Duck Dynasty, the Nation of Islam and the failure of liberal Christianity A good evangelical friend of mine predicted that I would fail at growing First Christian Church of Oakland not long after I started pastoring there. I told her about what kind people were there, and about their racial diversity and their openness toContinue reading “The liberal church and the front lines–where are we?”
Category Archives: justice
Police Militarization Makes Us Less Safe: Why I Oppose Urban Shield
“Because we deserve better,” I said to every West Oakland resident I encountered. The 87-year-old lifetime resident and the 30-something hipster alike nodded sagely and said, “that’s right.” I was canvassing with my clergy colleagues, handing out flyers seeking information on the shooting of 23-month-old Hiram Lawrence, Jr. It was late November, 2011. Since then,Continue reading “Police Militarization Makes Us Less Safe: Why I Oppose Urban Shield”
Chris Brown, celebrity relationships and Domestic Violence Awareness Month
editor’s note: additions in italics “Do YOU like Chris Brown?” my then 10-year-old niece asked two years ago as she and her mom were driving somewhere. I should have noticed the inflection in her tone, but I was being hip and cool aunt Sandhya, so I said, “Yeah,” forgetting who he was and what aContinue reading “Chris Brown, celebrity relationships and Domestic Violence Awareness Month”
On cruising and colonialism and Christian ideas of community
I’ve learned a few things on my cruise of Greece and Turkey so far: 1) Much of the area that we call Athens is actually 43 distinct municipalities. 2) The national drink of Turkey is Raki (thus confirming the argument my parents’ Libyan friend in the 1960s consistently made that the Q’uran prohibits getting intoxicated,Continue reading “On cruising and colonialism and Christian ideas of community”
Warning to Jesus, Paul and the socially conscious Christian: Your religion’s fine until you start messing with our business
A hot sun shines down on the port town of Kucadasi in Turkey today. A thriving city on the Asian side of the country, Kucadasi was well below ocean level 2,000 years ago, when the Greco-Roman city of Ephesus, at 250,000 people, was one of the biggest cities in the Roman empire. One of thoseContinue reading “Warning to Jesus, Paul and the socially conscious Christian: Your religion’s fine until you start messing with our business”
Remembering 9/11 as an American and a South Asian American
I remember my father gathering the papers on a Saturday morning to go to a bank in Cleveland. “PLEASE don’t go,” I tried not to sound like a 5-year-old. I was 25, visiting my parents in Akron after a successful career in Washington, DC and getting ready for graduate school in Chicago. Banks don’tContinue reading “Remembering 9/11 as an American and a South Asian American”
On earbuds, harassment and not wanting to block out the world. (And on Mrs. Hall and “Seeing a Woman.”)
I use earbuds now. I use them reluctantly but at full volume, ever since a woman shouted out the passenger window of a passing car at me, “eat more salads!” And when I pulled out my earbuds (softly playing This American Life), thinking it might be someone I knew, she hollered, “you heard me!” andContinue reading “On earbuds, harassment and not wanting to block out the world. (And on Mrs. Hall and “Seeing a Woman.”)”
To everything… a reflection on seasons of a radical
I gritted my teeth as she said it. A colleague I deeply respect was speaking at a luncheon, and she, with the full force of her Memphis charm, put forward this statement: “When I was twenty, I wanted to change the world.” She paused for dramatic effect. “When I was thirty, I wanted to changeContinue reading “To everything… a reflection on seasons of a radical”
First person plural: the Lord’s prayer and liberation
This is a reconstructed version of the sermon I preached as my last sermon as pastor of First Christian Church of Oakland, July 1, 2013. The “scripture reading” for the morning was actually this skit. How many people in the congregation knew that the Lord’s Prayer is actually in the bible? (Most handsContinue reading “First person plural: the Lord’s prayer and liberation”
Love in the Time of Theodicy
I don’t manuscript sermons, but this final sermon in the series, “Everything you ever wanted to know about the Bible but were afraid to ask,” at First Christian Church of Oakland, was on one of the toughest questions out there: “If God is all-loving and all-powerful, why is there suffering?” So I’m doing my bestContinue reading “Love in the Time of Theodicy”
Sandhya Rani Jha 