G-3 PEOPLE FILES
- Philip Gorski - Chris Gosqami - Giles Gough - Paul M Gould - Amanda Grace - Jack Graham - Michelle Graham - Anthony Granado - Stan Grant - Ken Graves - Marlena Graves - Todd Gray- Mark Grayson - Joel Green - Jonathan Greenblatt -
==Philip Gorski======
Philip Gorski is professor of sociology and religious studies at Yale University. He is co-director (with Julia Adams) of Yale’s Center for Comparative Research, and co-runs the Religion and Politics Colloquium at the Yale MacMillan Center. He is the author of American Covenant: A History of Civil Religion from the Puritans to the Present and The Disciplinary Revolution: Calvinism and the Growth of State Power in Early Modern Europe.
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Philip Gorski
White Christian nationalism (WCN) is, first of all, a story about America. It says: America was founded as a Christian nation, by (white) Christians; and its laws and institutions are based on “Biblical” (that is, Protestant) Christianity. This much is certain, though: America is divinely favored. Whence its enormous wealth and power. In exchange for these blessings, America has been given a mission: to spread religion, freedom, and civilization—by force, if necessary. But that mission is endangered by the growing presence of non-whites, non-Christians, and non-Americans on American soil. White Christians must therefore “take back the country,” their country.
WCN is not just a story. It is also a political vision. Violence and racial purity are central to that vision. As Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead have shown, white Christian nationalists tend to favor a strong military and capital punishment and oppose gun control. WCN is thus strongly correlated with opposition to interracial marriage, non-white immigration, and affirmative action.
To understand how American Christianity became so entangled with racism and violence, we first have to trace it back to its scriptural roots. Those roots are dual. It turns out that WCN is not just one story, but two. The first is a promised land story. The New England Puritans saw themselves as the heirs of the biblical Israelites. They imagined themselves as a “chosen people,” and they came to see the “new world” as their “promised land.” And as their relationship with the natives shifted from curiosity to hostility, they began to see the Indians as “Canaanites,” who had to be conquered.
The second story is an end times story. Most Christian theologians read Revelation in allegorical terms, as a depiction of the moral struggles within the believer’s heart. But some interpreted the text more literally, as a description of bloody struggles to come. That is how many Puritan radicals read it, and they exported those ideas to New England.
The two stories gradually fused together during the Puritans’ wars with the Indians. Cotton Mather came to believe that the New World would be the central battlefield in the final struggle between good and evil. He placed himself and his brethren on the side of the good, and the Catholic French and their native allies on the side of evil. He likened the Indians to demons and viewed the killing of Indians as a blood sacrifice to an angry God. It was war that welded Protestantism and Englishness together in the New World.............Trumpism is, among other things, the latest version of the WCN frame. Echoing the promised land story, Trump says he will “take back the country” from the outsiders and invaders who have taken control—immigrants and secularists, Muslims and Mexicans—and then restore it to its rightful owners: “real” (that is, white, Christian) Americans. Echoing the end times story, Trump paints the world in terms of us and them, good and evil, and hints at violent struggles to come. The first such struggle took place on January 6, 2021. It will not, I fear, be the last.
-Philip Gorski; Berkely Center; White Christian Nationalism: The Deep Story Behind the Capitol Insurrection; 1.22.21
WCN is not just a story. It is also a political vision. Violence and racial purity are central to that vision. As Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead have shown, white Christian nationalists tend to favor a strong military and capital punishment and oppose gun control. WCN is thus strongly correlated with opposition to interracial marriage, non-white immigration, and affirmative action.
To understand how American Christianity became so entangled with racism and violence, we first have to trace it back to its scriptural roots. Those roots are dual. It turns out that WCN is not just one story, but two. The first is a promised land story. The New England Puritans saw themselves as the heirs of the biblical Israelites. They imagined themselves as a “chosen people,” and they came to see the “new world” as their “promised land.” And as their relationship with the natives shifted from curiosity to hostility, they began to see the Indians as “Canaanites,” who had to be conquered.
The second story is an end times story. Most Christian theologians read Revelation in allegorical terms, as a depiction of the moral struggles within the believer’s heart. But some interpreted the text more literally, as a description of bloody struggles to come. That is how many Puritan radicals read it, and they exported those ideas to New England.
The two stories gradually fused together during the Puritans’ wars with the Indians. Cotton Mather came to believe that the New World would be the central battlefield in the final struggle between good and evil. He placed himself and his brethren on the side of the good, and the Catholic French and their native allies on the side of evil. He likened the Indians to demons and viewed the killing of Indians as a blood sacrifice to an angry God. It was war that welded Protestantism and Englishness together in the New World.............Trumpism is, among other things, the latest version of the WCN frame. Echoing the promised land story, Trump says he will “take back the country” from the outsiders and invaders who have taken control—immigrants and secularists, Muslims and Mexicans—and then restore it to its rightful owners: “real” (that is, white, Christian) Americans. Echoing the end times story, Trump paints the world in terms of us and them, good and evil, and hints at violent struggles to come. The first such struggle took place on January 6, 2021. It will not, I fear, be the last.
