The human immune system keeps us healthy and alive through violence against intruders who would do us harm. “Natural killers,” aptly named, are one type of cells in our immune system. Without the benefit of any prior exposure, they naturally seek out and destroy harmful cells. We rely on such violence within our bodies to be healthy.

Simply put, love is attention.  It is not complicated to pay attention to your thoughts, emotions, sensations, and urges.  It is not rocket science to stop, sit, and listen to another person who needs your time and focus. 

This July 4th, America will celebrate 245 years of independence from British rule. However, when President Joe Biden signed into law Juneteenth as a  federal holiday, it forces Americans to take a sterner look at what this July 4th means. 

Over the weekend, the second annual Trans Resistance March (TRM) and Rally took place. Noticeably missing, guiding and participating in the march from Nubian Square in Roxbury to Franklin Park Playstead, was the presence of police and law enforcement. Numerous chants were heard along the route from marchers, revelers, and onlookers, bringing attention to many of the issues the black transgender community confront specifically. One chant was, “No racist police!”

I’ve always assumed that the grief Mary Magdalen expresses at Jesus’ tomb had a particularity to it. We know that he had cast seven demons out of her and that she supported his ministry out of her own purse. I do not know what it is like to be a woman 2,000 years ago who was the village demoniac, but I cannot imagine it was a pleasure.

For all of you grieving the loss of someone you love — whether this loss occurred last week, last year, or decades ago — I hope you find some comfort in these words, too. I hope you have the courage to tell the truth about your loved one: the good, the bad, and the complex. And that you don’t break faith with the full spectrum of your feeling, from mourning to dancing.

After a yearlong Covid imprisonment, Americans are celebrating liberation over Memorial Day in 2021. Masks are coming off, signs tell us businesses are hiring, and confidence is growing that the emergency is over. We celebrate because we think liberation is upon us—but the party has started before the victory is secure.

What is the grace referred to in the 5th point of Progressive Christianity, which says that Progressive Christians “Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning with an open mind and open heart, than in absolutes or dogma.

Jim Burklo attunes the reader to Jesus’ voice in “Tenderly Calling”. It is an invitation for those starting the path of Jesus, as well as for those setting out afresh. He invites the reader into the depths of the Bible’s transformative myth and poetry, into the practices of Christian contemplation, and into action, building the kingdom of heaven and earth.

Paul learned from his encounter what it means to be a human being. He was shocked and deeply disturbed when he came to understand the limitations and weaknesses of his human nature. His sense of moral superiority was expunged from his consciousness.

A number of writers have been quietly working behind the scenes on a project called How to Heal Our Divides — where we’re bringing together practitioners of what Brian McLaren calls “un-division” to share their wisdom and stories.

Very little of the 19th century theology and practice, designed precisely for coexisting comfortably with slavery and segregation, has been reformed. From colonial America on, white Christians have literally built – architecturally, culturally and theologically – white supremacy into an American Christianity that held an a priori commitment to slavery and segregation.

William Blake had quite the year in his home city of London in 2019.  The Tate Britain Museum had a major exhibition of his extraordinary multifaceted art, something it does every twenty years or so.

Before we can move on, though, we need to be honest with ourselves. Before we can get to the prayer, “Create in me a clean heart” (51.10), we have to face our sins. Saying, “Create in me a clean heart,” reflects an inner desire for God’s purification. The words are a confession of our need for change. It’s so easy to point to the killer, the public official who said the wrong words, the rioters at the Capitol, the conspiracy theorists, and the anti-vaxxers. We say, They’re the ones with a problem. They are the hateful ones. Not me.

When we talk about the reproductive justice movement, we mean the movement founded by Black women that is a part of the larger movement for reproductive health in the U.S. and globally.

Rev. Mark Sandlin is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) from the South. He currently serves at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. Mark also serves as the President and Co-executive Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org.

Questioning Capital Punishment with Sr. Helen Prejean is a five session DVD study featuring one of the world’s leading authorities and outspoken critics of state-sponsored execution.

As long as everyday Christians avoid the marketplace of ideas, extremist Christians will seem the prevailing voice of Christianity and/or the church. As Bishop Spong has said, religion is like a public pool: all the noise comes from the shallow end.