What I Learned as a Christian Reading the Quran

September 16, 2010 by Miguel De La Torre

The high levels of Islamophobia expressed in vandalizing mosques, the debate over building a center in New York and the canceled burning of Qurans in Florida have led many pundits to misquote and misrepresent what’s in the Quran. I have heard people say that the…

Moving beyond Hospitality

April 1, 2010 by Miguel De La Torre

[1] Anyone who calls him or herself a Christian should seek compassionate, just, and wise immigration reform. Millions of undocumented aliens are forced to live in the shadows of the law hungering for someone to bring them the good news that they are more than objects of a…

Lessons from Niebuhr Put Obama at Odds with Poor

January 6, 2010 by Miguel De La Torre

In April 2007, New York Times columnist David Brooks interviewed a presidential hopeful named Barack Obama. At one point, Brooks asked if Obama ever read the writings of Reinhold Niebuhr. “I love him. He’s one of my favorite philosophers,” was the reply. Brooks proceeded by asking what,…

Being Thoroughly – and Really – Pro-Life

September 15, 2009 by Miguel De La Torre

Most of those who self-identify as “pro-life” or say they are believers in the “sanctity of life” are, in reality, neither. To truly be pro-life is to believe that all life, created by God, has worth, dignity and purpose; therefore, no human, under any circumstance,…

Truly Supporting our Troops

July 2, 2009 by Miguel De La Torre

Regardless of one’s feelings about the war in Iraq, it is important to provide support to the young men and women who put their lives on the line in obedience to their country’s call. One such man that deserves our support is Marine Staff Sergeant…

Was Jesus a Racist?

February 23, 2009 by Miguel De La Torre

Our faith tells us that anyone can come to Jesus. The evangelistic message is that Jesus will turn no one away. We can come just as we are, ill and diseased. All who seek healing will find salvation and liberation in the arms of Jesus,…

Roaches and Rats: A Nativity Reflection

December 17, 2008 by Miguel De La Torre

I must have been about three years old when this image was burned into my mind, and probably it will be the last thing I recall when I lay on my death bed as an old man. The ceiling was moving. As I focused on…

9/11: A Day That Lives in Infamy

September 11, 2008 by Miguel De La Torre

Not to sound trite, but 9/11 is indeed a day that will live in infamy. On this day a sovereign democracy was savagely attacked by a terrorist organization. Unsatisfied with the choice people made in electing their leaders and bitter about the economic path a…

What Do Obama, Clinton and McCain All Have in Common?

March 26, 2008 by Miguel De La Torre

What do Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain have in common? All three are ontologically white males. No one can become the leader of the world’s most powerful country (empire?) unless they are committed to what male whiteness symbolizes within the colonial process. Saying…

The Ethics of Waterboarding

March 5, 2008 by Miguel De La Torre

On Feb. 22, the Justice Department revealed that an internal ethics review conducted by the Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the CIA’s use of waterboarding. This forced suffocation and inhalation of water, or as former CIA director Porter J. Goss prefers to call it,…