This sweeping anthology shows how religion has joined with and learned from movements for social justice, peace, and ecological wisdom. Liberating Faith surveys the entire range of religious social activism: from liberation theology and feminist religion to ecotheology and peace activism. It includes theology, social critique, position papers, denominational statements, manifestos, rituals, prayers, biographical accounts, and journalistic descriptions of real world struggles, beginning with a survey of ethical teachings from traditional sources. Following sections deal with "precursor" voices before the 20th century, Gandhi's exemplary vision, overviews of the connections between religion, society, and political movements, and impassioned accounts of particular issues. Containing voices from a multitude of traditions, national settings, and perspectives.
Liberating Faith includes writings by Latin American liberation theologians and radical American religious activists, statements on social justice by the Pope and environmental morality by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch, religious critiques of collective and interpersonal violence, passionate denunciations of racism and quiet eloquence which demands that we all stand up for morality in dark times.
An invaluable teaching resource and the definitive introduction to global religious social activism, this book offers a visionary alternative to both repressive fundamentalism and spiritless secularism.
List of Contributors Diane Ackerman, Nawal H. Ammar, Scott Appleby, Naim Stifan Ateek, Rich Barlow, Daniel Berrigan, Thomas Berry, Philip Berryman, Michael Bourdeaux, Stephen B. Boyd, Judy Chicago, Anne M. Clifford, James H. Cone, Harvey Cox, Dorothy Day, Michael Dodson, Nancy L. Eiesland, Asghar Ali Engineer, Mark Engler, Farid Esack, Anwar Fazal, Margaret Fell, Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Ivone Gebara, Mahatma Gandhi, Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, Roger S. Gottlieb, Gustavo Gutierrez, Thich Nhat Hanh, Beverly W. Harrison, Stanley Hauerwas, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Carter Heyward, Jonna Higgins-Freese, Anita C. Hill, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Inbal Kashtan, Eric Katz, Stephanie Kaza, Rami G. Khouri, Martin Luther King, Winona LaDuke, The Dalai Lama, John Paul Lederach, Pope Leo XIII, Michael Lerner, John Locke, Joanna Macy, Mary John Mananzan, Stan McKay, Thomas Merton, Ti Wei Ming, Lucretia Mott, Reinhold Niebuhr, Henri Nouwen, Jim O'Grady, Judith Plaskow, Murray Polner, Walpola Rahula, Walter Rauschenbusch, Shamara Shantu Riley, Sheila Rowbotham, Rosemary Ruether, Fernando Pages Ruiz, Vandana Shiva, Sulak Sivaraksa, Dee Smith, Dorothy Soelle, Ronald J. Terchek, Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, Jeff Tomhave, Leo Treadway, Walter Wink, Elizur Wright, and Theodore S. Wright.
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Re: Liberating Faith
DH
What you do not see are the limitations of his philosophy, what about when you are dealing with non Christians.
What about when you are dealing with people who hate Christianity and will not hear a good argument simply because it comes from a person that claims his motives are Christian.
I again point to the fact that two thirds of our little planets human population is non Christian and many find the belief to be offensive. Using Christianity as a platform for peace is doomed to failure.
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Agapic Radicalism
Frank: What you do not see are the limitations of his philosophy?
Anyone who chooses non-violence over retaliation is forced to confront a terribly violent history of human malice and mistreatment of others. The same goes for anyone who leads an interpersonal exchange with compassion and empathy, being willing to show vulnerability and weakness, opening oneself to attack and ridicule. King's notion of agapic love was profoundly limiting in a world of might equals right me-first tribalistic militarized racist nationalism.
Frank: what about when you are dealing with non Christians?
In the words of that ancient African Christian, Augustine, "Love, and do what you will." Or, as the Prophet Micah said, "What does the Lord require of you? To seek justice, and love kindness, to walk humbly with your God." But I think Jesus captured it best:
Quote:'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Thus, the challenge for Christians (and I have not given an exhaustive explanation by any means) is not "what to do with non-Christians?" but
Quote:"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Frank: What about when you are dealing with people who hate Christianity and will not hear a good argument simply because it comes from a person that claims his motives are Christian.
Patience, sympathy, empathy, humor, and the ability to walk away with a good conscience free of resentment.
Frank: I again point to the fact that two thirds of our little planets human population is non Christian and many find the belief to be offensive.
I don't know what you mean by "Christian belief". I think Christianity is a very complex phenomena that includes billions of persons and a wide variety of traditions, interpretations and ways of life. I'm offering one (also multifaceted) approach (exemplified in Dr. King and Gottlieb's Liberating Faith) that I find has done extraordinary work across the globe, bridging religious and secular communities for social justice and ecological concerns that threaten all of us. I suppose there will always be some that find this offensive.
