Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

The Twitter exodus: As a Christian minister, I can no longer stay

As I wrote last week in an op-ed for Religion News Service, I've decided to leave Twitter in response to the social media platform’s lurch to the far-right under Elon Musk.

But that brought up another question: why stay on Facebook or Instagram?

My public Facebook page has been restricted since last spring when I said a MAGA activist would find comfort in Nazi Germany. Readership has dropped close to 90%.

Instagram, unlike Twitter and Facebook, refuses to verify my account. They also refuse to take down any of the accounts that steal my photos and impersonate me.

For now, I’ve deleted all my social media accounts besides this blog which is rarely visited these days. This isn't 2006 and the heyday of blogging.

But maybe I’ll share a few thoughts here, like in the old days.

Peace be with you.

Where I Can Be Found

This blog, believe it or not, was started back in 2003. It was one of the first progressive Christians blogs to exist. Now, thankfully, there are many progressive Christian voices online  

These days I don't update the blog very often. But you can still find me nearly all the time on Facebook and Twitter.

Come on over and say hello!

I'll still be posting longer pieces here from time to time.

Just went live tonight with a new op-ed on The Huffington Post that I hope y'all will enjoy.

Saying Goodbye To Barack Obama, A Faithful Servant https://t.co/UDgQbkkcLp # via @HuffPostBlog #TheObamaYears #ObamaLegacy

— Rev.Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) January 18, 2017

Downtime

Starting this coming week I'll be downsizing the scope of my activities for a month or so. Much of my time will be spent working on a class on public theology at Chicago Theological Seminary where I'm working on on a doctor of ministry degree. I'm serving as the TA for the course made up of MDiv, DMin and PhD students. The rest of my time will be spent with family as right now our family requires all the attention possible. For now, I'm largely declining meeting invitations, etc. A little downtime is good for the body and soul. But don't worry. I'll come roaring back in the next month.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Is Typepad A Doomed Dinosaur? @typepad

I've been a mostly happy and loyal customer of Typepad, the blogging service, since this site launched in 2003.  My experience with the customer service has been excellent and any problems mostly small.

But Typepad has never made a serious attempt to make their service available to mobile customers.  

The app they developed for the iPhone isn't usable and they've never developed an app for the iPad.  I've asked customer service if they'll ever catch up to the times and been told they are "actively discussing future features to improve the use of TypePad with iPad and iPhone devices."  

But how many years does it take?

BlogPress is the app I use on the road and while superior to the Typepad app it is still like using a Commodore 64 to blog with.

Typepad's lack of attention to their mobile customers makes me wonder if the product is a doomed dinosaur dying a slow death?

Blogs, Faith and Norway: Terror and Responsibility

My latest on The Huffington Post. Pls "like' the article there, share on Facebook, comment, call and read to your grandmother over the phone, etc.

What Do Religion, Talk Radio And Hate Crimes Have In Common?

A lot.  Read my latest op-ed on The Huffington Post.

President Obama Offers Moral Vision, Faith Leaders Must Press For More

Faith leaders in the United States should applaud President Obama for offering a moral vision for the nation while carefully monitoring how the White House and Congress proceed.

My response to President Obama's budget speech in The Huffington Post.

Institute on Religion and Democracy Continues Campaign Of Disinformation

My latest op-ed in The Huffington Post.

Can Christians Support U.N. Intervention In Libya?

My latest op-ed on The Huffington Post (an expanded version of a post I previously wrote for this site).

Fighting Poverty Via The Huffington Post

My blog post - President Obama Should Outline Plan to Reduce Poverty By Half - is up on The Huffington Post today. Check it out, share it on Facebook, Twitter, etc. and leave a comment. 

My Sabbatical From Blogging, Tweeting and Facebook Begins Today

I'll be taking a week-long class on Peacemaking and Human Security at Chicago Theological Seminary in January.  The class begins January 10th and while I've been reading for the class since November there are still a number of books I need to work through before the class begins.  

Therefore, I am starting a sabbatical from blogging, tweeting and interacting on Facebook (and guest preaching) until at least January 10th (I may want to do some blogging as the class occurs).

Here's the course description (for those interested):

The ethical and spiritual challenges of new developments in the fields of human security, strategic peacebuilding and just peace. How do we embody nonviolence in strategic, self-critical and creative ways? How do we talk about peace and security in a way that bridges religious and political differences?

At a time when the United States is involved in two wars and the prospect for conflict between North and South Korea is very real, the course couldn't be more timely.