-Philip Gorski; Berkely Center; White Christian Nationalism: The Deep Story Behind the Capitol Insurrection; 1.22.21
==chris goswami======
Chris Goswami worked for 30 years in the telecoms industry starting as a Software Engineer in the UK, and ending as a Vice President at Enea Openwave, originally a Silicon Valley start-up. He is an experienced speaker having spoken and chaired events in many countries, and in the late 1980s was involved in some of the earliest research into “CDMA” — the basis for mobile telephony worldwide. Brought up a Hindu, Chris became a Christian at 19 and has served in many roles in local churches.Today he works as Associate Minister at Lymm Baptist Church and Chaplain to Manchester Airport. He was formerly Associate Minister at Brownley Green, Baptist Church in Wythenshawe, Manchester
Chris Goswami
1 in 3 Americans call themselves evangelical Christians, and 60 per cent of the Republican electorate are evangelicals. This is a nationalist Christian movement that blends together patriotism, politics, and God. It is powerful and profoundly influential to an extent those of us outside the US find hard to grasp.
Some base their support for Trump on the Bible, likening him to the Old Testament character King Cyrus. Despite being an unbelieving Persian ruler from another religion, Cyrus is anointed in Isaiah 44-45 as God’s “shepherd” to help deliver ancient Israel from Babylonian captivity. This concept of an “imperfect vessel used for greater good” has often been applied to Trump.
Many evangelicals don’t personally like Trump but their relationship with him is transactional - they vote for him and he shapes the country to their liking. They hold their nose and vote for policy over character.
Other evangelicals of course love the man himself. They see Trump’s enemies as God’s enemies. In their eyes he can do no wrong and he really was robbed of the 2020 election. These extremist opinions tend to get the press coverage. --Chris Goswami; Premier Magazine; Why US evangelicals are still saying ‘Amen’ to Trump 8.3.23
Some base their support for Trump on the Bible, likening him to the Old Testament character King Cyrus. Despite being an unbelieving Persian ruler from another religion, Cyrus is anointed in Isaiah 44-45 as God’s “shepherd” to help deliver ancient Israel from Babylonian captivity. This concept of an “imperfect vessel used for greater good” has often been applied to Trump.
Many evangelicals don’t personally like Trump but their relationship with him is transactional - they vote for him and he shapes the country to their liking. They hold their nose and vote for policy over character.
Other evangelicals of course love the man himself. They see Trump’s enemies as God’s enemies. In their eyes he can do no wrong and he really was robbed of the 2020 election. These extremist opinions tend to get the press coverage. --Chris Goswami; Premier Magazine; Why US evangelicals are still saying ‘Amen’ to Trump 8.3.23
==Giles Gough======
Giles Gough
The most explicit statement of faith from Taylor comes from her Netflix documentary Miss Americana. We see her in a 2018 clip, arguing with her team about making a political statement in favour of a Democratic candidate in an upcoming election. This discussion has been sparked by election adverts for US Senator Marsha Blackburn, who has voted against legislation protecting women from domestic violence, and believes that businesses should have the right to refuse gay couples. Taylor says in the clip: “I can’t see another commercial and see Marsha Blackburn disguising these policies behind the words ‘Tennessee Christian values’…I live in Tennessee. I’m a Christian. That’s not what we stand for.”
For someone who, for professional reasons, has had to be vague about her religious and political beliefs, that bold statement of faith stands out a mile. To find another declaration so strong, we have to go all the way back to the start of her career, to a song that never really saw the light of day. 'Didn’t They' is an unreleased song leaked onto the internet, purportedly recorded in 2003. In it, Taylor asks where was God when 9/11 happened.
Here’s the chorus: “And didn’t they call you, didn’t they need you bad enough? / Was there some reason I’m not aware of? / Did you not write it down? Just one more thing to do / Where were you, where were you / And didn’t they pray, too?”
Artistically, it’s a lament reminiscient of a Davidic psalm. One can only guess that it was never included in any of her early albums because it’s openly critical of God - such a sentiment would not have played well with Swift's early audience. From aged 13, Swift grew up in Tennessee, which is famously part of the Bible Belt - ten states where socially conservative, protestant Christianity is so ingrained into the culture, that people may see themselves as Christians without necessarily thinking much about what that means. This cultural Christianity is in the background of songs such as this.