Frank: Using Christianity as a platform for peace is doomed to failure.
Many thought King was doomed to failure as well. No doubt he was plagued by such doubts althroughout his life's work. It may be that all approaches to peace are doomed to failure and that humanity is simply too aggressive, violent and prone to war. This is where I think the real issues of faith arise. Not in some academic seminar debating the epistemological foundations of the existence of God. But at the barricades and on the streets and in the hearts of those who are saying to the haters and nihilists of life, as Dr. King said in his Letter from Birmingham Jail
Quote:One day the South will recognize its real heroes. They will be the James Merediths, with the noble sense of purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. They will be old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a seventy two year old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: "My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest." They will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience' sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
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Re: Agapic Radicalism
It's the "Christian" part that is unnecessary. It adds an unmitigated risk to the situation. No matter how loving and caring you are, if your peace efforts are based on a belief system, you create an in-group and out-group mentality.
It wasn't the god and Jesus part that made MLK a great man, it was the non-violent, goodness and self sacrifice that made him great. Non-violence, self sacrifice, and a general kindness are essential for peaceful efforts. But those traits are not dependant upon any form of spirituality.
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Re: Agapic Radicalism
Phiend: It's the "Christian" part that is unnecessary.
I don't think I've tried to argue that one must be Christian to seek peace, act justly, love kindness and walk humbly in the world...although I think Christianity offers a wide variety of ways to learn precisely how to do that. Nowhere in this thread have I argued for Christianity's exclusive claims to leading a moral or just or loving life, nor will I.
Phiend: It adds an unmitigated risk to the situation.
No doubt it is risky. In the ancient world, identifying with the Reign of God meant you rejected the Empire of Ceasar...and this was far more than simply making a theological claim; it was a statement of allegience and rejection of the dominant social/political structure of the day. For Dr. King, it was risky to the extreme as well. I think the kind of Christianity I refer to should be risky, and just as radical.
Phiend: No matter how loving and caring you are, if your peace efforts are based on a belief system, you create an in-group and out-group mentality.
As has already been adressed in this thread, choosing peace over war or violence is deeply tied to particular beliefs; and ones that fly in the face of profound evidence to the contrary. All political efforts reflect belief systems: beliefs regarding human rights, civil rights, democracy, the good society, ecological obligations, economic justice, etc. Likewise, I don't know how to avoid making alliances and allegiences in life: finding solidarity with likeminded folk who share your values and are willing to work with you for common causes and crises. I mean, frankly, if you (like occasionally flares up on these threads) think calling all Religious folk deluded cowards unable to face reality and simply superstitious dupes...is a way to avoid in group/out group mentality...well... .. .
phiend: It wasn't the god and Jesus part that made MLK a great man, it was the non-violent, goodness and self sacrifice that made him great.
Dr. King would profoundly disagree with you about this. But, you probably know better than he did what he meant when he worshipped, prayed to, and talked about Jesus and God.
phiend: Non-violence, self sacrifice, and a general kindness are essential for peaceful efforts. But those traits are not dependant upon any form of spirituality.
I agree to both points. I think serious commitment to long term non-violent activism in a terribly violent world requires more than just a bunch of good ideas about what it means to be peaceful and kind. I started this thread with some guidelines that Dr. King identified as crucial for his work in the effort. Care to share how you pursue this kind of work?
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Re: Agapic Radicalism
Quote:'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
My problem here is that when you combine religion with social services then you automatically introduce an agenda. If you are baptized and accept Christ as your personal savior then you can eat the food we offer. If you do not use birth control nor seek abortions then you can seek comfort in our shelter. Combining proselytizing with providing services is disingenuous. Did Mother Teresa do some amazing things for needy people? Yes. Did she do so purely for the people themselves or for (not just because of) her religion? I don't know, but I suspect the latter. Personally, I want these social services to be addressed solely because it is better for humanity that scores of people do not suffer; rather than it is better for my soul that people do not suffer.
Quote:Frank: What about when you are dealing with people who hate Christianity and will not hear a good argument simply because it comes from a person that claims his motives are Christian.
Patience, sympathy, empathy, humor, and the ability to walk away with a good conscience free of resentment. [emphasis added]
And what then has been accomplished?
Quote:phiend: It wasn't the god and Jesus part that made MLK a great man, it was the non-violent, goodness and self sacrifice that made him great.
Dr. King would profoundly disagree with you about this. But, you probably know better than he did what he meant when he worshipped, prayed to, and talked about Jesus and God.
