Changing My Policy on Comments

I do most of the talking on this blog, but I also listen and learn from the input I receive from my terrific readers. Recently, I have received some very constructive feeback, both publicly and privately, regarding the increase in negative comments being posted here.

When I started this blog, my goal was to keep it as an open forum where people on both sides of issues relating to the GLBT community could have a say. While I still think this is the ideal approach, it has become clear to me that it is not a viable one. My first priority here is to advocate for GLBT individuals, to be a place that gay Christians can come and receive the word of God and updates on issues relevant to them. I also want it to be a safe place for GLBT people who are struggling and have been deeply wounded by the homophobic religious right. I want them to be able to come here and find some word that will help them start the healing process and realize that God loves them just as much as he does me and Pastor Brenda.

The bottom line is I want this to be a safe place for GLBT people, somewhere they can come without having to worry about being attacked. In the spirit of trying to keep an open forum, I have allowed people to post some very hateful messages. Even thought they have been responded to in kind, I have grown to understand that the fact they are here in the first place can be hurtful. For anyone who has read some of those comments and been angered or hurt, please accept my apology.

It won't happen again.

If anyone wants to question scripture references and ask how I can feel a certain way, read the blog. I'm approaching nearly 300 posts and covered a lot of ground. If you're asking a sincere question, the answers are probably there. If not, don't bother posting a comment. If you want to post slanderous, homophobic, bigoted, hateful messages, take it somewhere else or start your own blog. Those type of comments will be deleted without exception.

Anybody who wants to challenge me on something is welcome to send an e-mail to straight_notnarrow@yahoo.com. I continue to hope there are people out there who will read the material here and ask questions with an open mind. Those folks are still welcome to comment and join our discussions.

Rather than stiffle discussion here, I want to encourage it. I often find the constructive comments here are better than my original post. Many readers have commented to me that this blog has been a blessing to them. Well, it works both ways--people who actively participate here have richly blessed me.

Aren't we all supposed to support and help each other grow? Isn't that what God had in mind when He first popluated the earth?

WHOSOEVER: Don't let anger make you sin

"Be angry, but do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, neither give place to the devil." Ephesians 4:26,27 MOD

God knew we would have occasion to be angry. More than that, God knew we would have occasion to be filled with wrath. God also knew that being in a place of anger or wrath can potentially make us vulnerable to the devil. So, in God's loving wisdom and kindness, He made a way for us to stay clear of the devil's influence. He instructs us to get over it. He instructs us to not let a day go by before we deal with the anger. Otherwise, we leave ourselves wide open to the attacks of the enemy just like blood in the water where sharks are feeding.

God would not have given us such instructions if it weren't possible to accomplish. The Holy Spirit is ever present to give us strength, guidance, and comfort. All we have to do is call on His help..... and get over it.

"I Hate Being Gay"

I found this gut-renching essay on The Adovcate.com written by a young man named Kyle Rice in Washington State. Kyle is fighting a battle in his heart and soul that he appears to be losing. For example:

"I focus on fighting efforts to force the "gay agenda" on those of us who know God does not accept homosexuality. Although I do not condone discrimination, I also do not support gay marriage laws or many of the other issues backed by gay rights groups. I am a proud conservative Republican, and I support political candidates who feel the same way I do."

Kyle is so indoctrinated by the religious right's message of condemnation that he supports legislation that restricts his own rights. He's also deep into self-loathing, writing:

"I know God would not approve of me acting on my gay feelings, and I have no right to question his directive. I know that in the end I will be happy I lived my life according to God’s standards the best that I could. That means refusing to accept being gay."

People like Kyle are one of the primary groups my church and this blog are trying to reach out to. It appears he has never been taught that he doesn't have to choose between being a Christian or accepting himself for who he is because God accepts him.

Sadly, I very strongly believe that he is mistaken in his belief that he can deny who he really is and still live a happy life. He and many others like him have allowed Satan to speak to him through those who don't understand or intentionally misrepresent God's word and prevent him from experiencing the fullness of life as a gay Christian.

I hope you will join me in praying that Kyle Rice can soon accept himself for who he is and discover the life that God has planned for him.

The Hypocrisy of James Dobson

I write a lot about Dr. Dobson and his campaign of hate and discrimination against the GLBT community. Here is another piece about Dobson that echoes many of the sentiments I have expressed on this blog. The writer, Robert Parham, is the executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics.

He writes, "Dobson may have finally gone too far in pushing a political agenda under the guise of morality. Sincere pastors may finally turn him off for transgressing the boundaries between conservative Christian values and political conservative leaders."

We can only hope.

Series on Christianity and Homosexuality

David W. Shelton, a gay Christian who is pastor of Christian Community Church in Clarksville, Tennessee, was kind enough to let me know about an in-depth series he is writing about Christianity and Homosexuality.

David is meticulously going through the key scriptures that are often used by the religious right to condemn homosexuality. It is some excellent work that is worth taking time to read.

Thanks for the head's up David.

Click here to read David's series on his blog, "Skipping to the Piccolo"

Clarifying Where I Stand

Some of the regular readers of this blog have probably followed the discussion between myself, a man who posts as “Stuffed Animal,” and Jerry Maneker. Both of them, particularly Stuffed Animal, have taken me to task for being willing to engage in dialogue with those who feel that homosexuality is a sin. I have found Stuffed Animal’s comments to be driven by a deep, perhaps even visceral, anger at injustices done to him and other GLBT people. He has taken offense to my toleration of anti-homosexual comments on this blog, a view which Jerry appears to share.

I have written that I disagree with an approach that, in my opinion, too closely resembles that of the bigots that cause such pain and draw GLBT people into self-loathing and other negative views of life. The anger that comes across in Stuffed Animal’s comments troubles me and I have commented to him that I don’t feel he’s channeling it in a positive, constructive manner. The response from Stuffed Animal has been that by tolerating views that do not directly and strongly support the place of GLBT people in the Kingdom of God, I am doing a disservice to the community and compromising the effectiveness of my advocacy.

Fair enough. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of how to most effectively advocate equality for GLBT people in politics and the church.

Over on Jerry’s blog, Stuffed Animal continues to write about this blog, dialoging with Jerry. He refers to me as “Rev. Jim” when I am not in fact an ordained minister or have ever claimed to be. My wife is, but not me. No big deal, in fact I took it as a compliment.

He got another fact very, very wrong that has angered me and needs to be corrected lest anyone draw the same incorrect conclusion.

Stuffed Animal posted, “Deep down, I believe Jim accepts the lie that God condemns homosexuality as sinful, and that's why he can't see it for the damaging thing that it is. He thinks that if the Bible bullies will just stop being so virulent, and the Gay activists will just stop being so militant, then we can all find common ground and sit quietly together in church.”

That is simply a load of crap. I was disappointed that Jerry agreed with it since he and I have shared numerous constructive exchanges over the last few months.

It is beyond me how any reasonable person can read this blog and draw that conclusion. Nonetheless, just in case someone else could, allow me to state how I feel very, very clearly.

I believe that all people are equal in God’s eyes regardless of the sexual orientation they are born with. We are equal brothers and sisters who have redemption available to us because Christ sacrificed Himself for our sins. I believe couples of the same-sex should have equal rights to marry just like Brenda and I did. I believe God blesses monogamous, covenant relationships regardless of the genders of the partners. I believe God loathes promiscuity regardless of the gender of the participants. I believe GLBT people need legal protections, not “special rights” to protect their ability to hold down jobs, adopt children, and do anything and everything I can do as a straight person without having to stay in the closet.

My wife, Pastor Brenda, believes the same things. She has ministered to the GLBT community for nearly 20 years and is one of the people who continue to enlighten me about the injustices and ministry needs of GLBT people.

If anyone doubts that I feel this way, please check out anything I have posted on this blog. If you see something I wrote that makes you think Stuffed Animal is right, I would sincerely like to know. Perhaps I misstated something or put it in a way that was not clear, that’s always possible.

Just show me the courtesy of telling me directly, either by commenting on the blog or by e-mail. I’d rather not stumble across negative comments about me on someone else’s blog.

A Republican Who Gets It

John Danforth, a former U. S. Senator who is also an ordained Episcopal minister, has a new book coming out next week, and the web site Raw Story posted a piece excerpting quotes from an advance copy they received.

The book is titled Faith and Politics, and Danforth has some unkind words directed toward the Bush administration (he reportedly was second choice for Vice-President behind Cheney) and the religious right.

Regarding the concept of American being a "Christian nation":

"Some people have asked me whether America is a Christian country. The answer must be no, for to call this a Christian country is to say that non-Christians are of some lesser order, not full fledged citizens of one nation."

Regarding the Republican war (they do love that word, after all) against the GLBT community:

"I believe that homosexuality is a matter of sexual orientation rather than preference," he writes. "Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is, in my view, comparable to discrimination on other civil rights grounds. It is wrong, and it should be prohibited by law.
I think that the only purpose served by the campaign for the amendment (banning same-sex marriage) is the humiliation of gay Americans, advocated by the Christian right and eagerly supported by its suitors in the Republican Party," he adds. "In reality, it is gay bashing."

