slavery
A black pastor writes to the white church about its complicity in oppression
Lenny Duncan’s letter is full of hope and fury, love and lament—like Paul’s epistles.
by Tim Brown
Lynched but not forgotten
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice represents a watershed moment in the idea and practice of what a public memorial can be.
by Pete Candler
Marxism and the New Testament
As Roland Boer and Christina Petterson see it, the Gospels contradict the witness of Jesus about slavery and property.
The complex story of race and religion in the American South
Paul Harvey's history shows how things could have gone very differently.
The vocation of being a stranger
As a mother and a woman of color, I read Camille Dungy's book as a personal roadmap.
by Josina Guess
Toni Morrison on the invention of the stranger
Slaying the monsters
Theological issues might be “settled” for us, but there is a big world out there that needs to hear our voices.
Black critiques matter
Criticism of the slave trade from 200 years ago speaks to us today—and not just about race.
From generation to generation
Yaa Gyasi's novel reveals the freedoms and captivities we all inherit.
The feminine and the land
Theologies of entitlement, enslaving, and extinguishing indigenous communities have shaped policy since the 15th century.
A time to shout and a time to whisper
There’s a place in society for prophetic denunciation. There’s also a place for restraint.
Take & Read: New Testament
Matthew L. Skinner recommends the best recently published books in his field.
selected by Matthew L. Skinner
The startling triumph of The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead has created a world as compelling—and as intolerable—as our own.
Charleston Syllabus, edited by Chad Williams, Kidada E. Williams, and Keisha N. Blain
When Dylann Roof murdered the Charleston nine at a Bible study in June 2015, his intent was “to start a race war.” He didn’t succeed.
Another moment of reckoning
American Christianity has faced theological-political crises before. Repeatedly, visions of what is possible for the nation have fallen short of reality. In the past, periods of change pushed faithful people to reconsider what they believed, not only about the nation but also about the meaning of God’s call to justice. In each critical moment, for good or ill, Americans altered their religious views, and the horizon of what was possible expanded or contracted.
In revolutionary America, disunity resulted from debates over whether faith required obedience to the king or a revolt.
What to the negro is the 4th of July?
Where independence and freedom were proclaimed, dependence on African slavery persisted. As Jesus was preached in this land, everything that Jesus taught against was practiced.
Emancipation and economics
Lincoln understood that the dream of well-being, if not radically democratized, would for some people only be a nightmare.
Canaan at the margins
When I read the book of Joshua, it is easy for me to miss God's call for genocide.
Leveraging the land or loving its people?
Ammon Bundy’s militia has occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon since January 2. The standoff with authorities continues despite the arrest of Bundy and 11 of his followers and the shooting death of LaVoy Finicum during a traffic stop last week, and despite Bundy’s pleas that the four remaining militia members leave the refuge. They insist that they will not leave until their comrades are released and everyone is pardoned. These conservative Mormons have claimed that God told them to seize the land in defense of ranchers sentenced to jail time for setting fires on federal land.
Gateway to Freedom, by Eric Foner
Eric Foner resurrects the history of the Underground Railroad, its powerful place in New York City, and how it helped Harriet Beecher Stowe and others bring about the war that ended slavery.
reviewed by Edward J. Blum