This is like saying I can't interpret a book a certain way, if that is not what the author intended. It doesn't matter whether MLK agrees with why society perceives him as being great, or even how MLK perceives himself. It doesn't matter to me what "he meant when he worshipped, prayed to, and talked about Jesus and God." The value of his message, for me, was in his example of non-violent protest, regardless of religion.
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MLK's Christianity.
Martin Luther King questionned many of the basic tenets of Christianity such as the virgin birth, the original sin or the bodily resurrection. Many Christians - and not just fundamentalists - would argue that he was not a Christian. Here is a link to a blog post about MLK's Christianity (which in turn links to four relevant MLK-authored papers).
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Re: Agapic Radicalism
phiend: what is your argument?
That some religious ways of life are honorable, important, venerable and worthy of emulation in the worlds of social justice, ecological crises and peace and reconcilliation movements.
And that religious practice is more than just a bunch of ridiculous ideas and superstitious nonsense, but can be complicated ways of living involving sophisticated political analyses, astute interpersonal knowledge, keen ethical insight, and profound moral courage in the face of often terrifying odds...ways of life that protect human dignity and care of the ecosystem; as well as beautiful expressions of human intelligence in their own right.
Finally, that without addressing the wholistic nature of religion (specifically of the radical agapic sort via Dr. King) I don't think any serious claims of understanding or knowledge can be made. You can talk about them all you want, but you really won't know what you're talking about.
phiend: That we have to be kind, generous, and generally nice to have peace. That Peace doesn't somehow materialize from treating each other like shit?
No, that peace is hard work: sometimes deadly hard work, and it doesn't pay well. If you are committed to a world of peace and social transformation a la Dr. King and Liberation Faith folk, then you can expect a lifetime of trial and challenge. Dr. King argued that a larger context of prayer, meditation, reflection on the life of Jesus, solidarity, and commitment to something larger than immediate results was required. I think he was open to other methods, but offered this as the one that worked for him.
phiend: Are you trying to say that because I occasionally do what I say shouldn't be done in order to achieve peace then I should have no opinion, or that my opinion doesn't count? My efforts here on this board have very little to do with my efforts to make this world better. I personally don't think peace will be possible until the superstitious dupes can let go of their delusions
No. I am saying that if you are wanting to avoid in group/out group polarizations, you might want to get beyond insulting those you disagree with. Delusional dupes and enlightened rationalists...can we get beyond this when discussing religion?
phiend: Yeah he probably felt that it was his faith that gave him the strength to do what he did, but that is the strength of character not the specifics of his particular religion.
No, he felt it was the spirit of God animating, encouraging, mobilizing and sending him forward into seemingly impossible circumstances. He had very little faith in his own character, knowing full well the vices he carried and hid. He was also entirely convinced that it was the work of the millions of faceless, tireless supporters who really made his work possible: the larger body of men, women and children joined in solidarity for a cause that far surpassed their individual capacities or agendas. Perhaps he was delusional about God...a buffoon and idiot, a stupid oaf and supersitious moron. But, even a cursory survey of his written work and actual deeds in the world will show a consistent, thriving, vibrant and lifelong faith in the God of liberation, crucifixtion and resurrection.
Thanks for the connection to JREF and NCSE...I look forward to exploring them more thoroughly.
irishrosen: If you are baptized and accept Christ as your personal savior then you can eat the food we offer.
Is not the kind of social justice I am referring to when I highlight the life and teaching of Dr. King or the religious ways of life exemplified in Gottlieb's Liberation Faith. Actually, having spent the last ten years in the social work and community service organization field (which is overwhelmingly a faith community effort...with substantial secular support) the vast majority DO NOT proselytize before providing services. Some make demands about clean and sober requirements, obvious house rules and behavior expectations apply, and there are steps that everybody has to follow to cover needed bases...but the driving question in most service provider's mind is What Is Best For This Client and How Can I Help Them?
irishrosen: The value of his message, for me, was in his example of non-violent protest, regardless of religion.
I have no problem with this. I think his religious practice was a fundamental ingredient in his example. I think he would agree. I think this is not an insignificant point when trying to understand his kind of religion.
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Re: Agapic Radicalism
Quote:Patience, sympathy, empathy, humor, and the ability to walk away with a good conscience free of resentment.
That's assuming that you are not killed and still capable of walking away.
There are many people in this world that will kill a person simply for saying that they are a Christian. Oddly enough these people are the people that you would need to speak with to achieve peace.
Quote:I don't know what you mean by "Christian belief".