This sounds like a book worth reading. You can buy it on Amazon.com.

Senator Danforth continues to be a man worth listening to. I pray that some of his fellow republicans are doing just that.

Thanks to PageOneQ for the link.

Fear Is Not a Christian Value

One of the primary tactics the Bush administration and his republican allies use to try and bolster their diminishing support is fear. They want us to believe that any policy that disagrees with what they want to do will open the door for another major terrorist attack.

The religious right is taking that cue in their latest campaign to portray their ilk as victims whose right to preach the gospel is being threatened. Tony Perkins, head of the right-wing Family Research Council, used Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich's removal of a member of the Washington area transit board for calling homosexuals "persons of sexual deviancy" as a prime example of this.

As usual, one can not objectively connect the dots in these folks' logic. The board member was a public servant, not a preacher standing at a pulpit. Any rational person knows a public official should not discriminate against any group of people he serves.

I will admit that I have seen some isolated cases where the interpretation of "hate speech" in a worship environment has been stretched further than I would take it, but this is still a very lame basis to strike fear into the hearts of right-wing voters. Anyone who claims that individuals' right to preach the gospel is only manipulating people by twisting and distorting facts.

Those are Christian values either.

"View of God can predict values, politics"

This story in the USA Today analyzes the early findings in one of the more thorough surveys about religious attitudes and values in the United States in recent memory.

I strongly recommend reading the entire article, but there are some points I want to highlight:

"Sociologist Paul Froese says the survey finds the stereotype that conservatives are religious and liberals are secular is "simply not true. Political liberals and conservative are both religious. They just have different religious views."

"Evangelical" may be losing favor as a way Americans describe themselves. About one in three Americans say they belong to denominations that theologians consider evangelical, but only 14% of all respondents in the survey say this is one way they would describe themselves. Only 2.2% called it the single best term. Top choices overall: "Bible-believing" (20.5%) or "born-again" (18.6%)."

The data shook out most view of God into one of four categories; The Authoritarian God, The Benevolent God, The Critical God, and The Distant God. The articles explains these groupings in some detail. Interestingly, "Those who picture a critical God are significantly less likely to draw absolute moral lines on hot-button issues such as abortion, gay marriage or embryonic stem cell research. For example, 57% overall say gay marriage is always wrong compared with 80.6% for those who see an authoritarian God, and 65.8% for those who see God as benevolent. For those who believe in a critical God, it was 54.7%."

More than one way to view a God--what an interesting concept. That would make it hard to legislate more than the most basic Christian values, wouldn't it, since there is so much disagreement about the very nature of God?

Reasonable minds would think so.

Majority Rule is not Always Right

I saw the latest poll on the constitutional amendment on the ballot in Virginia that would ban same-sex marriage (54% for, 40% against, no surprise there) and started thinking.

One of the main selling points those who seek to eliminate any chance of legally recoginzed marriage between people of the same gender is that the majority of the population does not want it. Unlike much of the propaganda put out by the religious right, this statement appears to be true. Voters in 20 states have already ratified similar amendments and several more likely will in November.

That doesn't mean they're right. The right wing uses the "voice of the people" when it supports their policies, but ignores the majority when they are looking the other way, such as the war in Iraq. A popularity contest is not by itself a legitimate value judgement. That's why it is important for those who believe in equality not to give up the fight.

After all, the final call on Jesus' crucifixion was the crowd who called for Pontius Pilate to release Barabbas, in jail for murder, rather than Jesus.

The majority, or sometimes the mob, may rule, but it often misses the mark, seeking its own will rather than that of Jesus.

WHOSOEVER: No more enemies

Anyone can return hate for hate, sarcasm for sarcasm, bitterness for bitterness, and ignorance for ignorance. But, if we are in Christ we have been called to a higher walk. We are beloved children of the Almighty God and Christ's Ambassadors. We are held to a higher accountability.

'And Jesus said, "You have heard it said to love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I tell you to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may indeed be the true sons and daughters of your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:43-45 NKJV.

We have been called to be light in a dark world, the reflection of God's love. We are commanded to love the unlovable, forgive, and pray for those that hurt and persecute us; doing good to those who hate us. This is the higher calling. This is real love. This is how we prove that we are true sons and daughters of God.

The by product of living life this way is that, eventually, we live free of all enemies.

What We Lost on 9/11

The five-year anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks is upon us, and I spent some time this weekend not only reflecting on the fear I had that day but how our lives and our nation has changed since then.

We now live in a nation that is governed by fear. I drive to work every day and see a sign over the interstate telling me to "report any suspicious activity."

We now live in a nation where we are constantly reminded that we are at war. Of course, the nation our troops invaded didn't have anything to do with the attacks that formalized this war and the resources spread paper-thin to fight that conflict are not available to deal with Iran, North Korea, or any other nation that is a geunine threat to our security.

We now live in a nation where dissent or debate that takes a side not in agreement with the current administration is labeled unpatriotic at best, treasonous at worst.

We now live in a nation where God's name is invoked as justification for features of Republican party policies that include bigotry and the consolidation of wealth among rich Republicans.

We now live in a nation where the leaders, both in the political and religious areneas, don't have answers for most of the serious issues facing it's people, like poverty, social security, the price and availability of energy, and global warming. As a result, efforts that should be spent there are diverted to things like preventing same-sex marriage, pushing for prayer in schools, and banning flag burning.

We now live in a nation where torture, indefinite detention of suspects, wiretapping without a warrant, and examination of telephone records are justifited and rationalized, not condemned as something out of a George Orwell novel.

Aren't the major goals of terrorist groups to promote fear and disrupt our society?

Sadly, their efforts are not needed. We've allowed our "leaders" to do that on their own initiative.

"Christian Progressives Fight for Their Faith"

I'm staying on the theme of the progressive's resistance movement to the attempted Republican party's attempted coup of Christianity.

This is an excellent articlle in the Colorado Springs Independent News Weekly, right in James Dobson's backyard, that tackles this topic in some detail.

Here is one example of the outrage of Christian progressives. That is a label I would happily accept to describe my views, and I share the outrage spelled out below:

"The day after the [2004 presidential] election, Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ (UCC) pastor Robin Meyers, of Oklahoma City, delivered a fiery speech that excoriated Bush for claiming the Christian faith while acting contrary to its tenets. As examples, Meyers cited a litany of "immoral" behaviors, including prosecuting an unjustified war, giving tax breaks to the wealthy, dismantling environmental protections and using hatred of homosexuals as a wedge issue to turn out evangelical voters. "

Retired Colorado Springs pastor Jim White had this insightful take on the venom that spews from from religious right fanatics:

"The religious right has always been moralistic," White says. "Usually, they've focused on genital sins, but there have been times when other issues dominated — like alcohol, Sunday store closings, divorce. ... But people on the religious right like to shop in Wal-Mart on Sunday, and they like their beer when they watch football, and they get divorced at higher rates than atheists do. So you can't condemn that; it won't sell."

"You can sell something that people are not. You can say, "The problem is outside; it's other than me.' Terrorists, communists, homosexuals, liberals — whatever it may be. But it's someone who's not me."

I feel that instead of trying to solve more globally important social issues, they divert attention because they don't have answers. The religous right is relying on exaggerated fear and base emotions like hatred and bigotry to engergize their base and hide the fact that they really don't have effective policy ideas nor are they being true to the word of God.

Pastor White a take on the issue of homosexuality:

"People who were against slavery were folks who took a broad view of the Scriptures — namely that the witness of Scripture is for freedom, for the release of the captives, for the rights and dignities of people, and love extended to all," White says. "Other people, especially those in the South, read the Bible more literally, and there, the plain sense of the Bible was that slavery is acceptable to God ... "

"So I can say, "Yes, there are these texts which look like they condemn same-sex behavior.' But the greater, larger, stronger witness in Scripture is always on behalf of the oppressed, the outcast, the marginalized. If you want to be faithful to the basic intent of the Scriptures, you've got to be identified with the outsider, and not the power."

The right wing has the power right now and I sure don't want to be identified with them.

There's plenty more in the article I've linked. I strongly suggest you take time to check it out. Thanks to Queer Faith for the link.

"Faithful Democrats" Site Launches

Republicans can be faithful Christians, but faithful Christians don't have to be republicans, no matter how much Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, and Pat Robertson want you to think otherwise.

In an effort to promote that idea, a group of religious leaders, political figures, bloggers, and other "regular Americans" have just started a site called "Faithful Democrats."

Under the section "Who We Are," they posted:

"We don't believe that good Christians have to be Democrats. Nor do we believe that one religion has a monopoly on faith. But we make no apologies for rooting our identity as Democrats in our faith as Christians. That is who we are. And we are eager to act on our beliefs to make the country we love a more just and compassionate place."

