Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Current Events

10 News Stories That Prove 2016 Wasn't All Bad

by in Current Events

There’s no denying that a lot of bad stuff happened in 2016, but it’s also worth remembering that some really great things happened this past year. Here are ten of them:

February 12: Pope Francis met with Patriarch Kirill in the first meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.

July 4: After a five year journey, NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter.

July 26: Solar Impulse 2 became the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.

September 30: Two stolen Vincent Van Gogh paintings, missing since 2002 and valued at over $100 million, are recovered.

October 15: More than 150 nations agreed to begin phasing out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

November 2: The Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years.

November 30: India opened the largest solar plant in the world.

December 4: The Department of the Army announced that it would not allow the North Dakota Access Pipeline to be drilled under a dammed section of the Missouri River, giving the Standing Rock protesters a major victory.

December 10: Bob Dylan became the first songwriter ever to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and Patti Smith performed his song “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” at the awards ceremony.

December 22: A new vaccine against the Ebola virus was shown to be 100% effective.

 

Photo via Pixabay.

Dan Wilkinson
Dan is the Executive… [Read more…] about 10 News Stories That Prove 2016 Wasn't All Bad

It's Hard to Go to Church in Trump's America

by Holly Love in Current Events

It’s hard for me to go to church these days.

It’s hard for me to give up my precious, fleeting family time to transport my toddler across town, stand in a room with people I don’t know and listen to a sermon that’s just a little too long. It’s hard to go by myself with my son when my husband is working, and it’s hard to go as a whole family on my husband’s Sundays off, when we would really rather be doing something else together. It’s hard to make the effort. Especially now.

The truth of the matter is that it’s hard for me to go to an evangelical church in the wake of Trump’s election. I don’t think I belong there anymore.

I don’t belong with a group of people that by and large believes Trump is worthy of being president.

I feel uprooted, disoriented. Homeless. The evangelical church is the body into which I was born and raised, where I was educated and how I came to faith. I’m not sure where to go next.

Knowing that 80% of white evangelicals voted for Trump, I was interested to see how the leaders at our new church here in Atlanta would handle the election aftermath. Would they be silent about it? Call for unity? Reference it obliquely? Or speak out against Trump’s nativism, racism, mysogyny, etc.?

On the second Sunday after election day, the pastor at church preached a sermon on living out the gospel in everyday life. I was cautiously hopeful that he would reference the obvious elephant in the room, but he didn’t get any more explicit than saying something like “our… [Read more…] about It's Hard to Go to Church in Trump's America

Let Love Reign! Never Trump-ism!

by Chuck Queen in Current Events

“Love is patient, love is kind … it is not rude, it is not self-seeking … Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor. 13:4-6). Let love reign! Never Trump-ism!

Forgiveness for injustice does not mean support for injustice. Let love reign! Never Trump-ism!

“Love is the most durable power in the world. This creative force, so beautifully exemplified in the life of our Christ, is the most potent instrument available in mankind’s quest for peace and security.” (King, Jr.) Let love reign! Never Trump-ism!

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). Let love reign! Never Trump-ism!

God saves humanity through humanity. Time to get to work! Let love reign! Never Trump-ism!

“My patriotism is not an exclusive thing. It is all embracing and I should reject that patriotism which sought to mount upon the distress of the exploitation of other nationalities. The conception of my patriotism is nothing if is not always, in every case, without exception, consistent with the broadest good of humanity at large.” (Gandhi) Let love reign! Never Trump-ism!

So, what’s this about? My plan is to begin my daily postings on my… [Read more…] about Let Love Reign! Never Trump-ism!

Crying out in the Wilderness: A Lamentation

by Matthew Distefano in Current Events

Here we are, as a species, teetering on the edge of ruin. We’ve flattened Syria with our implements of death. We’re obliterating each other all throughout Africa, the Middle East, in Southeast Asia, and so very many other places. North Koreans are living in a dystopian society that looks akin to something George Orwell dreamt up. Women are oppressed far and wide. So too are folks who identify as LGBTQ. So too are racial and religious minorities. Stock markets are volatile. So too are the world’s currencies. Our answer to violence, continually and overwhelmingly, is more violence. And when that violence doesn’t work, like the warmongers that we are, we try yet more.