The only other reference to faith in her early music can be found in 'Christmas Must Be Something More', released in 2007 which clunkily refers to Jesus as “the birthday boy who saved our lives”.
However, when we listen to Swift today, the perspective of God is a very uncertain one.
--Giles Gough; Premier Chistianity; The changing faith of Taylor Swift 7.18.23
For someone who, for professional reasons, has had to be vague about her religious and political beliefs, that bold statement of faith stands out a mile. To find another declaration so strong, we have to go all the way back to the start of her career, to a song that never really saw the light of day. 'Didn’t They' is an unreleased song leaked onto the internet, purportedly recorded in 2003. In it, Taylor asks where was God when 9/11 happened.
Here’s the chorus: “And didn’t they call you, didn’t they need you bad enough? / Was there some reason I’m not aware of? / Did you not write it down? Just one more thing to do / Where were you, where were you / And didn’t they pray, too?”
Artistically, it’s a lament reminiscient of a Davidic psalm. One can only guess that it was never included in any of her early albums because it’s openly critical of God - such a sentiment would not have played well with Swift's early audience. From aged 13, Swift grew up in Tennessee, which is famously part of the Bible Belt - ten states where socially conservative, protestant Christianity is so ingrained into the culture, that people may see themselves as Christians without necessarily thinking much about what that means. This cultural Christianity is in the background of songs such as this.
The only other reference to faith in her early music can be found in 'Christmas Must Be Something More', released in 2007 which clunkily refers to Jesus as “the birthday boy who saved our lives”.
However, when we listen to Swift today, the perspective of God is a very uncertain one.
--Giles Gough; Premier Chistianity; The changing faith of Taylor Swift 7.18.23
==paul m gould=============
Paul M. Gould is an associate professor of philosophy of religion and director of the M.A. Philosophy of Religion program at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Gould earned his doctorate in philosophy from Purdue University. He is the author or editor of ten scholarly and popular-level books including Cultural Apologetics, Philosophy: A Christian Introduction, and The Story of the Cosmos. He has been a visiting scholar at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School’s Henry Center, working on the intersection of science and faith, and is the founder and president of the Two Tasks Institute. He is a widely sought-after speaker in apologetics and philosophy. He speaks regularly at universities, churches and ministries around the country, including Summit Ministries, the C.S. Lewis Institute and the Evangelical Philosophical Society’s annual apologetics conference
Paul M Gould Files
“The work of establishing the Christian voice, conscience, and imagination within a culture so that Christianity is seen as true and satisfying.” --Paul M Gould defining cultural apologetics; Cultural Apologetics; Renewing the Christian Voice, Conscience, and Imagination in a Disenchanted World Paperback – 2019
“The work of establishing the Christian voice, conscience, and imagination within a culture so that Christianity is seen as true and satisfying.” --Paul M Gould defining cultural apologetics; Cultural Apologetics; Renewing the Christian Voice, Conscience, and Imagination in a Disenchanted World Paperback – 2019
==amanda grace===============
Holy Crap! Eric Trump, Alina Habba Join Cray-Cray Evangelicals To Sing The Praises Of His Father
Over the years, people have suggested that Eric Trump may not be the brightest member of his family, even though in all likelihood it’s a close contest between him and Donald Trump Jr. Both have the habit of firing off posts on X that are larded with misspellings. Both have also had questionable roles running The Trump Organization which is now facing the very real possibilities of a $370 million fine and even the chance that their father, Donald Trump may find it nearly impossible to conduct real estate business in New York ever again.
Now, however, Eric, his wife Lara Trump, and dear old Dad’s attorney, Alina Habba, seem to have got religion. At least that’s what Right Wing Watch is reporting. The night before the Iowa caucus, the trio met with self-proclaimed “prophet” Amanda Grace, who was hosting a “Night of Prayer for the Trump Family and the Nation” and other members of Donald Trump’s inner circle. Which also included the likes of Roger Stone, conspiracy theorist Clay Clark, MAGA pastor Jackson Lahmeyer, and really nutball “prophet” Robin Bullock.
(Megan Hamilton/Politizoom 1/16/24)
READ MORE>>>>>
Over the years, people have suggested that Eric Trump may not be the brightest member of his family, even though in all likelihood it’s a close contest between him and Donald Trump Jr. Both have the habit of firing off posts on X that are larded with misspellings. Both have also had questionable roles running The Trump Organization which is now facing the very real possibilities of a $370 million fine and even the chance that their father, Donald Trump may find it nearly impossible to conduct real estate business in New York ever again.