Chicago Theological Seminary is a graduate school affiliated with the United Church of Christ.  I'm looking forward to seeing friends and colleagues on campus and to meeting new people.     

Dreaming of Eden: American Religion and Politics in a Wired World by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite @sbthistle

Dreaming of Eden: American Religion and Politics in a Wired World, the new book by Chicago Theological Seminary's Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, is out. Just got my copy today.

Dr. Thislethwaite writes in the introduction:

The digital ages gives enormous power both to image and storytelling, and it does so with lightening speed.  Those Americans who best understand the power and the deep religious meaning of the shift to the digital age and storytelling will succeed in getting their message across.  That group of Americans will also understand the messages that are most dangerous to their point of view, and they will be better able to counter them.  And those Americans who don't understand the religious power of this time as it is generated in blogs, movies, graphic novels, Twitter, Facebook, and cable television (to name just a digitized sources of image and story) will be left in the dust, religiously and politically speaking.

Buy the book, for sure, but also visit the book's website at http://www.wiredwisdom.net and take part in the on-going conversation there.

The Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite is a minister in the United Church of Christ.

I'll post a review once I'm finished.

7 Years Of Blogging

Just realized that as of this month I've been writing this blog for seven years.  That represents 3451 posts and another 8713 comments.  Over 1 million visits.  This was one of the first progressive Christian blogs.  Since then many have followed (with better writers, thankfully!).  Still, I've enjoyed blogging and I'm grateful for the impact this little website has had.  

Did Jones hijack Jesus? My Op-ed In The Washington Post's On Faith Site

Click here.

Michael B. Dougherty & The Rev. Chuck Currie Discuss Christians and Immigrants

I had the chance this week to talk with Michael B. Dougherty of The American Conservative, a publication started by Pat Buchanan, about comprehensive immigration reform and other issues on Bloggingheads.tv.  Take a look. 

Comment Policy Change

A Facebook friend visited my blog the other day and remarked: 

There was some really nasty stuff in your comments there. Seems you have a following. Where are they coming from?

My general policy is to publish comments that are critical of my own viewpoints.  After all, a blog should be a place of discussion.  Nearly 9,000 comments have been left on this blog over the years (on just over 3300 posts) and most of them have been critical.

You can't say with any honesty that I don't let the other side have their say.

What I don't tolerate are comments that are simply personal attacks or that are racist, sexist or homophobic in nature and I've had to delete hundreds of those (in addition to the over 9,000 that I've approved).  I've also had to ban a hand full of people from this site for continually sending in vile and hateful comments about women, gays and African-Americans.  Of course, they almost always sent those comments in anonymously.  

How people intact with my blog has changed dramatically in recent years.  Most of the comments on my posts are now actually left on Facebook - either on my personal page or on other pages where people share my posts - or on different social networking sites like Twitter.  Social networking really didn't exist when I started this blog in 2003. (You can also now become a "fan" of this page on Facebook - something very new - by clicking on the "like" button in the upper left hand corner and then posts will appear on your Facebook feed.)  It's a new world.  

To cut down on the number of anonymous comments being left of this site I've changed the settings so that you now have to sign in with your Typepad, Facebook, Twitter, Goggle, or another similar account to leave a comment.  I take responsibility for every word that I say and others who comment here should as well.  I hope this change fosters better discussion.  People tend to act more appropriately when they can't hide behind a mask.  

Of course, I'll continue to moderate comments and will delete any that come in that are truly offensive.  What I suspect, however, is that fewer comments will be left here because many of the people leaving comments won't want to take personal responsibility for their words.  After all, would you want it known that you defended racism in the Tea Party or openly questioned the president's citizenship?  No, people like that tend to hide behind masks or under hoods.  

Having said all that, I again don't mind at all comments that are critical in nature.  Debate and dialog can be very healthy and good in a democratic society.      

The Bible by Bicycle

Whenever I get  a Google alert that has some sort of combination of "United Church of Christ," "Barack Obama," and "Chuck Currie" it comes from a blog or Religious Right website that then proceeds to explain how the UCC is a socialist cult and our president the anti-Christ (if I'm mentioned it usually follows that I'm an employee and / or supporter of said anti-Christ).  

So it was with trepidation that I opened a recent alert that had these words:

To those of you reading from Portland, the UCC is the church of Chuck Currie and Barack Obama.

What had we done now?

But the full paragraph made me smile:

I managed to arrive in time....to enjoy the worship service at the Klamath Falls Congregational United Church of Christ. To those of you reading from Portland, the UCC is the church of Chuck Currie and Barack Obama. The Klamath Falls congregation is awesome.

