(People's World) -- Two dozen faith leaders from around the United States resurrected an ancient Biblical custom of covering themselves with sackcloth and ashes in a powerful demonstration of prophetic urgency and grief over their fellow Christians who make excuses for racial hatred and sexual abuse rather than fighting oppression.
The action by Christian theologians, who are grieving over the corruption of U.S. Christianity, took place outside a meeting in Boston, Mass., of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature, the largest annual gathering of religious scholars and leaders in the U.S. In conjunction with the physical demonstration, the group of faith leaders and theologians launched The Boston Declaration at the Old South Church at 12:30 pm on Monday, November 20th. That church, established in 1669 and considered the “mother church” of Congregationalism in America, played a significant role in the American Revolution. From it, in 1773, Samuel Adams gave the signal that started the Boston Tea Party.
The Declaration is a ringing call for the country to turn toward honest, reflective self-examination and a spur to action to end oppression.
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