Seeking the Kingdom:

Democrats and the abortion issue

David Gushee, Mercer University
April 18, 2008

(ABP)--Participating in the Compassion Forum at Messiah College April 13 was an illuminating experience at many levels. As a member of the board of faith leaders that helped motivate Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to come to the event, it was deeply exciting to see this event move from dream to reality. This was an unprecedented questioning of two of the three people who might become the next president of the United States. Only in America would religious communities and leaders have the influence to convene such an event.

Is Jesus really our Lord?

David Gushee, Mercer University
April 10, 2008

(ABP) -- The New Testament declares that Jesus Christ is Lord, that followers of Christ are those who live under his lordship now, and that one day Jesus will be acknowledged by all as Lord:

What Dr. King means to me

David Gushee, Mercer University
April 3, 2008

(ABP) -- This week marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. In this column I want to honor Dr. King by offering reflections about what his life and work mean to me today. I aim to be appreciative -- but unsentimental -- in reflecting on one of the Christian leaders whose work has had the deepest impact on my own moral vision.

On homosexuality, can we at least talk about it?

David Gushee, Mercer University
March 28, 2008

I’m one of the few leaders in Baptist life with the freedom to talk openly and honestly about the complex theological, moral, pastoral, and public policy issues raised by homosexuality without destroying myself professionally.

The utilitarian temptation

David Gushee, Mercer University
March 19, 2008

A few weeks ago, I was reminded in a news article that Judge Paul Pressler had actually said, at the beginning of the Southern Baptist controversy, that his side must “go for the jugular.” This is an image of slaying the enemy, of doing whatever you must do to win. The theme came up again as I was reading about internal debates in the Obama campaign over whether to “hit” Hillary with attacks. Hillary has opened the door with her own “hit” jobs on Obama during this protracted struggle between the two candidates.

The battle for power and the spirit of Christ

David Gushee, Mercer University
March 6, 2008

In various ways I have been trying to pry open some space between our Christian understanding of the mission of the church and the work of earthly politics -- without creating such a gulf that we retreat entirely from civic engagement.

The deeper wellsprings of centrist evangelicalism

David Gushee, Mercer University
February 28, 2008

Discussion of the concept of an emerging evangelical center (or some other label for an alternative to the Christian Right) has taken off in recent months -- indeed, in recent weeks. Hardly a day goes by without some news article or opinion piece addressing the concept and its implications. Inevitably, these discussions of an emerging evangelical center are also evoking attacks, denunciations and misunderstandings. I guess that’s how you know you’re getting somewhere, when the attacks come.

Emerging evangelical center may decide 2008 election

David Gushee, Mercer University
February 19, 2008

Last summer I completed a book arguing that an evangelical center is emerging in American life and that it shows signs of displacing the vaunted but fading “Christian right” in the hearts and minds of American evangelicals--especially among younger and non-white Christian believers. Events occurring during this presidential campaign demonstrate this is happening already.

Torture is the bone caught in America’s throat

David Gushee, Mercer University
February 14, 2008

It is clear to me that the problem of torture is like a bone caught in our national throat. We can’t swallow it, but we can’t quite spit it out. And so we are choking on it.

Layers of healing at the New Baptist Covenant

David Gushee, Mercer University
February 5, 2008

It is hard to describe the euphoria felt by most of us who attended the New Baptist Covenant meeting in Atlanta this past week. I would like to analyze that euphoria as reflecting layers of healing and maybe try to name at least a few of those layers.

My Baptist journey to the New Baptist Covenant

David Gushee, Mercer University
January 24, 2008

I am excited that my 30-year journey as a Baptist leads me to the New Baptist Covenant meeting in Atlanta Jan. 30 to Feb. 1. I've been thinking about what this upcoming meeting means to me, and how it relates to my long journey in the Baptist family. Perhaps these reflections can be helpful to others.

Care about politics? Begin with the church

David Gushee, Mercer University
January 8, 2008

Politics is intoxicating, especially in election season, and especially in a time of such high drama in this particular presidential campaign. In future weeks, I will undoubtedly be writing about the elections of 2008.

Why are Christians ignoring the ultimate moral-values issue?

