Tag: Donald Trump

America, Citizenship, Culture, Immigration

Strangers and Orphans

Gary Furr

The American religious experience has been shaped as much from behind as from before. What do I mean? I mean that we are a product of a powerful force born of people leaving some other place to come here. While they all left something looking for something else, their reasons for leaving and the circumstances they left were as diverse as their languages, religious backgrounds, and ethnic origins. According to Sydney Ahlstrohm, who was the pre-eminent American church historian of a generation ago, this was spurred by several factors. Some of this mass exodus was forced by untenable conditions elsewhere–like … Continue reading Strangers and Orphans

America, Citizenship, Constitution, First Amendment, Harrassment, Politics, Theology and Life, violence

Morally Uplifting Acts–Post-election Suggestions

Gary Furr

Adapted and expanded From my pastor’s column this week.  You can read it at http://www.vhbc.com Time for Uplifting Acts Recently I heard someone discussing the psychology of “moral elevation.” By that they meant that just as anger, disgust and depression can be triggered by reactions to negative things said and done by ourselves and others, so we can be affected in the positive direction by morally uplifting actions. The speaker went on to say that emoting over society, one’s circumstances or feelings may lead us downward. We can choose to act in a more uplifting way. And these actions impact … Continue reading Morally Uplifting Acts–Post-election Suggestions