The New Yorker, Dolly Parton, Honky-Tonk Angel:

Dolly Parton belonged to a beloved category: the outlaw Christian, who loved Jesus and refused to hate anyone else.

Erick Erickson, Dolly Parton and the Two Commandments:

I do not know what [Dolly Parton’s] spiritual condition was when she died. She grew up in the church, has openly talked about her spiritual drift, what became a communal spiritualism, and, towards the end of her life, waking up at 4 am every day, getting on her knees, and having heart-to-hearts with Jesus.

What her actual views were, I do not know.

What I know is that when our Lord was asked what the greatest of the commandments was, Jesus summed up the ten commandments thusly:

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 (ESV)

I cannot speak to Dolly Parton and the first of these. That is between her and God. We can all speak to the second commandment.

Dolly Parton, for years, has donated band uniforms to poor, majority-black schools across the South with no public credit or recognition. She has provided books for children because her father was illiterate. She rebuilt homes and she rebuilt churches. She built and upgraded hospitals in poor communities. She provided jobs and opportunities for the poor. …

Dolly Parton did not care if you were gay or trans or straight or white or black or Republican or Democrat. She loved her neighbor as herself.

Today, partisans of the Left insist one cannot love their neighbor without affirming their sins. Partisans of the Right insist one cannot love their neighbor without denouncing their sins. A growing number of people on both sides of the political spectrum believe they cannot love their neighbors who are different, politically or otherwise. Some relish hating their neighbors and find ways to justify it. …

In a world of increasing anger, despair, and hatred of our neighbors, we could all stand to be more like Dolly Parton. That does not mean we should abandon convictions, faith, or values, or cross from empathy to suicidal empathy.

But it does mean remembering that loving your neighbor has no exceptions and it is a personal, not a corporate, obligation.

Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, born January 19, 1946, has gone to stand before the Lord our God, who raised her from the dust of the earth and stitched her together in her mother’s womb and knew her before time itself began. Requiescat in pace.

• Christianity Today, Dolly Parton Didn’t Need You to Love Her (and That’s Why Most of Us Did)
• Christian Century, Dolly Parton’s Faith Was Hard to Measure
• Christian Century, Dolly Parton’s Theology Was Love
• Christianity Today, The Dolly Parton Songs That Revealed Her Faith, Doubt, and Hope
• Deseret News, The Joyful Faith of Dolly Parton
• Knoxville News Sentinel, Dolly Parton Lived a Life of Faith and Finding the Goodness in Others
• New York Times, Dolly Parton and the ‘Pretty Darn Good’ Southern Church
• New York Times, What Dolly Did for Tennessee Is What She Did for the World
• Religion Unplugged, We Will Always Love Her: How Dolly Parton Lived Out Her Personal Faith
• Washington Free Beacon, How Gratitude Defined Dolly Parton
• Washington Times, In Dolly Parton’s Theology, God and Acceptance Shared the Same Stage:

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