Now, however, Eric, his wife Lara Trump, and dear old Dad’s attorney, Alina Habba, seem to have got religion. At least that’s what Right Wing Watch is reporting. The night before the Iowa caucus, the trio met with self-proclaimed “prophet” Amanda Grace, who was hosting a “Night of Prayer for the Trump Family and the Nation” and other members of Donald Trump’s inner circle. Which also included the likes of Roger Stone, conspiracy theorist Clay Clark, MAGA pastor Jackson Lahmeyer, and really nutball “prophet” Robin Bullock.
(Megan Hamilton/Politizoom 1/16/24)
READ MORE>>>>>
Zorek Richards
May 15, 2023:
Following are a few of the most bizarre things that was preached last night at the REAwaken Tour, which is essentially a Christian Nationalist Lovefest for Donald, the sexual predator, Trump. Michael Flynn's remarks (below) are dehumanizing and dangerous.
MAGA cultists gathered at The Trump National Doral resort last night for a "Pastors For Trump" event that kicked off with a prayer asking God to "intervene in the affairs of this nation" by giving Trump "divine wisdom" and "divine discernment."
Self proclaimed "Prophet" Amanda Grace, in one of the most bizarre messages, warned of technologically advanced “mermaids and water people” spreading perversion and told the crowd, “we are meant for hand to hand combat.”
Ex-American Idol contestant and Flat-Earther right-wing activist Jimmy Levy resurrected a conspiracy theory that was championed by QAnon. These people are drinking the blood of children," Levy proclaimed. "These (Hollywood) people are injecting a chemical called adrenochrome that they extract from children that are scared." (apparently because he was on American Idol he is an expert on all things Hollywood ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).
Pastor Mark Burns cited the Bible to suggest that violence is needed to take power: "You got to get to the point where you realize that when they smack you in the face you smack them back two times harder," Burns said, quoting Matthew 5:38-40, which reads, "If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." He then suggested violence as he noted that the "Bible says the violent take it... and we take it by force," in reference to Matthew 11:12, which reads, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.""We are here ready to take this nation back," said Burns during the event this week. "And I believe without a shadow of a doubt, the only man that God has anointed him...to be the next President of the United States of America and that is Donald Trump. That's why we got to declare war on this transgender agenda that tried to destroy our children's minds in the United States of America."
Michael Flynn weighed in, of course: "The other side is an ideology that they don't have faith. They don't believe in God. They have no soul. They have no consciousness......When we think about something, we go, you know, black and white right and wrong, good and evil. They don't see things like that. They don't see in those terms."
Baptist Pastor Brian Kaylor said that Flynn's comment is a "dangerous dehumanizing rhetoric," and that he's "painting this as a battle between God's people & soulless creatures."
If they can keep pushing the idea that anyone left of them is soul-less..........they are doing the same thing Hitler did in German with the Jews. Soul-less people are easier to kill. And they will do it to purify whatever race or creed they are claiming. Last night, after he cancelled his Iowa rally, Trump called Michael Flynn and told him he would "bring him back" in his next administration. The "Reawaken" tour came to the Trump National Doral Miami for a three-day conference.
Following are a few of the most bizarre things that was preached last night at the REAwaken Tour, which is essentially a Christian Nationalist Lovefest for Donald, the sexual predator, Trump. Michael Flynn's remarks (below) are dehumanizing and dangerous.
MAGA cultists gathered at The Trump National Doral resort last night for a "Pastors For Trump" event that kicked off with a prayer asking God to "intervene in the affairs of this nation" by giving Trump "divine wisdom" and "divine discernment."
Self proclaimed "Prophet" Amanda Grace, in one of the most bizarre messages, warned of technologically advanced “mermaids and water people” spreading perversion and told the crowd, “we are meant for hand to hand combat.”
Ex-American Idol contestant and Flat-Earther right-wing activist Jimmy Levy resurrected a conspiracy theory that was championed by QAnon. These people are drinking the blood of children," Levy proclaimed. "These (Hollywood) people are injecting a chemical called adrenochrome that they extract from children that are scared." (apparently because he was on American Idol he is an expert on all things Hollywood ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).
Pastor Mark Burns cited the Bible to suggest that violence is needed to take power: "You got to get to the point where you realize that when they smack you in the face you smack them back two times harder," Burns said, quoting Matthew 5:38-40, which reads, "If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." He then suggested violence as he noted that the "Bible says the violent take it... and we take it by force," in reference to Matthew 11:12, which reads, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.""We are here ready to take this nation back," said Burns during the event this week. "And I believe without a shadow of a doubt, the only man that God has anointed him...to be the next President of the United States of America and that is Donald Trump. That's why we got to declare war on this transgender agenda that tried to destroy our children's minds in the United States of America."