The belief that Christ was the son of God, that he walked the earth and that he died for your sins.
Quote:Many thought King was doomed to failure as well.
King had a huge advantage; he was preaching peace and Christ in a mostly Christian environment.
This is not the case globally. Heck it's not even the case here in America any more, a large number of black Americans are turning to the Muslim faith of late.
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Re: Agapic Radicalism
DH
Quote:I suppose I am burdened with the faith that people will be able to make important distinctions between Adolf Hitler and Martin Luther King Jr. Perhaps it would be easier if atheists who knew better, were more willing to make that distinction as well.
First of all I am not talking specifically about Hitler or MLK but the power of titles. And it is not Atheists I am referring to when I say people won't listen. I am in fact saying that religious fanatics won't listen to each other.
When you have two differing viewpoints neither of which can be argued logically there simply can never be any real conclusion to the argument.
Quote:Again, maybe if vociferous atheists were more willing to avoid labeling all religious folk as wacky nut-jobs, and were able to make important distinctions between religious traditions...then those outsiders hungry for altercation and violence might find less support.
Your leaving out 2/3 of the human population that believe the same thing about Christianity, not because they are atheists but because they believe something else altogether.
Quote:Just because people exist who irresponsibly stereotype and unabashedly revel in their prejudices, being unable to make important distinctions or allow for differing perspectives, is no reason to throw your hands up and say "Ok, you win...we won't try to deal with the real world...
I never suggested that we should give up trying to deal with the real world. But if you want to change it, you should know something about the people who you would see changed, they are the very essence of prejudice, intolerance and pre-judgment.
When approaching people like this you should consider not walking up with a dead rat instead of an olive branch. (To clarify... to most of the human population Christianity = dead rat)
I personally have found in my dealings with people that by leaving religion out of a topic, and it can easily be done, that I can find common ground much faster.
You seem to think that the topic of religion can't be avoided, well it can.
Quote:Which is not at all what I said, and has been a position I have explicitly rejected throughout this entire thread. My point was descriptive, nor prescriptive.
I apologize, I misunderstood your post. It had the ring of "I told you so" to it.
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Making Distinctions that Matter
Frank: First of all I am not talking specifically about Hitler or MLK but the power of titles.
And I am talking about the power of thoughtful people to make meaningful distinctions, and to not allow the fanatics and haters to determine our categories for describing the world.
Frank: And it is not Atheists I am referring to when I say people won't listen. I am in fact saying that religious fanatics won't listen to each other.
I don't know how effective simply talking will be to fanatics. I know Dr. King was facing some of history's ugliest when he encouraged his community to not only talk, but to sit, march, sing, pray and protest and be willing to suffer humiliating blows, go to jail, and have their homes bombed and lives threatened....without losing dignity, growing in hope and showing that they were no longer afraid of the bigots and fanatics and haters who poisoned their world.
I think those who lump all religious life into one category of "deluded superstition" miss the value, dignity and beauty of the agapic radicalism embodied in those like Dr. King. I think this mistake makes it easier for the religious fanatics to dominate the discussion. In a sense, those atheists who fail to make these crucial distinctions agree with the fanatics in that they both see religion as only a force for authoritarian dominance.
Frank: Youre leaving out 2/3 of the human population that believe the same thing about Christianity
I find it hard to beleive that mutlitple billions of people can all believe the same way about any subject. Care to elaborate on this claim? I do think a great number of these folk, given the opportunity, would find something valuable, truthful, and perhaps even worthy of emulation of the kind of agapic radicalism described in this thread. Actually, if you take some time and read Gottlieb's masterful anthology above, Liberating Faith, you'll discover tens of thousands of men, women and children from all religious traditions, across the globe, engaged in lifestyles and activism very similar and even indebted to Dr. King...not as Christians, but as human beings struggling for social and economic justice as well as ecological sanity.
Frank: But if you want to change it, you should know something about the people who you would see changed, they are the very essence of prejudice, intolerance and pre-judgment.
I think we can all go for a bit of a change: there's plenty of room for improvement on all sides, and there's work to be done right now that demands profound shifting of economic priorities and social structure. I'm not so sure how to really impact the beliefs of fanatics: but I do think their power base rests in the lives of fairly reasonable and compassionate people terrified for their lives. It is with this population that I think real change is possible: but they need a vision for a new way of life and hope that it is actually possible, and courage to pursue that hope. I think atheists who disregard the differences in religions of hope and religions of fear are adding to the discouragement of that larger population.
Frank: I personally have found in my dealings with people that by leaving religion out of a topic, and it can easily be done, that I can find common ground much faster.
