Opinion

Given that people of color are most likely to die from COVID-19, will those of us who are white Christians choose to get the vaccine in order to practice the selfless love Jesus demonstrated for his disciples? If we’re following Jesus, then the answer to the question of whether or not to get vaccinated must be yes.

Christians talk a lot about grace but we don't seem to have the same grace for everyone in the U.S. I’ve heard people say they feel sick for former Brooklyn Center police officer, Kim Potter, who despite serving 26 years on the police force, claimed she grabbed her gun by mistake, killing Daunte Wright just 2.5 miles from the Brooklyn Center Community Center where I went with my church youth group as a kid. Potter seems to automatically receive a lot of grace from the same people who say if Wright had just followed instructions, he would still be alive.

If you’ve heard white evangelical pundits lately, you’ll know there’s a dangerous “new” enemy threatening U.S. Christianity. If left unchecked, they say, this enemy will wreak havoc on traditional values and transform our entire nation into atheists. What is this growing enemy of evangelicals? Democratic socialism.

I believe the church is a critical and indispensable — though not exclusive — vehicle for sharing the good news and advancing God’s beloved community here on Earth. But last week, Gallup caused a stir when it released new research on the trends in Americans’ membership in houses of worship, which fell below 50 percent for the first time in the 80 years. 

Today begins the Paschal Triduum, the three days leading up to the celebration of Easter and Jesus’ triumphant resurrection. This year in particular, Holy Week is a reminder that we often have to linger in some suffering and struggle in order to fully appreciate the joy of Easter Sunday’s deliverance and liberation.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) speaks about how being a Black woman of faith sustains her work keeps her pursuing social and economical justice.

There’s a preacher in the house — or at least, in the Senate. “A vote is a kind of prayer — to God.” That’s what Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Georgia's first Black senator, said in his first floor speech in the Senate chamber. As many know, Warnock is also senior pastor at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once served. As Warnock made clear, voting rights is not just a political issue. It is also a faith issue — a spiritual test of whether we see in others the image of God, and thus extend the respect and dignity of a fair and free vote.

Last week was extraordinarily difficult for many Asian Americans. The trauma of the violence perpetrated against Asian women in Atlanta was the culmination of a yearlong spike in violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. An already fearful and silenced community was re-traumatized as police and media discounted the identity of the victims and centered the narrative on the challenges of the shooter.

It is well past time for the Equal Rights Amendment — now ratified by 38 states and supported by a supermajority of the populace — to be fully enshrined as the 28th Amendment.