This is from the blog The Bible by Bicycle, by Andrew Palmbeck. Andrew works for Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon.

Andrew is one of the smartest and nicest young leaders in Oregon today (and I say this not just because he writes complementary things about me on his blog).  He has one of the brightest minds I know.

And good taste in women.  Andrew dates Michelle Rogelstad, who worked on the Yes on 66 and 67 campaigns and now for the Bus Project (in between she worked on my short campaign for county commissioner as our field director).  Michelle had endless energy and talent.  

Keep your eye on these two.  They'll be in charge of Oregon before long.

That gives me a lot of hope for the future. 

@RevChuckCurrie On Twitter

Follow my Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/RevChuckCurrie and get updates from my blogs at http://chuckcurrie.blogs.com and http://community.ucc.org/ucc-news.  

5 Years Of Blogging

This blog of mine went live five years ago today.

In that time I've had 2,932 posts, 7,436 comments and nearly 1 million hits.  Not bad for a little blog.

Thanks for reading.

Turns Out I'm Not Really A Christian

People sometimes write the most hateful things on blogs.

You've got to make sure you read the comments.

Feedback from Readers

Here are some recent e-mails sent my way:

• Thank you Reverend Currie for the entry in your blog on U.S. Senators Craig and Vitter. - David
• I discovered your blog 6-8 months ago, and have thoroughly enjoyed your writing and your viewpoints. Perspectives like yours are why we moved to the Portland area from Spokane two years ago, and it has been a real pleasure to live and work among more of "our kind" here. - Mark
• I'm reminded today as I read your blog, I simply MUST read it more often. Every time I do, my faith in the idea that there are Christians out there who really do adhere to the teachings of Christ is renewed. While I'm not a Christian, I have a profound respect for his teachings. Especially in regard to the notions of love and poverty. I cannot read your blog without taking away the spirit of love and compassion that you engender. As a political animal who steeps herself in the goings on of that world, its easy to see the jaded and the ugly. And to get caught up in all that. Reading your stuff and thinking on the meanings is almost like a "reset" button..that demonstrates to me that I need to remain grounded. -Carla

Nice to hear some good comments from readers.  If you want to share feedback on this blog leave a comment or send me an e-mail. 

Feedback from the Blogs

Some of my most recent posts have drawn the wrath of other Christian bloggers.

In a post entitled "Heritics 'R Us" the writer of 4Simpons Blog argues that a recent sermon I delivered was a demonstration of a minister "preach(ing) heresies."  Check it out and draw your own conclusion.  I suspect the author has a good heart and loves the Lord a lot so if you leave any comments be kind and respectful. Sadly, he has not shown that same courtesy to me but we can witness God's compassion together in our interactions with him.

The new "Saving Jesus" class that I'll be teaching in September has drawn some fire.  Read A Shiny Brand-New Messiah:

Reverend Chuck Currie of the UCC announces a seminar called "Saving Jesus." (Guess Jesus is not strong enough to save himself these days.)...

I have no problem with people thinking the bible is not divinely inspired, nor denying the doctrines it contains (those of "the early church"). Nor do I have a problem, per se, with vigorous arguments against mainstream of traditional Christian faith and in favor of another belief system.

But most such critics are honest enough to admit that they are outside that faith. It takes a special kind of dishonesty to imply that people who promote new views are the legitimate heirs of a faith, while those who believe pretty much the same thing their parents and grandparents believed are somehow radicals who are "kidnapping" an ancient faith and turning it into something it has never been.

Anwyn's Notes of the Nargin had this to say recently:

Support Obama, Portland, Says UCC Minister

Filed under:Church of Liberalism, Blogging, Jerks, Politics — posted by Anwyn on August 22, 2007 @ 6:54 pm

Because no way he’s even sniffing that sweet “special interest money.”

This guy’s personal blog post was linked off the front page of the website of The Oregonian, oregonlive.com. Nice when you don’t even have to bother to pay your editorialists.

The comments left on this post where really interesting:

I thought it might be Currie before I clicked the link. He abhorrs the influence of conservative Christians’ influence in politics, but loves the liberal influence.

Comment by Steve — August 22, 2007 @ 7:17 pm 

I haven’t run across him before. A real piece of work–sees no conflict (and thus offers no defense for it) in being Christian and pro-choice.

Comment by Anwyn — August 22, 2007 @ 7:23 pm

If this had been a Southern Baptist preacher promoting the appearance of a Republican candidate, all heck would have busted lose from the Left. (Rightly so, I might add.) But somehow its OK going this way? Shouldn’t be.

