Opinion
Icon of the 21 Martyrs of Libya. Image courtesy of Tony Rezk.
Six years ago on Feb. 15, the world watched, horrified, as photos and videos circulated of the 20 laborers from Egypt and one from Ghana who were brutally executed by Daesh. The 21 Martyrs of Libya joined the ranks of thousands of Christians who came before them, whose stories of persecution they would have heard almost every time they went to church. Their modern Christian martyrdom stands in stark contrast to the largely imagined persecution trumpeted by the American Religious Right.
Dr. Francis Collins shares his journey of religion and science, and how he's found his harmony between the two.
Woman wearing red Make America Great Again hat praying at “Stop the Steal” rally in support of Donald Trump, Nov. 7, 2020. Photo by Brandi Lyon Photography.
This all could have been avoided: More prominent conservative Christian leaders and Christian media could have spoken out against the lie and reported the truth. Instead, many of them fanned the flames that led to this tragedy.
Volunteer hands out masks for coronavirus disease survival kits as part of an outreach program to the Black community to increase vaccine trial participation in Rochester, N.Y., Oct. 17, 2020. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario
Early in the pandemic, during one of my “church check-ins” over Zoom, I opened the floor for our members to share any challenges they might be facing as a result of the shutdown so we could be more responsive and supportive. After a few responses, the call went surprisingly silent. I prodded the group and one of our wisest, most active retirees surprised me with her contribution: “We’ve been through challenging times before. We are resilient people. We are okay.”
If the empathy debate teaches us anything, it’s that for all its power, empathy on its own will not solve our problems.
In Milwaukee, Wisc., a man wearing a "Trump 2020" sweatshirt uses a mobile phone during a "Stop the Steal" protest on Nov. 5, 2020. REUTERS/Bing Guan
“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free,” Jesus promised. I have been reflecting on that instruction and invitation from John 8:32 more than ever after these last four years, thinking about what Jesus is saying and, perhaps just as importantly, isn’t saying. He did not say to tell the truth in order to make us right and righteous, and them wrong and unrighteous — or to show some of us to be good and others to be evil.
President Joe Biden addresses the nation after his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/Pool/File Photo
I believe fervently in the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said that “the church is not called to be the master or servant of the state, but to be the conscience of the state.” In that vein, we will be neither chaplain nor sycophant to our new political leaders. Instead, we seek to be a faithful conscience, serving as a bridge-builder and offering prophetic critique (and pressure) when necessary.
Wallis and Curry share King's vision of a beloved community and a multiracial democracy.
The U.S. Capitol stands as Democratic lawmakers draw up an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump, Jan. 11, 2021. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
I have been filled with a divine rage since armed insurrectionists, instigated by the president, violently sieged our Capitol last week. There must be accountability. In one move toward that, 10 Republicans joined all 222 House Democrats in voting that President Donald Trump incited an insurrection. He is now the only U.S. president to be impeached twice. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and the nine other Republicans who joined her described their vote to impeach as a vote of “conscience.” Invoking that word made me thing of Martin Luther King Jr.’s wisdom—
Man sits in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office after invading the U.S. Capitol building with a mob of Trump supporters. Jan. 6, 2021. Photo by Saul Loeb / Getty Images
I have tried to find ways to speak about this country and its failure — failures that we have tried to preach about and write about and pray about; failures we sometimes try to ignore to salvage what little peace human beings can be afforded. This week, I witnessed the same terror so many of us did. I witnessed it all, and I am afraid, and I am angry.
President Donald Trump looks on during a campaign rally in Valdosta, Ga., Dec. 5, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
As faith leaders, we must call for the immediate removal of Donald Trump from office. There is great danger in the hands of a morally deranged president: the threat of martial law, his ongoing efforts to overturn a free and fair election, the potential of politically conceived war, and the unique danger of his destructive hands on the nuclear codes.
Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump protest in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith
Today we witnessed with shock and moral outrage that our democracy is fragile and in peril. Today we saw an assault on our democracy. We saw a violent insurrection turn what is normally a quiet but sacred procedure to certify electoral votes and ensure a peaceful transfer of power into a dangerous spectacle of sedition and political malfeasance.
President Donald Trump addresses a campaign rally in Dalton, Ga., on the eve of the runoff election to decide both of Georgia's Senate seats Jan. 4, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
What has been happening since the outcome of the November presidential election has been historic: continuous acts of sedition aimed at overturning the results of an American election by the current president of the United States.
Voters line up for the U.S. Senate runoff election, at a polling location in Marietta, Ga., Jan. 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Voter registration and turnout numbers — 3 million voters voted early and 76,000 new Georgia voters registered in time for the runoff — signifies the unprecedented sense of urgency and passion that Georgians are feeling. Georgia voting volume is on track to defy historical trends of general-to-runoff election turnout ratios.
Sister Helen Prejean speaks with Rev. Wallis about her 30-year fight to abolish the death penalty.
Photo by Tajmia Loiacono on Unsplash
I knew there were Christian slaveholders, Christian Nazis, and Christians who opposed the civil rights movement, but in my mind, these people were “Christians” — with scare quotes. These so-called Christians, I imagined, were either conscious hypocrites, using the guise of Christianity to seize and maintain power, or mindless followers of the status quo who never devoted real attention to prayer and scripture.
A few years ago I stopped making New Year’s resolutions and replaced them with what I call New Year’s affirmations. Resolutions can often feel like weights that cause you to sink under pressure and expectation rather than as flotation devises to lift you up in attaining your hopes and aspirations. Building on what has worked for me personally, I want to share some affirmations for our nation and world as well as for Sojourners work and mission in 2021.
Image via Soul on Facebook
Pixar’s latest film Soul, opens to the sound of a Queens, New York, middle school’s band class, led by Joe Gardner, a middle-aged, aspiring jazz musician. As someone who played the trumpet in my Queens middle school’s band, the discordant, yet earnest attempt at music immediately transported me back to Mr. Stier’s classroom in I.S. 109, circa 1992. Just as in Joe’s class, the walls of Mr. Stier’s room were covered with jazz posters; he wore a ponytail and, by my memory, he also had an earring.
Ballerinas Kennedy George, 14, and Ava Holloway, 14, pose in front of a monument of Confederate general Robert E. Lee after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam ordered its removal in Richmond, Va., June 5, 2020. REUTERS/Julia Rendleman/File Photo
Most years are a give and take, but 2020 lost its balance. It mainly took lives and gave news. Every justice story had a faith angle and every faith story had a justice angle. When the editors of Sojourners look back on this historical year, these four faith and justice stories will loom the largest.
Reading was the safest way to travel this year — sometimes to another decade and another brand of violence, sometimes to a different continent or a different galaxy altogether. Below are Sojourners' editors' favorite books of the year. Most of these books came out years ago, but by reading them through the lens of 2020, we found new wisdom, escape, resonance, and hope.