Today in a conversation at my internship church, the topic of “naming the happiest part of your day so far” came up…
And at that point in the day it was when I was talking to an elderly conservative member of the church about homosexuality, in a way that made my stance clear without offending him in a way that could shut down the lines of open communication between us. And then another elderly member came by, who was a retired minister, from whom I secretly seek approval and listened in.
But that wasn’t the best part. The best part was how we said goodbye.
The older conservative member hugged me and said, “Thank you for loving your Fundamentalist brother!” To which I replied, “Thank you for loving your Liberal sister!” And then the retired minister looked at me and said, “Thank you for loving your…semi-progressive….elder?” And then we all three parted ways smiling.
It made me happy :)
To anyone who dares to say that the absence of God in the public schools is in any way related to the rise in school violence:
You should be ashamed of your ignorant and hateful rhetoric. Not only is it insulting to every human being regardless of their spiritual practice, but also of God. Your narrow view and theology of God assumes /asserts that God can not be anywhere that God is not invited via human law. You are telling the world that Christians believe that God is not present unless the circumstances are just right. You are telling the world that God is conditional and that the absence of God is violence. Your limited theology asserts that God is not “all powerful” enough to be bigger than the human constructions
of the government. In fact, you have created a weak God that is smaller and less relevant than anything humans are capable of. Is this really what you intended? Do you really believe that violence, hatred, and oppression has to be, because God isn’t strong enough to rise above a law about the separation of church and state? How.Lame.
Let’s take this a step further, please?
In much of Europe and even in other North American nations, God is completely removed from the public schools. Why then is the violence NOTHING like it is in the United States? According to your hate speech and ignorant worldview, shouldn’t there be just as much violence in those places? My guess not one of the Christian right has ever thought beyond their own self-serving, westernized perception of their faith to think that broadly.
Shame on you all. Shame on anyone who would highjack a national tragedy to promote their religious aptitude for hate. shame on anyone who would highjack an entire religion for the feeble attempt to maintain power. You are the false gods that your own tradition speaks of. Shame on you.
”“Ha Shem”, by Karen Baker-Fletcher
Hurricane
Why
Hurricane
Sigh
A touch on
Our Shoulders
In early July
At first
So dry
Then so humid
Weather awry
The birds all timid
In shades of trees
Then diving like turtles
Without grace or ease
Dipping low
For dark and cool
Seeking oasis
In tepid pool
Past breeding
And nesting
Just wrestling
With heat
Past season
To Season
Black and
Orange
Webbed feet
Sense
Adam’s empire is
The reason
For warnings
And warmings
In morning’s
First “Hi”
Such sorrow
Little regret
For ignoring
Heaven’s eye
Before emperors
In ties
Butt naked with lies
Muted earth’s cries
In ascent to hell’s throne
Deep in the bog of
Imperialist dung
Plaguing
Peasant
Pietas’
Hearts
All flung and wrung
By the tragic folly
of empire’s feast
With blasphemous prayers
Mocking the least
Hailing techno whizzer’s of Oz
Flaccid grey-skinned priests
Passing numbers for gods
While laboring serfs grieve
The debris on God’s altars
While creation groans
With constant plea
From bayou to bay
And from bay to the sea
And the winds prophesy:
What a meager repentance
Such blasphemous offerings
What mocking remembrance
Of secret waters rippling with mirth
Spirit hovering over depths meeting earth
Swirling wind and love
Coursing down from above
Panting, then pulsing, then hearing
Sophia’s hymn
At the first cry of birth
I Am
Alpha
And
Omega
Thus breathes
Ha Shem
Surprise Ending of the Day: A Missouri reverend’s council presentation on gay rights goes exactly how you’d imagine until…oh, just wait for it.
[gawker]
Here’s the same thing I just posted a little while ago, but in a less mysterious format. I’m posting it again because of that last minute or two. They never stop being golden.
(via you-got-iantowned)
Snap, crackle, and Holy ghost.
To those who practice the tradition of Christianity…
If we are to celebrate a tradition that follows the creation story, we must celebrate the the fact that the God of creation saw each of those creations as “good.” Every drop of water, each ray of light, the darkness, textures, colors and of course life, was indeed “good.”
