The Temple tax was voluntary, an expression of faith and belonging – not part of a domination system.
Story Subject: sin
The Stories We Tell about our Enemies
A West African proverb: until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero. Hearing the stories, the understandings, the circumstances of those we disagree with is the path to peace along the way of Christ.
A Martyr to End Slavery: Rev. Elijah Parish Lovejoy
Elijah Parish Lovejoy was a minister and journalist who felt called to fight slavery. He refused to stop speaking out, to stop writing, to give up his cause. He was murdered by a pro-slavery mob.
The War to End All Wars: World War I
They called it “the war to end all wars,” but even before it ended, a British politician remarked: “This war, like the next war, is a war to end [all] war.”
Tea & Cookies with Protestors: Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu was still trying to bring down Apartheid in the mid-eighties. The powers that be hired protestors to try to smear Tutu, but he ended up sharing a tea party with them.
Role of Women in the History of the Church
Women had leadership roles in the early church, but then that power was taken away. Reformer John Knox railed against women’s leadership, as did men at a General Assembly meeting in America in 1811.
History & Transmission of the Lord’s Prayer
Catholics took their Lord’s Prayer from one preferred by Henry the VIII in 1545; Protestants, perhaps, from Martin Bucer from 1539.
The Affair of the Sausages: Huldrych Zwingli
Huldrych Zwingli once scandalized Catholic authorities by eating sausages during Lent.
History & Transmission of the Bible
The history of translation and transmission of the Bible was complex, contentious, and sometimes violent.
A Light from God is a Light to Freedom: Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman’s faith in her own words: