Occupy Faith Reaches Out to Greater D.C. with a Message of Social Justice

By Matthew Santoro

(Photo by Coulter Loeb)

Even before the raids that ended the encampments at Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square, Occupy DC’s faith-based community had begun to shift its focus.

“After a time, we felt the physical encampment had lost its effectiveness towards the ends of the Occupy movement [such as] ending inequality, corporate power in government, and for us, as Christians, calling out a society that worships money and economies in place of God,” said Jeremy John of the Occupy Church.

The Christian activist group started out of a prayer tent in McPherson Square, where they offered tea and conversation to passersby and held a weekly service on Saturday night, giving occupiers a space for worship and discussion.

Founding Fallacies: Newt's Alleged "War on Religion" and the Jefferson Bible

By Matthew Santoro

There’s a war on! Have you heard? No, it’s not the war in Afghanistan, nor the War on Terror. It’s not the War on Drugs, nor even the War on Poverty. Oh, no.

There’s a much more surreptitious threat. A threat to something more fundamental and—gasp!—fundamentally American. It’s the Obama administration’s secret “War on Religion"!

The intersection of Church and State. (Photo by Chuck
Coker via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.)

According to many conservatives, the United States was intended by its Founding Fathers to be a "Christian nation.” This heritage, they believe, is under assault from the "secular Left," with President Obama (that black-liberation-Christian-secret-Muslim-secularist) spearheading the effort.

But is this reconstruction of America's nascent principles, and Obama's alleged attack upon them, true to the historical record? A cursory review of the life and politics of Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and writer of the Declaration of Independence, returns results that will no doubt surprise many 21^st century American conservatives.

Spoken Word Poet Drops Some Controversy in New Viral Video "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus"

By Matthew Santoro

Are you a Christian who spends a lot of time online? Then perhaps you've heard of Jeff Bethke. Bethke, aka bball1989, is a spoken word poet whose rhymes and videos are capturing the attention of thousands of Christians across the web.

Spoken Word poet Jeff Bethke, via Twitter @JeffuhsonBethke.

His latest video is going viral among online Christian communities. Provocatively titled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus,” the poem is a unique fusion of prophetic criticism, personal testimony, and a call to action.