Jackie Robinson’s Faith Missing From '42' Movie
Originally Posted: 04/15/2013 - 12:17pm | Type: Blog

A new film about Jackie Robinson, titled “42″ — the number he wore during his historic career — tells the triumphant story of how the Civil Rights icon integrated professional baseball by playing for the Brook ...

The Common Good Amid Individualism
Originally Posted: 04/15/2013 - 11:54am | Type: Blog

As Americans, we live in a culture that is hyper-individuated, fragmented, and dehumanizing as it pushes a mantra of success based on material accumulation and power. Being in community with others is the coun ...

Is There No Cure for These?
Originally Posted: 04/15/2013 - 9:49am | Type: Blog

Could the common bond of Jesus’ prayer bring two opposing views into the same room in a shared search for understanding and action? Or are the formative cultural experiences so determinative that faith and rel ...

I Share a Dream for the Common Good
Originally Posted: 04/12/2013 - 5:01pm | Type: Press

April 11, 2013 Sojo in the News Donna Jean Freberg ...

Pastor Jim Wallis Back To Being Political
Originally Posted: 04/16/2013 - 3:28pm | Type: Press

April 12, 2013 Sojo in the News WFSU-FM ...

How Will I Know I Have Given Enough?
Originally Posted: 04/12/2013 - 2:07pm | Type: Blog

I am advocating that individual Christians and church communities stop thinking of serving others as a line in a budget of many competing priorities, and begin to think about emulating God’s grace as central t ...

Our Nation's Graveyard: Clergy Demand Gun Control at National Mall
Originally Posted: 04/12/2013 - 11:07am | Type: Blog

Clergy from California to Connecticut created a makeshift graveyard symbolizing victims of gun violence on the National Mall on Thursday as they exhorted Congress to pass legislation to limit access to firearm ...

Obama Awards Catholic Army Chaplain Medal of Honor
Originally Posted: 04/12/2013 - 10:46am | Type: Blog

A candidate for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama Thursday at the White House. A candidate for sainthood in t ...

Immigration reform gets personal for evangelicals
Originally Posted: 04/12/2013 - 12:18pm | Type: Press

April 11, 2013 Sojo in the News Adelle M. Banks ...

More Than 3,300 Gun Deaths Since Newtown; Faith Leaders Say 'Enough'
Originally Posted: 04/11/2013 - 1:05pm | Type: Blog

Today, on the National Mall, I stood with fellow faith leaders, including clergy from Newtown, to remember lives lost at Sandy Hook elementary school and the 3,364 gun deaths that have happened since. ...

White House Council Calls for Action on Modern-day Slavery
Originally Posted: 04/11/2013 - 11:28am | Type: Blog

With a 36-page report released Wednesday, the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships hopes to build awareness of the estimated 21 million people worldwide who are subjected t ...

I Will Miss David Kuo
Originally Posted: 04/11/2013 - 11:20am | Type: Blog

David always believed that our faith should shape our politics, not the other way around. David Kuo was a good friend of mine. After a decade long battle with brain cancer, David ...

Meet the ‘Catholic NRA’
Originally Posted: 04/10/2013 - 5:21pm | Type: Blog

Among the Catholic faithful, not everyone supports gun control measures. Call them the NRA Catholics. As the Senate takes up a heated debate over gun control and background checks ...

21 Million People Live in Bondage Worldwide, Says Report
Originally Posted: 04/10/2013 - 4:56pm | Type: Blog

Human trafficking is one of the top-grossing industries in the world, and claims another victim nearly every 30 seconds. President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, a group ...

Local Natives and Salvation
Originally Posted: 04/10/2013 - 3:52pm | Type: Blog

The passion translates into fresh, catchy indie rock laden with eclectic beats, rich harmonies, huge swells, and lots of “Ohs” that may eventually have — dare I say it — mainstream success. In a culture that’s ...

