The Common Good and the Politics of Neighborliness “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Mark 12:31By +Brian Ernest Brown There are certain teachings of Jesus that are so familiar, so oft-quoted, that we forget how radical they really are. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” is one…
Category: Faith, Conscience & Common Good
The Via Media where faith meets politics and conscience walks the middle way. Confronting both the Church and Caesar with the Social Gospel by naming injustice, resisting empire, and calling the faithful back to the liberating mercy of Jesus.
Faith, Conscience & Common Good
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When Power Excuses Evil: A Reflection on Conscience, Complicity, and the Idol of Politics
When Power Excuses Evil: A Reflection on Conscience, Complicity, and the Idol of Politics By +Brian Ernest Brown There are moments in history when a society’s moral fractures become too deep to hide. Moments when the truth breaks through the noise and asks whether we are still capable of seeing…
Faith, Conscience & Common Good
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When Grace Grows Old
When Grace Grows Old By +Brian Ernest Brown I am part of Generation X. I grew up in the 1970s and 80s, when rotary phones hung on kitchen walls, Saturday mornings smelled like cereal and cartoons, and moral certainty seemed far simpler. We were the latchkey kids, half-wild, half-wise, learning…
Faith, Conscience & Common Good
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The Via Media: A Way of Integrity in Public Life
The Via Media: A Way of Integrity in Public Life By +Brian Ernest Brown, CWC In an age of outrage and algorithms, it can feel as though every conversation demands that we choose a side before we’re even allowed to speak. We are pressed to declare allegiance not to truth…
Faith, Conscience & Common Good
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About the Via Media
About the Via Media Reflections on Faith, Conscience, and the Common Good In an age of noise and division, Via Media seeks a different path, the sacred middle way. Hosted and written by me, Brian Ernest Brown, bishop, teacher, and pilgrim of conscience, Via Media explores the moral and spiritual…
Faith, Conscience & Common Good
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When We Fail the Least of These
When We Fail the Least of These By Abbot Bishop Brian Ernest Brown, CWC “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” -Matthew 25:45 Beloved in Christ, There comes a time when silence…
Faith, Conscience & Common Good
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Following the Prince of Peace
Following the Prince of Peace By Abbot Bishop Brian Ernest Brown, CWC “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” — Matthew 5:9 Beloved in Christ, When we call Jesus the Prince of Peace, we invoke more than a comforting title; we proclaim a truth about…
Faith, Conscience & Common Good
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The No Kings Protest: A Christian Perspective
The No Kings Protest: A Christian Perspective On June 14, 2025, millions of Americans took to the streets in what has become known as the No Kings Protest, a nationwide demonstration against authoritarianism and political corruption. Among those standing in solidarity were Christians, committed to justice, peace, and the teachings…
Faith, Conscience & Common Good
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The Coming of the Son: Sunrise on Bear Mountain
In the darkness that is winter and the depth that is Lent, behold, Easter draws near when the Light of the World will rise again! I awoke to a glorious sunrise this morning and was immediately reminded of the imminent coming of Easter and all that resurrection means in this…
Faith, Conscience & Common Good
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Transgender Day of Remembrance 2014
Introduction Given at the Transgender Day of Remembrance 2014 St. Martin’s Episcopal Church Fayetteville Arkansas By Bishop Brian Ernest Brown I Wonder Did You Know You Were Making History By Stephanie Mott In honor of those who have walked openly in the light and in memory of those who have…