Video
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Archive: Valerie Elverton Dixon
Love, rather than fear, can defeat terror
These hearings are not intended to get to a truth but rather to prove an assumption.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | March 8, 2011; 01:13 PM ET | Comments (0)
There is no right to be born
Birth is a gift. A coerced gift is no gift at all.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | March 4, 2011; 08:58 AM ET | Comments (7)
Truth and freedom: a just peace paradigm shift
Jesus taught a discipline of radical love that leads to a liberating truth. This truth is one that insists upon social and economic justice.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | February 17, 2011; 05:32 PM ET | Comments (1)
To Mubarak: If you love Egypt, leave
The most radically patriotic thing that he could do now, the most loving thing, the thing that would honor God, Islam and his own place in history would be to leave the country he has ruled and no doubt loves. Such is still possible. Sometimes radical loves means saying goodbye.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | February 3, 2011; 06:20 PM ET | Comments (4)
Strategic mutual sincerity
It matters little whether human rights is on par with economic an environmental issues or is a secondary issue in the diplomatic relationship between China and the United States. What matters is that human rights, religious freedom, and all the issues confronting the two nations are handled with sincerity.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | January 21, 2011; 09:01 AM ET | Comments (7)
Rethink, not reload
We all are responsible for what we say and write. Everyone who participates in the public discourse ought to do our part to end a culture of power-over domination that leads to violent speech and violent acts.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | January 13, 2011; 03:00 PM ET | Comments (8)
A Christian response to violence: radical love
I believe that the violence that greeted this New Year and that stained the season of peace and good will with blood ought to be and can be overcome with our prayers for both victims and perpetrators of violence. It can be overcome with our radical love.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | January 6, 2011; 08:42 PM ET | Comments (0)
Cornbread and coffee with Santa
Yes, Christmas is magic for children, and New Year's Eve is a kind of Saturnalia for adults. It's all good. But, my Christmas wish always is that the love, goodwill, generosity, joy and peace that we speak of during this season will be a reality through the entire year, that we will carry the Christmas spirit with us every day of the year.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | December 23, 2010; 12:10 PM ET | Comments (2)
The morals of Mammon
We cannot serve the God of radical divine love and Mammon. As a nation it is time to see that the worship and the morals of Mammon have not served us well.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | December 17, 2010; 11:22 AM ET | Comments (7)
American exceptionalism: useless, potentially dangerous
This is a deception. Worse, it is idolatry. It is an idolatry that can only disappoint.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | December 2, 2010; 04:34 PM ET | Comments (9)
Thanksgiving as a habit of mind
An attitude of gratitude is not automatic. It only becomes a habit of mind through intentional and continual effort.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | November 23, 2010; 02:24 PM ET | Comments (5)
Spiritual power in war
The good news is that when DADT is repealed, LGBTQI chaplains can openly serve in the military and provide the spiritual encouragement and pastoral care that warriors need
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | November 19, 2010; 04:58 PM ET | Comments (0)
Voting as an act of radical love
Voting is both a religious and a political act.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | November 4, 2010; 02:37 PM ET | Comments (5)
We need more faith in our politics
We need more faith in our politics and in our public discourse. We need a faith that allows us to imagine a better world. Faith begins where reason ends
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | October 29, 2010; 02:28 PM ET | Comments (11)
Jesus: Soft on defense. Wrong for America.
If Jesus were running during this election cycle, he would be subject to attack ads.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | October 21, 2010; 11:37 AM ET | Comments (93)
God's overflowing love and the heterosexual obligation
Ironically, while using scripture to judge and to condemn homosexuals and homosexuality, heterosexuals forget the scriptural commandments against judgment.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | October 14, 2010; 05:22 PM ET | Comments (7)
The plan is a kaleidoscopic mystery
If we believe that God is sovereign, that God is a God of history, that all of history is moving toward a return to paradise, to a righteous realm of justice and peace on earth, then it makes sense to believe that the campaign of a particular politician may be part of God's plan.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | October 7, 2010; 09:57 AM ET | Comments (344)
Taste and See
The meaning of religion is not the ability to regurgitate facts, the meaning of religion is the ability to enter into an I-Thou relationship with the Divine and with the world around us.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | September 30, 2010; 12:08 PM ET | Comments (9)
Tea Party reactionary; on the wrong side of history
The Tea Party is not a recession era version of the religious right. The religious conservatism of figures such as Sarah Palin, Christine O'Donnell and others notwithstanding, it is not a religious movement. It is an angry faction of conservative Republicans who think that America is changing in ways that they do not like. A large and complicated country needs a large and complicated government.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | September 23, 2010; 05:48 PM ET | Comments (10)
Saying yes to the holy yes
Religion becomes a barrier to peace when one or both sides of the conflict see God as a Divine Warrior King Judge who favors their cause.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | September 16, 2010; 11:20 AM ET | Comments (11)
We need love, faith and forgiveness
When we forgive al Qaeda, when we put our effort into deeds of compassion and peace, we defeat the idea of al Qaeda.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | September 9, 2010; 06:45 PM ET | Comments (11)
A necessary presidential faith
