A big week

It's been quite a week here in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Tomorrow is Independence Day, and several Supreme Court decisions have transformed the emotions, opportunities, and political rhetoric of millions of people across the country, in all parts of the political spectrum.

As for me, you can all probably guess what my emotions and outlook are in the wake of this momentous week. But regardless of my personal views, as a Christian theologian I want to resist the framing of these issues as Christians versus Everybody Else. That framing requires us to distinguish between True Christians and Fake Christians (since people who consider themselves Christians are on all sides of the issue), and that leads us down a path that is untenable in light of history (Christians have always believed and behaved in a wide variety of ways; there is no one pure doctrine or creed to point back to).

I've shared a lot of resources on Facebook and Twitter over the past week that I think do a good job of raising issues, pointing out nuances, and providing perspectives that people like me, my family, my neighbors, and my students are likely to find helpful. I thought I'd collect them all here.

However, for those seeking to be faithful to the example of Jesus, to the prophetic strain of Jesus' message, and to the countercultural vision of the kingdom of God shared by Jesus and Paul (at what I consider his best moments), here are a few ideas you might find inspiring or thought-provoking.

A New Day (Jason Hines)

Let There Be Light (Don Bowman)

An Open Letter to My Fellow Christians Regarding Today's SCOTUS Decision (J. K. Doyle)

Some Advice on Same-Sex Marriage to US Church Leaders from a Canadian (Carey Nieuwhof)

Till Death Us Do Part: A Call to Unity Offered the Sunday Following SCOTUS Decision (Rev. Jeremy Troxler, UMC)

And a few takes that reflect some righteous anger, but which make points I needed to hear:

There's Only One Thing You Can Say to Ken Paxton, But I Can't Say It. Yet. (Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer)

After gay marriage, expect social amnesia (Jonathan Merritt)

Denying our rights denies our dignity (George Takei)