Civility in Public Discourse

John Hubers:   Safi, Christians are often surprised to discover that Jesus’ story, at least part of it, is found in the Qur’an.  They are even more surprised when they come to realize that the Qur’an speaks of the virgin birth and his miracles.  Clearly, Jesus is significant to Muslims.  I’m wondering if you can help my Christian friends who may know little of Muslim beliefs to understand the role that Jesus plays in Islam.  Even more I’m wondering if you could speak of what he means to you which may not be the same for all Muslims (who represent the same kind

A driver was going 5 mph over the limit due to not seeing a damaged speed limit sign. After a police officer issued the driver a traffic infraction the driver immediately scheduled a time to argue it. However, even before the driver could talk, the judge simply threw out the infraction. Even though the driver didn’t have to pay the fine, they left feeling dissatisfied because they did not have the opportunity to speak.

Writer, teacher, and mother Lisa Van Engen joins us for this conversation on engaging kids in seeking justice. Lisa and Chris talk about how and when to talk with kids about justice, including the reality that many who are impacted don’t have the privilege of deciding ‘when.’ Lisa also shares stories about questions around racism and injustice that her students and children have raised, how they’ve talked together about issues that impact their neighbors and friends, and what kids can do to advocate.

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace, joins our host Chris Orme for the first episode of Season 3. Mae and Chris discuss different forms of advocacy, as well the spiritual formation that takes place through advocacy. 

This last year I partnered with my friend Johnny Lee to help teach Christian youth about Indigenous justice through The Mustard Seed’s Seed Serve program. I usually start the conversation like this: 

Would you ever buy something from someone if you knew it was stolen? 

Most of the youth would say no way! 

What if you really wanted it? 

Still the answer was a firm no. 

Last Thursday, April 29th, marks the end of President Biden’s first 100 days in office. In recent history, the first 100 days often indicate the newly elected president’s priorities and signal how he seeks to set himself apart from his predecessor. Following his campaign promises, President Joe Biden pursued an approach to immigration policy that is significantly distinct from the last administration. In many ways, President Biden took concentrated measures that ended cruel and unjust immigration practices.

This could almost become an age-old adage, “It took something so horrible for people to pay attention to…”. We could fill in the blanks with a plethora of choices from the social issue buffet that plagues Canadian societies.

“The metaphor for love is Arishi*”. I heard this beautiful line in my leadership masters class recently, and it resonated deeply. Arishi means, ‘to speak mutually’. When I reflect on the meaning of Arishi, speaking mutually, its meaning extends beyond dialogue. In a conversation, the assumption and hope are to share thoughts and be heard and perhaps even be respected. To speak mutually is to enter the conversation on the premise of a joint agreement in each other’s value. 

When she read a story on social media about headstones in a Jewish cemetery being vandalized in Michigan, my niece, Meghan Cohen, thought immediately of the cemetery in the Detroit area where her grandparents and aunt are buried.

A college professor in Denver, Meghan quickly decided that if the vandals had defaced the graves of her loved ones, she would hop on a plane -- despite the COVID- 19 pandemic -- and head for Detroit to clean them.

Since 2011, I’ve been speaking and raising awareness about issues relating to human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Over the years, my presentation style changes and evolves to work to my strengths and address emerging issues. One of the challenges I have speaking to audiences of strangers is not knowing how much they might already know about the issue, so I tend to start with general facts and information and go from there. Last year, I adapted my presentation and centered my content around myths about human trafficking.