Michael Flynn weighed in, of course: "The other side is an ideology that they don't have faith. They don't believe in God. They have no soul. They have no consciousness......When we think about something, we go, you know, black and white right and wrong, good and evil. They don't see things like that. They don't see in those terms."
Baptist Pastor Brian Kaylor said that Flynn's comment is a "dangerous dehumanizing rhetoric," and that he's "painting this as a battle between God's people & soulless creatures."
If they can keep pushing the idea that anyone left of them is soul-less..........they are doing the same thing Hitler did in German with the Jews. Soul-less people are easier to kill. And they will do it to purify whatever race or creed they are claiming. Last night, after he cancelled his Iowa rally, Trump called Michael Flynn and told him he would "bring him back" in his next administration. The "Reawaken" tour came to the Trump National Doral Miami for a three-day conference.
==jack graham======
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Pastor: Trump ‘warrior for the Word of God’ Speaking into a handheld microphone, Jack Graham, senior pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, closed his eyes and placed a hand on Trump on Monday at the National Faith Advisory Board summit in Georgia. More than a dozen pastors stood with them in prayer. "We love you, Jesus, and we also love our country. And we thank you that you have raised up a man, Donald J. Trump, to be a warrior for the word of God and the wisdom that comes from God," Graham prayed. "Thank you for protecting him, for keeping your hand of blessing upon him, and we pray as you raise him up once again to be our president that you would give him strength and wisdom and joy in the journey." (Democrat Gazette 11/2/24) READ MORE>>>>> |
November 2, 2024: Graham Prayed: "We love you, Jesus, and we also love our country. And we thank you that you have raised up a man, Donald J. Trump, to be a warrior for the word of God and the wisdom that comes from God. Thank you for protecting him, for keeping your hand of blessing upon him, and we pray as you raise him up once again to be our president that you would give him strength and wisdom and joy in the journey." |
10 Evangelical reactions to Trump's guilty verdict: 'A very sad day'
Jack Graham, senior pastor of Prestonwood Church in Plano, Texas, delivered a message to his followers on X Thursday. “Everyone take a deep breath, pray and ask God to deliver justice to America after the sham of a trial in NYC,” he said. “There is so much at stake including the future of our legal system and the constitution of our nation.” (Christian Post 6/22/23) READ MORE>>>>>
Jack Graham, senior pastor of Prestonwood Church in Plano, Texas, delivered a message to his followers on X Thursday. “Everyone take a deep breath, pray and ask God to deliver justice to America after the sham of a trial in NYC,” he said. “There is so much at stake including the future of our legal system and the constitution of our nation.” (Christian Post 6/22/23) READ MORE>>>>>
April 18, 2023: Baptist Press: SBC leaders, former presidents react to death of Charles Stanley
“Charles Stanley’s legacy as a preacher of the Gospel and teacher of God’s Word will live for generations. Loved and beloved by millions he is now in the presence of Jesus and rewarded for a life and ministry done well to God’s glory.”--Jack Graham, former SBC president
“Charles Stanley’s legacy as a preacher of the Gospel and teacher of God’s Word will live for generations. Loved and beloved by millions he is now in the presence of Jesus and rewarded for a life and ministry done well to God’s glory.”--Jack Graham, former SBC president
==michelle graham======
Michelle Graham loves to help women discover how much they are loved and treasured by God. She debunks the popular messages of culture that tell women their worth is only based on beauty and sexuality. As a staff member and popular speaker for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Michelle helps women of all ages develop the courage to live differently in today's culture and to rise up as world changers.
Michelle Graham
Those who live in God's grace, Paul says, will be changed. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." (Titus 2:11-12). When we realize that our bodies are made to collectively bear the image of God, we live free of the "world passion" of appearance and obsession. When we rest in God's deep satisfaction in creating our body, we will stop worrying about what others think of us. When we know that out body is a priceless gift from a loving Father, we will take care of it well. When we live in the reality that God does not reject out body, we will stop hiding in shame. -Michelle Graham; Wanting to be Her; 2005
==anthony granado==============
Feb 11, 2023: Charisma: Faith-Based Groups at Border Stand Against Federal Persecution
Anthony Granado, vice president of government relations for Catholic Charities USA, found the lawmakers' claim insulting, saying it "threatens the core ministry of the church." The urgency of the organization's response was necessary because, Granado said, the work of Catholic Charities "has traditionally been met with a great level of respect by Republicans and Democrats alike."
"We have not seen such a level of direct ... attack against Catholic Charities USA," Granado told Religion News Service. "We will continue to do this work. We will not apologize for it. The gospel compels us to do so. If that's unpopular with certain members of Congress, so be it."
