The Lord's Prayer, as intepreted by Right-Wing American Christians:
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed by thy name,
(You know, unless we need to use your name to justify the things we do.)
your kingdom come,
(Preferably just soon enough that I can see the smiting.)
your will be done,
(As we interpret it, of course.)
on earth as it is in Heaven.
(Excepting that 'love thy neighbor' crap, amirite?)
Give us today our daily bread.
(Me first! Me! Me!)
And forgive us our debts
(And sins and stuff, too, okay?)
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
(Not their debts. We've just forgiven them... for being lazy.)
And lead us not into temptation,
(Or at least ignore us when we dive after it.)
but deliver us from the evil one.
(Obama, right?)
Friday, December 10, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Some things you should read
First off, I wish I'd seen this interesting blog post quite a while ago. For those of you who don't like clicking links for whatever reason, let me sum up: some researchers found some evidence of church-sanctioned (and that means Catholic church, given the age) same-sex marriages. I don't know why I haven't seen this thing linked a hundred times by now, or why it isn't being taken up by liberal Christians everywhere and widely disseminated, but I can at least do my small part to help draw attention to it.
And now I want you to put aside your dislike of clicking links and read this sorta-recap of last night's Glee. Because the vast majority of what's written in it shows exactly why I think it's important to support same-sex marriage, and to oppose all bullying and discrimination against gays.
This is important. My religion is about love. Denying its expression to other people is wrong. Denying brotherly and neighborly love to people because of who they fall in love with is wrong. There's no argument you can make that will stop me believing this is something all Christians should think is important.
And now I want you to put aside your dislike of clicking links and read this sorta-recap of last night's Glee. Because the vast majority of what's written in it shows exactly why I think it's important to support same-sex marriage, and to oppose all bullying and discrimination against gays.
This is important. My religion is about love. Denying its expression to other people is wrong. Denying brotherly and neighborly love to people because of who they fall in love with is wrong. There's no argument you can make that will stop me believing this is something all Christians should think is important.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
neighbors
So, I was thinking again about universalism (that's a small 'u' there), and you know what? I don't even care if it's Biblically justified. I mean, I should, and I guess I do a little, since my last post on it bothered to quote the Bible and talk about it in that context, but to be honest? I care more about the fact that I know a lot of people who are not Christian that I'm pretty darn sure Jesus would be happy to have as a neighbor.
Amongst my friends and acquaintances, both online and off, are Jews, Wiccans, pagans of various types, Buddhists, and a few people who don't fit so neatly into a category, plus of course a fair number of Christians, agnostics, and atheists. I don't run into Muslims as often, or at least not ones that mentioned they were (not so strange given the way people often react to that), but I've certainly known a few.
Of that list, every group has had people in it who were strongly for acceptance and tolerance and support for everyone who needed it... just the kind of beliefs and actions that Jesus would want to see from people. How could he not want them as his neighbors? As to what God Himself would want, well, if He sent Jesus down to us with that message about love, I'm pretty sure He'd be pretty happy to have them around as well.
Ultimately all the arguments about whether or not you said the magic words or followed the right rituals or voted on the right issues or love the right kind of person or whatever it is any give particular Christian church wants to argue is the "right" way to be a Christian really seem pretty small in comparison to that thought. (I suspect a lot of those people on my list from other religions would agree with the principle of the thought, even though their details would, of course, be different.)
Of course, it's not up to me. As one of my favorite bloggers once said, that decision's above my pay grade. But the nice thing about that is it's also above everyone else's, too. No one on this earth gets to decide who gets to go to Heaven, or who would be welcome to go should they wish.
Amongst my friends and acquaintances, both online and off, are Jews, Wiccans, pagans of various types, Buddhists, and a few people who don't fit so neatly into a category, plus of course a fair number of Christians, agnostics, and atheists. I don't run into Muslims as often, or at least not ones that mentioned they were (not so strange given the way people often react to that), but I've certainly known a few.
Of that list, every group has had people in it who were strongly for acceptance and tolerance and support for everyone who needed it... just the kind of beliefs and actions that Jesus would want to see from people. How could he not want them as his neighbors? As to what God Himself would want, well, if He sent Jesus down to us with that message about love, I'm pretty sure He'd be pretty happy to have them around as well.
Ultimately all the arguments about whether or not you said the magic words or followed the right rituals or voted on the right issues or love the right kind of person or whatever it is any give particular Christian church wants to argue is the "right" way to be a Christian really seem pretty small in comparison to that thought. (I suspect a lot of those people on my list from other religions would agree with the principle of the thought, even though their details would, of course, be different.)
Of course, it's not up to me. As one of my favorite bloggers once said, that decision's above my pay grade. But the nice thing about that is it's also above everyone else's, too. No one on this earth gets to decide who gets to go to Heaven, or who would be welcome to go should they wish.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Not Less of a Person
Here's what I've been trying to get at in my other posts on homosexuality, distilled: Someone doing something you feel is wrong or immoral does not make them less of a person.
