Abraham’s Daughter

The following is a work of fiction, but it incorporates details from Genesis 16, 21, and 22. My story was inspired by the song, “Abraham’s Daughter” by Arcade Fire.

I clutched at my mama’s skirts, tearing them. Screaming and kicking, I tried to get back to her. I dug my fingers into the sand but sand is sneaky, and the man dragging me away gripped me so hard I thought my ribs would crack. I sobbed and choked, my tears drying the instant they hit the hot ground. I watched my mama throw herself at the old woman’s feet, wailing like a mourner at a burial. But Sarah kicked my mother in the face, dusting her head with dirt and bloodying her nose.

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless: 2 Samuel 11:1-14

“You have seen, O LORD; do not be silent!” (Ps. 35:22).

We live in a culture of reverence—reverence for people who wield power, reverence for people in uniforms demanding respect, reverence for people who call themselves “Reverends.” And in such a culture, those who have been victimized by the revered are often silenced. A powerful, popular pastor fires those who disagree with him and effectively silences dissent. An officer of the law shoots an unarmed man and later a video is shown portraying the victim as a “thug.” A woman reports a rape on her campus, and she is the one forced by humiliation to quit school and endure taunts and be told she is somehow to blame for her own rape. In a culture of reverence, people witness victimization but stay silent. They are cowed by the revered.

Breaking Free

This time last year I had never heard of Walter White or Breaking Bad. I had no idea how the story of a failed chemistry teacher would completely engulf me emotionally and spiritually.

My Worst Valentine’s Day Ever . . .

It happened in high school, of course. When is Valentine’s Day ever fun in high school?  But this particular year, I was excited. It would be my first Valentine’s Day with a boyfriend. Unfortunately, by this time in our relationship, Morris Parker* and I had been on-again, off-again for several months.

But it was Valentine’s Day! And I had dreamy dreams of what a wonderful day it would be since I had a boyfriend!

Painting Biblical Violence in Primary Colors

I’ve always been puzzled by the fact that we take some of the most violent stories in the Bible and turn them into happy little children’s stories and coloring pages: the flood story; the ten plagues; the genocide at Jericho; Solomon threatening to slice a baby in two. Why, for example, has the Noah’s Ark story become one of the most cheery accounts in Sunday School when it is one of the most violent and disturbing episodes in the Old Testament?