God's Politics Blog » Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net A Blog by Jim Wallis and Friends Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:29:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Conservative Progressives? http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/16/conservative-progressives/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/16/conservative-progressives/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:30:34 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=13420 It’s been said that conservatives are people who honor the tombs of dead progressives. If  that’s true, then within the Democratic movement, even with its progressive reputation, there could be a wing of conservative progressives, those who remember the good…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/16/conservative-progressives/feed/ 25 An Evangelical Trojan Horse in the Democratic Party? http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/12/does-the-evangelical-movement-belong-in-the-democratic-party/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/12/does-the-evangelical-movement-belong-in-the-democratic-party/#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:00:45 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=13351 A recent Daily Kos post asks this question: Does the Evangelical movement belong in the Democratic Party?

Of course, many Evangelicals — probably most — can answer that question without a moment’s thought: absolutely not. The Republican Party is still the…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/12/does-the-evangelical-movement-belong-in-the-democratic-party/feed/ 41 Video: Jon Stewart Interviews Jewish American and Palestinian Nonviolence Advocates http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/30/video-jewish-american-and-palestinian-nonviolence-advocates-talk-with-jon-stewart/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/30/video-jewish-american-and-palestinian-nonviolence-advocates-talk-with-jon-stewart/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:32 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=12942 091030-anna-balzer-mustafa-barghouti]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/30/video-jewish-american-and-palestinian-nonviolence-advocates-talk-with-jon-stewart/feed/ 5 A Prayer for the Earth http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/27/a-prayer-for-the-earth/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/27/a-prayer-for-the-earth/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:30:25 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=12849 Tim Costello of World Vision Australia and I have been working behind the scenes to compose a prayer that could be used by individuals and groups leading up to the Copenhagen gathering on climate change Dec. 6. Click here to read…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/27/a-prayer-for-the-earth/feed/ 4 Dear President Obama (An Open Letter on Afghanistan) http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/22/dear-president-obama-an-open-letter-on-afghanistan/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/22/dear-president-obama-an-open-letter-on-afghanistan/#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:30:09 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=12738 I am a loyal supporter of your presidency. I worked hard in the campaign and have never been as proud of my country as I was when we elected you.

I’m writing to ask you to find another way ahead in…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/22/dear-president-obama-an-open-letter-on-afghanistan/feed/ 29 Have You Thought About Nuclear Weapons Today? http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/21/have-you-thought-about-nuclear-weapons-today/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/21/have-you-thought-about-nuclear-weapons-today/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:00:05 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=12699 The day one is detonated, it will be the only thing anyone will think about … which is why we need to apply the biblical vision of “turning swords into plowshares” to nuclear weapons. Here’s some important information on the…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/21/have-you-thought-about-nuclear-weapons-today/feed/ 3 Seven Steps for Creation Caretaking http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/23/seven-steps-for-creation-caretaking/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/23/seven-steps-for-creation-caretaking/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:00:51 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=11840 What could be more joyful than rediscovering our God-given role as caretakers, stewards, and lovers of creation? What could be more sad and tragic than missing that dimension of life — linking the human parts of God’s creation with the…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/23/seven-steps-for-creation-caretaking/feed/ 8 A Plea for a New Generation of Republican Leadership http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/08/a-plea-for-a-new-generation-of-republican-leadership/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/08/a-plea-for-a-new-generation-of-republican-leadership/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:00:58 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=11473 I believe our nation works best with robust and civic dialogue and civil debate. For mature societal conversations to take place, at least two mature parties are required, and looking back over this summer, a second party is hard to…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/08/a-plea-for-a-new-generation-of-republican-leadership/feed/ 45 Ted Kennedy Meets Jerry Falwell http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/03/ted-kennedy-meets-jerry-falwell/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/03/ted-kennedy-meets-jerry-falwell/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:30:17 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=11361 Fans (and critics) of either man should read this speech — from the late Sen. Kennedy, delivered back in 1983 at the late Jerry Falwell’s (now) Liberty University. It addresses the role of faith in public life — as vital…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/03/ted-kennedy-meets-jerry-falwell/feed/ 6 Health-Care Debate Requires the Wisdom of Solomon http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/24/health-care-debates-requires-the-wisdom-of-solomon/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/24/health-care-debates-requires-the-wisdom-of-solomon/#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:00:57 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=11072 Thomas Friedman, learning from an experience on safari in Botswana, gets it right in his NYTimes editorial yesterday … Quotable quote:

