A Tale of Two Christians

December 6, 2022 by Miguel De La Torre

I write these words sitting on an old, uncomfortable, wooden pew in an almost 500-year-old cathedral nestled at the foot of a volcano and adjacent to Lake Atitlán. When my conquistador ancestors entered the Mayan village named “house of the birds,” they tore down the…

When the Oppressed Become Oppressors

November 17, 2022 by Miguel De La Torre

Probably no group has suffered more over the centuries at the hands of Christianity than Jews. A simple grumbling in some Medieval village about the “killers of Jesus” was all it took to ignite a bloody demonic fury resulting in unimaginable carnage. For centuries, it…

When Evil Votes

November 2, 2022 by Miguel De La Torre

he people have gone mad. There really is no other way to explain it. Why else would they vote for an individual or party which has declared itself to be fascists while wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross? Can they not see that…

How Should Christians Work to Overcome Oppression?

October 24, 2022 by Miguel De La Torre

Is it ethical for people of color within the U.S. who claim to be disciples of Christ to engage in violence against oppressors? The reality is that people of color are already living within a violent situation. According to a five-year study, unarmed people of color…

What’s in a Name?

October 16, 2022 by Miguel De La Torre

As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, many wonder what the correct nomenclature to use. Is it Hispanic, or Latino, or Latino/a, or Latin@, or Latinoa, or Latinx? If the first step toward liberation is self-naming, then the fact that we are unable to…

Patria y vida – Here and There

July 11, 2022 by Miguel De La Torre

Often, neat dichotomies are created among political adversaries to designate who is right and who is wrong, who stands on the side of truth and justice, and who is in league with evil satanic forces. Such positionality ignores that those living on both sides of…

I AGREE: CRITICAL RACE THEORY IS INDEED INCOMPATIBLE WITH SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION’S ‘FAITH AND MESSAGE’

December 14, 2020 by Miguel De La Torre

The six white men who lead the seminaries of the Southern Baptist Convention released a joint statement on November 30th denouncing Critical Race Theory. Specifically, they “declare[d] that affirmation of Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and any version of Critical Theory is incompatible with the Baptist Faith…

The Hollowness of the Southern Baptists’ New Racism and Sexual Abuse Amendments

June 14, 2019 by Miguel De La Torre

Bless their hearts. Earlier this week, some 8,000 delegates representing the denomination that ordained me some 25 years ago gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, to hold their annual conference. Faced with a history of racism, patriarchy, and sexual abuse, they came together to put into words…

20 Years for Giving Water to Migrants? A Religious Freedom Case of Little Interest to ‘Religious Freedom’ Industry

May 30, 2019 by Miguel De La Torre

This country has an odd way of defining “religious freedom.” Refusing to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple or refusing to sell contraception at a pharmacy are defined as a religious right by self-professing Christians and safeguarded under the banner of protecting “religious…

The Pedagogical Problem with White Professors

December 21, 2017 by Miguel De La Torre

A few years ago, during a search for a New Testament professor, I asked two questions during the interview – two questions I ask of every candidate for a position with our institution regardless of rank or discipline. The first is innocent enough: “How important…