The past few weeks I have been hurt to see the news of church shooting incidents. Times like these may rock our faith. Sometimes this means feeling intimidated, insecure. Sometimes this means questioning our commitment to peace. Sometimes this means fearing that some sort of change is coming we can’t handle. Continue reading
Category Archives: Peace
A Simple Way to Comprehend Kneeling at National Anthems
As of this month, over 27 NFL players have chosen to sit, kneel, or raise a fist of solidarity during the procedural playing of the US national anthem.
This has strangely been met with some very angry reactions. People who don’t know what’s going on see rich football players refusing to comply with the pledge and imagine it’s just a bunch of spoiled brats who haven’t seen combat and therefore don’t respect what soldiers are dying for.
Some people in America seem to hate Colin Kaepernick more than they hate racism. That is part of why he initiated this wave of lamentation and solidarity. Continue reading
#Charlottesville
I visited the campus of UVA one when I was a kid. It was a peaceful day, and I recall it as a mostly boring tour of a pretty campus and some pretty buildings. It was a history field trip, because something about Thomas Jefferson starting the college.
I remember those awkward history lessons about how when the college was founded people owned other people as slaves and treated them like animals. We knew this was wrong. When I was a kid, I knew racism was wrong, and if you asked me, I would tell you it’s wrong to drive a car through people for no reason.
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The “National Anthem of Christendom”
I’m feeling patriotic today.
So I thought I’d post an old hymn that is commonly called the “National Anthem of Christendom”:
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name! Continue reading
Why The Civil War Happened
The Civil War was a tragic confrontation of a once unified people deeply divided by polarized values. There were heroes on both sides who fought hard for what they believed in, strongly convinced that their cause was the righteous one. Lives were lost, and great damage was done before the healing could begin again. But what precisely was the cause of this bitter strife that severed our nation in two? Honestly, the answer is complex and it depends on who you ask. I did the research, and after looking diligently into the matter, I’ve offered a summary of the various theories.
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5 Reasons Why Trade Sanctions are Bad Foreign Policy
So, you hear a lot about sanctions when countries are at odds with one another. You’ve probably heard some about it recently too. A sanction is one country, attempting to penalize another country, places trade restrictions on that country. This also includes imposing tariffs and “freezing” another country’s assets. These sanctions amount to a nation holding hostage another nation’s ability to trade.
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Reading Flannery O’Connor’s “The Displaced Person”: Part II
Part II—All the Colorful, Useless Peafowl
[Read part I here]
In part two of O’Connor’s story, Mrs. Shortley has left the farm and Mrs. McIntyre is left with the displaced Pole and her black workers. We’re given more insight into her character through her conversations with the older farmhand, Astor. While Astor remembers well her husband, the Judge, Mrs. McIntyre is haunted by her late husband. Astor has noticed two things: The decline of the peacocks and the incline of Mrs. McIntyre’s greed.
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Reading Flannery O’Connor’s “The Displaced Person”: Part I
For fans of Flannery O’Connor, “The Displaced Person” is a a short story that occupies a special place, not only because it exhibits her love for peacocks, but because of its more overt religious themes. The story takes place on a farm, the inciting incident being the hiring of a “displaced person” (or refugee) from Poland. O’Connor, a devout Catholic, is one of America’s most famous writers, known for her southern stories of grotesque people encountering beautiful grace.
50 Differences Between Nehemiah’s Wall and Trump’s Wall
Some preachers have concluded that because Nehemiah built a wall for the Lord, and President Trump wants to build a wall for America, that somehow Trump’s wall is the will of God and Christians must support the effort, because Trump is God’s Nehemiah for America. Because Nehemiah and because a wall.
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The Myth of a Pro-Life Donald Trump
With the election of Donald Trump, many conservative Christians are celebrating their vision of an America where abortions will occur less, and the possibility that one day soon abortion will be completely outlawed. In fact, the promise of stopping abortion was for many on-the-fence Christians the tipping point that led them to ultimately support Donald Trump and cast their vote for him. We’ll tolerate everything nasty and despicable about this horrible man, the idea goes, if we can use him to stop abortion.
Firstly, Donald Trump only recently “converted” to the anti-abortion cause, so America should be skeptical about both his commitment to the cause and his method of pursuing it. Did he become pro-life in order to gain votes? Does he know the best strategy? Will his speeches touch the hearts of pro-choice Americans to reconsider their views? Will he communicate well with the Supreme Court? These are important questions. Most of Trump’s statements on abortion since his anti-abortion “conversion” have been clumsy, illogical, myopic, narcissistic, and antagonistic toward women. The President Elect has spoken to pro-life voters promising them a turning of the tables.
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CALEB COY 