Their mission is stated as:

"To provide a Christian-focused, Democratic community online. Through both dialogue and action, readers will be able to put their faith to work for the common good, holding our nation and the Democratic Party to their highest ideals."

Here is an Associated Press story on the site launch.

I applaud the idea and hope that it will attract visitors with open minds who can accept that Christ is not a card-carrying Republican. After all, I think that if Jesus registered to vote in today's world, he would be an independent.

Boy, wouldn't that just frost a lot of the religious right leaders?

"Engaging Ideas"

Let's face it, we all enjoy when someone agrees with us, and I found a column that covers some of the points I stress on this blog.

Here are a couple of points that I thought were particularly strong:

".....my friend remains willing to engage in spirited discourse that constantly challenges his beliefs, something that far too few Christians are willing to do even with each other despite the fact that Scripture calls on us to 'exhort one another daily."

"Christians should absolutely and always endeavor to grow in truth and knowledge. Especially in light of the fact that such intellectual apathy dishonors the Lord and may contribute to a culture of unbelief. The prophet Hosea delivered this charge against apostate Israel, "...my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests..." (Hosea 4:6) Hosea later issues a general warning that, "a people without understanding will come to ruin!" (Hosea 4:14)."

If people applied these principles to understanding the "clobber passages," there would be a lot better understanding of the place GLBT people have in God's kingdon.

Minority Clergy Being Recruited to Help Right-Wing

African-American pastors are being recruited in Virginia by proponents of a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.

The goal, of course, is to entice the pastors of African-American churches to mobilize their congregations to turn out at the ballot box and vote for this amendment. Remember, Virgnia is the home base of both Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, so there's plenty of right-wing money and influence to go around, but supporters of the amendment aren't taking any chances.

"African-American churches and social conservatives have more in common in our belief system than anyone could imagine," Chris Freund, of the Family Foundation, told a group of mostly black and Latino ministers last month at Pat Robertson's Regent University.

I hope pastors are sharp enough to see through this transparent and very temporary alliance. I hate seeing any group of well-meaning people used, especially in a campaign designed to restrict the rights of a state's citizens.

WHOSOEVER: Learning of Love

Someday, faith will go away. Someday, the need for spiritual warfare will end; intercession will be a thing of the past. When we finally are face to face with the Savior of our souls; when we finally see things clearly and completely; when we are made like Him, all will be perfect. I Cor. 13 paraphrased.

BUT!! We will always have LOVE. We will always need LOVE. Love is stronger than faith, bigger than hope. Love is the greatest eternal force in the universe. GOD IS LOVE!! Love will always exist because God will always exist. God formed the universe and everything in it based on the principles of love.

While we're here on this earth we still need faith. We need it to develop and grow. Our faith won't grow unless motivated by love. Our faith will become selfish and weak without love as it's foundation.

So, doesn't it make sense that we learn as much about this incredible Love as we can, and that we live and practice Its principles? Doesn't it make sense that we should diligently seek to live our lives the way God created them to be lived... in love and faith?

Let's purpose to learn about love - God's love. Before a word is uttered or a deed acted upon let's stop and ask ourselves, "Is this motivated by LOVE?" Our faith is dependent upon it.

Would Christ Bully Gay Kids?

That might seem like a ridiculous question, but then again, why are some Christian groups trying to protect the rights of straight kids to do just that to gay kids?

Apparently, there is a school of thought that goes something like "toughen them up when they're young and they'll walk the straight and narrow when they're older."

If you have some doubt in your mind about the wisdom of that last statement (I hope you don't becuase I think it reeks of ignorance), then I refer you back to the original question:

Would Christ bully a gay child?

The answer is no, he would show him or her the same unconditional love he shows all the straight kids.

PFLAG begins "Straight for Equality" Campaign

The new national president of Parents, Families, and Friends of Gays and Lesbians (PFLAG) announded a new campaign the organization launched last week. Titled "Straight for Equality," they are calling for more heterosexual people to join the fight for civil rights for gays.

Come on, folks, there's plenty of room left on this bandwagon. John Cepek, the new president, said, "I think we're on the right side of history. We're just trying to get it to the tipping point more quickly."

Char Cepek, John's wife and the president of the Illinios chapter of PFLAG, said, "All we want is our law-abiding, taxpaying gay son to have the same civil rights as our law-abiding, taxpaying straight son."

Sound logic like that holds up very well under objective, rational scrutiny.

Christians Need to Seek Together

I relate a couple of my recent experiences and tie them in with scriptural teaching to make that point in my latest Gay Christian Outreach column.

A truly active and vibrant faith is one where we are all actively learning and teaching. This needs to apply to those whom we have strong disagreements with as much if not more than those people we agree with.

A New GLBT Ally?

Sometimes your friends, or at least allies, can come from strange places. That could be the case here judging from this interview given by Charles Barkley, former pro basketball player, current NBA analyst for TNT television, and potential Deomcratic candidate for governor in Alabama.

Barkley nas been considering jumping into the political fray in his home state for some years and appears to be inching closer to pulling the trigger. He has switched his party affiliation, saying the Republicans have "lost their minds."

Speaking on religion, he said, "Religious people in general are so discriminatory against other people, and that really disturbs me. My idea of religion is we all love and respect. We all sin, but we still have common decency and respect for other people. So right now I'm struggling with my idea of what religion is."

Regarding gay marriage, Barkley said, "I think if they want to get married, God bless them. Gay marriage is probably 1 percent of the population, so it's not like it's going to be an epidemic." This is an excellent point, differing from those who act like allowing same-sex marriage would bring about the fall of civilization.

He closed with, "When you get elected to public office, you're supposed to represent everybody. Your job is not to take care of the rich or the poor or the black or the white. Your job is to take care of everybody."

I've heard a lot of political rhetoric this year that made a lot less sense than that.

WHOSOEVER:

Sometimes the circumstances in our lives can cause us to become confused. Confusion is a frustrating and uncomfortable state of mind to be in. But, confusion can actually be a good thing in the sense that it can be a warning sign to us that something has gotten off track. Being confused can be a great opportunity to take assessment and make some positive adjustments in our lives.

In the Bible the words confused and confounded are often used interchangeably. Here is a definition of both words:
Confounded - confused, befuddled, perplexed, mixed up - implies inability to continue.
Confusion - 1) perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment. 2) lacking orderly continuity. 3) having lost your bearings; confused as to time or place or personal identity. 4) thrown into a state of disarray or confusion; 5) mentally confused; unable to think with clarity or act intelligently.

Also, some or all of the following conditions or situations may be present:
A state of disorder, shame, disgrace, dishonor, confoundedness, reproach, insult, humiliation, disconcertedness, disappointment, chaos, emptiness, instability, bewilderment.

Yet, we need not be consumed by confusion. The Bible offers us a great deal of comfort.
I Peter 2:6 - As it is contained in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a Chief Corner Stone, elect, precious; and they that believe on Him shall not be confounded.
Psalm 22:5 - They cried unto You and were delivered; they trusted in You and were not confounded.
Psalm 71:1 - In you, oh Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be put to confusion.
Isaiah 50:7 - For the Lord God will help me; therefore I will not be confounded: for I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

"Christian Coalition: A Question of Integrity"

This is a question being asked not by some "liberal media." Instead, Ethics Daily, a Baptist site I link to regularly, is addressing this concern.

Here is the key quote:

"If the Christian Coalition wants to present itself as a Christian group, and invoke the name of Jesus as their standard, then some drastic reform is needed. First of all, disclose funding sources. Faith based non-profits like Alabama Arise and Greater Birmingham Ministries make regular public statements about where their money comes from. Why can't the Christian Coalition do the same thing? In fact, it ought to be a state law. Citizens have a right to know who is funding efforts to affect our state government.

And the CCA needs to decide once for all whether they are a voter education group or a political action committee. Voter education is a worthy goal, but it should be carried out in a non-partisan manner. Candidate surveys should be designed to elicit and present actual information and not just weighted information designed to advance the cause of pre-ordained candidates.

Politics can be a rough and dirty business. The faith community is in a place to make the process better, but not if we get down in the dirt ourselves."

Amen.

Harris: Non-Christians Will Legislate Sin

That is the declaration of U. S. Representative Kathrine Harris, representing the Miami, Florida area and, if that wasn't bad enough, currently the Republican nominee for a U. S. Senate seat. Lest you think this is merely something twisted or taken out of context, here is the quote from the Florida Baptist Witness newsletter (the warning bells are already going off, aren't they?).

Q: Why should Florida Baptists care about this election?
A: ".....If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you’re not electing Christians then in essence you are going to legislate sin. They can legislate sin. They can say that abortion is alright. They can vote to sustain gay marriage. And that will take western civilization, indeed other nations because people look to our country as one nation as under God and whenever we legislate sin and we say abortion is permissible and we say gay unions are permissible, then average citizens who are not Christians, because they don’t know better, we are leading them astray and it’s wrong. ...

