Social Justice Religion

When you are faced with annoyance, delay, or tragedy, do you find it hard to get over the negativity and move on with life? Are you led by your emotions - quick to embrace joy, but also quick to anger? Are your expectations constantly unmet, and does this leave you with a sense of disappointment? The ancient philosophy of Stoicism is a powerful and pragmatic practice that can help us achieve a sense of equilibrium.

The Bible paints a compelling picture of a diverse people united in worship of Jesus. In a society that is divided along lines of race, culture and class, such a vision can feel out of reach. But in the power of the Holy Spirit, it really is possible for our churches to increasingly become the communities of unity and justice that they are called to be. So, what are the practical steps every Christian can take to help make this a reality?

In the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Fuller Seminary theologian William Pannell decried the then-popular sentiment among White evangelicals that racism was no longer an urgent matter. In The Coming Race Wars? he meticulously unpacked reasons why our nation - and the church - needed to come to terms with our complicity in America's racial transgressions before we face a more dire reckoning. Critics in 1993 dismissed him as alarmist. Here, Pannell revisits his provocative message with an expanded edition that connects its message to current events.