So, the church is a tax-exempt non-profit, eh? What says the IRS about his candidate (as opposed to issues) advocacy? Hmmm… might be worth looking into.

I’m not going anywhere near the pro-choice/Christian thing.

Comment by Norm — August 22, 2007 @ 7:48 pm

Oops. It’s a personal blog. He’s speaking on behalf of hisself, not on behalf of his church. Anyone want to bet he takes a deduction on the blog as a business expense? And his business is… ?

Comment by Norm — August 22, 2007 @ 7:51 pm

Issues of church and state are big one and can be confusing (at least for me).

Her’e a little bit of what I’ve written on this subject:

When I endorsed Barack Obama I said this:

“As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I trust deeply in the Constitutional principle of separation of church and state and my endorsement is therefore a personal one and does not reflect on the church I serve or my denomination. But as a citizen I believe that all Americans must engage in the political process as individuals for democracy to thrive. So I choose to add my voice today with millions of other Americans concerned about the direction of this nation.”

In a following post I made it clear how important I believe it is to separate any partisan political work from church life:

“…I refrain from any campaign work during work hours, the campaign knows only to call my private cell or home numbers, I do not discuss my involvement on campaigns with church members, and I would never promote my endorsement of a candidate from the pulpit during worship or during any other church related activity.”

I would never use church resources of any kind to promote a candidate. My endorsement was made on my personal blog and on the senator’s website. As USA Today reports, that isn’t the case for The Rev. Wiley Drake, a leading Southern Baptist Convention figure. Drake recently endorsed Mike Huckabee’s campaign for president on church letterhead. Now he wants God to silence his critics:

http://chuckcurrie.blogs.com/chuck_currie/2007/08/southern-baptis.html

There are lines we cannot cross as clergy.

Finally, no I do not use by blog as a tax deduction.

If you want to argue with me do it in a civil manner. We don’t need to spend all our time tearing people apart.

And I'm happy to respond to any questions / concerns you might have.

Good night.

Comment by Rev. Chuck Currie — August 22, 2007 @ 9:54 pm

Hi Chuck. I read about Drake, and his behavior is heinous.

There is no Constitutional principle of separation of church and state. The phrase came from Thomas Jefferson and has nothing to do with the Constitution.

Nobody is being uncivil here. I did not come onto your blog and begin arguing with you, nor did I argue with you here. I simply questioned your assumption that Obama does not receive campaign money from interest groups and commented in passing on the Oregonian’s partisanship. Commenter Norm made some incorrect assumptions, which you have now refuted.

I have no “questions or concerns” for you. If you were my pastor, I would, but thankfully that is not the case and you do not answer to me in any way.

Take care.

Comment by Anwyn — August 22, 2007 @ 10:37 pm

You called me a “real piece of work” and filed your post under “jerks.” Norm suggested that something I was doing was illegal or unethical. The tone itself is uncivil. So was your final comment stating how thankful you were that we did not worship together

Comment by Rev. Chuck Currie — August 22, 2007 @ 10:47 pm

1) Yes, I called you a piece of work for the reason stated in that comment. Abortion is a hot-button issue for me.

2) I have filed posts referring to Obama under “Jerks” before, and it was he I was referring to now.

3) Norm did. You have refuted him.

4) My final comment did not say that I am thankful we don’t worship together. It said I am thankful you are not my pastor. If you call that uncivil, so be it. I call it noting the fact that you are not a man I could look up to as a Christian leader.

Comment by Anwyn — August 22, 2007 @ 10:57 pm

Chuck,

For my part in this discussion, I will apologize. I made some incorrect assumptions based upon my admittedly limited and anecdotal experience with pastors abusing their authority.

Anwyn,

It was Roger Williams (a Baptist minister) who first used the phrase.

Comment by Norm — August 22, 2007 @ 11:56 pm

Thank you, Norm.

Comment by Rev. Chuck Currie — August 23, 2007 @ 8:08 am   

I was glad the exchange ended with Norm's apology.  But I'm struck once again through all these posts at how "Christians" cannot even debate theology with getting slammed by those who use harsh political language.  I'm reminded that I need to be more careful in the language that I use. 

Podcasts Now On ITunes

Most weeks I podcast my Sunday sermons.  You can now subscribe to those podcasts on ITunes.  Just open the ITunes application and use the search function to find

"Chuck Currie"

then click on the "Subscribe" button.      

Street Prophets In The New York Times

Nice write up on Pastor Dan and his website Street Prophets in The New York Times.

"Where did the gun come from?"