Anthony Granado, vice president of government relations for Catholic Charities USA, found the lawmakers' claim insulting, saying it "threatens the core ministry of the church." The urgency of the organization's response was necessary because, Granado said, the work of Catholic Charities "has traditionally been met with a great level of respect by Republicans and Democrats alike."
"We have not seen such a level of direct ... attack against Catholic Charities USA," Granado told Religion News Service. "We will continue to do this work. We will not apologize for it. The gospel compels us to do so. If that's unpopular with certain members of Congress, so be it."
==stan grant===============
Stan Grant
Lament is described in Paul’s Letter to the Romans as “sighs too deep for words” (8:26). I know that sigh. I know what it is to breathe in despair. I know lament.
“Lament” is not a word we use too often today. It is a word that has fallen from favour. We speak of reconciliation, of rights, of justice. Sometimes we speak of healing, or even of truth. But these words fall short for me. They are simply too convenient. They are words designed to convince; words to measure ourselves by.
These are words of politics. And I am not a person of politics. I seek the impossibility of existence — the reach for eternity — in a world where politics reduces us only to what is possible. For I am a person of faith. I am a person of belonging. I am a person of country. I am person of kinship. I seek the things that endure — the things of our soul. And I am a person of sorrow.
Lament is a place of deep sorrow. It is a place of cries. But there is, as the writer and musician Michael Card has put it, something sacred about sorrow. It is the way we reach towards God.
But we have lost the words of lament, haven’t we? We have replaced those words with political words. So here I want to speak the unfashionable language of lament, and try to reclaim these and other words that have passed out of circulation, or have lost their true meaning — words like love, like divine. I want to use those words to speak back to the age. Lament is described in Paul’s Letter to the Romans as “sighs too deep for words” (8:26). I know that sigh. I know what it is to breathe in despair. I know lament.
“Lament” is not a word we use too often today. It is a word that has fallen from favour. We speak of reconciliation, of rights, of justice. Sometimes we speak of healing, or even of truth. But these words fall short for me. They are simply too convenient. They are words designed to convince; words to measure ourselves by.
These are words of politics. And I am not a person of politics. I seek the impossibility of existence — the reach for eternity — in a world where politics reduces us only to what is possible. For I am a person of faith. I am a person of belonging. I am a person of country. I am person of kinship. I seek the things that endure — the things of our soul. And I am a person of sorrow.
Lament is a place of deep sorrow. It is a place of cries. But there is, as the writer and musician Michael Card has put it, something sacred about sorrow. It is the way we reach towards God.
But we have lost the words of lament, haven’t we? We have replaced those words with political words. So here I want to speak the unfashionable language of lament, and try to reclaim these and other words that have passed out of circulation, or have lost their true meaning — words like love, like divine. I want to use those words to speak back to the age. The theologian Mark Vroegop has written that “lament invites us to grieve and trust, to struggle and believe”. We First Nations people know that struggle, that grief, that challenge of trust when our trust is betrayed. But it is not our struggle alone. It is the struggle we share. We grieve — all of us — because we want to trust. We need to believe. But we are all betrayed by an age of division, of ruthless contests for power, of rapacious exploitation of people and the planet, of cynical opportunists pretending to be leaders.
We are betrayed by an age of media that thinks debate is finding the point of difference and widening it — stoking the fires of a toxic social media with its self-righteous and performative anger, its craven need for validation, for “likes”, its online pile-ons and cancellations. We live in an age of prosecution without process: no truth but our own truths. No wonder this has been called an “age of anger”.
Lament, too, can be an expression of anger, but not the self-righteous anger of our time. No, an eternal, humble, righteous anger. We have the right — even the responsibility — to be angry, but not the right to hate. For me, lament is ultimately a holy state of grace.
--Stan Grant; ABC Religion & Ethics; “This is the way healing begins”: Recovering the language of lament in a disenchanted age 8.20.23
“Lament” is not a word we use too often today. It is a word that has fallen from favour. We speak of reconciliation, of rights, of justice. Sometimes we speak of healing, or even of truth. But these words fall short for me. They are simply too convenient. They are words designed to convince; words to measure ourselves by.
These are words of politics. And I am not a person of politics. I seek the impossibility of existence — the reach for eternity — in a world where politics reduces us only to what is possible. For I am a person of faith. I am a person of belonging. I am a person of country. I am person of kinship. I seek the things that endure — the things of our soul. And I am a person of sorrow.
Lament is a place of deep sorrow. It is a place of cries. But there is, as the writer and musician Michael Card has put it, something sacred about sorrow. It is the way we reach towards God.
But we have lost the words of lament, haven’t we? We have replaced those words with political words. So here I want to speak the unfashionable language of lament, and try to reclaim these and other words that have passed out of circulation, or have lost their true meaning — words like love, like divine. I want to use those words to speak back to the age. Lament is described in Paul’s Letter to the Romans as “sighs too deep for words” (8:26). I know that sigh. I know what it is to breathe in despair. I know lament.
