Populism is a political ontology, in which political being is centered on the question of collective identity. It is also a political theology embedded within constitutional democracy.
New Article: Populism as Political Ontology
N
Struggling with Revolutionary Love
S
In this sermon in honor of MLK's birthday, I consider where we might find revolutionary love today.
Joe Manchin Might be a Senator from West Virginia but he’s Paid for by Corporations
J
Joe Manchin is doing everything he can to undermine effective legislation to address the climate crisis and stop any sort of expansion of the social safety net. Like a lot of people, I have been feeling a lot of anger and despair over his power to dictate the Democratic Party’s legislative agenda at a time when it seems clear that a major consolidation of right-wing and white supremacist power is...
When the Spirit Says Do
W
as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, August 29, 2021 Thank you, Sophia for that exquisite violin performance. It is a blessing to have such talent in our congregation. I think that I can speak for the entire community when I say that we are proud of your achievements and wish you the very best as you continue your musical education. I am certain that you will bless...
Sermon: The Resurrection of the Living
S
as preached for the January 24, 2021 online service of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston Something rather momentous occurred since I was last with you. The United States has a new President and a new Vice President. A man with almost five decades of experience in government is now the country’s chief executive. A woman is now in the nation’s second highest office. The new cabinet...
Pre-inauguration Prayer
P
A prayer prior to the Inauguration of President Joe Biden.
1876, 1968, and Today: The Need for a Radical King
1
In this sermon, I reflect on how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. combined the prophetic with the pastoral in his effort to dismantle white supremacy. He taught that our efforts towards a more spiritual life for ourselves and more just society for all can only be pursued together.
The Senate Should Expel Senators Cruz and Hawley
T
Note: I wrote this op-ed on Friday and sent it to the Houston Chronicle with the intention of sending it on to the Kansas City Star and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch if the Chronicle declined to run it. Since writing it the editorial boards of all three newspapers have written editorials calling for resignations and so I have decided to just post it to my blog. The Chronicle’s op-ed calling...
Truth and Reconciliation: An Open Letter to President-Elect Joe Biden
T
The United States needs to establish a National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation if it is to ever address systematic racism, rural poverty, and white supremacy.
Sermon: Foundations
S
Over the years, I have tried to follow the injunction, attributed to Karl Barth but probably apocryphal, to preach with “the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.” Not being a Christian, I have never taken the injunction literally. Rather I have understood it to mean, root yourself in your tradition, ground yourself in the goodness of the Earth, and from that foundation offer up what...