forgiveness
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If You're Happy President Trump Tested Positive for COVID-19, You're Just as Bad as He Is
Regardless of my feelings about his politics, Donald Trump is a human first. A husband. A father. An uncle. An American. And today I am deeply saddened by the news that both he and his wife, Melania, have tested positive for COVID-19. Yes, he is an abhorrent person who has said and done terrible things.…
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Hugging Judge in Amber Guyger Murder Trial: Why Y’all Mad?
The judge who presided over the trial of Amber Guyger, the former Dallas cop convicted of murdering an unarmed black man last year as he was minding his own business inside his own home, says hugging Guyger after the trial was the “Christian” thing to do. Texas state District Judge Tammy Kemp has come under…
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Wisconsin Group Files Complaint Against Guyger Judge for Spreading the Gospel of White Jesus
A Wisconsin group that seeks to ensure the separation of church and state has filed a complaint against a murderer-embracing judge for transforming into Reverend Save-a-Heaux and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a former police officer who so loved herself that she crucified an unarmed man in his own apartment so that he…
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18-Year-Old Brandt Jean’s Hug of Amber Guyger Made Me Sick. But It Ain’t About Me, Though
The conversation about Brandt Jean’s hug of convicted murderer Amber Guyger has mostly cannibalized both the news of the (still surprising) conviction and the (not surprising at all) sentence. The image of the act is both explosive and saccharine; a molotov cocktail dipped in high fructose corn syrup. It’s impossible to see that and not…
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What Botham Jean's Mother Had to Say About Dallas Police and Her Son's Show of Forgiveness
The trial for her son’s killer was finally over, but Allison Jean reminded a Dallas congregation on Wednesday night that there was still plenty of work to do. The mother of Botham Jean, the 26-year-old accountant fatally shot by Dallas police officer Amber Guyger last year, addressed the crowd at the Dallas West Church of…
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Botham Jean, Amber Guyger and the Delusion of Forgiveness
It was described as “stunning,” “rare,” and “inspirational”: Brandt Jean, the younger brother of Botham Jean, killed last year at the hands of a Dallas police officer who mistakenly walked into his apartment, asking his brother’s killer if he could hug her. “I love you as a person,” Jean, who had been delivering his victim…
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OK, It Might Be Time to Forgive Chrisette Michele
I’ll preface this article with a full admission that I was never a diehard Chrisette Michele fan. Like many in the culture, I noted her as an undisputed vocalist who could sing sing, resting comfortably at the table with other current singers who sang sang. You know, the unofficial Award Show Tribute Collective founded by…
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What My Frayed Relationship With My Mother Has Taught Me About Grace and Mercy
On Wednesday morning I had the pleasure of being a returning guest on the WDET radio show Detroit Today With Stephen Henderson, who was here in Washington, D.C., recording from NPR headquarters. I was there to talk about the article I wrote a few months ago about my frayed relationship with my mother because of…
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Family of Robert Godwin Sr., Facebook-Shooting Victim: ‘Each One of Us Forgives the Killer’
Some people embody more grace than should be humanly possible. The family of Robert Godwin Sr. are one such example, with family members saying that they forgive their loved one’s killer, despite the tragic and senseless circumstances of the 74-year-old Cleveland man’s death. “The thing I would take away most from our father is that…
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Sometimes It’s Perfectly OK to Hate Those Who Believe in Your Oppression
When Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, we go high,” she offered a succinct and strong defense of dignity. The idea is that simply because someone else—in this case, Donald Trump—resorts to a certain level of campaigning that many find debasing doesn’t mean everyone else should join him in the mud pool. It’s a…