We will recover from this tragedy by doing what we have always done: Proclaiming revolutionary love for a world that needs it.
Our justice and joy will rise! Please, help us at
Some common ways antisemitism shows up in churches, and what to do instead 🧵
“The Jews killed Jesus.”
No. Jesus was executed by the Roman Empire for resisting imperial rule. (continue below)
Things that do not offend God:
Dressing up in costumes. Magic & witches. Ouija boards. Delighting in eerie things.
Things that offend God deeply:
Poverty. Racism. Homelessness. Patriarchy. Homophobia. Religious persecution. Transphobia. Medical debt.
Prioritize accordingly.
Number of times the Bible demands a free market economy: 0
Number of times it demands we care for the most vulnerable: 300+
Yet a strange number of “biblical literalists” obsessed with the former.
Bringing life into the world is a choice to co-create with God and one another.
To forcibly conscript this gift is blasphemy. And to do it in Jesus’ name is a stench before God.
There’s no such thing as a “personal decision” not to get vaccinated.
You’re not just deciding for yourself. You’re saying your preferences are more important than your community’s wellbeing.
Love your neighbor. Get that jab.
Thanks to everyone for your support. It means so very much in our overwhelming grief.
The Church is not a building, but buildings matter. This is home.
We’ll have more to say in the days to come, but here’s the link for anyone looking to donate.
“In the Old Testament God was angry, in the New Testament God is loving.”
Don’t. This denigrates Jewish holy texts. It’s also wrong! There’s stunning images of God’s love in the Hebrew Bible, and plenty of prophetic fire in the gospels. (Also outright bigotry in the epistles.)
“Come to our Christian Seder!”
Stop. Judaism is an independent religion, not a liturgical grab bag to rifle through and appropriate. We have our own liturgies. Use those.
“Christians are being persecuted.”
In the U.S., Christianity is the dominant religion. It shaped our laws and still unduly dictates public policy. We are not persecuted.
“Christianity under threat” framing feeds bigoted narratives about who is doing the threatening.
"Kyle Rittenhouse acted like any colonizer: He traveled with a dangerous weapon to a community he didn't live in, and then claimed self-defense when they reacted to the threat that he posed." -
@GRITlaura
“Old Testament” & “New Testament” Period.
This sets up Judaism as something that needed to be replaced. Use “Hebrew Bible” “Tanach” or similar to avoid supersessionist framing.
Setting up “Pharisees” as the gospel villains.
This maps neatly onto antisemitic descriptions that Jesus came to replace Judaism. Jesus did not intend to birth a new religion. Conflict with other religious teachers should be understood as discussion within the Jewish community.
God's pronouns are God. Everything else is metaphor.
However, choosing *only* masculine metaphors deifies masculinity. Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in the Holy One.
If a trans or gender expansive kid happens to read this, we want you to know: God loves so you fiercely. You’re created in Their image, and you deserve to flourish.
And we’ll do whatever we can to fight beside you.
“Our church believes God loves everyone, even if you’re gay…” 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
Don’t be anybody’s “even.” You are wondrous, and deserve a home that celebrates your blessings.
Nothing more white evangelical than loudly advertising Jesus’ radical commitment to love, while quietly funding campaigns to steal people’s bodily autonomy and basic rights.
“The fact that men often mix being caring and being violent has made it hard for everyone in our culture to face the extent to which male violence stands in the way of males’ giving and receiving love.”
- bell hooks
Christians who oppose civil disobedience should reread the story of the magi.
The time is always right to take a different road, away from unjust power.
“People say ‘the child was shot because of the color of his skin,’ like melanin can reach out and telekinetically pull the trigger.
No, he was shot because of racism—because of the white supremacy that lives in the officer!” -
@robtstephens
Your queer body is sanctified. Your personhood is sacred. Your sex is anointed and your joy is holy. Your grief can start a revolution.
In your tears, know you are beloved.
“A voice is heard in Ramah; wailing and loud lamentation. Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be consoled for they are no more.”
Refuse consolation. Demand justice.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago issued an appeal for calm on Thursday as officials prepared to release video of a police officer fatally shooting Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old boy, last month.
Abortion isn’t just essential healthcare. It’s also essential religious liberty.
People deserve to decide whether they create a new human. No state should be able to pass laws restricting that right.
Texas Gov Abbott has installed circular saws between the Rio Grande border buoys to maim or kill anyone who attempts to climb over. Two bodies have already been found trapped in the floating barrier.
He wants more migrants to die.
A post-Labor Day reminder that "You shall not steal," applies just as much to exploiting people's labor as it does to taking an item from a store.
Systemic theft is still theft.
If you’ve had an abortion, know that God loves and affirms your agency. You, and your body, are blessed and wondrous.
And anyone who says differently certainly isn’t speaking for God.
This is the day that the Lord has made. But God did not create homophobia. They did not birth transphobia. This morning, Jesus weeps.
And God calls us to abundant life beyond this bigotry, hatred and death.
For those who say $1,400 is a slippery slope toward government being responsible for providing people’s basic needs:
Yes. Let’s make that slope slippery.
Don’t let anyone tell you that staying in church is more important than healing.
God wants you to be whole.
If that path leads you to a different church, that’s beautiful. And if it leads you somewhere else, know how deeply you are loved.
“People love to say, ‘this is not who we are,’ but this is who we’ve always been. This is *exactly* who we are. This is what our systems were designed to do.” -
@RevJacquiLewis