The Stubborn Invisibility of Whiteness in Biblical Scholarship
Because whiteness lies at the center of biblical studies, the accepted way of doing biblical scholarship is one that engages white questions, white concerns. The system forces scholars of color,...
View ArticleRace, Power, and Being Essential in the Era of COVID-19
The Syrophoenician woman sees herself as essential—both for herself and for her daughter. She is an uppity woman; we can assume that her daughter lived to often hear the tale, forming her as an uppity...
View ArticleFrom Servitude to Service
The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob cried out for deliverance, and Yahweh heard them (Exodus 2:23). Notice carefully: Yahweh did not offer to comfort the Hebrews. Yahweh did not tell them to...
View ArticlePassing through the Valley of the Shadow of Death
We need to recognize that whether we like it or not, the global community is in this crisis together. Our survival depends on learning to share the abundance we have—our natural and financial...
View ArticleGod’s Clean Water Act
Humans have grown exponentially in our propensity and power to conquer the earth itself. Despite being newcomers relative to neighboring species, humans usually behave as if we owned the place. But...
View ArticleReflecting on Rhetoric—Psalm 27
The king of Israel was charged with reciting a psalm that contained reflection and humility alongside confidence. Moreover, he was charged with waiting on God. If God’s own instrument in the Bible was...
View ArticleCall for Contributors to Political Theology Today
Political Theology Today is looking for both occasional and regular contributors. We are especially looking for contributors for Politics of Scripture as well as our weekly, or bi-weekly, “current...
View ArticleThe Politics of Parenting (Luke 11:1-13)
“And he answers, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’” I am a breast-feeding, co-sleeping mother of two....
View ArticleThe Politics of Elijah: Struggling with Elijah’s Legacy (2Kings 2: 1-2, 6-14)
We are the heirs of Elijah’s legacy. His influence is evident within later writings of the Bible, the Bible’s earliest commentators, and within the Bible-shaped parts of our own culture. But how might...
View ArticleThe Politics of Luke 8:26-39
“Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear.” (Luke 8:37a) Fear plagues us. Like children convinced there are...
View ArticleEmbodied Politics: Elizabeth and Mary (Luke 1:39-57)
The story of Mary’s visit to Jesus was the text I heard read at Beverly Harrison’s memorial service in April. It is a story of two women, who meet in the midst a world, dominated by important men...
View ArticleThe Politics of the Trinity
1 + 1 + 1 = 1 … I’ve seen pastors write it on chalk boards, I’ve stood in the pulpit pondering whether this might be the one day in which my poor math skills actually work to my advantage, but at the...
View ArticleThe Politics of Beloved Community Read Through Acts 11:1-18 and John 13:31–35
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35 Albeit five Sundays into the Easter season, today’s text comes from the portion of John’s gospel...
View ArticleLuke 13:31-35 – The Politics of Place
And so it is to Jerusalem that Jesus must go. Why Jerusalem? How would the scene have played out differently if the Pharisees, in their plotting, had simply arranged to have Jesus murdered on the road...
View ArticleThe Politics of Transfiguration: Transformation’s Shadow Side (Luke 9:28-36)
In the lectionary, Transfiguration follows the season of Epiphany with one last display of light. The lights flare brilliantly and momentarily and then are dimmed. The gospel then sends readers on...
View ArticleThe Politics of Transfiguration: Transformation’s Shadow Side (Luke 9:28-36)
In the lectionary, Transfiguration follows the season of Epiphany with one last display of light. The lights flare brilliantly and momentarily and then are dimmed. The gospel then sends readers on...
View ArticlePolitics of Epiphany
Herod was scared of a newborn baby. This basic fact of the Epiphany story bears the key to understanding its political implications. Herod’s fear reveals something of the anxiety that accompanies...
View ArticleIs God a Socialist? The Politics of 1 Cor. 12:12-31a and Luke 4:14-21
Is God a Socialist? And if so, what kind of socialism does God espouse?
View ArticleThe Politics of Isaiah 5:1-7—Patricia K. Tull
The Rev. Dr. Patricia K. Tull is A. B. Rhodes Professor Emerita of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. Her book Inhabiting Eden: Christians, the Bible, and the Ecological Crisis...
View ArticleThe Politics of Scripture: Luke 12:32-40—MaryAnn McKibben Dana
Today is the 14th “Moral Monday” in North Carolina. Each week, progressive religious leaders in the state are protesting budget cuts that they claim are disproportionately affecting the poor and...
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