There is so much attention paid to President Obama's religion because it is an acceptable way to see and to speak of his Otherness.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | September 3, 2010; 05:30 PM ET | Comments (0)
Imam Rauf can learn from Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," King said. Believe it.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | August 26, 2010; 02:59 PM ET | Comments (1)
The Park 51 Islamic Cultural Center and American values
Islam did not attack the United States on September 11, 2001. Criminals attacked this nation. To ask every Muslim from this moment forward to prove their loyalty to the Untied States, to prove they have never been associated with someone who has said or done something offensive, and or to prove that every dollar that goes into a building project did not come from some source that the wider society does not approve is unfair.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | August 17, 2010; 01:17 PM ET | Comments (1)
An open letter to Anne Rice
When I read your words on Facebook, I laughed. I have a sister friend who is an ordained minister. We often say that every religion would be perfect if it were not for the people who profess it. Christians corrupt Christianity. Muslims mess-up Islam. Jews junk-up Judaism. Hindus hinder Hinduism. Buddhists break Buddhism. The list could go on.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | August 3, 2010; 04:13 PM ET | Comments (12)
Land of the free, home of the mosque near Ground Zero
We are the land of the free and the home of the brave. We believe in liberty and justice for all. We are brave enough to allow our brother and sister citizens who are Muslims to be free enough to build a mosque and community center.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | July 21, 2010; 12:04 PM ET | Comments (11)
Terrorism is criminal sin
It matters what we call terrorists. The most important correction we can make regarding terrorists is to deny them the name of God.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | July 13, 2010; 05:48 PM ET | Comments (8)
All religions call us to radical love
There is a unity without uniformity in religion. It is important to honor the differences. At the same time, all religions, at their best, take us to a place beyond ourselves and beyond their own doctrines, disciplines, rituals, laws, philosophies and experiences.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | July 9, 2010; 11:29 AM ET | Comments (6)
Just Peace in Afghanistan, a global moral obligation
It is our moral obligation to help the people of Afghanistan develop their other human and natural resources. However, it is not our obligation alone. It is a global moral obligation. Let us compete as in a race toward this virtue.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | July 5, 2010; 05:14 PM ET | Comments (0)
Capital punishment and the medium is the message
Using 140 characters to announce the death of a human being by state decree is to deny the history, the philosophical, moral and legal complexities of the moment; it is to rush too fast past religious prohibitions against retribution and to evade alternative reasoning.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | June 23, 2010; 04:15 PM ET | Comments (5)
God must love dogs
Religion is the understanding that our lives ought to be governed not only by the ethics and the laws we craft, but by the governance of love that does not want to see any sentient being suffer. And my love for my dog tells me that we will meet again.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | June 16, 2010; 02:11 PM ET | Comments (4)
Just Peace considerations in Gaza
The blockade of Gaza denies economic justice for the Palestinians in Gaza. It retards economic development and the restoration of the country from the devastation of the most recent war. Sustainable economic development is also a Just Peace principle.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | June 9, 2010; 11:15 AM ET | Comments (3)
The BP oil spill and religious environmental ethics
The tragedy of the BP oil spill is a moral crisis that is the result of human estrangement from the Divine, from each other and from nature.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | June 2, 2010; 06:07 PM ET | Comments (1)
Arizona immigration law outlaws faithful acts
We who live lives of privilege have a moral and a spiritual obligation to help illegal immigrants trying to better their lives. Our religious obligation to welcome the stranger is stronger than the laws of the state. And not only are we our brother's and sister's keeper, but we are our brother and sister at a different moment.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | May 25, 2010; 02:35 PM ET | Comments (7)
A womanist culture of life
When we consider abortion within the context of a culture of life, it is important to understand that a culture of life ought to be a culture of whole life. It is a holistic spiritual morality. It is a culture of care for the lives of women, for children outside of the womb.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | May 17, 2010; 06:33 PM ET | Comments (2)
We need a prophetic (not necessarily Protestant) justice
Prophetic justice protects the rights and liberties of the unpopular, the misunderstood, the despised. Prophetic justice protects the rights of minorities and works to keep society's prejudices from holding back those who are talented and hard working but who happen to be the wrong color, sex, sexual orientation, ethnic heritage or class.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | May 10, 2010; 07:47 PM ET | Comments (0)
Terrorism, South Park, and the burqa
Free societies ought to have the social and cultural space for diverse religious expressions or no religious expressions at all. They ought to go beyond tolerance to hospitality to the Other. However, violence and the threat of violence have no place in a free society, and we all ought to say so.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | May 4, 2010; 04:19 PM ET | Comments (9)
The dangers of a National Day of Prayer
Believers will pray with or without the proclamation of a National Day of Prayer. Unbelievers will not and ought not to pray, proclamation or not. So, what is the purpose of a law that establishes the first Thursday May as a National Day of Prayer? Such a proclamation establishes a civil religion. It is religion by law.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | April 27, 2010; 01:23 PM ET | Comments (5)
The spirituality of sexuality
The Song of Solomon helps us to understand sex as an exquisite gift, a joyful, sensual celebration, an acceptance of the beauty and the power of our embodied selves. It shows us the spirituality of sexuality. And that is holy.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | April 22, 2010; 02:45 PM ET | Comments (4)
