Faith and Politics

Duane Shank 4-04-2011
Today is the 43rd anniversary of the martyrdom of Martin Luther King Jr. Although I never met him, I value his life and teachings more and more each year.

Jarrod McKenna 4-04-2011

"I had no idea Martin Luther King was a radical!" These shocked words were spoken to me this weekend after an activist training I'd been running in Sydney. I had the privilege to be part of the Make Poverty History "action lab" -- a "teach-in" for 15 young anti-poverty activists chosen from each state of Australia.

Jeannie Choi 4-01-2011

Afghanistan. Geography Game. @jimwallis. Here's a little round up of links from around the Web you may have missed this week:

Hannah Lythe 4-01-2011
When I was younger, I played by the rules. Everything had to be fair. The quantity of animal crackers in my possession had to be equal, not greater or less than my brother's.
Kierra Jackson 4-01-2011

I started running because of my sister. Kim and I began when we were pre-teens. I believed running was the key to making me more like her -- 5 foot 9, lean, beautiful, and highly intelligent. There was one problem: I hated running. After forcing myself to do it for a while, I was disappointed. My dreams of who I would become were dashed, and all I got from trotting around was a lower resting heart rate and bulky thighs.

Years later, much has changed -- including my relationship with running. Following her multiple-sclerosis diagnosis in 2009, Kim, who was once a long-distance runner, has retired her running shoes. She hasn't hit the pavement in more than one year. I still run. Something in my spirit won't let me quit.

Last weekend, I completed my fourth half marathon in Washington, D.C. As I toed the start line, a story began to unfold. At 7 a.m., it was barely 35 degrees outside and still dark. I was surrounded by a sea of 16,000 people -- all of whom were present for one thing: to put their bodies to the ultimate test. This morning was all about endurance.

As the old saying goes, 'In God we trust -- all others pay cash.' As our economy shows promising signs of recovery, the cash is not translating into jobs.
Ruth Messinger 4-01-2011
After my teenage granddaughter returned recently from a service experience in Uganda, sponsored by American Jewish World Service, she remarked that she would never again say she's "starving" on her
Ray McGovern 4-01-2011

WikiLeaks takes away the excuse of ignorance about military abuses abroad.

Michael McDonald 4-01-2011

New software may help the public have a greater voice in the crucial redrawing of voting districts.

Eboo Patel 4-01-2011

The whole idea of democracy is that the setiments of our fellow citizens have power; we put ourselves in each other's hands.

Sasha Adkins 3-31-2011

The April issue of Sojourners magazine takes on climate change denial. One challenge is that the truth is hard to face -- but, as scientist Sasha Adkins describes from personal experience, one strategy is to draw inspiration from the comforts of home.

The question that I am most often asked when I talk about my Ph.D. research on the impacts of pollution has nothing to do with my methodology or my data. It is, "How do you live with this knowledge? Where do you find your hope?" It's a good question. My research results on the impact of plastics on human health and the environment are often quite demoralizing to hear. More than once when I am presenting them, an audience member has literally started to cry.

I took a year off from my environmental studies program to search for the answer to that very question, to find hope -- but this time, instead of turning to peer-reviewed journals for answers, I turned to my cats. I asked them if they would be willing to try living without fossil-fuel heat for the winter.

John Cook 3-31-2011
The reasons for raising doubts about the human causes of global warming, explains Skeptical Science's John Cook, are often political rather than scientific.
Jim Wallis 3-31-2011

Since our fast began this past Monday, I've been re-reading one of the classic books on spirituality by my friend Richard Foster,

Hannah Lythe 3-31-2011
[Editors' note: As part of Sojourners campaign to end the war in Afghanistan, we will run a weekly Afghanistan news digest to educate our readers about the latest news
Jim Wallis 3-30-2011

"How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

Debra Dean Murphy 3-30-2011

At the end of Roland Joffé's exquisite film, The Mission, a brief exchange between a Portuguese ambassador and a papal emissary sums up the tension between globalization (the movie's subject matter) and a worldvi

When President Obama addressed the American people and the world on the military operations in Libya, he spoke of a responsibility to act.
Julie Clawson 3-30-2011
When I was in high school as part of my participation in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, I had to write what was called an "extended essay" -- basically an essay of the (then) extreme
Jim Wallis 3-29-2011

 

[Editors' note: During the season of Lent we will be posting excerpts from the Rediscovering Values Lenten Study Guide. We invite you to study God's word with us through these posts.]

Duane Shank 3-29-2011
Last evening, President Obama forcefully defended his decision to launch airstrikes against Libya in or