Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates 163 pages Spiegel & Grau, July 14, 2015 So this is a beautiful, phenomenal, hard-to-read, engrossing, painful, tender, honest, raw, careful book. It is a letter penned to the author’s son about what life is for Americans, when said Americans are Americans-on-probation, Americans who are not really Americans, Americans who are provisionally American because they are not white Americans. It bookends the death of Prince Jones, the author’s friend, killed by cops and serving as a symbol of all that is hoped for in black Americans and all that can be brought to nothing by the actions of the state which can act…

Someone posted recently that “we Americans” demanded that Muslims in America speak out against violence because “we Americans” were terrified of them here in America. My response: Speaking as a Christ-follower, I see “my people” hiding in plain sight and attacking Americans and American soil. I see Dylann Roof and Robert Dear, both people in the Christian religion, killing people. I think it’s outrageous and I think they’re monsters, and I speak out as loudly as I can about these white men who tie Christianity to terror and murder. It’s completely nonsensical and paranoid to say that because *some* people who are loosely tied to a religious belief are doing…

Are all Muslims terrorists? Are any Christians terrorists? There are somewheres around 2B Christians in the world, and 1.2B Muslims. There are perhaps around 1B Hindus and maybe the same number of Buddhists. Sikhs, Jainists, Animists, Jews, various “pagan” religions, and non-religious or agnostic round out the rest. There is no litmus test to be included in any of these religions beyond self-proclamation. There are rules to follow, but even those who don’t follow the rules of their religion can still claim to be one. Sufis are Muslims even though many other Muslims think they’re not quite. A population of >1B people associated with a religion will include people who…

It’s been a world of hurt lately, and yet it always is. It is always true that the poor are with us, that evil men and women plot against us to do us harm, from the personal level to the national. We can be fearful and aggressive and return hate for hate, fire for fire, blow for blow. We can also simultaneously live a confident life, right now, doing the right things, even when there are setbacks, because we know, we know, that doing the right thing is the right thing. I’m perplexed, confused, and deeply saddened by the hatred expressed in acts of violence. I can react as a…

The short answer is “Yes.” The longer answer is more nuanced, because of course I don’t see or experience my privilege. It just is, because I live in a society and culture that by default caters to me and my own identity and my own sense of belonging here. There is a great paper written by Peggy McIntosh in 1988, with an excerpt in this link. Some things that stuck out: When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person’s voice in…

http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004005499/would-jesus-wear-a-sidearm.html?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone I don’t get it that Christians claim they need guns to “protect” themselves in America. We aren’t in Somalia or Burma or North Korea where the state has direct animus against us or the citizens are terrorized on the street by anarchy and a government that can’t govern. We live in arguably one of the most powerful, safest nations in the world—and we as Christians appear to be terrified to the point where we leave all our reason and faith behind as we worship guns and violence ourselves. Here’s my response to this video: Theologically, orthodox Christianity taught that Jesus emptied himself of all his God-powers to become incarnate,…

Officer Nicholas Hogan of the Snoqualmie Police Department was hired by Snoqualmie after being fired by the City of Tukwila due several payouts (totaling $425K) which resulted from his violent actions against civilians. Per the Seattle Times article of October 25, 2015 (http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/eastside/cop-fired-in-tukwila-now-in-trouble-in-snoqualmie/), the police commander of Tukwila questioned why any police department could hire him after these facts, contained in his personnel file, were known. Now he’s working for the City of Snoqualmie’s police department, specifically to handle the police services North Bend contracted from Snoqualmie. This is an officer with known history of violence against civilians. This is an officer with a connection to “Straight Edge,” a violent…

There is an awesome story in the Christian New Testament where Peter and Jesus (post-resurrected, not-yet-ascended) have an interaction about John, a pesky disciple who gets all the press and attention, when as we know, Peter is the rock of the church: Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because…

First off–I’m not a trained philosopher. I don’t have special insight. I just have my opinions. And I haven’t finished reading the book in question, “Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. But while I’ve been reading, I’ve been listening to the reactions to the book and its message. Some have made the charge that the book is nihilistic, that it speaks of a world without meaning, where there are no dreams and no hope, where nothing matters and therefore nothing is worth doing. That because there is no “God” driving the book and its message, there is no meaning or purpose to the story. That Mr. Coates is…

Why pursue justice for our brothers and sisters? Why not sit back? Let someone else speak out, someone else march, someone else confront, someone else be arrested and beaten and jailed. There is no risk if we do nothing. So why not do that–do nothing? Two reasons – the first is that we were taught to do the right thing by our parents, our teachers, our priests and rabbis and pastors and imams and all the rest of our spiritual advisors. We are doing the right thing because in us there is something that calls out for justice, and for us to participate in justice. And the second is that…

Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Rights Battle by Kristen Green My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a lovely, kind book. It is a memoir more than a history book – although it is heavily documented and researched. Ms Green tells the story of her own childhood and young adult years in Prince Edward County, growing up in a family that, like other people, made the most of their fortune of being white in a society that rewarded being white. Prince Edward County was a flash point of the integration struggles of the 1950s in America. A young black…

From the Internets. Some questions to ask before insisting that your version of Christianity should be mandated as a rule of law for everyone, including non-Christians and Christians who don’t believe as you do. 1) Do you also demand the death penalty for those who curse their parents (Lev 20:9)? 2) Do you demand the death penalty for those who commit adultery (Lev 20:10)? 3) Do you demand the death penalty for those who don’t keep the Sabbath [which is Saturday, by the way] (Exodus 35:2)? 4) Do you support slavery (Lev 25:44)? 5) Do you advocate the stoning of “non-virgins” (Deut 22:20)? 6) Are you consistent in “following everything…

You know, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I have heard you say for years, for decades really, that you are trying to find a way to get people to listen to the message of the Gospel. I have listened to your plans to distribute literature, to film movies, to set up websites, to buy a Gospel Blimp (a book you should read, by the way). Constantly we ask ourselves, “How do we make the Gospel relevant? How do we get people to listen to the sweet story of Jesus and his love for us?” I need to tell you something: right now, the world is listening to you to…

I want to share more about someone who was killed this week in Charleston. TyWanza Sanders. He was 26, a graduate from college, and a young man on the cusp of life. He was at the Bible study / prayer service with his aunt, Suzie Jackson, who was 87. When that white terrorist stood up to shoot and kill black people, he stood up, too – to protect his aunt. The killer shot him dead, and then shot his aunt dead. He didn’t hesitate to give up his life to protect his family. He showed sacrificial love, and he did so without an audience. His Facebook page says this: “Your…