Just for good measure for the readership here, here's another selection from the same interview:

Q: Do you support civil rights protections on the basis of sexual preference?
A: Civil rights have to do with individual rights and I don’t think they apply to the gay issues. I have not supported gay marriage and I do not support any civil rights actions with regard to homosexuality.

I suppose GLBT people don't have any rights in her twisted little far-right wing mind.

Of course, remember this is the paragon of virtue who was Secretary of State in Florida during the 2000 presidential election voting fiasco in the state. There were numerous allegations of conflicts of interest and unethical behavior resulting from the way she handled voting recounts and the certification of the elections.

This from the AOL article I linked regarding her senate campaign:

"State GOP leaders - including Gov. Jeb Bush - don't think she can win against Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in November. Fundraising has lagged, frustrated campaign workers have defected in droves and the issues have been overshadowed by news of her dealings with a corrupt defense contractor who gave her $32,000 in illegal campaign contributions."

Rep. Harris is not someone who has the moral high ground to say much of anything, but especially where it comes to portraying herself as one who won't "legislate sin." Of course, she didn't specifcally say anything bad about practicing sin in office, now did she?

Civil Discourse: It Takes Two

One of the things I do to try and bring a wider readership to this blog it reach out to other bloggers and offer to exchange links. I don't restrict that search to those who totally agree with my views and that led to me contacting a gentleman named Jonathan Marlowe, who writes the blog "The Ivy Bush."

There have been times when these requests have been met with judgementalism by someone with a closed mind, but this was not one of them. Mr. Marlowe's politics lean to the left like mine, but his views on homosexuality are much further to the right. I explained my views in the e-mail I sent and he did something unusual; he visited this site, read some of my posts, and found value to the discussion over here desipte his disagreement.

Mr. Marlow agreed to link here and shared our e-mail exchange on his blog. I point this out here as a reminder that not all people who don't openly accept and validate homosexuality are sworn enemies of GLBT people. There are actually people on the other side of these issues who
will respectfully engage in an exchange of ideas, who are professing Christians yet bigoted and judgemental.

It was a pleasure to make the connection with Mr. Marlowe and exchange links. I encourage you to visit his blog.

Thoughts From a Reformed Political Preacher

I ran across this exceptional essay from Dave Burchett, a writer and public speaker. In this piece, he does something truly remarkable in today's political and religious discourse; he admits mistakes and shares what he learned from them. At a time when most speakers are trying to shout down those who disagree with them to make sure their voice is the loudest, Burchett humbles himself and shares his lessons and also those of Dr. Gregory Boyd, the minister who lost over 1,000 members from his church because he preached that the church should stay clear of politics.

Here are some important quotes from Mr. Burchett:

"I have been roundly criticised for supporting George Bush in my first book, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. I regret the political references I made in that book. I wish I could remove them because I found out that political remarks polarize and deflect the message of the Cross. I tried to make it clear that Christians were making a mistake by trying to change our culture through politics instead of by changing hearts for Jesus."

"I regret the impression that I gave to some readers that I believed the Republican party was the official party of Christianity. I do not believe that at all. And yes, I expect to see Democrats in heaven. And Libertarians. A few Republicans will be there too. But the common link will not be politcal ideology. The link that will bring us there will be Jesus. Period."

"I am not smart enough to decide what God has called people to do. If He has placed a desire for people to impact the culture through political action I am not about to question their motives. But I do agree that His house should be a house of worship and not a house of political promotion."

Mr. Burchett also includes some quotes from Dr. Boyd excerpted from a New York Times story:

"Christians are not to seek "power over" others by controlling governments, passing legislation or fighting wars. Christians should seek to have "power under" others winning others hearts by sacrificing for those in need."

"America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world. The light of the world and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ."

There is a lot of wisdom here from these two men, and there is more in the article I linked to.

This speaks to the messiah complex President Bush has demonstrated in trying to position the United States as the world's savior and the inevitable failure of that because this world has only one true Savior, Jesus Christ.

This speaks to those who claim absolute moral and political authority over the United States when there is actually only one absolute moral authority--Jesus Christ. Those who claim to know His judgement for others need to worry a lot more about His plans for themselves.

This speaks to how religious leaders are trying to shape this nation into their own image twisting selected passages from the Bible to claim their authority. In truth, they have no authority. Instead of trying to impose their will on the people of the United States, they need to be on their knees and submitting to the will of Jesus Christ.

Jesus will not transform the nation and the world through court rulings or legislation. He will touch the hearts of His children one at a time, and His greatest rewards will wait for those who faciliated ahd helped feed open hearts and open minds, not for those who got laws passed or stacked courts with right-wing judges.

WHOSOEVER: Believing is Seeing

We live in a world that advocates, "I'll believe it when I see it." Yet, medical and psychology professionals have manuals of information proving that our eyes can play tricks on us. What a quandry.

When faced with such a situation I go to the Scriptures for guidance. Jesus says in Luke 11:40 Mod Ver. "Didn't I tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" He says again in Mark 11:24, "........and when you pray believe that you have received it and you shall have it." The Lord's way is believe THEN see.

Now, don't let your thoughts go running wild. We must mix wisdom in this equation. There are some things we will never see no matter how much we believe. We can't believe hard enough to see ourselves jump off a roof and fly. We can't believe hard enough to see our skin change color. There are some things that are the way they are because God created them that way. These are not the kind of things Jesus is referring to in these Scriptures.

If we can just start believing that our lives can be better, eventually we will see them get better. Believe then see.

Exodus: "restore wholeness to the Body of Christ"

That what the organization's president, Alan Chambers, feels the Lord wants Exodus (the "ex-gay" group) to accomplish. This was excerpted from their most recent newsletter, "The Exodus Impact." Here is the entire opening paragraph of his column, lest you think I took the phrase out of context.

"I woke up thinking about Exodus this morning and its mission to rebuild the Church. I am unalterably convinced that the Lord means to use Exodus International in a significant way to restore wholeness to the Body of Christ. After all, those currently caught up in homosexuality are the ones being used to destroy the Church. But for the grace of God, you and I might be among those seeking to 'renovate' scriptures and sanctuaries to suit our unbridled passion. I am so thankful that the Lord and His people helped me to see, believe, and live out something far better than what I once accepted as a good alternative. I am equally thankful that He has chosen to use me to minister from the very broken places of my life where His healing has been most significant."

I sincerely hope Mr. Chambers is one of the few who acted as a homosexual but was truly born straight. If that is the case (he is now married), then I join him in thanking God for making him the man he was born to be.

Even if that is the case, however, his organization continues to foster the ideas that (1) people can decide to not be homosexual and (2) God won't accept them unless they "change."

This message has proven to be false for many of the now former leaders of this organization. Don't take my word for that, check out Wayne Besen's extensive research in his book "Anything But Straight." This trend is also well documented on the informative site Ex-Gay Watch.

The problem with people like Mr. Chambers, who reach the point of absolute enlightenment, is that they fail to see the light glowing from different paths. When he writes "those currently caught up in homosexuality are the ones being used to destroy the Church" he invalidates the experiences of any and all GLBT Christians, something he obviously lacks the knowldege to do.

Unfortunately, many religious right groups gain their strength not so much from lifting people up but rather by making them feel small, lacking validation, and unloved by God.

It is that final point where we clearly see the agenda of man replacing the love of God, which is constant and unchangeable. Nothing we can do will make God stop loving us, despite what groups like Exodus want you to believe. By teaching those lies, they show a critical lack of understanding of who God really is. God is love. Anyone who teaches differently is a heretic.

Therefore, Mr. Chambers, I submit it is not the homosexuals who are out of the closet and worshiping Jesus that are hurting His church. It is homosexuals who crawled back in their closet and working to push others in there with them so they can worship a God limited by their lack of understanding.

1 John 4:8 (NIV): Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Where's the part that restricts that to straight people? It's not in my bible.

Back to School

There are plenty of students who aren't happy when summer is over and a new school year has begun, but this column in the Philadelphia Daily News reminds us that GLBT students are often less enthusiastic. (Thanks to my friends at Teachthefacts.org for the link).

I know as a sometimes dorky straight kid, I caught plenty of crap in school, but as you can imagine (or, even worse, know first hand), it can get pretty rough when your sexual orientation is the point of ridicule or abuse--both verbal and physical. In my school days, I was still struggling to figure out who I was, and if I'd had to deal with the issue of being attracted to other boys when most of my friends were chasing girls, I would probably have been a total wreck.

One save haven for young men and women trying to sort this out is the gay-straight alliances that are popping up on campuses all over the United States. They won't be allowed in Georgia if attorney general candidate Perry McGuire has his way.

According to the Philly News story, McGuire has "likened gay-straight alliances (GSAs) to pedophilia and said they're illegal because they promote sex among minors: 'In Georgia, sex between minors is illegal; statutory rape laws apply. Homosexual activist clubs in schools are detrimental to students and to the moral well-being of society,' he said.

It is this kind of stupidity and bigotry that puts innocent kids at risk, not only of short-term physical harm but long-term psychological scars that many of them likely never fully recover from--in part because they are not encouraged to.