David Gushee, Mercer University
December 11, 2007

The data is in: Global warming is becoming the ultimate moral-values issue. Both religious and political leaders must mobilize immediately to address it. No society is more reluctant to accept these two claims than the United States. No religious community is less sympathetic to them than “Bible-believing” Christians. What will it take for us to change our ways?

Getting past reaction in shaping the Baptist future

David Gushee, Mercer University
November 20, 2007

One of the enduring tendencies in human life is reaction. Unhappy with the prevailing tendencies of a person or group we oppose, especially in situations of sharp conflict, we swing sharply in the other direction. Oftentimes when we do so we end up reacting more than really necessary, rejecting everything about the “other.” These are the kinds of situations for which the phrase “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” was invented.

Toward a truly evangelical Baptist future

David Gushee, Mercer University
November 6, 2007

In moving this summer from Union University to Mercer University I transitioned from a school that moves in the orbit of the Southern Baptist Convention to an institution that moves in the orbit of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

How the Bush administration's circular reasoning allows torture

David Gushee, Mercer University
October 23, 2007

Statements by Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey, along with comments by Mitt Romney and his new national security adviser, have brought the issue of torture to the surface in troubling new ways.

On the frontiers of gender and racial integration

David Gushee, Mercer University
October 9, 2007

In my last column I raised four critical questions for Christian complementarians and suggested that these helped show the inadequacy of that approach to gender roles. In this column I want to turn my attention left instead of right.

Keeping complementarians true to Scripture

David Gushee, Mercer University
September 25, 2007

My professional pilgrimage has been marked by a sometimes painful series of movements between Christian academic institutions falling on opposite sides of the gender issue, or what has come to be called the complementarian/egalitarian divide. This has given me opportunity to observe the dynamics that exist in both types of communities.

Another reason to grieve on 9/11

David Gushee, Mercer University
September 11, 2007

This column appears on the sixth anniversary of the unthinkable 9/11 attacks on the United States. The attacks themselves were the most heinous terrorist acts ever visited on this country. We will be grieving our losses for a long time to come -- especially the families who lost loved ones. All of us should rightly bow our heads today in sorrow and in solidarity with those who grieve the most.

17 rules for Christian engagement in politics

David Gushee, Union University
July 11, 2007

It’s election season again. Actually, it never ceases to be election season in our politics-obsessed culture -- and in politics-obsessed evangelical America.

Licensing death on the road

David Gushee, Union University
June 25, 2007

Probably the most interesting moral issues are those raised by practices we take for granted. No one asks about the morality of playing baseball, wearing socks, or taking showers. Likewise, no one asks about the morality of driving cars.

Christian principles for immigration reform

David Gushee, Union University
June 5, 2007

In this column, I want to tackle the issue of immigration reform. I have become persuaded that this is one of the most important moral and policy issues facing Christians and the nation today. And there is landmark legislation on the table -- the bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill, supported by the president -- that in my view reflects the best approximation of Christian principles.

Why some evangelicals decide to forego creation care

David Gushee, Union University
May 8, 2007

Evangelicals are waking up to our responsibility to the environment. Evangelical initiatives on the environment are growing in cultural impact, but they continue to garner stout resistance within the most conservative sector of our own community. Too often, politics and capitalism get in the way of a clear evangelical consensus.

More than a tragedy -- the evil in Blacksburg

David Gushee, Union University
April 20, 2007

The grotesquely evil act that occurred this week at Virginia Tech challenges the imagination’s capacity to respond. I cannot say that I have some kind of comprehensive analysis to offer. I would like to say a few things, though, from my perspective as a college professor.

Iraq deadline debate proves morally difficult to resolve

David Gushee, Union University
April 10, 2007

The Democratic-led Congress and the Bush White House may be heading toward a train wreck over recently passed legislation setting a goal of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq by March 2008. This was entirely predictable, but as the impasse deepens, it becomes more and more like a teenager’s game of “chicken,” and thus increasingly unpredictable in its outcome.

