This Month's Cover
Magazine

Sojourners Magazine: July 2010

Subscribe to Sojourners for as little as $3.95!

For those of us committed to principled nonviolence, there is something particularly troubling about a child with a gun. Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest who has spent many years helping people better understand the nexus between our inner and our outer lives, between contemplation and action, with a focus on male spirituality and boys-to-men initiation rites. In his cover article, Rohr explores some of the dangerous forces in our culture that, he would argue, mitigate against men being in touch with their inner selves, the consequences of this disengagement, and what society—and the church—can do to begin to address it.

Read our interview with Richard Rohr on men and violence.
Find more resources on equality for women and the church.
Learn more about intentional community, with extended interview content and a list of resources.

Cover Story

...and other lies we tell men. Why developing an inner life is essential to healing men from the explosive violence bottled up within.
Hard to believe, but some churches are still talking about male headship.

Feature

Palestinian Christians call for a nonviolent movement to end the occupation.
An intergenerational conversation on why we need Christian community, and where to find it.

Commentary

A real beginning toward global nuclear disarmament?
The U.S. Social Forum's alternative vision for our country and the world.
Why I remain a Catholic priest -- despite repeated scandal.

Columns

This law would force us to disobey Jesus and his gospel. We will not comply.
I am still pro-Israel, but I've also become pro-Palestinian.
Are parties becoming just another name for permanent divisiveness?
Knowing that we are going to die, how then should we live?
We're heading in a direction "not compatible with the planet to which life on earth is adapted."
I never look forward to my trips to Dallas, a red-state city short on political tolerance but long on congenial in-laws, who welcome me to their comfortable little patch of sagebrush while trying t

Culture Watch

A titanic struggle is being waged over the future of the internet.
How did you begin your work as a lawyer and activist? I think it was my vocation.
In March 2008, several fast-food employees found themselves on the wrong side of U.S. immigration policies.
The Complete Psalms, by Pamela Greenberg. Bloomsbury USA. Joyful Noise, edited by Robert Strong. Autumn House Press.
Made for Goodness: And Why This Makes all the Difference, by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu. Harper One.
Documentary films have the potential to both show us the world and change it.

Departments

Alabama-based BelieverBands has jumped on the silly-bandz wagon with its own stretchy evangelism.
I was glad to see the interview with Sami Awad (“Tear Down This Wall,” May 2010) advocating nonviolence as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While moving money from megabanks (“Time to Move Your Money?” by Jim Wallis, March 2010) is worth doing, where the money is moved to is critical; the “move your money” Web s
In May, a court in Brazil sentenced a second rancher to 30 years in prison for ordering the murder of Dorothy Stang, a Catholic Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, who worked in Brazil with small farmer
Since 1968, public high schools in most states have been administering a military aptitude test and providing the Pentagon with names, addresses, and phone numbers, detailed career plans, Social Se
Reflections on the Revised Common Lectionary, Cycle C
African-American women own significantly less wealth than any other social demographic, according to a report by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development.
In 2009, a mass grave, possibly the largest in Latin America, was discovered near La Macarena, Colombia, within sight of a major military base that is also used by U.S.
I agree wholeheartedly with Jennifer Hope Kottler’s “You Get What You Pay For” (April 2010). I would add that we need to have a say in where the taxes go.
Over chatter of starlings and grackles, you hear your father’s voice, confident and constant as bee hum in the backyard of your thoughts.
As a Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor, I once had a fascinating conversation with another person who worked for the PCUSA.

Web Extra

For more on building Christian community, Bob Sabath and Sondra Shepley suggest the following resources (but Bob cautions, “Books a community doth not make!”).
All We're Meant To Be by Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Nancy Ha
Community That Transforms (Extended Interview)
Richard Rohr is founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province.