We’re pleased to announce that the first installment of “The Ordinary Radicals: Special Topics” is available to ship! Keep an eye on your mailbox; those of you who pre-ordered will be receiving your copies soon!
This chapter of “The Ordinary Radicals: Special Topics” explores the historical development of the new movement towards justice-centered faith. Shane Claiborne, Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren, and others offer perspectives on the witness of the early Church, the social context surrounding the rise of fundamentalism, the emergence of a new understanding of a social gospel, and the construction of a new cross-denominational vision of unity for today’s church.
Featuring special extended interviews with:
-Leroy Barber of MissionYear
-Tony Campolo
-Shane Claiborne
-Rene Colson
-Zach Exley
-Aaron Fiordomondo
-Lisa Sharon Harper
-Sister Margaret McKenna of New Jerusalem Now
-Brian McLaren
-Rick Perlstein
-Ron Sider
Curious? So excited that you can’t wait to see some material? Here’s a railer showing what to expect:
We just got word that Becky Garrison – religions satirist, contributing writer for Sojourners, and a featured interview in The Ordinary Radicals – will be featured on conservative Boston radio station WDIS-AM tomorrow night, along with Jeff Sharlet, who she recently interviewed about his new book, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. Together, they’ll be discussing The Family as represented in Sharlet’s book.
Shane Claiborne was featured as a call-in guest last week on Tavis Smiley, discussing healthcare with Stan Brock, founder of the non-profit Remote Area Medical. You can listen to the interview here in the show’s archives!
Becky Garrison references her interview with Jamie on Jim Wallace’s God’s Politics blog, offering insight on why people of faith should be concerned about recent murders and increasing violence in El Salvador.
The Street Prophets website has reposted Becky Garrison’s interview with Jamie Moffett about his upcoming film “Return to El Salvador” and the details behind “The Mysterious Death of Marcelo Rivera.”
Came across this post yesterday from blogger Kevin Beck, addressing the need to adapt the story of Christianity to speak to a diverse and pluralistic society. The modern realization of Christianity itself is diverse and pluralistic; a composite of different denominations with their own unique takes on the Christian story. How then do we reconcile our variations to speak with relevance to a changing society? Do we need a new story of a new Christianity that operates in a new society?
The New York Times recently reported that soldier suicides now outnumber actual combat fatalities.That’s such an incredibly tragic reality to consider that my immediate reaction is to just remind myself to breathe. How is it that the number of people who have survived the horror and chaos of war respond by ending the lives they so passionately protected for 12-15 months (or more, with the prevalence of multiple combat tours now not only a possibility, but a likelihood)?The more you read into the NYT article, the more you are faced with the utter failure of the military industrial complex to provide productive responses to this developing tragedy.I am forced to wonder if they are going about the very issue from the wrong assumptions.It is assumed, in our modern understanding of war and conflict, that after close contact with their own mortality and that of others, a frail, emotive human being can simply pick up their lives and move on after being deployed to modern combat.
To their credit, the military is trying their best to pacify the problem of suicide in their ranks with topical education and awareness.The equation the military is working from essentially boils down to: trauma of war + suicide prevention training = lowered suicide rate.However, this assumes that war is the starting point.This is not the case, nor should it be.
Violence is a result of human arrogance and ignorance, not some concept that is necessary to inter-national or inter-personal interaction.War represents a failure of both reason and imagination.It is primarily an effect to be avoided, not a cause to be pursued.It is true that, as a Christian apologist for nonviolence, I look at this problem with a certain bias, that men and women were never emotionally constructed to carry out the obscenity we today refer to as warfare (though there are a multitude of scientific studies that support my position). A proper perspective on war’s relation to the emotional repercussions is actually: no war = lowered suicide rate.Real simple.
War goes against our very nature as human beings, and we are one of only a few species in nature that conduct intra-species violence.It is not the fear of being killed, but the fear of having to kill, or believing that one has killed, that leaves irreparable scars.It stands to reason that when we subject members of our human family to such things as improvised explosive devices, “surgical” military strikes, or shock and awe, it tweaks their very humanity out of whack.The military ‘brass,’ despite their best efforts, are chasing ghosts (quite literally and quite tragically).Take it from someone who has grappled very directly with his own humanity and with being asked to dispose of the humanity of others; guilt-fueled suicides won’t decrease until our dependence upon violent conflict does.It’s not that complicated, but it is that necessary.
Killology (science exploring the causes and effects of committing violence)
Logan Laituri is a veteran of the Iraq war and a conscientious objector who works actively in Christian Peacemaker teams. He currently lives in the Camden House New Monastic community in Camden, New Jersey. He was featured in “The Ordinary Radicals” discussing Christian non-violence.
As promised, further details on Jamie’s short film, which was posted in the entry below last Friday:
While filming for his new documentary in El Salvador last month, Jamie unintentionally came across the mysterious disappearance and murder of anti-mining environmental activist Marcelo Rivera. Rivera’s murder coincides with Canadian mining company Pacific Rim’s lawsuit against the government of El Salvador for opposing their plans to establish a gold mine in the impoverished San Isidro area. The government and activists like Rivera are concerned that the proposed mine would contaminate San Isidro’s already limited water supply. These environmental and human rights concerns have fueled severe resistance in the community against Pacific Rim and their practices.
After hearing the story of Rivera’s torture and death that held strong implications of a death squad killing, Jamie felt compelled to bring the details to public awareness. He filmed a seven-minute video detailing Pacific Rim’s exploitation of the Salvadoran people, Rivera’s brutal murder, and the connection between the two.
Here’s what you can do to help:
Watch the video on YouTube or at jamiemoffett.com, and share the link with everyone you know.
Join our cause by signing our petition and sending it to your state representatives, asking them to demand a full investigation into Rivera’s murder. We invite you to copy the message and send it along to any other influential people you may know of.
Because he wants Marcelo Rivera’s story to be as accessible as possible, Jamie has also made a Spanish subtitled version available. While it’s important to capture the attention of the English-speaking world, Jamie did not want to overlook the audience most impacted by the recent murder and ongoing threats. Watch and share the subtitled video through YouTube:
As upholders of peace and justice, let us gather in support of the family and friends of Marcelo Rivera and the El Salvador community. We won’t stand for exploitation, torture, or murder.
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