I don't think religion has to be a part of every topic, but I think it is an important element in the lives of billions; and if you want to address issues of importance, you need to address religion. I do not think the solution involves supressing one's atheism or one's theism. I think an important step is learning how to make distinctions that matter.
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Re: Making Distinctions that Matter
I find it amazing that anyone can still believe that any religion is capable of bringing peace to another.
If anything, history has shown us quite the opposite.
Religion is great for uniting like minded people, but has failed repeatedly in the area of foreign unification.
People of other faiths even when they have the same basic values tend to be insulted when the Christian, all powerful, one and only God, is thrown in their faces. Just by bringing up the Christian God you have implied that their belief is inferior.
Religion is an important part of billions of people's lives but not just Christian religion. Many, would be allies will simply be turned away by a Christian religious title.
For instance, if you were trying to put together a political movement to wipe out the unfair tax laws and remove lobbyists from the political arena, I would support it 100%, based on that information alone. I might even join up as a volunteer because I agree that those are problems that need to be addressed.
Now if it were a Christian organization I would not even want to touch the cause, not because of what they are trying to accomplish, but because saying that it is a Christian organization says something about the people I will have to deal with.
I might have to put up with prayer meetings and singing on busses, all kinds of silly annoying crap. There are many other people, who believe as I do, and not just atheists but Muslims, Jews, new age followers, Wiccans, agnostics and other branches of Christianity that are not compatible with yours.
I'm sorry if it hurts to hear the truth but Christianity does not always bring people together, in many cases it pushes them away.
And try as you might you cannot escape the history of the title.
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Distinctions Matter
Frank: People of other faiths even when they have the same basic values tend to be insulted when the Christian, all powerful, one and only God, is thrown in their faces. Just by bringing up the Christian God you have implied that their belief is inferior.
Care to show how I've argued that the Christian God should be thrown in anyone's face, or that Dr. King's method of radical agapism, or any of the work exhibited in Gottlieb's Liberating Faith exhibits this tendency? I suggest you explore the very rich and diverse world of ecumenical activism and inter-religious dialogue where folks of different faiths do not insult wach other...but actually learn from each other and share in the work that will transforms their worlds. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Indigenous communities, and various mixes across the globe are able to address the pressing concerns of their lives in a spirit of collaboration, cooperation and humility. Obviously, we should all hope that more and more get involved...but your unwillingness to make these crucial distinctions certainly doesn't help; again, it simply reinforces the position of the exclucivist, authoritarian and fanatical communities.
Frank: Religion is an important part of billions of people's lives but not just Christian religion. Many, would be allies will simply be turned away by a Christian religious title.
I don't think I've made any claim to a triumphalist Christian claim to universal exclusive rights of God, truth, morality or beauty, etc. I've tried to focus this thread on a kind of Christianity that is more interested in how to feed the hungry, house the homeless, protect the biosphere, and honor the dignity of humans as civil beings with rights and liberties worthy fo great care and sacrifice....as opposed to a kind of Christianity that is simply interested in claiming universal domination and global adherence to a single theological narrative.
I think a crucial link to the kind of Christianity this thread points to is found in this section of Matthew, where the children of God are confused as to when they were serving God:
Quote:the righteous will answer God, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
If folks from different religions were introduced to Christianity according to this rubric (and it is NOT an isolated text, but an integral component throughout both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament) I think we can go a long way from insulting and throwing God in their faces.
Frank: Now if it were a Christian organization I would not even want to touch the cause, not because of what they are trying to accomplish, but because saying that it is a Christian organization says something about the people I will have to deal with.
That's your choice. Perhaps folks like yourself are unable to make the kinds of crucial distinctions between different types of religious communities in the world. I think that is unfortunate. I think it is an example of crude stereotyping and willful ignorance...but I understand your trepidation and concern.
Frank: I'm sorry if it hurts to hear the truth but Christianity does not always bring people together, in many cases it pushes them away.
I think I've made it clear from the get-go that I am not defending the abuses of Christianity. I've offered one way to live a Christian life ( agapic radicalism as I've imperfectly shown via Dr. King and Gottlieb's Liberation Faith ) and have tried to make the case that it has been an effective way to protect human dignity, civil rights, social justice and ecological sustainability. I've included a selection from Dr. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail which was written to other Leaders in Christian Churches throughout the South who were adamantly opposed to King's form of discipleship- thus recognizing that there are multiple, conflicting ways to interpret the Bible, organize Churches, and engage the world in love.
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last stand in Calais May 1940.
The Weekend Trippers is based
on TedÂ’s diaries written at
the… more
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