If your child or one you know is a target of this kind of abuse, I recommend you check out The Gay Lesbian and Straight Educators Network for some helpful information.

We can all also show them the true love of Christ and accept them for who they are, which will help them become who God wants them to be.

WHOSOEVER: Partners with God

Our God is an awesome God whose thoughts and ways are much higher than ours. Knowing that we would need and enjoy the relief and exhilaration of discovering the answer to a problem, or experiencing the realization of a long-awaited desire, God arranged things so we would have to seek after what we need. He also provided the security that we will have everything we need if we put our trust in Him. Even though God requires us to ask, seek, and knock for what we need in life, He has made a provision that those who ask will be answered, those who seek will find, and those who knock will be opened unto. God knows we need a sense of accomplishment as we work out the details of our daily lives. Yet, we are never alone. We are partners with the God of the universe.

From Somebody Pretty Smart, This is Pretty Dumb

I'm referring to an editorial published in the Baltimore Sun by Thomas Sowell, a senior fellor at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. With that position, it is reasonable to stipulate that he is quite intelligent. That may extend only to book smarts, though. He shows an almost total lack of understanding regarding the issues involving same-sex marriage in this editorial.

Sowell scoffs at the notion that disallowing same-sex marriage is any type of discrimination. He cites this as an example:

"When the law permits automobiles to drive on highways but forbids bicycles from doing the same, that is not discrimination against people. A cyclist who gets off his bicycle and gets into a car can drive on the highway just like anyone else. "

It seems obvious to this learned man that GLBT people enjoy the same right to marry as heterosexual people, they must simply ignore their sexual orientation and marry someone of the opposite sex. See, aren't we lucky that someone explained that so clearly.

Sowell also uses some twisted logic by saying there is no gay marriage to ban because there has never been legal gay marriage.

Is that like saying women were not denied the right to vote because they had never actually had it? That sounds pretty stupid too, doesn;t it?

I'm sure Mr. Sowell knows a lot more than I do, but unfortunately not quite as much as he thinks he does. I hope he sticks to topics on which he acaually does enjoy some perspective in his future columns and doesn't attempt to use his ignorance to restrict the rights of other individuals.

ADF Gets Another Right Taken Away From Gays

The Alliance Defense Fund, a right-wing legal alliance founded by ministers like James Kennedy and James Dobson, won another court case in favor of homophobes when Georgia Tech University agreed to drop prohibition of students verbally injuring their GLBT classmates from the school's speech code.

Now Georgia Tech students can return to throwing around words like "faggot" without fear of any reprucussion.

Good job, ADF. That's something worth fighting for! Jesus wouldn't want his children inhibited from good old tradional name calling, now would he?

"Bye Bye Bipartisanship"

Wayne Besen, the head of "Truth Wins Out," takes a look at the idea of supporting GLBT-friendly politicians from both parties. He concludes that it is time to stop that and focus on getting democrats elected.

Here are some of his key points:

".....in my estimation, the Republican Party's hostility towards gay people is not something that can easily be fixed. The entire party will have to collapse and remake itself into an entity that does not exploit fear and prejudice before GLBT people can return."

"While most Republicans are not anti-gay, the party is still the undeniable home for most haters and homophobes."

"When Republicans finally leave the thrall of Neo Puritan preachers, the GLBT community can again responsibly resume bipartisanship."

These are all excellent points which I agree with. The level of support given to GLBT issues by the Democratic Party is certainly open to debate, but the efforts of the Republicans to legislate bigotry and write it into the U. S. Constitution is not.

Anyone who is a supporter of GLBT equality needs to strongly consider voting for any QUALIFIED Democratic candidate when they go to the polls in November. If the Republicans retain control of Congress, they could be successful in ramming through their amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage and chip away at other rights GLBT people currently have.

Faith or Values: Pick One

I continue to be fascinated with the dynamics of the African-American portion of the GLBT community. According to this interesting article in the Indianapolis Star, some black gays are choosing to attend churches that preach strongly against homosexuality so they can experience the energetic, passionate worship style they grew up with.

Jeffrey A. Johnson, the pastor of 13,000 member Eastern Star Church, addressed his attitude toward homosexuals, "I don't know of anyone who is openly gay in my church," Johnson said. "But if someone claims to be openly gay, then we'd pull them aside and . . . try to convince them to God's way and will. I want them to hear God's word. But they cannot serve in leadership and ministry with that kind of mentality. It's not just gays, but anyone who is outside of God's will."

Another local Indianapolis minister said, "We don't investigate and we don't interrogate and we just don't get into it. "We don't make it an issue, and we conduct our services based on who comes."

Soundsd a lot like the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the U. S. Army, doesn't it?

Why would African-Americans subject themselves to this? "My church speaks to my gay soul, but not entirely to my black soul," said Robert Ferguson, a deacon for the Jesus Metropolitan Community Church who is president of Indiana Black Pride. "It's hard to not have the visuals, the music, the culture, if you were raised up by it."

It sounds to me like it's time for GLBT African-Americans to break away and start their own churches. Everyone deserves to opportunity to worship God and be accepted for who they are instead of having to pick one or the other.

AU Blasts Dobson For Turning Churches Into Political Operatives

Americans United For Separation of Church and State learned of a recent e-mail blast by James Dobson to political supporters that outlines his plan to use churches in eight states to mobilize evangelical Christian voters before the upcoming November elections.

AU's executive director, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn said about Dobson, the director of Focus on the Family, "He has made it abundantly clear that electing Republicans is an integral part of his agenda, and he doesn’t mind risking the tax exemption of churches in the process. Dobson wants to be a major political boss, and this is his way to get there."

“Congregations should not fall prey to Dobson’s shameless partisan schemes,” Lynn continued. “The Internal Revenue Service has promised swift and sure enforcement of federal tax law this year, and pastors should be aware of the danger to their churches’ tax exemption.”

Dr. Dobson and his ilk are finding some way to rationalize the fact that this political mobilzation through churches is, in fact, against federal tax law, which prohibits all nonprofits from endorsing or opposing candiates for public office.

If he's going to be a political leader, Dobson already has the selective, self-serving morals of one.

"Note To Press: Being Christian Is Not Anti-Gay"

That's the point made in this excellent op-ed piece by James A. Lopata for the In Newsweekly in Boston.

The entire editorial is well worth reading, but here's a good excerpt:

"The divide on gay rights is not a divide between gay rights supporters and Christians. There are Christians on both sides of the issue. The divide is between gay rights supporters and those who favor discriminating against gay people. That's it.

Let's stop pretending that religion has anything to do with this. Those who support discrimination may think that it is because they are Christian, but nobody, least of all the press, should let them get away with it.

Just because most - if not all - gay rights opponents are religious, doesn't mean that all gay people are anti-religious. The press needs to do a better job of ensuring that the Christian voice is heard on both sides of the debate. "


Leaders of the religious right have given bigots the cover of morality and "God's word" to practice their hatred of people not like themselves in a socially acceptable manner. By trying to be impartial, or even worse agreeing with them, most of the mainstream media has validated this approach by allowing it to go unchallenged.

For God's true voice to be heard, however, these people must be challenged!

AFA Blows Smoke - Again

In a recent "Action Alert," the folks at the American Family Association proclaimed "78 Dealers Ask Ford to Stop Supporting the Homosexual Agenda." This was "Great news!" and further evidence that the boycott they started several months ago because Ford has the nerve to support PFLAG and advertise in The Advocate and Out magazines was working.

The AFA also pointed to Ford's declining sales since the boycott started as further evidence of the far-reaching effects of their devastating efforts.

As with most right-wing rhetoric, these claims do not stand up to close scrutiny.

Seventy-eight Ford dealers may sound like a lot, but in the grand scheme of things it is not. There are over 3,800 Ford dealers in the United States, so the 78 that the AFA claims have protested Ford's actions are barely 2% of the nation's dealers. Sounds a bit different when it is put in perspective, doesn't it?

Speaking of perspective, is the AFA boycotting Chrysler? If not, then why has Chrysler's sales dropped even more than Ford's recently? The Reuters article points out that Ford has been primarily victimized by a 44% drop in their truck sales, which a reasonable person can easily attribute to the price of gas staying over $3 a gallon. The article also points out the negative impact of raising interest rates.

Reuters did not mention the AFA boycott. I suppose that's more evidence of liberal media bias.

Traditions Are of Man

There's been a lot of talk in recent months about maintaining the "traditional family" and protecting "traditional marriage." I did some bible study on the concept and found that Jesus had some very different ideas about tradition.

Click here to read "Traditions Are of Man" at Gay Christian Outreach

WHOSOEVER: Mountain Moving Faith

The kind of faith that moves mountains isn't the sitting-back-on-your-laurels-waiting-for-something-to-happen kind of faith. It isn't the weeping-crying-begging-God-to-do-something kind of faith. The kind of faith that moves mountains is a SPEAKING kind of faith.

Mark 11:22-26 MV reads like this: "And Jesus answered them saying, Have faith in God; for whoever says to this mountain, "be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt in their heart, but believes that those things they say will come to pass, they shall have whatever they say. And whatever things you desire when you pray, believe that you have received them and you shall have them. And when you stand praying, forgive anyone that you may have anything against; for if you do not forgive, then your Father God in Heaven will not be able to forgive your tresspasses."

How can it be any clearer?
1. HAVE FAITH in God! When you speak faith God will back you up with His power.
2. SPEAK to the mountain or problem/situation/circumtance and tell it to GO! We were created in the image of God with the ability to reason and speak. Use it. WHO CARES what other people think!
3. BELIEVE that your faith will work and the mountain will move.
4. FORGIVE or else it blocks everything else from working.

If we really took this Scripture seriously and practiced what it teaches, there would be a lot of mountains running around!!

Badly Skewed Priorities

According to Colorado secretary of state filings, Focus on the Family has donated $500,000 to Colorado Family Action, Inc., an organization it helped establish for the sole purpose of supporting two state constitutional amendments.

The first amendment the group supports is one that would limit marriage to a heterosexual union, and the other would prohibit legal recognition of domestic partnerships.

I am not trying to imply there is anything illegal or unethical about Focus on the Family's actions. As far as I know, they have not broken any laws here or breached any ethical standards. Have they followed God's word? That's where I think they run into trouble.

The Bible talks A LOT about an equitable distribution of wealth and the moral obligation of those with wealth to share it with the poor and disadvantaged. Here is just one of the many scriptures that support this fundamental truth of God's Kingdom.

1John 3:17 (NIV) But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

Focus on the Family is an organization that claims it's primary reason for existence is "to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through a practical outreach to homes." I wondered what kind of homes that $500,000 could have been spread to in their own home base of Colorado Springs, so I did some research.

According to a survey taken in 2000, there were 830 people living on the street in Colorado Springs and another 1,090 living in transitional housing. While those numbers have certainly changed, it is reasonable to think that there are still upwards of 1,000 people who could have been enormously blessed by a small portion of that $500,000 Focus on the Family decided to instead use on a political campaign.

In a survey conducted in 2003 by the U. S. Census Bureau in Colorado Springs, "9 percent of people were in poverty. Thirteen percent of related children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 8 percent of people 65 years old and over. Seven percent of all families and 22 percent of families with a female householder and no husband present had incomes below the poverty level. " That's better than a lot of cities, but out of a population reported at 535,000, that would still leave close to 50,000 people who could have benefitted from the $500,000 used to restrict the rights of GLBT people.

So how does Focus on the Family sync up giving so much funding to this political organization with what they claim is their "primary reason for existance" and the Word of God?

Honestly, I don't really care how they would justify and rationalize these actions. I do wish, however, that they would come clean with everyone and just declare Focus on the Family a Political Action Committee instead of leagally laundering money to other groups.

"The Sin of Sodom"

Anyone who had even the slightest exposure to discussions about the morality of homosexuality has certainly heard the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is the sins committed in Sodom, referenced in Genesis 19, that are most often used by preachers and the religious right as the foundation for their attempt to show that God hates GLBT people. That mindset is why homosexual sex is sometimes referred to as "sodomizing" and there are still some anti-sodomy laws on the books in some parts of the United States that makes homosexual sex illegal.

This piece, written by Miguel De La Torre, is a clearly stated, concise explanation of the TRUE story of Sodom. Here are a couple of key quotes:

"Commenting on Sodom's sin, the prophet Ezekiel (16:49) wrote that Sodom's iniquity was the city's unwillingness, due to pride and haughtiness, to share their abundance with those who were poor and marginalized."

"Nowhere in the Bible where Sodom's wickedness is mentioned is homosexuality ever listed as being the cause for God's wrath. The crime of Sodom and Gomorrah, as elucidated by the scriptures themselves, is described as being a lack of justice done in the name of the "orphans and widows," the biblical euphemism for the disenfranchised. "

Using the latter description, there are a lot of Sodomites sitting on the Republican side of the isle in Congress and wagging their fingers as "evil homosexuals" behind pulpits in front of television cameras.

WHOSOEVER: Be Filled With God's Fullness

"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in your inner being: that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV

Notice the progression of this passage of Scripture. First, the Holy Spirit must strengthen us in our inner being, SO THAT Christ can dwell in our hearts by faith, SO THAT we may be rooted and grounded in love, SO THAT we may be able to comprehend the breadth, length, depth and height of love, AND THEN to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, SO THAT we will be filled with the fullness of God.

We have been deceived into a very shallow knowledge and expression of love. God never intended it to be that way. God wants us to be able to comprehend all the dimensions of love so He can fill us up!

I challenge you to pray this scripture passage on a regular basis allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you, and dare to be filled with the fullness of God.

The Left Has Their Wing Nuts Too

A group of left-wing extremists have joined together to write a manafesto and set up a web site called beyondmarriage.org. As I understand their views after visiting their website, they want to extend marriage rights and legal recognitions far beyond same sex couples. Among the various and sundry relationships they want recognized are "households in which there is more than one conjugal partner."

Oh crap. This DOES NOT HELP LGBT people who want to have their committed relationships recognized as a legal marriage. It does not help at all because this is foddder for opponents to use in scaring their sheep to fall in line opposing equality. There is an excellent essay about the damage this will inflict on the GLBT community on the Independent Gay Forum.

The American Family Association has already seized upon this extremist rhetoric, portraying it as "Pro-Homosexual Marriage Proponents Go Public With Their Agenda." Of course, the clear implication is that all marriage equality advocates subscribe to these extreme views.

The AFA continues "In short, they want to totally redefine our society by eliminating the very concepts of marriage and family, and the battle to redefine traditional marriage is just the beginning. The proponents of homosexual "marriage" admit it and they have posted their manifesto online."

I suspect what the people at beyondmarriage.org will ultimately accomplish is helping to keep same-sex marriage beyond the reach of loving, committed same-sex couples. They are providing organizations like the AFA with effective ammunition for their campaign to discredit proponents of equality and scare people who won't put forth the effort to investigate the issue on its own merits.

Braves Chop Out "Focus On the Family"

Last week, the Atlanta Braves baseball team held one of three scheduled "Faith Day" events, which features post-game Christian evangelism. The Braves' organization dediced that the next two would be held without the participation of Focus on the Family.

The Braves' declined to state why they have disinvited Focus on the Family, but kudos to them for doing so. I'm happy to see they are not endorsing the hatred and bigotry these folks propigate, but according to the report from the Think Progress website, they are scheduled to participate in others. There is an e-mail address on their website where you can contact the organizers and discourage them from being associated with an group that promotes hate and exclusion, and I would encourage you to do so.

WHOSOEVER: Hold on or let go?

The cheerful little girl with bouncy curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.

"Oh, please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"

Quickly, the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading eyes of her little girl's upturned face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you to do and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday is only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

For the next week Jenny did more than her share of chores, and on her birthday her Grandma did give her a new dollar bill. At last she had enough money to buy the pearls.

Jenny loved her pearls. She wore them everywhere. They made her feel pretty and grownup. She even wore them to bed.

Every night when Jenny was ready for bed her daddy would read her a story. One night as he finished the story he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh, yes Daddy, you know that I love you"

"Then, give me your pearls."

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me? She's my very favorite."

"That's okay, honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he kissed her goodnight on the cheek.

About a week later after story time Jenny's daddy asked again, "Jenny, do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know that I love you."

"Then, give me your pearls."

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She's beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always he kissed her goodnight on the cheek.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed. As he came close he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear was rolling down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. When she opened it, there was her pearl necklace. With a quiver in her voice she finally said, " Here, Daddy, these are for you." With tears in his own eyes Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store pearls, and with the other hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the real thing.

So it is with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap imitations in our lives so he can give us beautiful treasures. Isn't God good?

Are you holding onto things that God wants you to let go of? Are you holding onto harmful or unnecessary partners, relationships, habits or activities that you have become so attached to that it seems impossible to let it go? Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in His other hand, but do believe this one thing........ God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.

"Disowning Conservative Politics Costly for Pastor"

Some of you may have already seen this news item from the New York Times (via AOL here) but it is just too closely related to the message of this blog to pass up linking to it.

The Rev. Gregory L. Boyd, pastor of the Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, took a stand and lost about 1,000 of the 5,000 members of his church as a result.

Rev. Boyd had the nerve (and I mean that in a good way) to stand up against being a conduit for conservative political messages. Here's an excerpt from the article:

"Before the last presidential election, he preached six sermons called “The Cross and the Sword” in which he said the church should steer clear of politics, give up moralizing on sexual issues, stop claiming the United States as a “Christian nation” and stop glorifying American military campaigns.

“When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses,” Mr. Boyd preached. “When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross.”

It is important to point out here that he is not merely doing this to advance the political causes he believes in. He is anti-abortion and does not think homosexuality is something God would sign off on.

Rev. Boyd, however, puts his views in perspective and subjegates them to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, an increasingly novel approach these days, especially in "mega-churches" that have thousands of members.

Rev. Boyd has written a book titled, "The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church,” which is based on his sermons.

I suspect that book is worth checking out. If I'm ever in the St. Paul area, I'd love to drop in and visit a church where I can be confident of hearing Jesus preached and not listening to a recitation of points from the Republican Party platform.

WHOSOEVER: "The Way Jesus Loved"

How can people recognize the love of Jesus in us? Well, let's take a look at the Scriptures and see. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples." John 13:34,35 NIV.

If we are to love one another as Jesus loved, then how did Jesus love?

1. He hung out with them and became intimately involved in their lives. He wept with them and laughed with them.
2. He spoke the truth in love. He accepted them right were they were, but he loved them too much to leave them that way. :)
3. He served them by loving them the way they needed to be loved, without judging, all the while revealing to them a better way.
4. He trusted them and believed in them enough to put the future of the church in their hands.
5. He gave up his life for them.

Does this sound like a tall order? Jesus wouldn' t have asked us to do it if it couldn't be done. So, let's love one another the way Jesus loved.

How Biblical is the Christian Right?

That interesting question was posed by Margaret M. Mitchell, a professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Ms. Mitchell wrote an article by that name for the school's web site (linked on the Ethics Daily column I linked to) to state her conclusions. She reviewed several web sites general associated with conservative Christian groups, such as the Southern Baptist Convention and did not find a whole lot about the Bible.

Ms. Mitchell's studies also found that when scripture was quoted, it usually pertained to the early books of the Old Testament, the letters of Paul, and Revelation. Noticeably missing were references to the Isralei prophets or the Gospels of Jesus' ministry on earth.

"By self-definition, the 'Christian Right' is a movement that seeks to remake the political order in America in the biblical image," Mitchell concludes. "It seems fair to ask both those who honor it and those who repudiate it to examine, with a critical eye, whether or not it is really a biblically literalist movement."

"Biblical? Yes and no. Biblical in the sense of seeking biblical support for an agenda? Yes. Biblical in the sense of reading the whole Bible? No. Biblical in the sense of reading the Bible literally? No, not consistently. Biblical in reading parts for the whole, and in using the Bible as a source of weapons to define themselves against their enemies? Yes. Wrestling with the possible plural meanings and complex legacies of Bible itself? Not in public, at any rate."

I'm sure religious right supporters will find some way to discredit Ms. Mitchell. When they can't dispute the message, they usually go after the messenger.

The Marriage "Business"

I picked this up from the outstanding blog "Pam's House Blend"

One of the contributors, "Radical Russ," takes exception to the phrase "No special rights for homosexuals." You know, the whole thought process that equal rights for GLBT people are actually some kind of special bonus.

Anyway, Russ had a conversation with himself where he systematically debunked that entire concept, pointing out many similarities between two GLBT people running a business (so far there aren't any restrictions to that) and "merging" into a legal marriage, which of course can't happen over most of the world. It's well done and worth checking out.

There are numerous comments already posted there. My favorite was "You will never change what they (oppoents to GLBT equality) believe. Ever. You can however, change how much their beliefs should effect everyone else."

That sounds like a very pramatic yet worthwhile goal to strive for.

Whosoever - "What's in a Name"

This morning I woke up with a song in my head. It's a lovely song that we sing in church quite frequently. It's called, "Jesus, How I Love Your Wonderful Name." I ended up humming the tune to myself most of the day. It got me to thinking about names and the impact that certain names can leave on us whether positively or negatively.

When someone says the name of George W. Bush, immediately certain characteristics come to mind (most of which is better left unmentioned here- ugh.) When we hear the names of Streisand, Rockefeller, Gates, Lincoln, Cher, we immediately get a mental picture of that person and what they stand for. It is no different with the name of Jesus. Unfortunately, the name of Jesus has gotten a pretty bad reputation as a result of so many supposedly "well-meaning" individuals who have misrepresented our Lord. So, let's go to the Scriptures to set the record straight.

First of all, the word "name" from my Bible Dictionary means: "used for everything which the name covers; everything the thoughts or feelings of which are aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, or remembering the name, i.e. the person's rank, authority, command, excellences, deeds, faults, interests, etc." So, what does the Bible say about the name of Jesus?
1. Remission of sins - Acts 2:38
2. Justification - I Cor. 6:11
3. Healing - Acts 3:6
4. Deliverance - Acts 16:18
5. Power and authority - Phil. 2:9-11
And this is just a FEW of the incredible things that are associated with the name of Jesus.

We should never use the name of Jesus carelessly or take it for granted, but it should be spoken with purity of intent and purpose, and with an awesome sense of respect and love.

Another Right Wing Phoney

Let me first say I have not read this book, and since I'm now in blood pressure medication it's probably a good idea that I don't, but I found this piece about author Ann Coulter and her latest eplistle of hatred, "Godless, The Church of Liberalism."

Keep in mind, this is the person who suggest after the 9/11 attacks that "We (the United States) should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."

Despite this painfully obvious non-christian idea, she claims to be a Christian and an April, 2005 profile in Time magazine said she attended a Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. Too bad the communications and media director for the church can't recall seeing her. Hard to imagine someone with as big a mouth as Ann Coulter being a quiet pew warmer, isn't it?

In an interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network's 700 Club, she accused the Democratic Party of faking belief in God to win votes. Sure, and Republicans like Ralph Reed, who is implicated in the Jack Abramhoff bribery scandal along with former Congressional leader Tom DeLay--those guys are a portrait of sincere Christian faith.

Coulter also claims that "Christianity fuels everything I write."

People like Ann Coulter make me physically ill and are a hinderance to Christians who actually practice a sincere faith and try to lead others into a relationship with Christ without invading another nation.

Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for Ethics has a great quote in this piece. ""Authentic Christianity is not a weapon with which to bash political opponents," he said. "It's not the sole ownership of a political party. It's not gimmick to sell books."

Parham also said "history is littered with those who misused Christianity for all kinds of selfish and harmful reasons."

Come to think of it, litter would be an appropriate description of Ms. Coulter's books.

Feds Working to Protect Curches' Incursion Into Politics

According to this release from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, there is a bill before the House Judiciary Committee that would discourage individuals from challenging church-state infringements by government officials.

The bill would eliminate the recovery of legal fees for plaintiffs who file successful lawsuits. The reason given is to make it more difficult for people to sue for the removal of religious symbols from public property but as usual that is just a smoke screen.

According to the AU release, "it is much more sweeping than that and would deny reimbursement in conflicts ranging from government-sponsored religion in public schools to taxpayer funding for religious schools and other ministries."

The AU's executive director, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, says, "Our constitutional freedoms don’t count for much if individuals don’t have the financial means to bring their legitimate claims before the bar of justice. "

Of course, the religious right doesn't want freedom for people to disagree with their view of government. They don't want an equal voice--they want to be the only voice. This would be another step in that direction.

If your congressman serves on this committee, I urge you to call their office and state your opposition for this bill.

Theology vs. Academics

Another battle being fought within the Southern Baptist denomination is how much influence they can have on colleges they are affiliated with. For example, Georgetown College in Kentucky decided to end their affiliation with the SBC because of the state convention's urging the school to hire someone who would teach a literal interpretation of the Bible.

The religious right has declared war on science and education, and they are winning many of those battles, especially at the highest levels of government. They want to restrict or eliminate the teaching of ideas that are beyond the scope of their beliefs.

That's not teaching, folks, that's brainwashing. For example, while I agree with the concept of abstainance, I am also open minded enough to understand the value of contraception and condoms. If the religious right has it's way, and they're moving in that direction, kids won't be taught anything but abstainance. Hopefully they will then be taught how to care for the children that are the result of pregnancies they aren't supposed to abort.

Homosexuality? Not in their classrooms, unless you count having kids taught that gay and lesbian people are abominations and are doomed to burn in Hell.

I continue to say, ignorance is the primary weapon of the religious right. A very effective way to insure ignorance on issues of acceptance or anything that falls beyond the narrow parameters they subscribe to is insuring alternate views are never taught to our children.

The religious right likes to rant about how those who push "the homosexual agenda" just can't wait to get their hands on children. Yeah, to de-program them.

Whosoever: "Stir it up!"

Okay everyone, it's time to do an assessment. Let's take a look at our dreams, goals, and the desires of our hearts and see where we are with them. Let's assess how many have manifested, how many are in the process, and how many we've basically given up on, or are on the verge of giving up on.

One of the most effective tools the enemy uses against us to paralyze the move of God in our lives is fear. God knew the enemy would try this which is why God mentions 144 times in the Scriptures to "FEAR NOT!" Fear cancels our faith. Fear gets us over into doubt and unbelief - the place where God is unable to do miracles. Fear strips us of power. FEAR IS DEATH!

