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A Christian Approach to Physical Abuse of your "Effeminate or Butch" Kids

If you are reading this post it might because the title caught you. Full disclosure, I intentionally put some shock in the title. But it's not nearly as shocking as what Pastor Sean Harris at Berean Baptist in Fayetteville, NC had to say:

 

So this clip has outraged a lot of people, Christian and non-Christian alike. He clearly advocates physical violence against children. 

Truth be told, there are a lot of Scriptures in the Bible that advocate for physical violence, even murder. The difference is most thoughtful, spiritual people don't take them literally today. Thank God we've given up stoning, severing limbs, and gouging eyes (although some would argue we still do it figuratively).

I read his retraction and you can hear him in his audio file trying to express his heart while navigating inconsistent ethics and conflicting theology. He says it was hyperbole and talks about Jesus using it in his sermons as well. But Jesus was pretty adamant on condemning any harm done to children.

I really feel for this pastor. Layers of disconnect come through--theologically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually. He now finds himself in a firestorm.

This is when I have to trust that somehow God is working through ALL things, even things like this.

There must be a better way to dialogue on this subject. Here's an article I found helpful which the blogger calls "A Nicodemus Approach." 

Right relationship rather than being right.

Thoughtful discussion rather than thoughtless diatribe.

We can do better than this. In the Church and outside of it.

I Was Bullied

I was bullied in school. Up until my junior year. I've hesitated to tell some of my story because I didn't want to sound bitter or resentful. I also was a little fearful. But I've been through enough healing that I'm not afraid to speak out anymore.

The writer Anne Lamott tweeted last week (April 23), "You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better." I think she's right. So I'm telling my story.

The Bully Project

I plan on seeing Bully. It's interesting to me the widespread support the movie is receiving from both the right and left in this country. It seems our culture has reached a tipping point when it comes to bullying.

Here's the trailer:

 

More info from the Bully Project website:
Bullying involves an individual or a group repeatedly harming 
another person—physically (e.g. punching or pushing), verbally 
(e.g. teasing or name-calling), or socially (e.g. ostracizing or 
spreading hurtful rumors).
Bullying often does not happen in an isolated context with a 
single tormentor and victim. There may be multiple bullies or 
multiple victims, and there are almost always peers, adults, and 
other community members who know about the bullying taking 
place.  
Often, the victims of bullying are socially vulnerable because 
they have some characteristic that makes them different from 
the majority.
Young people who have physical or learning disabilities are 
also targeted more frequently, as well as students who are 
on the autism spectrum. Other times, there are no apparent 
characteristics that cause the target of bullying to be singled 
out by the tormentor.  Regardless, the person being bullied 
does not know how or does not have the power to make it stop.  

Religion is not an excuse to be a bigot.

"Religion is not an excuse to be a bigot." So says Pastor Jay Bakker in this interview on MSNBC about changing views in the Church on sexuality.

What say you?

Agree?

Disagree?

Does opposing equality in the name of God for certain groups of people amount to religious bigotry?

Or does God as expressed through the Bible support intolerance if it violates one's moral beliefs?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 

 

The Loving Story

I just finished watching The Loving Story, a documentary from HBO. It details the story of the couple whose case went to the US Supreme Court that overturned state laws on interracial marriage in this country.

Richard Loving was white adnd Mildred Loving was of African-American and Native American descent. The Commonwealth of Virginia banished them from the State after they were married.

I was deeply  moved by their story and find it interesting that this was only a little over forty years ago. Also of interest in the documentary was how people used the Bible and religion to fight this couple's relationship and marriage union. 

This is why I believe the Federal Government should have a final say on human rights. If we left it to the popular vote, there could still be anti-miscegenation laws in pockets of this country. We might even still have Jim Crow laws. Sometimes the will of the people does indeed oppress human rights that should be shared by all.

Recent statics show that 1 in 6 marriages in the US are now interracial. We've come a long way in one generation.

 

 

 

Why I Grieve Whitney

 

I have grieved the death of Whitney Houston. I have had close friends and family say they have grieved her too.

I have grieved her death more so than other celebrities of past years. 

I think the reason we grieve her so is because her humanity was so tangible. We could identify with her humanity in a way that we couldn't with other celebrities and people of renown.

Sometimes people become famous and they don't seem quite as human to us. They seem remote, distant, reclusive, or eccentric. But somehow Whitney didn't seem to become more distant with time and fame; she only became more real and relatable to us.

So today I join with others around the world who remember her voice, her life, her pain, her struggle. We remember and celebrate her because as we do so, we remember and celebrate the complexity of our own humanity. She was one of us.

  

Same-Sex Marriage in Washington State

Washington State debated same-sex marriage this week and passed a bill. I caught the following video from State Representative Maureen Walsh (R) of Walla Walla. (I really just wanted to say Walla Walla, hehe.)

The interesting point to me about Washington State is not necessarily the debate for equality itself but the fact that the following comments were made by a Republican.

More and more political conservatives are embracing same-sex marriage. If this trend continues, I wonder what political party opponents to same-sex marriage will belong to.