Ryan Rodrick Beiler was the Sojourners web editor from 1999 to 2010. He currently works as a freelance photojournalist based in Oslo, Norway. 

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This Blinking Little Light of Mine

And you thought Mel Gibson'

And you thought Mel Gibson’s portrayal of Jesus’ crucifixion went too far. Magic Matt’s "Crucifix Body Light" fashions our Lord with blue, red, and yellow LEDs that blink in an alternating pattern akin to an airplane. Designed to be attached to your earlobe, collar, or anything else

Faux News

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 06-01-2004
Laughter may be the best medicine for bad news.

Windows into War

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 02-01-2004

The quiet outrage of James Nachtwey's photography.

Suffering Servants

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 05-01-2003
The persecuted peacemakers of the Colombian churches

Worth Noting

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 11-01-2002

When this book was published, the Committee to Protect Journalists had just named the West Bank as "the worst place to be a journalist." 

After the darkness, dawn

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 09-01-2002
Against all odds, Palestinian Christians seek resurrection in Bethlehem.

Many Christians who support Israel out of a fundamentalist Zionism forget that they have Palestinian brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer under the occupation. Collective punishments through fences, walls, checkpoints, and curfews fail to distinguish between the violent and the nonviolent. Israeli soldiers often do no better, as civilian casualties mount in their war on terror.

"We are all traumatized," said Elias Mishrawi, a Christian Palestinian businessman and political activist from Beit Sahour. "We no more know what is normal life.... Not only do I not see a light at the end of the tunnel. I don't see a tunnel."

While such despair is prevalent among Palestinians, following are the stories of three Palestinian Christians living and working in hope of peace while confronting the violence of occupation.

On April 4, 2002, Rev. Mitri Raheb was detained by Israeli soldiers as they ransacked the compound of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, smashing windows, computers, and artwork. That attack, and the curfews that followed, have set back, but not squelched, a vision rooted in nonviolence and "contextual theology."

After a seminary education in Germany gave him answers to questions his people weren't asking, Raheb asked himself: What is good news for people who hear bad news every day?

The Aroma of Christ

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 11-01-2001

Ever since I gave Jesus a ride, my car smells like urine.

Don't Have a Sacred Cow, Man!

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 09-01-2001
The Simpsons' love-hate relationship with religion.

Noise and Nuance

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 07-01-2001
Left and right, Sudan's finally getting much needed attention.

Hemispheric NAFTA-Shocks

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 05-01-2001

On the day the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect, the Zapatista movement began—a rebellion, they said, against the forces of globalization on behalf of the rights of indigenous Mexicans.

Teach Your Children Well

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 03-01-2001

Leading Venezuelan educators and critics of President Hugo Chavez are calling his creation of 500 schools constructed and supervised by the military a political program for "ideological indoctrin

Human Rights Assaulted in Guatemala, Colombia

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 11-01-2000

Despite presidential apologies and lip service to human rights, the Clinton administration continues to offer aid to the Guatemalan and Colombian militaries...

Briefly Noted

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 11-01-2000

On September 9, five Catholic nuns were arrested after entering Peterson Air Force Base, headquarters of the U.S. Space Command...

A Move to Ban Cluster Bombs

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 11-01-2000

The movement against land mines has achieved moderate success since the mine ban treaty became international law in March 1999.

Globalizing Justice

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 11-01-2000

In August, the Chilean Supreme Court stripped Gen. Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution for the kidnapping, torture, and murder of thousands of people during his 17-year rule.

Resources for study and action

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 11-01-2000

Plain and Simple

Police! Put down the puppet, now!

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 11-01-2000

As movements against the harmful effects of globalization are gaining strength in the United States, activists are increasingly outraged at some police behavior employed to control them.

Chiapas' New Bishop

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 09-01-2000

As Bishop Samuel Ruiz, liberation theologian and champion of Chiapas’ indigenous peoples, faced mandatory retirement at age 75, many feared what would come next.

A New Branch of Government?

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 09-01-2000

Protesting campaign finance corruption and the "dumb or dumber" choices of many current elections, activist filmmaker Michael Moore is asking Americans to vote for potted plants...

World Bank Says 'Oops' on Past Projects, Okays New Pipeline

by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 09-01-2000

It’s not just civil wars, AIDS, or other diseases that have brought suffering to sub-Saharan Africa in recent decades.