Sharon Delgado

Pastor, Author, Speaker, Activist

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Month: March 2017

  • Conventional Wisdom:  The Wisdom of this Age

    “Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish.”  1Corinthians 2:6 In this Lenten series I continue refuting the Christian Right’s view of the meaning of the cross and pointing to a different understanding of…

  • Creation Crucified:  The Passion of the Earth

    During Lent, Christians remember and grieve Jesus’ death at the hands of a murderous system that included official representatives, religious collaborators, a public that could be manipulated, and friends who betrayed, denied, or abandoned him.  We remember and grieve the countless others who have been executed over the years by similar systems of worldly power. …

  • The Suffering God:  Where Humanity is Crucified

    “Jesus continues to die before our eyes; his death has not ended.  He suffers wherever people are tormented…. Insofar as we forget the continued dying of Jesus in the present we deny the passion itself.”                                                                           Dorothee Soelle When we consider the growing inequity, grave injustices, and unspeakable violence in our world today, the question…

  • The Subversive Jesus

    Why did Jesus die?  His message and the movement he led was subversive, a threat to national security.   It was as simple as that. In weighing the various scriptures that relate to the question of why Jesus was killed, I give the most weight to the Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Luke 20:9-19).  This is…

  • Jesus Was Not Born to Die

    The idea that Jesus was “born to die” is central to the theology of the Christian Right.  Bestselling author John Piper wrote Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Among the reasons he lists are:  to absorb the wrath of God, to cancel the legal demands of the law against us, to provide the basis…

  • Rejecting Theological Sadism

    The country is moving toward fascism.  We see the current administration dismantling beneficial social and environmental programs while expanding repressive police and military functions of government.  Resistance is our only hope, for what we tolerate is what we get.  Besides, standing up to institutional Powers that would destroy life is the right thing to do. …

  • Resisting Cultural Possession

    “All of the kingdoms can be yours,” the devil tells Jesus, “if you will just lord your power over others and take up the sword of the nations. Take charge of the biological weapons, deploy some troops, command the implementation of a ‘Star Wars’ missile defense system. All the kingdoms can be yours—if you will…

  • A Lenten Call to Resist

    We enter the season of Lent at a time of peril in our nation and world.  People are rising up, some emboldened by the presidency of Donald Trump and the ascendancy of the alt-right, and some determined to stand in the way of injustice and oppression in all its forms.  Christians have a particular responsibility,…

  • Dust and Ashes

    On this Ash Wednesday, I share with you an excerpt from my book, Shaking the Gates of Hell: It’s this radical humility that is absolutely essential to our time.—Brian Swimme As we consider the destruction of the earth and the suffering of our fellow creatures, both human and nonhuman, two primary responses seem appropriate: repentance…