It occurred to me today that that's what I've been really trying to say. Last night, on Project Runway, one of the designers came out as HIV+, a secret he's been hiding for 10 years because he was afraid of what the reaction would be. His mother knows he's gay, and told him to hide it from his father. She had not, at that point, known about the HIV status. (I'm gonna assume she and the rest of his family know now, because they've been watching the show.)
He's had to deal with the HIV+ status without any support from his family, because his family would not be able to deal with the fact that he's gay, because it's against their morals. Think about that for a bit.
What if you woke up one morning and realized that, yes, you have a problem with alcohol... but you can't tell anyone, because that would mean admitting you were drinking in the first place, and the people you love most in the world, who should love you unconditionally, think that drinking is wrong (and there are a lot of Christians who do), and have shown evidence that they may not love you unconditionally after all. You worry that if you admitted you were a drinker, they would cease to love and support you. That they would see you as inherently flawed, and that it would change how they see you as a person. You would no longer be "my child", but "my alcoholic child". You would be the label, not the person anymore.
Love should not work that way.
But for people who are gay, it all too often does. I will say it again: most Christians do not turn people out of their churches and their hearts for adultery or drinking or lying. They show willingness to accept those flaws, to accept that people are flawed, but that they're still people. "He's a great guy, this is just something we all have to deal with," they say, when their pastor admits to adultery. But that doesn't happen very often for gays. They're seen as something so inherently flawed that they don't deserve that consideration anymore. "Gays aren't welcome in our church. Murderers and thiefs and adulterers and drunkards, sure, but not gays."
And that's the tragedy. The tragedy is a man who for ten years, has known he has a medical condition that could easily shorten his lifespan, that we still don't know how to effectively treat and that in any event can get very expensive to treat, and who has been living in terror that he will no longer be able to count on the support of the people he loves if he admits this. That he will no longer be the person, just the label.
The tragedy is that people think that that's acceptable.
It's not.
ETA: This seems like a good post to link to the It Gets Better Project.
It occurred to me today that that's what I've been really trying to say. Last night, on Project Runway, one of the designers came out as HIV+, a secret he's been hiding for 10 years because he was afraid of what the reaction would be. His mother knows he's gay, and told him to hide it from his father. She had not, at that point, known about the HIV status. (I'm gonna assume she and the rest of his family know now, because they've been watching the show.)
He's had to deal with the HIV+ status without any support from his family, because his family would not be able to deal with the fact that he's gay, because it's against their morals. Think about that for a bit.
What if you woke up one morning and realized that, yes, you have a problem with alcohol... but you can't tell anyone, because that would mean admitting you were drinking in the first place, and the people you love most in the world, who should love you unconditionally, think that drinking is wrong (and there are a lot of Christians who do), and have shown evidence that they may not love you unconditionally after all. You worry that if you admitted you were a drinker, they would cease to love and support you. That they would see you as inherently flawed, and that it would change how they see you as a person. You would no longer be "my child", but "my alcoholic child". You would be the label, not the person anymore.
Love should not work that way.
But for people who are gay, it all too often does. I will say it again: most Christians do not turn people out of their churches and their hearts for adultery or drinking or lying. They show willingness to accept those flaws, to accept that people are flawed, but that they're still people. "He's a great guy, this is just something we all have to deal with," they say, when their pastor admits to adultery. But that doesn't happen very often for gays. They're seen as something so inherently flawed that they don't deserve that consideration anymore. "Gays aren't welcome in our church. Murderers and thiefs and adulterers and drunkards, sure, but not gays."
And that's the tragedy. The tragedy is a man who for ten years, has known he has a medical condition that could easily shorten his lifespan, that we still don't know how to effectively treat and that in any event can get very expensive to treat, and who has been living in terror that he will no longer be able to count on the support of the people he loves if he admits this. That he will no longer be the person, just the label.
The tragedy is that people think that that's acceptable.
It's not.
ETA: This seems like a good post to link to the It Gets Better Project.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
You're not HELPing....
[Note: I had not heard about the definitive canceling of the book-burning before writing this. I am glad it was canceled, but I think the sentiment in here is important anyhow (because someone else out there is surely contemplating something similar), so I'm leaving this up.]
Dear Pastor Book-burner,
I know that's not your name, and that you, strictly speaking, haven't burned books yet. (Or at least not the books you're getting known for wanting to burn. Who knows what you've done in your spare time before?) But that's what you're currently getting famous for. Whether or not you go through with it, right now what you're mainly known for is: "The guy who thinks burning a religion's holy book will accomplish anything meaningful."
Dear Pastor Book-burner,
I know that's not your name, and that you, strictly speaking, haven't burned books yet. (Or at least not the books you're getting known for wanting to burn. Who knows what you've done in your spare time before?) But that's what you're currently getting famous for. Whether or not you go through with it, right now what you're mainly known for is: "The guy who thinks burning a religion's holy book will accomplish anything meaningful."
Saturday, August 14, 2010
I try to avoid political posts...
Dear Easily Offended People of America,
The words "Muslim" and "American" are not antonyms. There were American Muslims who died at the towers on 9/11. So calling building a mosque in the vicinity of the former towers "an insult to the memories of the 3000 Americans killed" is kinda, you know... stupid. There really isn't another word for it. Well, that's not true. There are lots of other words: short-sighted, hateful, bigoted, insulting, and ignorant come to mind.
