Human Rights & Faith Insights
Transcending Boundaries & Building Bridges
A Review of John S. Nurser, For All Peoples and All Nations: The Ecumenical Church and Human Rights In For All Peoples and All Nations: The Ecumenical Church and Human Rights, John S. Nurser shows through historical study that faithful Christian engagement with global...
From Tragedy to Triumph: Courageous Survivors & the Quest for Justice
Last week I saw a remarkable documentary film, “A Thousand Girls Like Me,” about one brave Afghan woman’s astounding quest for justice after years of sexual violence. Khatera, 23 and pregnant, seeks help from no less than 13 religious leaders. Most tell her to pray...
Amidst a Torrent of Injustice, the Hope of Advent & the Promise of Human Rights Day
While the world faces an unprecedented refugee crisis, our government is slashing a program to welcome a small fraction of those in most danger. Although a commission of global experts confirmed the dangerous racism of our policing system, last week Atatiana Jefferson...
Faith and Human Rights
A Review of Amesbury & Newlands, Faith and Human Rights: Christianity and the Global Struggle for Human Dignity (2008) Is religion an ally to human rights, or an adversary? How can Christians navigate the apparent tension between the universal scope of human...
Human Rights Day 2018: Watching, Waiting, Working for Justice
In recent weeks, U.S. ally Saudi Arabia was found to be responsible for the grisly extrajudicial killing of American resident and international journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. Intelligence confirming that this happened at the behest of Saudi’s Crown Prince has...
Virtuosos of Hypocrisy at the United Nations
Much has transpired in the realm of foreign affairs since the recent announcement that the United States would withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council. But as our traditional alliances are being strained and our President pursues closer ties with Russia,...
God’s Children in Need: Justice & Rights for America’s Poor (Part II)
My last blog post reflected on the pressing needs of America’s poor—needs underscored by the recent findings of Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. Who constitutes America’s poor? At least 40 million...
God’s Children in Need: Justice & Rights for America’s Poor (Part I)
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40) Well after the Sunday morning sermon a few weeks ago, I was still mulling the passage in which Jesus speaks these words. One the one hand, it is a poignant portrait of...
Remembering "All That We Share"
Last year a Danish television ad challenging prejudice went viral. Its message was simple and timeless, but its portrayal of the human tendency to put people in boxes was powerful and timely. As immigrants fled life-threatening situations in other parts of the world,...