Economic Justice, Spirituality

Why Activists Need God to Make Their Case

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by Micael Grenholm

I’ve been a peace and justice activist now for eight years; campaigning, advocating and debating for things like disarmament, pacifism, economic equality, poverty reduction, sustainability, environmental protection, gender equality, open borders and religious freedom. My motives are Christian: I believe this is what Jesus wants me to do and that it makes the earth represent God’s goodness and love better. Still, I’ve stood side by side with atheists, agnostics, Muslims, New Agers, Buddhists and others in a common fight for a better world for all.

I’ve found that activism for peace and justice can serve the role of a common denominator and a platform for cooperation between different worldviews and beliefs. That’s why it plays such a prevalent role in different ecumenical and interreligious councils – we might not agree on who God is, but we all agree that no child should starve to death. It’s why many people who aren’t Christians will still agree with Christians on one thing concerning Jesus: that he was a good moral teacher.

Hence, morality can be viewed as one of the least exclusive claim of any religion. In fact, it can be viewed as one of the least religious! I’ve had several friends who, when they doubt their Christian faith, becomes activists for a while and emphasises Jesus’ ethical teaching, before leaving the faith altogether and becoming atheists or agnostics. Continue reading Why Activists Need God to Make Their Case →

Gender Equality, Politics

The Horrors of Human Trafficking

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by Mark Gent

Human trafficking is the modern form of slavery. With illegal smuggling and trading of people, for forced labour or sexual exploitation.

Trafficking is officially defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception or abuse of power of a position of vulnerability for the purpose of exploitation.

I don’t know what runs through your hearts or minds when you read or hear of women being sold as “Sex Slaves” or being lured into a trap of deceit for the purpose of drugs, being mastered and controlled by pimps who exploit them as personal puppets. Crack, cocaine or heroine are usually the pimps bait. Sometimes it’s for money for those who are homeless where there is no form of shelter provided… so women will sell their bodies that they may be sheltered, eat, and clothe themselves. A lot of women don’t survive this filthy Game! Some are kidnapped, raped and killed. We hear of children being sold also. Continue reading The Horrors of Human Trafficking →

Economic Justice

Caring For The Vulnerable Among Us

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by Faith Totushek

Who are the poor in scripture and how are they to be treated among the community of God’s people? As believers and those who believe the Bible is our guide, we might examine the many stories, and passages in the Bible to find our way through the various conundrums our society faces.  Especially as believers, we have a great and holy call to be agents of God and healers of a sin-sick world.

The group I wish to examine in the Bible are the widows, orphans and foreigners.  They are described as the vulnerable ones who need the extra support and focus from God’s people.  They are also the ones whom God has said that He himself would defend.

Who are the widows?  Widows often become poor or socially vulnerable due to the loss of a husband.  This could apply to women who are divorced and raising small children, to women who are emotionally abandoned through abuse and neglect by a spouse.  These are women whose husbands have died and are now vulnerable in the community. Continue reading Caring For The Vulnerable Among Us →

Economic Justice

So you Want a Revolution?

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by Micah Bales, originally posted on his blog.

When I became a Christian, following Jesus seemed like the most revolutionary thing I could do. The teachings of Jesus are radical. The way the early church lived out the gospel inspires me to go deeper, give more of myself, and nurture a grander vision for what human community could be like.

The more I read the New Testament, I more I find myself pushed towards a lifestyle that challenges our present society to its foundations. In contrast to the radical individualism of consumer capitalism or the enforced conformity of most religious communities, the way of Jesus demands both radical openness and profound submission to the guidance of the Spirit.

This revolutionary new reality plays out in love for enemies. We find it when we choose relationship and trust rather than money and self-interest. It comes alive in the healing power of forgiveness and the daily practice of justice. Continue reading So you Want a Revolution? →

Nonviolence

New Book: Early Pentecostals on Nonviolence and Social Justice

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Alexander.PentecostalsAndNonviolence.83628Brian Pipkin’s and Jay Beaman’s new book documents some of the pacifist and social justice convictions of early Pentecostals, many of whom were called traitors, slackers, cranks, and weak-minded people for extending Jesus’ love beyond racial, ethnic, and national boundaries.

They wrestled with citizenship and Jesus’ prohibitions on killing.

They rejected nation-worship, war profiteering, wage slavery, patriotic indoctrination, militarism, and Wall Street politics–and many suffered for it.

