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Archive: Gene Davenport
Abortion is a tragedy
Should a Christian group ever seek having its own moral teachings enacted as secular law? Both Judaism and Christianity, if true to their holy scriptures, are communities established as "holy" communities. That is, they are "set apart" from the world though continuing in the world.
By Gene Davenport | March 7, 2011; 11:48 AM ET | Comments (1)
God's special concern for the poor
In Luke's version of the beatitudes Jesus pronounced woe upon the rich, and several of his parables indicate God's judgment upon those who amass fortunes and pay no attention to the poor. On one occasion, Jesus said that it is more difficult for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.
By Gene Davenport | December 15, 2010; 03:36 PM ET | Comments (3)
Exceptionalism is idolatry
Those who speak of exceptionalism in religious terms tend to view the United States as parallel to ancient Israel
By Gene Davenport | November 29, 2010; 11:47 PM ET | Comments (1)
Seeking peace is faithful to the Constitution
The United States cannot avoid - and should not attempt to avoid - interacting with the Muslim world.
By Gene Davenport | November 10, 2010; 12:25 PM ET | Comments (1)
The delusion that God has a specific plan for every action
The number of failed politicians who have sought office with the claim that God has called them to run suggest that if God does indeed call politicians to run for office, God must have a sadistic sense of humor.
By Gene Davenport | October 5, 2010; 05:21 PM ET | Comments (5)
What "we" can say depends on who "we" are
Just as a physician does not heal a patient, but sets up conditions in which the body can heal itself, so will interfaith groups not heal the nation. And it is quite possible that the national body has now become so infected that even the most devoted interfaith groups can only sit and watch the patient die.
By Gene Davenport | September 7, 2010; 11:34 PM ET | Comments (1)
Don't patronize religious freedom
Christians frequently have a responsibility to remind the Powers of their responsibility to uphold their own best principles. Now is such a time. And faithfulness to that responsibility is never defined by popular vote.
By Gene Davenport | August 16, 2010; 08:40 PM ET | Comments (0)
The problem with spirituality
From a biblical perspective, then, "spirituality" is not something one achieves or a stance one adopts, but is the character and the capabilities of individuals and congregations that have embraced the work of the Holy Spirit upon themselves.
By Gene Davenport | August 4, 2010; 12:20 PM ET | Comments (7)
Mosque at Ground Zero: the tragedy of blanket accusations
Though the sentiment of those who are affronted by a Muslim center being built so close to Ground Zero is regrettably understandable, the only thing that most Muslims would hear in the refusal to allow that Center would be that all Muslims actually are blamed for 9/11.
By Gene Davenport | July 19, 2010; 10:30 PM ET | Comments (2)
Different responses to common problems
It is an error in the first place to speak of religions as paths to God or to whatever is considered Ultimate Reality. Religions are not paths, but are responses, to whatever is considered responsible for the universe in which we find ourselves. They are humanly devised forms built around what already has been found, or perhaps what already has found us.
By Gene Davenport | July 7, 2010; 07:48 AM ET | Comments (4)
The wisdom of getting out of Afghanistan
Any effort to preserve order and justice by military means alone will learn sooner or later that in and of itself, violence - whether that of guns and bombs or that of the gloved fist - will produce one thing only: more violence. So from a perspective of sheer human wisdom, the United States should withdraw from Afghanistan immediately.
By Gene Davenport | July 1, 2010; 03:44 PM ET | Comments (3)