This website - Where did the gun come from? - was mentioned on The Caucus, a blog published by The New York Times and the site asks a great question:

Why ask, Where did the gun come from?

In most shootings, two crimes are involved: the shooting itself, and the transaction that put the gun in the wrong hands to begin with. Too often, the media and public only focus on the shooting and forget to ask, “Where did the gun come from?”

By working together and asking “Where did the gun come from?” police, the media, community groups and policy makers can be powerful allies in the fight against gun trafficking.

If reporters are trained to ask, “Where did the gun come from?” they can support police by keeping the question alive in the public’s mind. If community members, faith leaders and public officials begin to ask, “Where did the gun come from?” they can send the message that people are paying attention to illegal gun activity in their neighborhoods.

When we can answer, “Where did the gun come from?” we’ll begin to stem the flow of illegal guns at the source and save lives. 

There are a lot of people making a lot of money off selling weapons used in criminal activities - and those sellers know what they're doing.  They ought to be held accountable. 

Related Post:  After Virginia Tech Churches Need To Jump Start Gun Control Debate 

Muslims Speak Out

This week The Washington's Post "On Faith" web site has a really good series on Islam:

Back in April, “On Faith” and Georgetown University co-sponsored a panel discussion on "What It Means to Be Muslim in America.” During that event, Georgetown's Imam Yahya Hendi questioned why U.S. media rarely acknowledged condemnations of violence and terrorism by Muslim leaders. His question prompted “On Faith” co-moderator Sally Quinn to propose devoting a full week of “On Faith” to a discussion among Muslim scholars and authorities on Islam's views on violence, human rights, and interfaith relations. “Muslims Speak Out” is that week-long, online discussion.

"On Faith" and Georgetown University asked nearly 60 Muslim leaders from around the world to participate by responding to questions on the three topics. About a third of the leaders agreed to do so, and their answers will be featured in the coming days.

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life provided analysis of public opinion surveys. A number of the world’s most prominent voices – including former President Jimmy Carter, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus -- will offer their perspective. And readers will be encouraged to add their questions and comments to the mix.

“On Faith" and "Muslims Speak Out" are efforts by the Washington Post Company to foster informative and productive online conversations about religion and its impact on world events and our lives. We believe that such conversations are critical if we are to begin to address the many conflicts being waged today in the name of faith.

Read Muslims Speak Out: What Islam Says About Violence, Human Rights and Other Religions.

Back in April, “On Faith” and Georgetown University co-sponsored a panel discussion on "What It Means to Be Muslim in America.” During that event, Georgetown's Imam Yahya Hendi questioned why U.S. media rarely acknowledged condemnations of violence and terrorism by Muslim leaders. His question prompted “On Faith” co-moderator Sally Quinn to propose devoting a full week of “On Faith” to a discussion among Muslim scholars and authorities on Islam's views on violence, human rights, and interfaith relations. “Muslims Speak Out” is that week-long, online discussion.

"On Faith" and Georgetown University asked nearly 60 Muslim leaders from around the world to participate by responding to questions on the three topics. About a third of the leaders agreed to do so, and their answers will be featured in the coming days.

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life provided analysis of public opinion surveys. A number of the world’s most prominent voices – including former President Jimmy Carter, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus -- will offer their perspective. And readers will be encouraged to add their questions and comments to the mix.

“On Faith" and "Muslims Speak Out" are efforts by the Washington Post Company to foster informative and productive online conversations about religion and its impact on world events and our lives. We believe that such conversations are critical if we are to begin to address the many conflicts being waged today in the name of faith.

Today On Blue Oregon

Today on Blue Oregon, Liz Smith Currie, policy director for the Oregon School Based Health Care Network (but known around here as "mom" or "the wife"), talks about the importance of school based health care clinics in Multnomah County.  Check it out.

Oregon Take Note: I'm # 4

According to a new (and highly accurate) survey (using a super secret formula) what you are reading this very moment is the 4th most influential political blog in Oregon. Since I actually write very little about Oregon politics the ranking is even more impressive. And since the top three blogs actually do write about Oregon politics on a daily basis my calculation is that the results therefore by default have determined that this is in fact the most influential religious blog in Oregon (take that other Oregon religious blogs!). In any event, to celebrate my new found standing as the writer of a highly influencial blog I now require that when I do say something about Oregon politics people actually do what I tell them to do instead of completely ignoring me (unless, of course, one of the three top blogs tell you to do something else). Also, and I don’t want to get nasty about this, but rumor has it the #1 blog stole the vote using punch card ballots left over from 2000 (those guys spend a lot of time studying Karl Rove).