They criticized governments and churches that, in wartime, endorsed the very thing forbidden in their sacred book and civil laws. Continue reading New Book: Early Pentecostals on Nonviolence and Social Justice →

Politics, Spirituality

Is Trump Really the Great Man of God Charismatics Prophesy About?

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by Alexander Venter

I have come across people who prophesy that Trump is a modern-day Nehemiah, a godly leader over God’s covenant people. This is biblically problematic. Trump is a leader with seriously flawed moral character and is not godly in any form or fashion (certainly not a follower of Jesus) according to the fruit of his life and business practices… he is clearly a “post-truth” person and leader (fruit does not lie, as John Piper shows in his blog).

America is not a Christian nation – like all nations today the US is a deep mix of all sorts of faiths, idol-worship, corrupted values, etc… although it has a strong Christian heritage. Only President Jesus will establish a (truly biblical) ‘Christian’ nation when he returns to rule the earth… until then we live in a deeply compromised world of right and wrong, good and evil, living and operating side-by-side in spiritual warfare (including social, economic, political, ecological battle). Continue reading Is Trump Really the Great Man of God Charismatics Prophesy About? →

Spirituality

“My Witnesses”

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by Ramone Romero

“Look, My children! I am coming!
My love is being abandoned and
My name is being used as a weapon.

“Those who see the truth hear the groaning of My Spirit,
and they are being prepared to speak as My witnesses
to those who call themselves My ‘house’ and My ‘people’.

“I am sending My witnesses to the churches,
for judgment begins at the house of God
before judgment comes to the world.
I am sending My witnesses to speak My discipline
so that those who profess My name
will not be condemned with the world.

“The time is near!
I am coming soon!”

*****

Art: “Apostolic Succession”

Ramone Romero grew up near Washington, D.C. and currently lives in Osaka, Japan. He prophesies in painting, words, and poetry on Facebook and at the Weeping Jeremiahs blog.

Economic Justice, Spirituality

The Social Dimension of the Power of God

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Ebony Adedayo about what the Pentecostalism she grew up in was lacking.

“What will people think

When they hear that I’m a Jesus freak

What will people do when they find that it’s true

I don’t really care if they label me a Jesus freak

There ain’t no disguising the truth.” – Jesus Freak, DC Talk

If there is anything Christian song that characterized my experience as a young person, it would have to be DC Talk’s Jesus Freak. Released in 1995, it defined what it meant to live a life completely sold out to God. Living a life on fire, as we so affectionately called it, was a big deal for youth like me who grew up in a Pentecostal context such as the Assemblies of God. In the era of the Brownsville Revival and the Toronto Blessing, being consumed with anything else simply wasn’t an option if you were truly a Christian. Continue reading The Social Dimension of the Power of God →

Economic Justice, Interviews

Why Most Pentecostals Around the World are Progressive

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When sociologists Donald E. Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori decided to study indigenous churches with active social programs in the developing world, they were astounded to find that the overwhelming majority of them were Pentecostal or charismatic. They studied the dynamic of Pentecostal social engagement further in their book Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement in which the coined the term “Progressive Pentecostal”. PCPJ’s Micael Grenholm asked Dr. Miller to expand on their findings in an email interview.

don-miller
Donald E. Miller

What does it mean to be a “Progressive Pentecostal”?

The stereotype about Pentecostals is that they are focused exclusively on salvation and not social transformation. In our research, this was a false dichotomy since we encountered many Pentecostal and charismatic congregations that were engaged with their local community, addressing issues related to poverty, drug addiction, mental illness, corruption, etc. It is relatively rare that Pentecostals are addressing social policy issues at a political level and, unfortunately, they have sometimes supported right-wing dictators.   Continue reading Why Most Pentecostals Around the World are Progressive →

Economic Justice, Interviews

What is Community of Goods Like?

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Since early August last year, PCPJ:er Micael Grenholm lives in a Christian intentional community in Kettering, central England, called Holy Treasure. Erica Ramirez interviewed him about what it’s like to live and share income with nine other people.

Micael, can you explain to me your living arrangement, both in domestic terms and economic terms?  

Holy Treasure is part of something called New Creation Christian Community (NCCC) which in turn is part of the Jesus Fellowship Church, or Jesus Army. NCCC is at the core of Jesus Army, basically every local congregation is based around a community house, and almost a quarter of all church members live in community.

I work at one of the church’s businesses called Goodness Foods with video making. All my wages are sent to the bank account of Holy Treasure, the “common purse”, which then provides me with all the food, clothing and transport I need.
Continue reading What is Community of Goods Like? →

Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice