Two stories. One in the third person – a story about transgender folk. Another in the first person. Both touching and sure to create a little more empathy – with some, anyway.
Born in male body, Jenny knew early that she was a girl
Henry Joseph Madden was a good student and track team member in high school, but he had a secret: He sometimes wore his mother’s pantyhose and underwear under his clothes. Continue reading ‘Transgender Stories’
In response to a question, “What if a heterosexual becomes a homosexual?”
I am inclined to think that the sexual dichotomy of hetero- and homo-sexuality is what is wrong. Given an environment in which no outside forces were exerted, people would land wherever they felt led on the continuum of sexuality. For people towards the outer limits of the continuum their sexual inclinations would be clear – either same gender or opposite gender attraction. I think, however, that there aren’t too many people dwelling at these extremes. So you have what I believe to be the majority of people – those dwelling in the more central places on the continuum. Continue reading ‘The Continuum of Sexuality’
THE CREATION STORY – well, sort of
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1, KJV)” In the beginning of biblical interpretation it meant just that – God made heaven and earth, and then all things in it, in six days. Eight creative processes in six days, with seven declarations of “and it was good.” The exception was the sky, which evidently didn’t deserve a nod of pleasure. Hmm. God made Adam, planted a garden for Adam to tend, made all the creatures so Adam could be entertained naming them, and then fashioned woman from Adam’s rib to be his helper. Of course, we all know how Eve sent all creation on the slippery slope to h… – well, we won’t belabor that point. Besides, it may have had something to do with getting story lines mixed up. Continue reading ‘Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Authority & Gen 1:26-28’
I’m doing something different. This is a story that will develop over time. I’d like to incorporate your thoughts into it – which means, obviously, you have to give me some. I’ll make it sticky for a while – at least, until I think it’s done.
Kim and Leslie were descendents of the original settlers on Terra – the fourth generation to live on this distant planet colonized by the United States. They had been together for over twelve years – years during which they suffered estrangement from “polite society” and were subject to pointing fingers, pursed lips, derision and even a couple of instances of violence. There was no doubt they did not belong, but they knew no other place, no other home, such as it was. They had long resigned themselves to living on the fringe of Terra community. Kim and Leslie were not alone in their plight, being part of a minority that was ignored in demographic research. Continue reading ‘oh! you’re childless – a new parable’
Several friends told me how boring the last iteration of the blog was, so I’ve changed it yet again. If you like this let me know – if not, let me know. Looks aren’t everything, but I guess I was putting people to sleep with that last one. Anyway, I’ll try this for a while.
BUMP – Just because I like this one.
Having accepted the challenge to discuss economic theology with a Presbyterian session of a large metropolitan church, and having overheard in conversation the “ideal” minister being described as a “CEO” type, I began with a simple exercise – one I had presented several times before to different audiences. The exercise takes advantage of the preponderance of business language and processes being used by sessions and boards of religious institutions.
Abortion is one of the most decidedly divisive issues in society and religion. Following the murder of Dr George Tiller, Rabbi Waskow issued the following opinion piece – one that is lucid and pleading. I commend Rabbit Waskow’s courage and his thoughts, while acknowledging that there are many who believe abortion to be heinous. I, myself, battle internally with this issue. I believe that abortion is rarely a good option or a good thing, but also agree that unwanted pregnancy can ruin lives and lead to poverty. The solution, in my mind, is to make abortion irrevelant as we tackle the causes of unwanted pregnancies. In the meantime I lean towards allowing, as moral agents, women to exercise discretion with respect to their own bodies. I know many disagree, but encourage them to read Rabbi Waskow’s comments anyway.
Dear friends,
So another physician has been murdered for making it possible for women to actually use their constitutional right to choose an abortion. Continue reading ‘Comments on Abortion and Murder from Rabbi Arthur Waskow’
Lawrence from First Light provided the following article with brief commentary preceding it. At usual, there is no need to add commentary at this point.
You might expect such an evaluation from people in our own community, or from parents, family, friends and allies. But the conclusion comes from an unexpected source.
I’ve spoken about the organization “Faith in America” before, a group that, like Soulforce, attempts to communicate the harm done by faith-based bigotry against TLGB people. And I think I’ve also mentioned “Crisis,” the book compiled by FIA founder Mitchell Gold in support of that effort, which was published earlier this year. Gold has just sent an email alert to friends and members of FIA regarding a review of the book which has appeared — to his surprise — in the publication The Christian Century. The surprise isn’t that this progressive periodical printed the review; it’s that the review was written by a relatively conservative Baptist minister who teaches Christian ethics at Mercer University. Continue reading ‘Faith-Based Homophobia: ‘An Appalling Christian Moral Failure’’
No-one has commented on more lucidly, nor collected articles about, The Dallas Principles than Lawrence at First Light. I am posting his comments and articles he cited here, minus any identifying details, since First Light is a membership based list serve. Feel free to go to the link and sign up if you are allied to the cause of LGBT equality.
The meeting in Dallas which produced “The Dallas Principles” is another in a recent series of efforts by grassroots and out-of-the-mainstream activists to stimulate greater popular initiative and control over lobbying to achieve greater TLGB equality. In many ways, it seems to me that it’s at least partly a reaction against the failure of ‘official’ activist groups to defeat Prop. 8 in California last year, and partly an expanding anger and unhappiness over the go-slow approach of national groups like The Human Rights Campaign, which seem to be unwilling to make hard demands of persons in power.
The strength of the Dallas 24, who met to hammer out some foundational goals of the TLGB community in 2009, seems to me to be that they are not tied to top-heavy bureaucracies with huge budgets that support highly-paid staff with power, status and positions to protect. Perhaps their weakness is pretty much the same: they have no official standing, no ongoing structure, little serious connections to the people in power, and are just as much self-selected as the organizations which they believe are failing to achieve community goals quickly enough.
Despite a flurry of media releases, they’ve gotten precious little mainstream news coverage. What they have going for them are basically internet blogging audiences (how large? unknown), some potential funding resources (how much? unknown) and initial enthusiasm and desire to make an impact (how lasting? unknown). The Dallas Principles are scarcely arguable, but their influence is very much up in the air. But if you’re weary of the questionable pace and product of the ‘big boys’ of community lobbying, you have nothing to lose by checking out the Dallas bunch. Continue reading ‘Dallas Principles’
The Republicans showing their ass.
Right now there is a power struggle that seems to mirror that which has kept the Christian Church from doing its mission for far too long. There is what appears, on the surface at least, to be a three way struggle for dominance between only two factions.
Rush Limbaugh, in his usual inimitable way, has manipulated being given the mantel of conservative Republicanism’s top dog. He is, as usual, only half right. Vying against him for the same demographic, as if he hasn’t already damaged the party enough while in office, is former VP Dick Cheney. Over and against those with a conservative bent is the more moderate or centrist Republicans represented ably by Colin Powell.
Two against one hardly seems fair, unless the one is Powell, whose approval ratings are better than Cheney and Limbaugh combined. Continue reading ‘The Republicans Have Learned Too Much from Church’
A story from CNN that speaks for itself:
A gay minister at the center of a row about his appointment to a church in a Scottish city said he was “humbled” after the Church of Scotland upheld his appointment. 
The 37-year-old’s appointment at Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen, on Scotland’s northeast coast, provoked opposition from traditionalist members of the church and has led to fears it could cause a damaging split. Continue reading ‘Even the Scottish Presbyterians are more progressive than the PC(USA)’
The Prodigal Son becomes a new creation – reconciled with his loving father. Among other things, this story is a wonderful story that exhibits the flow of worshipful life perfectly.
All the elements are there – the son turns his back on his parent and heritage – takes his material wealth as if it were his own just reward – squanders it on the things that the worldly things that he knows his father would disapprove of – eventually recognizes his own poverty of spirit – reluctantly returns in contrition to his father, prepared to confess and accept his punishment – and encounters a loving parent, willing to accept the slings and arrows of his culture for forgiving his child, and running to him with arms wide open to accept him back into the household.
If that is not the flow of life, what is? It is a beautiful parable, is it not? It is a true work of art being told by Jesus to illustrate a point. But, sometimes, in appreciating the beauty and warmth of the story, we neglect to realize the real purpose Jesus told it. We gloss over the most important aspects. Continue reading ‘Being Prodigal’
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Rev Andy Little
MINISTRY FROM TWO POLES 
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