When asked about my political perspective, I tell people I’m a pro-life pacifist. At times that tends to alienate me from both Republicans and Democrats. But it really isn’t a perspective born of politics. It comes from my understanding of Christianity. I understand that in using that phrase I’m pointing to two incredibly complex issues (and leaving out several other complex issues). I do not come to my conclusions lightly. I’ve spent decades studying and teaching on these issues. You can agree or disagree with me. That’s alright. But for me, those two concepts are consistent.

Sojourners is an organization devoted to peace and justice. They are often referred to as part of the “Christian Left” or the “Evangelical Left” (by others, particularly critics). Yet, when it comes to the issue of abortion, they have always taken a stand in defense of the unborn. In the cover story of the current issue of Sojourners Magazine, Julie Polter talks about a “promising new movement” that “leaves the bumper-sticker platitudes behind and offers the potential to achieve real abortion reduction.” It is not ideological in nature. It that is what you are looking for, you will be disappointed. Rather, it is about finding practical ways to bridge the divide (as the cover art shows) between the pro-life and pro-choice movements. It tries to speak to ways of actually reducing the number of abortions in our country.

If you really want to be challenged and inspired, read Glen Stassen’s article, What Actually Works? It shows that it will take much work, creativity and love to save the lives of the unborn.

The New Testament teaches us to love—the guilty and the innocent, our enemies and our friends. And both Testaments teach us that if we do not care for the most vulnerable among us, we really don’t understand what it is to be the people of God.

One of the reasons the Bible is so often misinterpreted is because we read it as though it is a 21st century, western work. It's not. So when interpreting the scriptures we must start with the settings in which they were originally heard.

The Bible was birthed and written among oppressed people. Did you ever stop to think about that? Almost all of the Bible was written by the oppressed. Understanding that opens our understanding to so many of the teachings of scripture, particularly those of the prophets and Jesus.

Rob Bell and Don Golden do a good job of cracking open the door to that understanding in a brief book called, Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile. I finally got around to reading it and I'm glad I did.

It will disturb you. But that's good. It may even anger you. But that's good. And if you get mad at chapter five ("Swollen-Bellied Black Babies, Soccer Moms on Prozac, and the Mark of the Beast"), please don't put the book down. See it through to the end.

I think this book is important, because the only thing worse than being in exile is being in exile and not knowing it.

I just finished reading A Saint on Death Row: The Story of Domonique Green by Thomas Cahill. I try to read everythig Cahill writes. If you say you don't like history, that means you've probably never read Cahill. He's an amazing historian and writer. (A couple of his books are on my "I Recommend..." page.) This book is much different than most of his work. But you can tell that Dominique Green's story is close to his heart. He writes with great passion (and some...uh...colorful language).

For those who are die-hard supporters of capital punishment, this book probably will not change your mind. For those who oppose the death penalty, it will reinforce your thinking and stir your heart. But there is more to this short book. If you read to the end, you'll hear Cahill's call for us to be a society that takes better care of our children. The story of Dominique's childhood is difficult to read. He had parents, but no one to protect him from those parents.

     "Dominique Green was an unloved, African American young man, who was poor in spirit as well as material goods. His parents were alcoholics and his father was addicted to marijuana. His mother was mentally ill and repeatedly tortured and physically abused Dominique and his younger brothers, going so far as holding their hands over a flaming stove.

     To save his fragile siblings, Dominique took their punishment. Once he took his brother to a homeless shelter where they lived to avoid the constant abuse at home. When Dominique, at age 15, and his younger brother Marlon were thrown out of their house by their mother, Dominique rented a storage shed for the two of them to live in and sold drugs to support Marlon and himself."

Cahill asks, "Are we really so dull-witted, so uncreative a society that we can come up with no better response to the plight of such children than the inadequate social welfare programs sponsored by most states, as our governments bide their time till these unfortunate children grow old enough to be incarcerated?" (Cahill doesn't mince words.)

The last chapter is a list of books, articles, and web sites that you can use to learn more about capital punishment and child advocacy. You can also find them by clicking on the image above.

To me, one of the most moving portions of the book was the description of Archbishop Desmond Tutu's visit to the Huntsville, Texas prison where Dominique was on death row. Cahill accompanied him and shows us a hidden side of this remarkable spiritual leader.

On my April 30 blog post ("Slandering Ourselves") I wrote about a recent poll that suggests that those who are most likely to support the torture of suspected terrorists are evangelicals. I followed that up on this page with a link to Martin Marty's comments on that poll.

The good news is that not all evangelicals' views are reflected in that poll. Check out Peter Steinfels' article, "An Evangelical Call on Torture and the U.S." (New York Times). He gives an overview of a statement issued by a number of evangelical leaders called, "An Evangelical Declaration Against Torture: Protecting Human Rights in an Age of Terror". You can read the full statement and get other information on the subject at Evangelicals for Human Rights.

In June 2008 I posted some information about the persecution of Christians in Iraq (see "Pray for the Christians of Iraq" in Phil's Blog). Our sisters and brothers there are still in need of our prayers. It's difficult to read, but check out Tom Aspell's report for MSNBC called, "Iraqi Christians Living in Fear."