Bowing to the Golden Calf

Well, my biggest writing project of the year - and of my life, for that matter - has now been published. It's the cover story for the November/December issue of PRISM and is about the community in Guatemala where I grew up, which has found itself in the midst of a gold mine controversy.

I wrote it for a Christian audience, one that claims to value social justice and human dignity, so I didn't hold back in putting that stated commitment to the test. The title, Bowing to the Golden Calf, alludes to a pervasive form of idolatry I believe followers of Christ need to deal with honestly and repentantly. It's a matter of an unquestioning allegiance to an economic status quo that works remarkably well for us and keeps those on the other end of the equation both out of sight and out of mind. One might consider this story a first step in getting to know our neighbors.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to tell this story, for the encouragement and commitment to the issue that PRISM's editor has shown, and am particularly excited that it's accompanied by the excellent photography of Allan Lissner, an independent photojournalist whose work I highly recommend. I think his photos and captions really fill out parts of the story I wasn't able to include.

You can download the PDF of Bowing to the Golden Calf here. I welcome your feedback.