Another UCC-related Blog

Check out The Musings of Young Pastor Matt by The Rev. Matt Emery.  Matt is a UCC minister in Illinois.  It is nice to run across another United Church of Christ-related blog.

Leaving Street Prophets

It was noted today on Street Prophets that I won't be posting on that site any longer.  The truth is that I've never contributed any original content on Street Prophets - all of it has been information cross posted from this site.  After a couple of years I've just tired of that and Street Prophets already has so many good writers offering insight that often eclipses anything I have to say.  So keep heading over there and you'll read some good stuff.  Now if I could only get them to learn how to spell my last name....

Rev. Peep

Thought I'd post a link to a good blog that I just came across:  Rev. Peep:  written by The Rev. Chase Peeples, the minister at First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in St. Joseph, MO.  Enjoy. 

Walter Brueggemann: Blogger

Walter Brueggemann, author of about a thousand books on the Bible, is now blogging on Theolog, the blog of The Christian Century.  He'll be offering weekly thoughts on upcoming lectionary readings.

Blog The Debt

Global poverty is one of the most pressing issues faced by humanity.  At the forefront of tackling third-word debt - one of the leading economic causes of poverty - is Jubilee USA.  Check out "Blog the Debt" for updated information on their work.

Pastor Dan Schultz Gets Grilled

Faithfully Liberal, which after having interviewing me, has to settle on Pastor Dan, creator of Street Prophets, as their latest interviewee.  All kidding aside, Dan is great.  Go read what he has to say and them come back here and I'll offer up what he should of said.   

Most Valuable Faith Perspective - 2006 David Neiwert Awards

This bit of news came in yesterday:

Northwest Progressive Institute is pleased to present the 2006 David Neiwert Awards to honor the achievements and accomplishments of the Pacific Northwest's most active progressive bloggers this past year. This is the second year of the awards, which we hope to continue to make an annual and celebrated tradition.

The awards are named for David Neiwert, a freelance journalist and the founder of one of the Northwest's most respected blogs, Orcinus, which has been on the Web since the beginning of 2003 and is syndicated on Pacific NW Portal. Besides writing Orcinus, Mr. Neiwert has reported for MSNBC.com and has also penned several oustanding books, including Strawberry Days, Death on the Fourth of July, and In God's Country.

My own blog was named as one of the award winners:

Most Valuable Faith Perspective

A leading American advocate for the homeless, the Reverend Chuck Currie of Portland is the ardent author behind a fascinating blog focusing on the United Church of Christ, ecumenical issues, faith, and politics. He thoughtfully presents a progressive viewpoint on controversial issues such as immigration, prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and stem cell research. Commentary on current events is integrated with useful references to Scripture, and multimedia is frequently embedded (such as videos and podcast sermons). The seamless blend of Christian teachings with progressive values is refreshing and invigorating. Chuck's perspective as a minister is invaluable and his words of wisdom are uplifting to progressives of all faiths. Besides writing his own blog, he participates in an offshoot of the DailyKos community (Street Prophets). We're thankful that Chuck takes so much time out his life to share his spirituality through the revolutionary medium of the Internet.

Many thanks to the Northwest Progressive Institute for this recognition.

Faithfully Liberal Interview

The good folks at Faithfully Liberal asked me a few questions about homelessness, religion and politics this week and I offered some answers (a few of which might have even been coherent).  Check it out.

Free Blogger `Abd al-Karim Nabil Sulaiman

Our nations have a relationship that is strong and warm. Our people share the bonds of friendship, a commitment to prosperity and peace and regional stability. Egypt is a strategic partner of the United States and we value President Mubarak's years of effort on behalf of the peace and stability of the Middle East.

- President George W. Bush hosting President Mubarak at his Texas ranch on April 12, 2004

The Egyptian government today for the first time sentenced a blogger to prison for his writings, threatening a window of free speech that has emerged on the Internet, Human Rights Watch said today.

A court in Alexandria this morning convicted and sentenced `Abd al-Karim Nabil Sulaiman, to four years in prison on charges of insulting Islam, defaming the president, and “spreading information disruptive of the public order.” According to reporters who attended the hearing, Judge Ayman al-Akazi issued the verdict in a brief five minute session.

Sulaiman, a 22-year-old former student of Islamic jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, is better known by his pen name, Karim Amer. Following a complaint filed by the university, Sulaiman appeared before a public prosecutor on November 7 to answer charges related to items he wrote on his blog criticizing Islam, the authorities at Al-Azhar and President Hosni Mubarak. Prosecutors ordered him detained pending investigation and renewed his detention four times before his trial opened at Muharram Bek Court in Alexandria on January 25.

