what The Beloved Community might look like if people took real, practical steps toward that goal. We used to call this prophetic preaching. Today this type of preaching either has been hijacked by political ideologies, both conservative and liberal, or it has been domesticated by those seeking to be sensitive to the unchurched or unconverted. Walter Brueggemann frames the issue squarely: The theological scandal of biblical faith, especially when rendered into political, economic issues, is indeed