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Mike Rivage-Seul is a liberation theologian and former Roman Catholic priest. His undergraduate degree in philosophy was received from St. Columban's Major Seminary in Milton Massachusetts and awarded through D.C.'s Catholic University. He received his theology licentiate from the Atheneum Anselmianum and his doctorate in moral theology (magna cum laude) from the Academia Alfonsiana in Rome where Mike studied for five years. There he also played club basketball for Eurosport and a team within Rome's Stella Azzurra professional organization. In 1972 he served for a year as coordinator of volunteers in Monsignor Ralph Beiting's Christian Appalachian Project. Then for 40 years, Mike taught theology and general studies at Berea College in Kentucky receiving its Seabury Award for excellence in teaching, Berea's highest faculty award. At Berea, Mike founded its Peace and Social Justice Studies program. He and his wife, Peggy, also organized and started the Berea Interfaith Taskforce for Peace. For years, he periodically taught liberation theology in a Latin American Studies Program in Costa Rica sponsored by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. In Costa Rica Mike and Peggy were fellows at the liberation theology research institute, the Departamento Ecumenico de Investigaciones (DEI) headed by the great Franz Hinkelammert. In Mexico, they also served as fellows and program directors in San Miguel de Allende's Center for Global Justice. Mike's studies and teaching have brought him to countries across Europe and to Cuba (on 10 occasions), Nicaragua (12 occasions), Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Israel, India, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Brazil where he and Peggy were associates of Paulo Freire. Mike's languages include Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. For three years he was a monthly columnist at the Lexington Herald-Leader in Lexington Kentucky. He has contributed more than 400 articles to the online news source OpEdNews where he is a senior editor. He has also published in the DEI's Pasos Journal, in the National Catholic Reporter and Christianity Today. His scholarship has been cited in the New York Times. Mike has authored or edited 10 books including one of poetry and a novel based on his experiences in Cuba. His latest book is The Magic Glasses of Critical Thinking: seeing through alternative fact & fake news (Peter Lang publishers). He blogs at http://mikerivageseul.wordpress.com/ Attempting to appropriate his identity as an ordained exorcist (all Catholic priests are), Mike also reads Tarot cards. He is a lifelong golfer and Chicago Cubs fan. OpEdNews Member for 837 week(s) and 3 day(s) 477 Articles, 0 Quick Links, 1903 Comments, 4 Diaries, 4 Series, 0 Polls
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Presidential Assassination? Only Shocking When It Happens Here Every once in a while, something happens here at home that reminds us of the world we've helped create. In biblical terms, you reap what you sow.
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What Does Prayer Mean in An Age of Empire? The Dangerous Simplicity of Pope Leo's "Nonviolence" What is prayer? What are its political implications? And what does the Bible itself (and common sense) reveal about Jesus and nonviolence?
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War Prayers and the Battle of the Gods War Prayers offered by Hegseth and white Evangelicals and seconded by Trump and Netanyahu reveal a contemporary "battle of the gods" involving Pope Leo XIV, liberation theology -- and all of us, including Mark Twain.
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Trump's Continued War against the Catholic Church Recent confrontations between the Trump administration and the Vatican raise questions about Christianity itself. Which version will prevail? The one that serves empire, or the one that challenges it? And perhaps more importantly, which one will "believers" choose?
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Easter Against the Empire of Death: Did Jesus Rise -- Or Did His Movement? EASTER HOMILY: Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Or is belief in a bodily resurrection no more credible than belief in the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus?
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Palm Sunday: Jesus and the Politics of Empire PALM SUNDAY HOMILY: Jesus was not killed because he preached kindness or interior spirituality. Rome crucified him because his message and actions threatened the stability of empire.
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What the Gospel of the Man Born Blind Says About War, Empire, and Biblical Illiteracy LENTEN HOMILY: The logic of empire assumes that leadership belongs naturally to those who are wealthy, impressive, and already powerful. The Bible insists on the opposite: God's future consistently begins among those whom society overlooks: slaves in Egypt, shepherds in Bethlehem, fishermen in Galilee, a construction worker from Nazareth.
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Wells, Walls, and Manufactured Thirst SUNDAY HOMILY: The irony is painful. The people who once wandered as refugees in the desert now fear refugees at their gates. The descendants of immigrants fear immigration. The community that drinks from a rock fears sharing water.
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When Leaders Become School Shooters Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are the most lethal school shooters on earth.
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Donald Trump's Nakedness, His STFU SOTU Speech SUNDAY HOMILY: Trump's disgraceful SOTU speech last Tuesday is worthy of profane response -- even STFU.
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Lent, Empire, and the God We Worship SUNDAY HOMILY: Lent is not about chocolate or minor self-denials. It is about allegiance. It is about whether we will continue participating in systems that assume the right to dominate the earth and dictate history -- or whether we will align ourselves with the one who refused. Series: Sunday Homilies for Progressives (162 Articles, 320739 views)
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Returning to Rome: Redrawing My Map of God and the World As a former Catholic priest, returning to Rome has stirred memories of the God-image that accompanied my early formation and of the experiences and intellectual giants that helped me transform that image.
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The Commandments and the Epstein Revelations: Whom Does God's Law Really Protect? SUNDAY HOMILY: The Epstein affair is not an anomaly. It is a revelation.
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AI, Social Justice, and Who Pays the Bill A former student of mine at Berea College answered my recent article on AI with a bracing reality check. He wondered "How can you call AI morally promising when its infrastructure degrades the environment and burdens marginalized communities?"
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Why Isaiah and Jesus Sound Like Marx (Again) SUNDAY HOMILY: The teachings of Jesus and the practice of the earliest Christian communities contain themes that can only be described as Marxist, socialist, even communist.
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When Even Liberals Deny The Communism Present in the Bible SUNDAY HOMILY: Jesus' Beatitudes are far more dangerous to entrenched wealth than Marx ever was. Series: Sunday Homilies for Progressives (162 Articles, 320739 views)
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A Failure Already? Bill Maher Declares Zohran Mamdani "A Straight Up Communist" Bill Maher's latest remarks about Zohran Mamdani being a "straight up communist" show he knows less about communism than my middle school grandchildren.
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How the American Left Keeps Falling for Regime-Change Narratives When Trump and Netanyahu point the finger at Iran, they do so with hands still soaked in blood. They have no moral authority whatever.
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How Zohran Mamdani Can Become President: (An Excerpt from My "Arc of Justice Alliance" Novella) The opening chapter of my "Arc of Justice Alliance" novella: "Against All Odds: how Zohran Mamdani became president and changed America forever."
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Liberation Theology as Critical Thinking: Why God Talk Still Matters If we are serious about liberation-- real liberation, not branding-- then we must reclaim every tool that helps us see clearly. Theology, done rightly, is one of them. Page 1 of 18 First Last Back Next 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 View All |