Plainclothes officers had previously arrested Sulaiman at his home on October 26, 2005, four days after he criticized Muslim rioters and Islam in a blog post about sectarian clashes in his neighborhood. Authorities held him for 12 days after this first arrest and released him without charge.

- Human Rights Watch on February 22, 2007

Anyone else think we’re doomed if Egypt is our friend and partner in the quest for stability and peace in the Middle East?

Take a moment and e-mail President Bush. Tell him to tell his friends in the Egyptian government to release `Abd al-Karim Nabil Sulaiman.

Is It Over Yet?

The annual pre-Lenten debate over religion in the blogs unfolded this week (see here, here and here).  It was hard for me to find any heroes. 

Folks like Jim Wallis make the assertion that some in the secular left are hostile to religion (perhaps it would be fair to say he generalizes a bit more to suggest the entire ranks of the secular left are hostile) and the secular left predictably responds with hard and fast denials and the occasional hostile attack against religion (an ironic way of proving their point).

The secular left bemoans the influence on religion in their lives and Wallis & company act as if someone walked into a church with an assault rifle and started firing.  The truth, and I say this as a committed Christian minister, is that people have a right to complain.  Religion has been more often used as a wedge issue than a source for reconciliation in modern politics.  Wallis ought to remember that. 

But you walk away from discussions about religion on blogs like Daily Kos with the strong feeling that the secular left is happy to tolerate religious people as long as we use DNC talking points in place of the Beatitudes.  We're a tool to them (Wallis became the ultimate tool himself when he gave the Democratic response to a recent weekly radio address by the president).  When the Christian faith simply becomes a tool for one or another of the political parties we fail in our primary obligation as disciples: to make other disciples so that we build up in the Kingdom.

If the new progressive Christian movement is simply here to serve the Democratic Party let me out of the room quick.  There may be times when I'm happy to use the democrats (or the republicans for that matter) as a tool for advancing the church's mission but I won't let it be the other way around. 

Waiting On The Blog To Change

Come back early next week for the big change.

Stay Tuned

If you’re wondering why I haven’t updated the blog since Friday (and I know there must be at least one or two people just sitting by their computers waiting for an update…) it is because I’m in the process of a change. A big change. A good change. One that should expand my readership and shake things up a bit. Stay tuned.

Geo Visitors

Digital Points Solutions offers a free service that tracks and maps visitors to your website over a 24-hour period and then allows you to see by location where you readers come from.  Over the last couple of weeks this has provided me with great enjoyment as I sit down each night and ponder why I'm read by folks in the UK, South Africa and that one person who checks in a couple times a week from Iran.  And I've really got to do something to up my readership from the Rocky Mountains to St. Louis. 

(Click on the map for a larger version)

Progressive Revelation

Here's a new United Church of Christ-related blog that I just came across:

Progressive Revelation

Good stuff.  Check it out. 

The CTS Bloggers

Keep watching these new blogs written by students at Chicago Theological Seminary.  Lots of good stuff to read on theology and the social issues of the day.  When you read these sites make sure you leave some comments

Sandra Chafen's Blog
...naked, and ye clothed me (Mt 25:36)

Aaron Krager's Blog
My little blog that will hopefully evolve into displaying political and faith related news.

Le Anne Clausen's Blog
The archive is primarily writings from my human rights work in the Middle East (Palestine/Israel, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan)

Carla Babiarz's blog

Victor Parrott's Blog
The blog of a technically challeged CTS student.

Sue Harrington's blog

Mike Lee's Blog

Ken Hinz's Blog
New Beginnings at the End is a blog that deals with End-of-Life Issues. It's really more about life and not so much about death.

Angie Keith's blog
The Chaplain Speaks

Christal Bell's Blog
My site for this class.

Steve Dyer's Blog

Simone Nathan's Blog
This is a site dedicated to prayer and reflection that leads to peaceful proactivity. It gathers powerful concepts that can generate sustainable peace.

Becky Boggs Blog

Nathan Dannison's Blog
Adventures in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Chicago.

Donna Goodnow's Blog

Kerri Parker's blog

Rob Leveridge's Blog!

AnnMarie Kneebone's blog

Jubilee USA Network Blog

Jubilee USA Network - the "alliance of 75 religious denominations and faith communities, human rights, environmental, labor, and community groups working for the definitive cancellation of crushing debts to fight poverty and injustice in Asia, Africa, and Latin America" - has a new blog. Check it out.

