“When people are manipulated with guilt and fear, when they are told that if they don’t do certain things they’ll be illegitimate, judged, condemned, sent to hell forever – that’s violence. It doesn’t matter what spiritual language is used or what passages in the Bible are quoted, it’s destructive. It’s the misuse of power. And central to the way of Jesus is serving, which is the loving use of whatever power you possess for the good of another.”

From Rob Bell’s “Jesus Wants to Save Christians”. Not a title with immediate UU appeal, perhaps, but a dynamite little book of Biblical analysis that critiques American empire and contrasts security with justice. It even gave me a new perspective on the Eucharist. Good stuff. “Empires accumulate. And that accumulation has consequences. Blessings and abundance can turn into burdens and curses.”