The limits of empathy

Our editors have many thoughts and feelings about recent political happenings in the US. When we sat down to plan our September issue’s editorial, it was in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. We were seeing mixed messages from both politicians and faith leaders in public statements and social media posts. Are we supposed to feel bad for him? Does anything change about our engagement with politics?

The essay, which I’m excited to share with you today, is our best effort to answer some of those questions. It follows last week’s piece from Brandon Ambrosino about the theological questions prompted by an event like this. Click here if you missed that piece, and if you like it as much as I do, don’t miss our latest video chat where I ask Ambrosino the hardest questions I can think of.

Scroll down for more great new content, like Adam Hearlson’s article that wrestles with the ethics of large church endowments or a book review of Grace Loh Prasad’s memoir about the particular losses and grief she has experienced as an immigrant.

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Jon Mathieu
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Empathy for the demagogue

“Doing two things at once—rejecting violence against a human being while refusing to see him through rose-colored glasses—is conceptually simple, even banal. In practice it can be pretty complicated.”

by the editors

Brandon Ambrosino on God’s role in assassination attempts

[VIDEO] Jon chats with Branson Ambrosino about theological questions, luck, and whether God had anything to do with the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

What is a church’s money for?

“I cried when our church deposited the check. Now every time I see our financial statements, I feel that joy again—and with it, a sense of anxiety. I am proud of our endowment, and I am distressed by it.”

by Adam Hearlson

In the Lectionary for August 4 (Ordinary 18B)

There is no one who does not need God’s mercy and no one who may not have it.

by Kelli Joyce

Ordinary 18B archives

A permanent foreigner

Grace Loh Prasad’s memoir shows how the death of parents, for a child of immigrants, represents the vanishing of entire worlds.

review by Tony Tian-Ren Lin

Working with conscience

“We called Gary back to request a service call. What happened next was fascinating. After a brief silence and a few sighs, Gary spoke apologetically. ‘I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to regretfully decline your request for a service call.’”

by Peter W. Marty