Shane Claiborne is a Red Letter Christian and a founding partner of The Simple Way community, a radical faith community that lives among and serves the homeless in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. He is the co-author, with Chris Haw, of Jesus for President. His newest book is Executing Grace: Why It is Time to Put the Death Penalty to Death.

Posts By This Author

One More Gun Death Too Many -- and Three Things You Can Do About It

by Shane Claiborne 02-08-2010

At about midnight we heard the shots ring out. My friend ran to the door and I heard him yell, "Shane, a kid has been shot, come down." As we looked down the street we could see a young man staggering as he walked down our block. Then his knees gave out and he fell to the ground. We called for an ambulance and ran outside to be with the boy.

How I Came to Write an Apostolic Letter to Non-Christians in Esquire

by Shane Claiborne 11-23-2009

As some of you know (though I know not many of you keep up with the latest men's magazines) -- Esquire magazine's end of the year "Best and Brightest" edition named me one of the "Radicals and Rebels Who Are Changing the World"... but I wanted you to know the story behind the hype.

Beat the Defense Budget into a Plowshare

by Shane Claiborne 11-11-2009
Almost exactly 4 years ago, more than 100 faith leaders from around the country went to jail together as we prayed for a moral budget and lamented the current one.

Remember 9/11, Lament Violence, Invest in Peace

by Shane Claiborne 08-28-2009
As we remember the eighth anniversary of the Sept.

40 Ways to Celebrate Interdependence Day on July 4

by Shane Claiborne 06-23-2009
It's wild how easily we get sidetracked from Holy days by holidays, and how quickly we can smother our central identity in Christ with other identities such as our national identity.

The Two Futures Project: Who Would Jesus Bomb?

by Shane Claiborne 05-06-2009

Why I Got Arrested on Good Friday

by Shane Claiborne 04-21-2009

"Good" Friday was real good this year. We remembered Jesus, and we remembered Jesus disguised in the "least of these" -- those who continue to be tortured, spit on, slapped, insulted, misunderstood

50 Ways to Love Your Neighbor

by Shane Claiborne 04-14-2009
With the National Day of Prayer coming up (May 7), a lot of folks around the country are organizing prayer services in church sanctuaries and town halls.

When Jesus and Justice Kiss

by Shane Claiborne 01-29-2009

It seems that much of our conversation as a Church is in a perpetual cycle of reaction. We are tempted to exaggerate the neglected truth, and end up making incomplete disciples, either social justice disciples without Jesus or Jesus disciples without social justice. Then there are those special moments where Jesus and Justice kiss.

Buy Nothing Day as Advent Activism Against the Demon Mammon

by Shane Claiborne 12-02-2008

As per usual, on Friday, we had all sorts of Buy Nothing Day festivities (check out the video here). But that's not what I want to talk about.

A Prayer for a New President and a New America

by Shane Claiborne 11-07-2008
God of Abraham, Miriam, Hannah, Rizpah, and David...
God of Elijah, Amos, Ruth, Isaiah, Deborah...
God of Mary, John the Baptizer, Peter, Paul, Philemon and Onesimus...

Voting as Damage Control

by Shane Claiborne 10-30-2008
Every day I am asked how I will be voting.

Jubilee on Wall Street: Reimagining God's Vision in Action

by Shane Claiborne 10-06-2008

More Baby Steps as We Crawl Toward Reconciliation

by Shane Claiborne 09-02-2008

Baby Steps as We Crawl Toward Reconciliation

by Shane Claiborne 09-02-2008

[see all posts in this conversation on New Monastics and race.]

Vonetta and Jason, first I want you to know that I am deeply grateful for the conversation you've invited and stirred with our private conversations and now

Advise Everyone... Endorse No One

by Shane Claiborne 07-14-2008

As we pass the half-way point of our Jesus for President tour, we remember Jesus' admonition that we be "as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves." There is a lot of momentum around our little campaign of political misfits - from some of the mainstream media and from the dozen cities where we've had thousands of folks come together to plot goodness. And with the [...]

An Alternative July Fourth Celebration

by Shane Claiborne 07-08-2008

'Twas truly a gift to be at the 25th anniversary of the Cornerstone Festival, hosted by our friends at Jesus People USA. It was a mighty fine line-up of presenters--folks like William Cavanough, Mimi Haddad, Jonathan Case, Miroslav Volf, Jim Fitz, and the Christian Peacemaker Teams (oh, and some fine bands too). We especially enjoyed the company of our new friends Karen [...]

Holy Mischief: 40 Years after the Catonsville 9 and the 'Fracture of Good Order'

by Shane Claiborne 05-19-2008

This past weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the historic action of the Catonsville 9. On May 17, 1968, nine men and women entered the Selective Service Offices in Catonsville, Maryland, removed several hundred draft records, and burned them with [...]

Video: Creative Anti-War Action

by Shane Claiborne 04-02-2008

Here is a brilliant video from an action around the 5th anniversary of the war ... Yes Lord, more holy mischief! Watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/v/Da6HL3j2AHg&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" [...]

Good Friday at Lockheed Martin

by Shane Claiborne 03-25-2008

The Cost of War

In our little circles, we've been talking a lot about the need to create new holidays and rituals of remembrance as a Church