Introducing The Chicago Theological Seminary Student Blogs

This fall UCC-related Chicago Theological Seminary is offering a course on public theology and one of the assignments for students is to publish their own blog.  It was recently my pleasure to present a lecture to the students and to answer their follow-up questions (all online).

Take a look at some of their work, leave some comments, and show some love: 

Reach Out Reach Round

Faithfully Liberal

Letters from a Young Activist

queers have faith too?

Fragmentary Theology

New Beginnings at the End

The Chaplain Speaks

Listen4God

bloggsy

Gralamacago

Diary of a Prophetic Theologian

Tell The Stories

withwalking

Rev. Johnny

Related Link:  Welcome Chicago Theological Seminary!

Happy Birthday, Street Prophets!

Tomorrow is International Day of Prayer for Peace (see prayer below this post) but today is the one year anniversary of when Street Prophets (the other site I write for) was launched.  Join the party!  

Jim Wallis Has A New Blog

God's Politics with Jim Wallis and Friends

Wallis is the editor of Sojourners Magazine.  We've had the opportunity to work together on issues of homelessness and over the years it has been my privilege to host him at events both in Portland and St. Louis.

Check out the new site. 

Welcome Chicago Theological Seminary!

UCC-related Chicago Theological Seminary kicks off a new course tonight.

“Public theology” is being offered to help prepare clergy to be leaders in the field of public policy advocacy. This is exciting. Our mainline churches have done a terrible job of lifting up and mentoring new leaders in the field of social justice work. Jesus offered hope and called for justice.  We’ve been out organized by those on the Religious Right who offer a starkly different vision of the Christian faith in contemporary life.

Part of the assignment for the course: reading this blog. The Rev. Dr. Susan Thislethwaite, the president of CTS and professor for this course, has also invited me to be a guest lecturer later this month.

As a group the class will be logging on tonight to visit here as part of their introduction to the class and as the semester progresses one of their assignments is to develop blogs of their own.

So let me say welcome to the CTS community!

What you’ll find here is a collection of my sermons (like the one from this past Sunday on 9/11 and Iraq), action alerts from various organizations, short essays on various public policy issues, and sometimes my personal stands on electoral politics.

The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, will be a guest on this site on Monday for a podcast interview about his new book. 

You’ll also find – and this is most important – links too many other sites written by individuals and organizations promoting ideas on how we can build up (in Christian terms) the Kingdom.

Some people love this site and others really don't.  In the three years this site has been live I've put up 2084 posts, there have been 5534 comments left here concerning those posts and nearly 600,000 hits.      

My name is attached to the work written here and I take responsibility for the content. You’ll find that many blogs are written by anonymous authors but I feel strongly that if you are going to take stands based on your faith you ought to be willing to take responsibility for your own words. What is published here does not represent the positions of the church or denomination I serve unless otherwise stated.

There will be more to say later. In the meantime, I have a sermon to finish for this Sunday.

Thank you for visiting!

Faithful Democrats

Former Democratic National Committee chairman David Wilhelm, a former top aide to Bill Clinton, has launched a new website designed "to rally Christian Democrats and attract socially moderate evangelicals," according to USA Today.

Faithful Democrats state that:

We are an online community of Christian Democrats - religious leaders, political leaders, writers, and regular Americans who are committed to the Gospel and the common good. We discuss, we debate, we take action. And we will make our voices heard in the 2006 election season and beyond.

We don't believe that good Christians have to be Democrats. Nor do we believe that one religion has a monopoly on faith. But we make no apologies for rooting our identity as Democrats in our faith as Christians. That is who we are. And we are eager to act on our beliefs to make the country we love a more just and compassionate place.

Most of the time I have some sort of advance notice when projects like this get started - but not this time (though they are linking to my site). 

I'll be interested to keep track of the site and the causes it advances.  I appreciate their very appropriate declaration that "we don't believe that good Christians have to be Democrats. Nor do we believe that one religion has a monopoly on faith."  I agree.  But I also agree that Democrats need to openly proclaim their faith - not to misuse faith for political gain - but to speak in a language that most Americans understand.  Democrats will do a better job of connecting with voters when they reject the language of policy wonks in favor of arguments born in our town halls, churches, and temples. 

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Faith in Public Life – the new web site, blog and media bureau that launched last month – is already adding new features. Amy Sullivan will be guest blogging soon and the site now offers a “Daily Faith News Reel.” Five days a week they’ll send to your inbox the top news related to faith and politics in one easy to read e-mail. Good stuff.