“Lament” is not a word we use too often today. It is a word that has fallen from favour. We speak of reconciliation, of rights, of justice. Sometimes we speak of healing, or even of truth. But these words fall short for me. They are simply too convenient. They are words designed to convince; words to measure ourselves by.
These are words of politics. And I am not a person of politics. I seek the impossibility of existence — the reach for eternity — in a world where politics reduces us only to what is possible. For I am a person of faith. I am a person of belonging. I am a person of country. I am person of kinship. I seek the things that endure — the things of our soul. And I am a person of sorrow.
Lament is a place of deep sorrow. It is a place of cries. But there is, as the writer and musician Michael Card has put it, something sacred about sorrow. It is the way we reach towards God.
But we have lost the words of lament, haven’t we? We have replaced those words with political words. So here I want to speak the unfashionable language of lament, and try to reclaim these and other words that have passed out of circulation, or have lost their true meaning — words like love, like divine. I want to use those words to speak back to the age. The theologian Mark Vroegop has written that “lament invites us to grieve and trust, to struggle and believe”. We First Nations people know that struggle, that grief, that challenge of trust when our trust is betrayed. But it is not our struggle alone. It is the struggle we share. We grieve — all of us — because we want to trust. We need to believe. But we are all betrayed by an age of division, of ruthless contests for power, of rapacious exploitation of people and the planet, of cynical opportunists pretending to be leaders.
We are betrayed by an age of media that thinks debate is finding the point of difference and widening it — stoking the fires of a toxic social media with its self-righteous and performative anger, its craven need for validation, for “likes”, its online pile-ons and cancellations. We live in an age of prosecution without process: no truth but our own truths. No wonder this has been called an “age of anger”.
Lament, too, can be an expression of anger, but not the self-righteous anger of our time. No, an eternal, humble, righteous anger. We have the right — even the responsibility — to be angry, but not the right to hate. For me, lament is ultimately a holy state of grace.
--Stan Grant; ABC Religion & Ethics; “This is the way healing begins”: Recovering the language of lament in a disenchanted age 8.20.23
ken graves
Oct 26, 2022: NC Policy Watch: North Carolina Republican leaders embrace Christian nationalism
Conservative pastors, political allies aim to tear down any wall between church and state
When Pastor Ken Graves took the podium at Calvary Chapel Lake Norman in Statesville last month, he cut an imposing figure.
Conservative pastors, political allies aim to tear down any wall between church and state
When Pastor Ken Graves took the podium at Calvary Chapel Lake Norman in Statesville last month, he cut an imposing figure.
marlena graves |
Marlena Graves received her M.Div. from Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York. Graves writes for various venues and is a by-lined writer for Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics Blog, Gifted For Leadership Blog, and Missio Alliance. Graves belongs to INK: A Creative Collective and the Redbud Writers Guild. Graves has a book through Brazos Press called: A Beautiful Disaster Finding Hope in the Midst of Brokenness.
Dec 2, 2022: Christian Science Monitor: Worship by other means
For some, the decline of Christianity among Western nations and its growth elsewhere offers an opportunity to focus less on how it defines nations than on how it uplifts societies through individuals’ practice. “Isn’t Christianity steady, even on the rise, in the majority of the world?” Marlena Graves, an adjunct professor at Winebrenner Theological Seminary in Findlay, Ohio, asked Sojourners. “Our sustenance is to do the will of God whom we serve: loving God, neighbors, and enemies in practical ways, not in our imaginaries.” Qualities of thought, like salt, neither decline nor perish.
For some, the decline of Christianity among Western nations and its growth elsewhere offers an opportunity to focus less on how it defines nations than on how it uplifts societies through individuals’ practice. “Isn’t Christianity steady, even on the rise, in the majority of the world?” Marlena Graves, an adjunct professor at Winebrenner Theological Seminary in Findlay, Ohio, asked Sojourners. “Our sustenance is to do the will of God whom we serve: loving God, neighbors, and enemies in practical ways, not in our imaginaries.” Qualities of thought, like salt, neither decline nor perish.
June 11, 2021: Christianity Today: For Popular Twitter Seminarian, Sassiness Is a Spiritual Gift
While previous generations found encouragement from women leaders without formal theological training, ordination, or local church support, many women today are learning from seminary-educated leaders like Kat Armstrong, Marlena Graves, Sharon Hodde Miller, Tish Harrison Warren, Sandra Glahn, and Carmen Imes, who runs a Facebook group for women members of the Evangelical Theological Society.