This creative, loving and living God that we celebrate, challenges and invites us to see this goodness for ourselves. This perfection, this beauty, and this wonder that is in itself our truest image of God incarnate.
In our manhood, womanhood, motherhood and fatherhood; in our friendships and relationships, straightness and gayness; in our our blackness, our whiteness, and sameness and our difference, we see God…
and it is indeed good.
Be proud of who you are, because yes, YOU are good.
”A classmate of mine’s response in regards to National Coming Out Day, and ‘The Christian Case for Celebration’.
Super proud to have friends such as these, to go to a seminary such as this, and to be the creation of a God who is love.
Lessons from Seminary:
It is our power to hope that will combat the pulls of cynicism.
Today in Seminary:
I learned that most of our Founding Fathers weren’t actually what we might consider traditional Christians, if they were actually Christians at all. Instead a great deal of them were more Christian in title than in theology or even practice.
And the Constitution is essentially an eighteenth-century equivalent to a secular humanist text.
And it’s only a half-truth that the Pilgrims came to this country searching for religious freedom, because actually they were for the most part looking for the freedom to practice what they felt was the “right” religion. They were distinctively opposed to someone else practicing a “wrong” religion.
And yet…
That a group of men that sat around a table, regardless of their religious beliefs, all saw the general necessity for religion in keeping civil order. (Which was a whole separate, confusing, and probably debatable lecture.)
But they had the wisdom to see that if you make religion required, and if you give religious power to those who hold civil power, you will never have religious freedom.
So they wrote that every religion is allowed, and no political official has power to enforce (a) religion.
Pretty cool considering all I hear about on the news is how our Founding Fathers were pretty much the original A-Team of traditional Christians, and that they wrote the Constitution/Bill of Rights to be a tenet of orthodoxy for Christians generations to come, should we ever stray into the hedonistic temptations of whatever.
—
Disclaimer: I’m aware this isn’t a popular social view in many sectors. I gotta be honest and say it’s late and I’m not super into a debate right now. If your understanding of the Founding Fathers and their involvement with the composition of the Constitution varies from mine…alright. You wouldn’t have surprised me. I just got out of class with some interesting ideas, and I wanted to share them with ya’ll. Maybe we can talk about it later, but right now I’m just reveling in the wonder of our First Amendment.
killthebloodyredprinceofdeath:
We ran out of plates.
This is possibly the greatest photo on Tumblr.
This is possibly the most disrespectful photo on Tumblr. I am not saying that you have to agree with what the bible says, but to utilize that book ‘as a plate’ knowing what it means to people, is just plain disrespectful to religion.
This is possibly the most disrespectful photo on Tumblr. I am not saying that you have to agree with the fact that pizza is the most delicious thing ever, but to let it touch that book, knowing how many people misinterpret it as a reason to hate gays, is just plain disrespectful to pizza.
Ugghh…aside from my initial drooling for pizza, I have 3 1/2 things to say in response: 1. a) Regardless of what it says, or whether you agree with it, that book is a religious text. If someone had posted a picture of pizza on a Qur’an or Torah, I think the responses might be different. It’s simple a matter of respect for a religion. b) People can misinterpret anything if it serves their cause. Don’t shame my religious book just because some idiot has done a crappy literary analysis of the text. 2. If microwaved Styrofoam releases chemicals, then that faux-leather-plastic cover has GOT to be bad for the pizza. If anything, I would expect it would melt. Next time at least do paperback. 3. This is not the most disrespectful thing on Tumblr. Your both new here, aren’t you?
(via thatfunnygirllauren)
My family should really know by now what they’re getting into when they have theological conversations with me.
Because you better believe that I employ the Socratic method.
And I can go all night.
Or at least until everyone involved has lost interest.
And I only have two rules:
1) It’s not an argument, it’s a discussion. So be polite and don’t get defensive. There’s no crying in theology.
2) Back up your arguments.
And #2 is less of a rule and more of a survival tip.
Let’s get ready to rumble.