Witnesses to Trauma: Faith Leaders Stand Up for Gun Violence Legislation
Originally Posted: 04/10/2013 - 3:53pm | Type: Blog

For many pastors of urban congregations, “stepping up” to end gun violence stems from a very personal place — as they have been forced to bury their own neighbors and church members. ...

Vatican Gets Behind Adult Stem Cell Research
Originally Posted: 04/10/2013 - 1:23pm | Type: Blog

Wading into one of the most controversial fields of modern medicine, the Vatican is pushing adult stem cell research as ethical and scientifically more promising than embryonic stem cell research. ...

DRONE WATCH: Drone Killings in Pakistan
Originally Posted: 04/10/2013 - 11:45am | Type: Blog

New classified details of drone program in Pakistan revealed. After years of secrecy, the leaks of classified information on the drone killing program in Pakistan have turned in ...

On Scripture: Repairing Our Grief
Originally Posted: 04/10/2013 - 10:56am | Type: Blog

artistry has come into play, for now beside a charcoal fire Jesus will interrogate Peter ( 21:15-17 ). ...

Can a Catholic Hoops Conference Save College Sports?
Originally Posted: 04/10/2013 - 9:07am | Type: Blog

Amid the college sports tumult, a brand-new basketball conference composed almost entirely of Catholic schools is set to emerge this summer, which some say could point the way toward a new, or perhaps old-fash ...

North Carolina Minorities Remain Worried After Religion Bill is Pulled
Originally Posted: 04/09/2013 - 4:08pm | Type: Blog

A resolution to allow North Carolina to defy the Constitution and establish a state-sanctioned religion may be dead in the state capitol, but minority faiths say there’s more than enough reason to remain nervo ...

HKS Panel Encourages Religion in the Public Sphere
Originally Posted: 04/09/2013 - 10:43am | Type: Press

April 9, 2013 Sojo in the News Bharath Venkatesh ...

Gay at A&M: Saying 'Religious Liberty' When We Mean 'Control'
Originally Posted: 05/12/2013 - 2:26pm | Type: Blog

The notion of religious liberty has lately conveyed an impoverished attitude toward the common good among Christians. Namely, “we’ll pay for what we like, and won't pay for what we don’t.” ...

DRONE WATCH: The Next Drones?
Originally Posted: 04/09/2013 - 11:34am | Type: Blog

Surveillance drones may be used in Korea, will armed drones follow? While there appears to be a lull in drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen, are the next targets being prepared? ...

DRONE WATCH: A Secret Deal on Drones
Originally Posted: 04/08/2013 - 4:54pm | Type: Blog

How the drone program began in a secret deal between the CIA and Pakistani intelligence. How did the drone assassination program begin? In a front page feature Sunday, The N ...

Pope Francis and a New Vision of Catholic Reform
Originally Posted: 04/08/2013 - 3:50pm | Type: Blog

From the very first moment of his unexpected election as Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina has embraced a series of small departures from established tradition. ...

Jim Wallis on Serving the Common Good
Originally Posted: 04/08/2013 - 2:57pm | Type: Press

April 5, 2013 Sojo in the News Religion and Ethics Newsweekly ...

Jim Wallis Talks Faith's Role In Politics, Gay Marriage And Immigration
Originally Posted: 04/08/2013 - 2:54pm | Type: Press

April 5, 2013 Sojo in the News Jaweed Kaleem ...

March Madness and How To Love Thy Rival
Originally Posted: 04/08/2013 - 2:44pm | Type: Blog

Here’s an example of how Jesus ruined sports for me. Watching sports is not as much fun as it used to be. I blame Jesus for that, because  he just had to say : “Love thy ...

Vitriol Infests Rick Warren Family’s Grief
Originally Posted: 04/08/2013 - 2:58pm | Type: Blog

A shocking number are taking the moment of media attention to lash out at Warren on their digital tom-toms. The attacks are aimed both at him personally and at his Christian message. ...

Jim Wallis on the Common Good
Originally Posted: 04/08/2013 - 10:04am | Type: Press

April 7, 2013 Sojo in the News Joshua DuBois ...