Overcoming the Deep Divisions in Contemporary Society

Lesson 14: Trust

Lesson 14: Trust

I decided to do this series when so many of my friends were in a quandary about talking to people on the other side of our deep cultural divide. Many could find no way to have decent conversations with lifetime time friends or family. All were worried about their inability to talk about community issues […]

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Lesson 13: Gay or Straight

Lesson 13: Gay or Straight

I was the kind of pastor with whom people shared their inner, often hidden lives. Early on, I became aware that almost everyone struggles with sexual issues in one way or another. I also came to realize people’s public personas were often just the opposite of their real selves. For instance, someone who was always […]

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Lesson 13: Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter

Lesson 13: Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter

I think I have been resisting this lesson. Being very active in the civil rights movement most of my life and raising a Haitian son, I was afraid I was too emotionally involved to trust my understanding of what is happening. Yet the only way I could ex[plain the great conflicts in our society was […]

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Lesson 12: Racism and Sexuality

Lesson 12: Racism and Sexuality

It made sense, even though it shook me up, when James Davison Hunter observed race has replaced abortion as the great divider since he wrote Cultural Wars in 1991. It rings true because the media daily reports efforts to support or oppose racial equality. It is upsetting because Hunter sees a greater threat for violence […]

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Lesson  11: Responses to the Abortion Lesson

Lesson 11: Responses to the Abortion Lesson

My attempt to come up with some guidelines for moving beyond the abortion stalemate did not work very well. I received three kinds of responses. The first felt my effort to be carefully neutral ended up being irrelevant. Lupe, who has spent time as a political prisoner and journalist, knows far better than I about […]

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Lesson 10: Pro-Life or Pro-Choice

Lesson 10: Pro-Life or Pro-Choice

A start to resolving the conflict would be an agreement to converse with one another using creative healing words and to do so as a family that is committed to working things out. The conversation would not be an abstract discussion of natural laws or eternal truths, but an attempt to improve a disturbing situation […]

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Lesson 9: Confession or Denial

Lesson 9: Confession or Denial

I had hoped to come up with some insights that would help break the gridlock in the discussions about abortion, human sexuality, and racism. After struggling a couple of months, I found myself suggesting we should simply work harder in practicing compassionate love and using creative, healing words. That certainly would go a long way. […]

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