Category Archives: Society

Couple holding hands in front of a rainbow flag

Peace Through Pride

Peace through Pride. This is the theme for our Pride Festival and Parade in Oklahoma City this year. I have heard that many people are not excited about this theme and I saw an article in the paper the other day where a person asked,

Dove flying in Lisbon, Portugal

Peace: Dreaming an Impossible Dream?

This idea of peace has been close to my heart for a long time now. Recently, while teaching at Virginia Commonwealth University, I decided to begin practicing a holiday that I hope will be widely practiced one day. I finally contacted a variety of politicians

Woman and dog on lake shore

The Gift of Free Will

Peter said, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy over money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted

Woman and dog on lake shore

A Warm Place in the Sun

I recently read Brent Coleman’s book Wounded in the Name of God, in which he dedicates the book to his dog Pepper. I find it so amazing how these creatures of God can bring so much comfort and stability to our lives, and how we

Soldiers boarding airplane

Love in a War Zone: A Journey of Peace to Iraq

Editor’s Note: Kara Speltz, 65, spent three days in Baghdad witnessing and documenting how the U.S. bombing of Iraq was affecting the country and its residents. The Iraqi government expelled her and other members of her group from the Christian Peacemakers Team for taking unauthorized

Soldiers boarding airplane

Sorrows of War: What Would Augustine Say?

Though Augustine is widely known — and frequently reproached — for developing the concept of a “just war,” he believed war is essentially an occasion for remorse. “The wise person will wage just wars,” he wrote, but even the possibility of war “should cause humans

Boy with partially covered face

Queer and Christian in Iraq

Ever since the oppressive Taliban government was dismantled, the United States has been pursuing Saddam Hussein’s regime. In Iraq, the United States is seen as a Christian nation. Maybe because most Americans are people who believe in Christ, whether they call themselves Christian or Catholic

Parent and child spending time together

Gay Adoption: What Would Jesus Do?

First Rosie O’Donnell. Now Janet Reno. The issue of gay adoptions is not going anywhere – at least not any time soon. Earlier this month, at a fund-raising event for the Human Rights Campaign, Reno said that if she were elected governor of Florida she