We’re trying to deal with a whole array of integrated problems — climate change, energy, biodiversity loss, poverty alleviation and the need…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/24/health-care-debates-requires-the-wisdom-of-solomon/feed/ 14 Three Responses to a Conservative Critic on Health-Care Reform http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/19/three-responses-to-a-conservative-critic-on-health-care-reform/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/19/three-responses-to-a-conservative-critic-on-health-care-reform/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:15:41 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=11019 Just received this:

I am one of the conservative Christians you refer to in your letter. I did not and still do not support President Obama although I do know that there is reform needed in health care. It just does…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/19/three-responses-to-a-conservative-critic-on-health-care-reform/feed/ 40 An Open Letter On Health Care to Conservative Christians in the U.S. http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/11/an-open-letter-to-conservative-christians-in-the-us-on-health-care/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/11/an-open-letter-to-conservative-christians-in-the-us-on-health-care/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:00:34 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=10848 Dear Friends,

Although today I would not call myself a political or social conservative, I am grateful for my heritage as an evangelical Christian: My faith is rooted in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, I honor and seek…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/11/an-open-letter-to-conservative-christians-in-the-us-on-health-care/feed/ 46 Talking While Stupid http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/26/talking-while-stupid/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/26/talking-while-stupid/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:41:23 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=10449 I think President Obama was right to soften the tone of his statement the other day on the Gates arrest incident; “stupid” wasn’t a helpful word choice.

But the word, I think, accurately describes the reaction of a lot of white male…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/26/talking-while-stupid/feed/ 19 Four Lessons from the Religious Right http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/23/four-lessons-from-the-religious-right/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/23/four-lessons-from-the-religious-right/#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:15:28 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=10359 This Seattle Times article on the current state of the Religious Right union matches my own sense of things in my travels across the country. I’ve heard conservative evangelicals say almost word for word what people quoted in this article say…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/23/four-lessons-from-the-religious-right/feed/ 18 An Ever-new Narrative of Good News http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/20/an-ever-new-narrative-of-good-news/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/20/an-ever-new-narrative-of-good-news/#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:30:24 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=10213 My friend Bob Carlton sent me this link to a Guardian piece by Madeleine Bunting, “Market dogma is exposed as myth. Where is the new vision to unite us? (With religion outmoded and society fragmented, it will require a different kind…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/20/an-ever-new-narrative-of-good-news/feed/ 23 Pope Benedict Gets It Right http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/10/pope-benedict-gets-it-right/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/10/pope-benedict-gets-it-right/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:20:43 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9968 Jim Wallis has provided a helpful summary of the Pope’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth). The subtitle explains the subject more clearly — “on integral human development in charity and truth” — and the timing of its release (coinciding…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/10/pope-benedict-gets-it-right/feed/ 2 Iran: Two Kinds of Islam, Two Kinds of Religion http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/22/iran-two-kinds-of-islam-two-kinds-of-religion/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/22/iran-two-kinds-of-islam-two-kinds-of-religion/#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:00:13 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9550 090623-god-bless-humanityThere is the Islam of the dictators and their religious allies, used to keep people in their place, used to justify their own power, used to shame and threaten those who question their authority. And there is the Islam of…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/22/iran-two-kinds-of-islam-two-kinds-of-religion/feed/ 15 A Father’s Day Reflection http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/18/a-fathers-day-reflection/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/18/a-fathers-day-reflection/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:30:27 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9485 It’s daunting for me to even begin writing about Fathers’ Day … I’ve often said that fatherhood is probably the most meaningful experience in my life, and my debt to and love for my father goes beyond words so fast…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/18/a-fathers-day-reflection/feed/ 0 Jim Wallis and Jon Stewart Get It Right http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/17/jim-wallis-and-jon-stewart-get-it-right/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/17/jim-wallis-and-jon-stewart-get-it-right/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:30:19 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9426 Jim Wallis is one of the most talented interviewees I’ve ever known. He knows how to get substance, not just spin, into a sound byte, and he has an amazing ability to think on his feet. His recent interview with…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/17/jim-wallis-and-jon-stewart-get-it-right/feed/ 4 On Racism http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/29/on-racism/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/29/on-racism/#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 16:00:59 +0000 Brian McLaren http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9017 Many in the Republican Party and some noteworthy Christian leaders have come together to call Judge Sotomayor a racist. This rhetoric compounds with other recent statements — support for torture, opposition to hate speech legislation (note: not opposition to hate…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/29/on-racism/feed/ 34