Retrieving a consistent pro-life ethic

David Gushee, Union University
March 7, 2007

Christians are so tangled up with politics these days that our political loyalties threaten to engulf our Christian commitments. We want the politicians to listen to us and the politicians want us to listen to them. It is nice to be wanted but not nice to be used. It is nice to have an impact but not nice to lose our soul in the process.

For next generation of Christian activists, evangelism is not enough

David Gushee, Union University
February 22, 2007

Inside the minds and hearts of today's college students, we can see a glimpse of the how the next generation views our task of Christian engagement with culture.

Time for a national death-penalty moratorium

David Gushee, Union University
February 8, 2007

In a move that received very little attention, Gov. Phil Bredesen recently suspended all executions in Tennessee until May, pending a full review of what he called our “sloppy” execution procedures. The governor is to be commended for this brave and wise decision.

A new alliance for creation

David Gushee, Union University
January 23, 2007

Wednesday in Washington I had the privilege of participating in a press conference announcing a new alliance between leading scientists and evangelicals to address threats to the well-being of God’s creation. Our efforts immediately received support from a bipartisan array of government officials.

Botched Hussein execution
reveals truth about 'new' Iraq

David Gushee, Union University
January 4, 2007

While President Bush was taking his holiday to reflect on what to do now in Iraq, the Iraqis themselves took a step that may have entirely preempted his reflections. The botched execution of Saddam Hussein revealed the depths to which Iraq has sunk and the seeming hopelessness of our efforts there.

A glimmer of hope for Iraq

David Gushee, Union University
December 11, 2006

This recent report of the Iraq Study Group offers a welcome infusion of wisdom and bipartisanship in the tortured struggle over what to do about Iraq. The carefully written report offers the only glimmer of hope recently seen in this terrible and disastrous war. The only question is whether the Bush administration can find a way to walk back from its current position in order to embrace the report’s key recommendations.

Divorce is not a spectator sport

David Gushee, Union University
November 28, 2006

Have you heard the latest? Pamela Anderson is divorcing Kid Rock after just four months of marriage.

Elections signal centrist turn

David Gushee, Union University
November 22, 2006

In the aftermath of the epochal power shift in Washington, the pundits are already attempting to interpret the deeper meaning of what happened. Inevitably, one’s reading of the election tea leaves is filtered through one’s own ideological perspective. Thus conservatives, moderates and liberals are all acclaiming that the election really means that their own viewpoint either prevailed (moderates and liberals) or needs to be revived after a period of drift (conservatives).

Forgive or Die

David Gushee, Union University

Few recent tragedies have affected me as deeply as the horrific murders at the Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pa., last week. It seems that each day brings more mayhem in our blood-soaked country. But this one -- this image of 10 little girls bound and lined up against a wall for their mass violation and murder -- I have not been able to get out of my mind.

Post-Christendom Christianity?

David Gushee, Union University
October 4, 2006

A growing number of Christian writers are embracing the idea that the United States is moving into a post-Christendom phase and that the church should not resist this transition. This has significant implications for the very hotly debated question of how faith intersects with politics.

Slow-motion genocide in Sudan

David Gushee, Union University
September 19, 2006

After the Holocaust, the world said “never again.” Never again will we stand by and watch while millions are slaughtered. After the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s, the world said “never again.” After the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the world said “never again.” After the mass killings in Srebenica (in Bosnia) in 1995, the world said “never again.” Probably in 2008 the world will say “never again” after the slow-motion genocide in Sudan is finally brought to its terrible completion.

The Church as a Community of Peace

David Gushee, Union University
August 16, 2006

The carnage in the Middle East has moved me toward the breaking point on the entire business of war. I am genuinely wondering whether as a Christian moral thinker, it is my place to offer support for war, even in those rare cases where I think it might be morally justified. I am wondering whether the world needs that from the church, because the world knows quite well how to justify killing. Why does it need our help?

What Must Be Said About Iraq

David Gushee, Union University
June 30, 2006

Last week the House voted to affirm the war in Iraq and to reject the establishment of any withdrawal date at this time. This week the Senate continues to debate the issue. In light of these developments, and after finishing The Assassins’ Gate, a riveting book of reporting about the war by George Packer, here is what now must be said about Iraq.