"It is insensitive and uncaring for the Muslim community to build a mosque in the shadow of ground zero." No, what's insensitive and uncaring is refusing to admit that Muslims are not some monolithic hive-mind where everyone in the religion agrees with the actions of the extremists. Of course, if it were really true that all Muslims should be considered extremists and terrorists because of the actions of a few, than all Christians likewise should be considered extremists and terrorists as well, because it's not as if there has never been an act of terrorism committed by a Christian.
Christians have also stolen, murdered, abused, and otherwise harmed their fellow man. Does that mean that Christianity is to blame for those acts? Or do you accept that in every religion, there are people who are capable of heinous acts, and blame the individuals instead of the religion? Because those are your choices... and if you choose the latter choice, then you must include Muslims in that acceptance as well.
As usual, I am deeply disappointed that some of the worst comments on this issue come from people who claim to be Christian. Jesus would not call that love for your brother, and neither do I.
The words "Muslim" and "American" are not antonyms. There were American Muslims who died at the towers on 9/11. So calling building a mosque in the vicinity of the former towers "an insult to the memories of the 3000 Americans killed" is kinda, you know... stupid. There really isn't another word for it. Well, that's not true. There are lots of other words: short-sighted, hateful, bigoted, insulting, and ignorant come to mind.
"It is insensitive and uncaring for the Muslim community to build a mosque in the shadow of ground zero." No, what's insensitive and uncaring is refusing to admit that Muslims are not some monolithic hive-mind where everyone in the religion agrees with the actions of the extremists. Of course, if it were really true that all Muslims should be considered extremists and terrorists because of the actions of a few, than all Christians likewise should be considered extremists and terrorists as well, because it's not as if there has never been an act of terrorism committed by a Christian.
Christians have also stolen, murdered, abused, and otherwise harmed their fellow man. Does that mean that Christianity is to blame for those acts? Or do you accept that in every religion, there are people who are capable of heinous acts, and blame the individuals instead of the religion? Because those are your choices... and if you choose the latter choice, then you must include Muslims in that acceptance as well.
As usual, I am deeply disappointed that some of the worst comments on this issue come from people who claim to be Christian. Jesus would not call that love for your brother, and neither do I.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Camel and the Needle
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." —Matthew 19:21-24
This seems fairly straightforward to me. It's not the only time Jesus suggested giving away money was a godly thing to do, of course, but this passage seems to sum it up nicely. The message I take from this is that concentrating on keeping wealth—caring about doing so—is detrimental to your relationship with God. Note I say "detrimental", not "an absolute bar", yet either way, I'm not sure I understand why so many Christians seem to be amongst the most greedy wealth-seekers, and I definitely don't understand prosperity preachers.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Brotherly Love
Via a comment on slacktivist, I was pointed to this post, reporting on a Christian "demonstration" at the Gay Pride parade in Chicago... one where the Christians wore shirts saying "I'm sorry". They were apologizing for the years they and/or their churches have treated gays like... well, the way too many Christians treat gays.
The article links to the blog Love is an Orientation, maintained by the founder of the group The Marin Foundation, which is a non-profit outreach group trying to work towards a better relationship between churches and the GLBT community. I recommend taking a look at both, because we all could use some more love and acceptance in our lives.
As a side note, the founder's blog mentions that he and his wife live in the Boystown neighborhood in Chicago, which, for those of you who don't know Chicago, is where the most open GLBT community in Chicago is centered. It's the neighborhood I first saw pairs of men and women openly together back when I was much younger, and it was just a couple miles up the street from there I first worked with three openly gay people... which is how I learned that the only difference between me and a gay woman was who we were attracted to.
The article links to the blog Love is an Orientation, maintained by the founder of the group The Marin Foundation, which is a non-profit outreach group trying to work towards a better relationship between churches and the GLBT community. I recommend taking a look at both, because we all could use some more love and acceptance in our lives.
As a side note, the founder's blog mentions that he and his wife live in the Boystown neighborhood in Chicago, which, for those of you who don't know Chicago, is where the most open GLBT community in Chicago is centered. It's the neighborhood I first saw pairs of men and women openly together back when I was much younger, and it was just a couple miles up the street from there I first worked with three openly gay people... which is how I learned that the only difference between me and a gay woman was who we were attracted to.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Universalism
I've written before about how I can reconcile being a Christian with believing that non-Christians aren't doomed to either eternal punishment or exile from Heaven, but I've felt a need lately to talk about it some more. Maybe it's because I keep seeing so many people—both Christians and non-Christians—talking about how exclusivity is a major hallmark of Christianity.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Prayer for... Everyone
This year seems to be attracting a lot of disasters. Some have been natural (tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes), some man-made (mine disasters, the BP platform explosion). For the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones in those disasters, as well as for everyone else who is suffering right now, I pray for peace and the strength to carry on through all of life's troubles, and hope that they can find happiness again, even if it seems it's been lost to them right now.
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