While previous generations found encouragement from women leaders without formal theological training, ordination, or local church support, many women today are learning from seminary-educated leaders like Kat Armstrong, Marlena Graves, Sharon Hodde Miller, Tish Harrison Warren, Sandra Glahn, and Carmen Imes, who runs a Facebook group for women members of the Evangelical Theological Society.
Mar 28, 2015: Marlena Graves: The Higher Place: Wilderness Cell
June 2012: Marlena Graves: Christianity Today: Prodigal Children: If It Can Happen to John Piper, It Can Happen to Yo
==todd gray====================
State Baptist leaders describe success in convention remarks
SOMERSET — Kentucky Baptists celebrated their 186th year of working together to advance the gospel during 2023 annual meeting Tuesday at First Baptist Church Somerset. During his report, KBC Executive Director Todd Gray noted that means there have been 186 years of gospel preaching from pulpits of KBC churches, 186 years of community impact by those churches and 186 years of sending missionaries, raising up pastors, starting churches and souls being saved. (Chip Hutcheson/The News Enterprise 11/17/23)
Read More>>>>>
SOMERSET — Kentucky Baptists celebrated their 186th year of working together to advance the gospel during 2023 annual meeting Tuesday at First Baptist Church Somerset. During his report, KBC Executive Director Todd Gray noted that means there have been 186 years of gospel preaching from pulpits of KBC churches, 186 years of community impact by those churches and 186 years of sending missionaries, raising up pastors, starting churches and souls being saved. (Chip Hutcheson/The News Enterprise 11/17/23)
Read More>>>>>
==mark grayson======
Feb 15, 2023: Religion News Service: A 300-year-old church hopes to connect with spiritual but not religious neighbors
Mark Grayson, a former children’s television executive and member of the Trinity church vestry, said the idea for the center grew out of some planning the nearly 300-year-old church was doing as members envisioned their next 100 years of ministry. The group had been working for several years on a strategic plan and realized that while the church could remain healthy, there were needs in the community it was not addressing.
Mark Grayson, a former children’s television executive and member of the Trinity church vestry, said the idea for the center grew out of some planning the nearly 300-year-old church was doing as members envisioned their next 100 years of ministry. The group had been working for several years on a strategic plan and realized that while the church could remain healthy, there were needs in the community it was not addressing.
==joel green=================
Dr. Joel B. Green is professor of New Testament interpretation and associate dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies at Fuller. He has written, cowritten, or edited over 50 books and has years of experience in pastoral ministry.
Joel Green Files
“The narrator apparently pictures Joseph and Mary arriving in Bethlehem and staying there for some time before the delivery of Mary’s baby (cf. 2:6, ‘while they were there’), not their inability to locate lodging on the night of their arrival resulting in the birth of the child in a stable.”
“The term Luke employs here for ‘guest room’ is often translated in English as ‘inn.’ However, the same term appears in 22:11 with the meaning ‘guest room,’ and the verbal form occurs in 9:12 and 19:7 with the sense of ‘find lodging’ or ‘be a guest.’
Moreover, in 10:34, where a commercial inn is clearly demanded by the text, Luke draws on different vocabulary. It is doubtful whether a commercial inn actually existed in Bethlehem, which stood on no major roads. It may be that Luke has in mind a ‘kahn or caravansary where large groups of travelers found shelter under one roof,’ but this does not help our understanding of Mary’s placing the child in a manger.”
“That ‘guest room’ is the more plausible meaning here is urged by the realization that in peasant homes in the ancient Near East family and animals slept in one enclosed space, with the animals located on a lower level. Mary and Joseph, then, would have been the guests of family or friends, but their home would have been so overcrowded that the baby was placed in a feeding trough” (p. 128-9).
-Joel Green, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
“The term Luke employs here for ‘guest room’ is often translated in English as ‘inn.’ However, the same term appears in 22:11 with the meaning ‘guest room,’ and the verbal form occurs in 9:12 and 19:7 with the sense of ‘find lodging’ or ‘be a guest.’
Moreover, in 10:34, where a commercial inn is clearly demanded by the text, Luke draws on different vocabulary. It is doubtful whether a commercial inn actually existed in Bethlehem, which stood on no major roads. It may be that Luke has in mind a ‘kahn or caravansary where large groups of travelers found shelter under one roof,’ but this does not help our understanding of Mary’s placing the child in a manger.”
“That ‘guest room’ is the more plausible meaning here is urged by the realization that in peasant homes in the ancient Near East family and animals slept in one enclosed space, with the animals located on a lower level. Mary and Joseph, then, would have been the guests of family or friends, but their home would have been so overcrowded that the baby was placed in a feeding trough” (p. 128-9).
-Joel Green, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