The only way to counteract fear is to build up our faith. The only way to build up our faith is to study and hear the Scriptures more. The only way to study and hear the Scriptures more is to be diligent and consistent. The only way to be diligent and consistent is to spend more time in fellowship with God. The only way to spend more time in fellowship with God is to make the decision to DO IT. The only way to make the decision to do it is to STIR OURSELVES UP in the Holy Spirit. King David had to do it all the time. The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to do it: "I remind and encourage you to STIR UP THE GIFT that is within you by laying on of my hands, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of POWER, of LOVE, and of a SOUND MIND." 2 Timothy 1:6,7 NKJV.

So, what about those dreams, goals and desires of your heart? STIR IT UP and GO FOR IT in Jesus' name!

New Feature: "Whosoever" Devotionals

Beginning this weekend, my wife and partner Pastor Brenda will move from behind the scenes and share a series of devotionals on this blog. They will fall under the heading of "Whosoever," based on John 3:16 (NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Pastor Brenda chose that title to emphasize that EVERYONE who believes in Christ has access to eternal life. God's promises apply to all of us, gay or straight.

I hope you will be blessed by Pastor Brenda's teachings.

"Hope for the Hopeless Hetero"

I hope you have seen in reading this blog that one of the approaches I use to make a point is sarcastic humor. If so, you won't be surprised that I am linking this site. It is titled:

"Parents and Friends of Ex-Straights and Straights, 'We're With the Queers"

They advertise that there is "Hope for the Hopeless Hetero" and that they "Support the Right of Heterosexuals to Change."

Sound pretty silly? That's the point. It is clearly designed to mock the claims of PFOX, Parents and Friends of ExGays and Gays. Some of their stuff comes across as silly too. The difference is that PFOXS knows it, PFOX doesn't seem to.

Using Churches to Recruit Voters

The title of this post is a phrase that makes me ill and angry at the same time, yet it's happening all over the United States. An organized effort toward that goal is going on right now in my home state of Maryland. A group calling itself "Association of Maryland Families" has started what they term a "Voter Registration, Voter Education, and Voter Turnout" drive in churches throughout the state.

How are they going to "educate" potential voters? Well, the fact that this is a cooperative effort with Focus on the Family offers a disturbing clue. They are also advertising the "Value Voters Summit" being held in September by another right-wing group, the Family Research Council. My state is clearly in the blue column, but even here there will be recruits eager to sign up and push the agenda of exclusion and hatred these groups push in the name of God.

Folks, people with this mentality can rationalize just about anything, including coming into facilities established for the worship of God to try and increase their political influence.

I found a like-minded piece written by Rev. Gerald Britt, the esecutive director of Central Dallas Ministries. Rev. Britt writes:

"Enough is enough. I have joined more than 100 other religious leaders from across our state in sending a clear message to politicians: Keep partisan politics out of our houses of worship and respect the faith of all Texans."

He adds, "But we must not blur the line between faith and partisan politics. Our houses of worship cannot be used as campaign props, nor our congregations deemed a "political base." We cannot allow those who disagree to be stigmatized. Religion should not be used to divide communities to win votes."

Rev. Britt is more open to inviting speakers into his church to share political topics, but he does not give up his pulpit and is determined to hear both sides on issues.

How many sides do you think the Association of American Families is interested in hearing? Not mine, I'm sure.

Who Do You Trust?

Who do you trust? That may seem like a simple question, but it often is not. Do you place your trust in your spouse or significant other? Your boss, co-workers, or employees? Family members? Friends? Church members? The news media? Yourself?

Answering yes to any or all of those choices is reasonable, and hopefully you have some level of trust in the people who occupy these roles in your life. Ultimately, though, everyone will let you down and fail to earn your trust. Then what are you supposed to do?

Click here to read the rest of the column on Gay Christian Outreach

More Insults to Gays in Kentucky

This report from The Advocate and Sirius OutQ News really aggravated me:

"A day after calling gays "the wrong kind of people," Kentucky state senator Richard Roeding continued his verbal barrage against gays, calling the Republican political group Log Cabin Republicans "a bunch of queers." After learning that the state Log Cabin chapter had called for his resignation, the northern Kentucky Republican used the derogatory term to describe the group in an interview with The Cincinnati Post.

Log Cabin called for Roeding's resignation after he said that the University of Louisville was wrong to offer health benefits to gay and lesbian domestic partners as a way to make the university competitive and attract talent. "I don't want to entice any of these people into our state," Roeding told The Louisville Courier-Journal in a story published Friday. "Those are the wrong kind of people."

After hearing of Roeding's "queers" remark, state senate president David Williams called Roeding, who then apologized to Williams for using the term. No word on whether he planned to apologize to the Log Cabin Republicans—or to gay Kentuckians"

Well, Senator Roeding, being a Maryland resident, I hope you stay in Kentucky or anywhere but Maryland. I wouldn't want any people like you enticed to my state. It is scary that people like that actually have a vote toward developing laws and spending tax money.

House Rejects Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment

On Tuesday, and U. S. House of Representatives rejected the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. This amendment also failed in the U. S. Senate several weeks ago.

Supporters of equality should not get too happy about that vote in my opinion. The amendment did win a clear majority, 236-187, but needed a 2/3 vote to clear the House.

According to this report in The Adovcate:

"Supporters said the vote will make a difference when people got to the polls in November. "The overwhelming majority of the American people support traditional marriage," said Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, a Republican from Colorado, sponsor of the amendment. "And the people have a right to know whether their elected representatives agree with them."

Recent national polls hardly show an "overwhelming" majority of people in favor of this initiative, but many of these supporters don't let a little thing like facts slow them down.

More from The Advocate:

Opponents dismissed the proposal as both discriminatory and legislatively irrelevant because of the Senate vote. The measure is "all for the purpose of pandering to a narrow political base." said Rep. Tammy Baldwin, a gay Democrat from Wisconsin. "This hateful and unnecessary amendment is unworthy of our great Constitution."

Well put, Rep. Baldwin.

"Real Christians Don't Gay Bash"

I ran across this wonderful column on The Huffington Post written by Rev. Jim Rigby, the pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. The title pretty well tells you what he is trying to say. He writes:

"Not that long ago, it was considered consistent to be a Christian, and yet, hold slaves.
The day came when slavery was understood as an affront to the gospel itself. I want to suggest that the day has come when Christians must declare that gay bashing is an attack on the gospel and that real Christians do not participate in any form of discrimination."

He closes by writing, "If Christianity is love, then cruelty is the ultimate heresy."

Amen to that, Rev. Rigby! I would emphasize that even more then the cruelty is done in God's name.

Misrepresenting In God's Name

This article from Planet Out is ostensably about a group of GLBT families who are marching on the Colorado Springs headquarters of Focus on the Family. Further into it, though, it raises a very important issue which is one of the primary motivations for this support.

Focus on the Family is not truthful.

The article goes into some detail about how the organization has misrepresented data in a way to support their ideology. Politicians do it all the time, and I think most people have lowered the bar far enough to expect that on both sides of the isle.

It's a LOT worse when it is done with God's name attached to it, as is everything Dr. James Dobson's band of right-wing spinmeisters does.

Can Dr. Dobson, or any bible scholar for that matter, show me one instance in the Bible where Jesus misrepresented ANYTHING to make a point? Where did He "spin" anything to make it more paletable or to trick someone into believing anything He said? I don't see the slightest hint of that in my Bible.

How angry do you think God gets when political zealots like Dobson and his ilk do that in his name?

I'm confident He is very upset and that He will take that up with those folks on judgement day.

Let 'em try to spin that!

Florida Gay Democrats Looking Beyond Gay Issues

The Florida GLBT Deomcratic Caucus met on Saturday, seeking equal rights and focusing on electing Democrats even if they don't support all of the gay issues.

According to this AP report posted on Southern Voice, "Gay activists believe they need to support Democrats opposed to gay marriage for the sake of seeking change on issues that affect a broader range of Americans. 'This is not the time to take our marbles and go home, there are too many issues at stake,' said Brian Bond, executive director of the Democratic National Committee's Gay & Lesbian Leadership Council. "

This flies in the face of rhetoric often used against those proported to supoort "the homosexual agenda." I think this is a wonderful example of at least one group of political activists that can see beyond their personal goals and embrace the big picture of what is happening in the entire United States. It's too bad this is increasingly rare on both sides of the isle.

As the AP reports, "Republican Party of Florida spokesman Jeff Sadosky disputed contentions that Republicans use the issue like gay marriage and flag burning to divide. 'I have a problem with defining them as wedge issues when the majority of Americans feel just the same,' he said. 'We welcome anyone and everyone, the Republican Party is a big tent party, but at the same time we do believe certain things and one of those things is that marriage is a commitment between one man and one woman."

What Mr. Sadosky fails to address, though, is that in a recent poll conducted by FOX News, people think the most important issues facing the country are Iraq, the economy, and health care. That hardly seems to justify all the energy spent on trying to constitutionalize a ban on same-sex marriage.

I'd also like to see a gay person stroll into that "big tent" uninvited. I wouldn't recommend it.