On and on this “sacred” cycle goes. Why? Because, like Heraclitus aptly said, violence is the [false] structuring principle of reality and war is the father and king of all (Fragments 53 and 80).

Are we not all then just a bunch of damn hypocrites?

I believe we are.

Because, for one, we are all made in God’s image, and God is emphatically nonviolent. Hence, our true Self is emphatically nonviolent. So all this retributive, religious, and state-sponsored, sacrificial sacred violence that humanity engages in comes from a different source, namely, the satan, or, in other words, us. How hypocritical! And yes, that especially includes us Christians, for we should know better, considering our God’s commitment to nonviolence was such that he allowed himself to become stapled to a… [Read more…] about Crying out in the Wilderness: A Lamentation

Three Things I’m Asking from Church Leaders and Prophetic Voices

by Jesse Birkey in Current Events

I’m 34 years old and I’ve never seen the nation as fractured and divided as it is now. Maybe some of you have, and there might be a few of you who have experienced worse. Perhaps one of my closest friends was right when he said that the most fractured periods were in every single moment leading up to this one. It’s just that the division is getting attention on a large scale.

Maybe one of the benefits in all of this is that we are finally being forced to look at the filth, the sewage that keeps us from truly loving each other. But it’s only beneficial to notice the junk if there’s a plan to do something about it. Information alone does nothing to bring change to anyone or anything. It’s application, the courage to move, that brings transformation.

And that’s what I’m calling for here. This is my voice, my desires, but I hope it echoes the cry of many other hearts because we are the ambassadors of Christ. We are the laborers in the field with tools designed to cultivate love, honor, respect, and unity. Reflecting the perfect love of God to the world is an assignment that has been given to each person claiming that Yeshua is their Lord and Savior, that he is their friend.

It’s a love that heals, restores, and unifies. It draws people in and elevates relationship to the top of the priority list. It’s no wonder that this kind of love is the central theme in the two greatest commandments ever given: Love the Lord your God and Love your neighbor as yourself (Matt… [Read more…] about Three Things I’m Asking from Church Leaders and Prophetic Voices

For Those Who Are Not Ok

by Holly Love in Current Events

Well.

Donald Trump has been elected the next president of the United States.

How is that sitting with you today?

I teach English as a Second Language (ESL) to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at an “inner city” elementary school in Atlanta. All but one of my 45 students are Latino, primarily 2nd generation Mexican-Americans. And this week has been, by far, the worst since I began teaching seven years ago.

I’m not sure which was the worst moment this week:

On Wednesday, when 2nd graders who can barely speak English asked me why Donald Trump and other white people in America don’t like them, and one boy said brightly, “Mrs. Love, I’m white too, look!” as he held his arm up next to mine to compare our skin colors.
On Wednesday, when my 5th graders asked me very detailed questions about when and how their parents (and possibly they themselves) would be deported. “How do we get papers for our parents? Is it too late now?” “What do we do when the police come to our house? Do we try to hide or…?”
When I tried to offer reassurance that everything would be ok, these same students said, “You keep saying it’s going to be ok but it won’t be. It will be ok for you, but not for us.” And they are right.
On Thursday, when multiple 4th graders told me their families were planning to preemptively move back to Mexico or Honduras before January 2oth. These are places these children have never known except through brief visits, if that.

As a reminder if you’ve been living… [Read more…] about For Those Who Are Not Ok

Trumpeting the Call: What lies ahead for this "great, Christian" nation?

by Matthew Distefano in Current Events

“Make America Great Again.”

We all know the line. And we all know who coined it. But what does it mean? More specifically, what does it mean according to Evangelical Christianity, considering it is they who had the biggest hand in electing Mr. Trump as our next President?

Well, I guess over the next 4 years at least, we are going to find out.

We will find out if the United States of America focuses on what are considered traditionally “Christian” issues. We will find out if we turn our attention to the “least of these,” something Jesus himself emphasized and is, in fact, precisely how he states that the nations are judged (Matt 25:31–46). To that end, a great Christian nation will feed the hungry and welcome in strangers (Matt 25:35), will clothe the naked and care for prisoners (Matt 25:36).

We shall see if this happens.

