Far too often pastors feel pressured to remain silent on Gospel issues because society has co-opted the issues into mere partisanship. If your pastor begins to speak up on issues of race, immigration, poverty, incarceration, and education, don't glibly assume this is because your pastor has "gone political." It's because your pastor is following her convictions on the implications of Jesus' Kingdom "here as it is in heaven." This is why Christians have historically stood up for healthcare, the imprisoned, refugees, and women considering abortion. Before Christianity was co-opted for partisan purposes, these causes were seen as integral to (not distinct from) claiming "Jesus is Lord."
Read Next
A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child. The righteousness of the righteous shall be their own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be their own. —Ezekiel 18:20
The TV Cart
In third grade at
This passage isn't about God punishing you for taking communion wrong. It's about what happens when the wealthy eat and the poor go hungry.
Certain ideas get so deeply embedded in the tradition—repeated so often, sung so confidently—that no one stops to ask whether the original actually says what we think it says.
This week: why Paul would kick someone out of church, the chaos monster hiding in your Bible, and what to call a group of TSA agents.
Subscribe to Parrott.ink
I write about the Bible, books, and what it means to be human — with a bias toward love and liberation. Free subscribers get two emails a week. Paid subscribers get a third, plus access to everything on the site.
Discussion