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- Written by EJ Sweeney
Why do we only seek out Jesus as a last resort? And, how much does it take to get God’s attention, anyway? Someone I know well is going through a very difficult time right now—as we all do in life, from time to time. As a result, she’s found herself turning to Jesus, but feels bad about it. In her mind, she only seeks Him out as a last resort, not when things are good. This generated these two great questions. I’ll respond to the first in this week’s blog and the second next week.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
COVID-19 infections are rising at alarming rates. That’s the bad news coming in from a number of States that had previously been largely unaffected by the pandemic. As this crisis drags on with no letup in sight, it feels like this might really be our new normal. So, as someone recently asked: Where’s the hope?
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
In the midst of all the recent outcries to remove any statue of any figure that had anything to do with racism in America, like Confederate leaders or slaveowners, I’ve also heard of at least one commentator who has called for the removal of any depiction of Jesus as a white man. According to this commentator, the depiction of Jesus as a lily-white man is not only historically inaccurate—He wasn’t white—it also perpetuates racial oppression.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
A couple of years ago, in the wake of the police involved shooting in Ferguson, I had a powerful experience that opened my eyes to some of my racial biases—biases I was sure I didn’t have. One Sunday, I happened to attend a mostly white, upper middleclass, suburban church. During the service, the pastor, who was white, had invited a good friend of his, who happened to be African American and the pastor of an inner-city church nearby, to have a dialogue about the incident. Members of this church were also in attendance.
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Years ago, when John Stossel was one of the hosts of the ABC news show 20/20, he did a eye-opening report about race. Drawing upon scientific research, he argued that human beings—all of us—are inclined by nature to be “racist”. This doesn’t mean we are consciously and overtly racist, but that we have a deep, built-in awareness of “difference”, of “otherness”. We instinctively notice differences in others, one of which—especially since it’s so obvious—is race.
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The brutal murder of George Floyd by a police officer is sickening. Why does this keep happening? In my head, I understand why this keeps happening. Systemic racism has plagued America from the beginning, and we have utterly failed to address it. But in my heart, I find it unbelievable how this can keep happening. Shocked, heartbroken, and infuriated, I just want to cry out: Why? Why!