A great Christian nation will also refrain from lording over others (Matt 20:25). Rather, it will be great by not expecting to be served, but by serving (Matt 20:28). This is the cup of those proclaiming to be “Christian” (Matt 20:23), and so it too is the cup of a “Christian” nation. That cup is about servitude and enemy forgiveness. That cup is what Jesus drank the night before uttering forgiveness for all from a Roman cross. It is also the cup the early Christians drank, as they collectively offered forgiveness to their persecutors. So will this “great Christian nation” drink the same cup?

Again, we shall see.

A great Christian nation will… [Read more…] about Trumpeting the Call: What lies ahead for this "great, Christian" nation?

Things We Don't Talk About: DAPL and the Doctrine of Discovery

by Christina Krost in Current Events

I recently heard Mark Charles, a Navajo speaker, writer, and advocate, give a lecture on the Doctrine of Discovery. The Doctrine of Discovery was when the Church in Europe, through a series of Papal Bulls from 1452-1493, instructed the nations of Europe to go and conquer lands and people not ruled by Christian rulers. These indigenous people were considered less than human, and their sacred lands were for the taking.

This attitude extends through our nation’s history as reflected in the treatment of Native Americans from Columbus to the present day, and is hiding in plain sight in our revered historical documents like The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution. And its modern-day effects are being seen in the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) opposition in North Dakota.

If this is news to you, I am sorry. I am sorry our educational system has not undertaken this difficult topic, and instead of using it as a starting point for healing it’s been buried and forbidden. Many would prefer not to talk or think about it, proclaiming, “What does the past have to do with me? What am I supposed to do about it?” Many are ashamed of this part of our history, but by not working through it we may be doomed to repeat it. What we need is lament and reconciliation to our land and our native peoples.

One could argue that we live in a time where the question is not whether we are racist or not, but whether our racism is explicit or implicit. We are all racist, some of us are just… [Read more…] about Things We Don't Talk About: DAPL and the Doctrine of Discovery

How Does Identifying with the Kingdom of God Affect Our Political Participation?

by Tim Chastain in Christian Issues, Current Events

This is not a partisan political article; it promotes no political party and no candidate at any level. Rather, it raises the question of how our being part of the kingdom of God influences our voting and political participation and whether being part of the kingdom of God should even matter in our positions on political issues.

It is about five weeks until the polls close on the the national, state, and local elections in the United States. We will be voting to place persons in important decision-making positions, and many of us will vote on state and local initiatives as well.

As we move toward this event, we all know our personal opinions on candidates and issues. The question is: do believers approach issues in the same way as other citizens do, or are there principles of the kingdom that cause us to be different in any way?

I believe there is a difference. However, I can only speak for myself; I cannot dictate to anyone else.

The Two Kingdoms

Believers are members of two kingdoms at the same time. Secondly (first comes later), we are citizens of the United States of America (or another country)—equal to all other citizens of our country. As such, I think we have a responsibility to be good citizens—no, we should be model citizens! We should do our part to help the nation to be successful and to become better in its responsibilities. Yet, as people of the kingdom of God, I don’t think we can give national concerns our first priority.

Our ultimate allegiance is to… [Read more…] about How Does Identifying with the Kingdom of God Affect Our Political Participation?

Of Cheerios and Trump

by Mia Tabib in Current Events

Trigger Warning: sexual assault and eating disorders.

Memory–a bewitching realm, magical and melancholy, real and imagined–absconds as soon as it is experienced. We do not know where The Past hides, but it is both heavenly and harrowing that we live in a reality cursed to fade as soon as it is felt.

When I first meet people, I often ask them about their first memory. Most people respond with a wistful sigh, furrowed brows, and a recollection of vague impressions composed of colors, nebulous sense-perceptions, and broad brushstrokes of consciousness inextricably linked with their emotional awareness.

My first memory is vivid; I was sitting in my wooden high chair. I recall some edible substance on the little table before me; I remember reaching my arm toward the food, grabbing it, and attempting to place it in my mouth. And I remember looking at my hands and my arms, and feeling an emotion that I now know to be wonder. I could move my fingers! I had control over this … this thing–this body; I could control my hands! What magic!

I often strain to remember that feeling I had when I was a toddler, when it was still such a magical thing that I had the ability to pick up my Cheerios, that I could wiggle my toes, or that I could raise my arms to play peek-a-boo with my father. And I always thought how interesting it was that my first memory was remarking on the oddity of me having a body. Physical awareness was not… [Read more…] about Of Cheerios and Trump