UBC Wed For Life

When most people think about the rulers of societies and groups of people from the past, we usually think about kings or emperors and other royalty. However, if you’ve taken note of the characters covered by this blog so far, you might note that several of them were people of influence and authority, but none of them were referred to as kings. That’s because the Israelites, for a long time, did not have kings or queens. The Israelites were the people of God and, they were ruled by Him. Instead of kings, the Israelites followed priests and prophets. Priests led the people by following the commandments that God had issued. Prophets were held a rarer role. They heard directly from God and acted as God’s mouthpiece. This dynamic changed during the time of Samuel. Samuel grew to become a particularly devoted and faithful servant of God. He must have gained some of those qualities from his mother, Hannah. Hannah was a childless woman that asked God for a child and had fa...

When thinking about history, what comes to mind? A series of past events that have shaped present circumstances and situations; the opening of a narrative that has led to the current state of affairs. History has created the sophisticated cultures within the societies we now live, along with the traditions and religions that have not been created on the spur of the moment (Corfield, n.d.). Looking through the lens of history at our society gives us a needed awareness of what systems helped to create the beliefs and values we use to interpret our understanding of our realities. To begin this journey toward valuing a historical viewpoint, it is necessary to understand what role culture plays in the process. There are six ways that culture has been imagined and analyzed- as frames, repertoires, narratives, cultural capital, symbolic boundaries, and institutions (Matters, 2008). Cultural frames can be discerned through how one chooses to describe what goes on within their environment (co...

    “A lack of fathers in the household is the problem.” We’ve often heard that statement made to explain why so many problems exist in the Black community. More often than not, the statement is used as a deflection to avoid having to discuss and tackle serious social and economic problems that exist in our society. That said, there is no question that a lack of fathers or father figures can have devastating consequences on the lives of children. Studies have shown that children that do not have a father figure in there lives are: More likely to have behavioral problems; Less likely to graduate from high school and go further into academic and professional studies; More likely to turn to lives of crime; More sexually promiscuous at younger ages; More likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.  That is only a few of the detrimental effects of fatherlessness on children. Despite the efforts of some in our world to devalue the role of fathers, fathers remain ...

On March 3, 1991, footage was taken of Rodney King being beaten by five LAPD officers. The video circulated quickly, and it didn’t take long before everyone in the country had seen it. The video’s spread resulted in waves of anger, shock, and outrage throughout the nation. Many couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The beating was savage and it was being delivered by those that were expected to protect and serve. Others were not so surprised. Conflict with the police has been part of the black experience in this nation since the first slave patrol was created in 1704. The sheriffs that followed the slave patrol after the Civil War functioned in a similar fashion, particularly in the South. Their purpose had shifted from returning escaped slaves to their masters to upkeeping the rules of the Jim Crow era. The modern police force evolved from those sheriffs and while the stated purpose of the modern police force may be different, many would argue that it functions in large...

PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) is a term that we most readily associate with war veterans that we imagine waking in cold sweats from battle-weary nightmares, sleeping with guns under their pillows, and being mentally transported back into a warzone as certain sounds trigger terrifying memories. Yet, PTSD can point beyond a soldier’s war-induced psychological distress to a fuller view of trauma as a whole. Trauma can be understood as the response to a shocking event that leads to lasting psychological distress. A shock that disrupts one’s accepted perception of reality. The foundation of what we perceive to be reality or the level of our understanding of what’s going on around us consists of our beliefs and values. These systems we use to negotiate meaning with the world around us create a space for people to unify through shared interests, habits, or characteristics. From these shared experiences grow the roots of race, ethnicity, and culture. As each of us looks at the...

When it comes to unexpected incidents and crises, 2020 seems to be the year that keeps on giving. We now find ourselves thrown into new turmoil, but the source isn’t really unprecedented. Another unarmed black man was murdered by police. It’s something that has been happening for a long time in this country, but with the advent of cell phone cameras, these incidents have become more visible than ever before. As Christians, we know the world is wicked, so these incidents should not surprise us. Still, if we know Jesus and understand how important things like love and empathy are to the Christian walk, we can’t help but feel disturbed when we see a man stripped of his life in such a way. The question becomes, what should we as Christians do? It’s not our job to save the world. The world as we know it can’t be saved. The book of Revelation is our proof of that. However, we can save people. In fact that is our responsibility as Christians. Jesus handed that responsibility down...