Category Archives: General

A Homosexual Bishop?

Posted on by
Reply

The linked blog is called “Mystic Call” and the blogger. Carmen Rose is pretty spectacular in my book! I keep reading through her post to try and find a short passage to excerpt here, but trying to select one over another is proving difficult. This is a valued read for anyone, believer or non-believer.

I want to draw attention to the comment by DrDave. I’l acknowledge that it is hard- for obviously both this guy and the writer heard the same sermon, and I deid not. But I can’t help but get the impression that they really didn’t hear the same sermon, not really. Or I’m left to wonder if DrDave is just being dismissive. It is easy to consider that for DrDave, the Church is all right, just the way it is (or was before there was a gay bishop), but that may not adequately reflect his POV. Still he doesn’t address what is needed within the Church because it has listened to/ is listening to false teachers.

This notion of false teachers is such an interesting one. The apostle Paul didn’t get a very warm reception by Jesus’s followers, especially those who had supposedly walked with Jesus. Jesus himself was seen as a false teacher by the established “Church” of his time. We only view it differently today after many decades of hindsight, and given that God isn’t talking through burning bushes any more, we may still have it all wrong and not even know it.

Please read her blog entry. I highly recommend it.

Mystic Call: A Homosexual Bishop?.

Gay Religion: news of religion and GLBT folks: Gays Step Up Efforts to Reverse Gay-as-Godless Stereotype

Posted on by
Reply

This blog and blog entry is a very good read. It uses the Barna Group survey data to explore the issue of religious gays and lesbians. I’ve been planning to write about the Barna Group report on thomascwaters.com- it is sitting half-done as a draft. Check this blog out below.

Gay Religion: news of religion and GLBT folks: Gays Step Up Efforts to Reverse Gay-as-Godless Stereotype.

Lesbians’ testimony shows church rift

Posted on by
Reply

Decided to post there, here on Queer Look at the Bible, but am thinking of it in reference to a comment made on my other blog, thomascwaters.com.  Bonnie talked about reconciliation and healing/ change from the inside. The linked article is a profound example of just that sort of action.

Lesbians’ testimony shows church rift | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger.

Queer Look Podcast to Return Soon!

Posted on by
Reply

It’s a long story why I stopped producing the queer Look at the Bible Podcast, but the short answer is that it is about to return! Each week, I’ll look at the week’s lectionary readings from the QP (the queer Perspective, and assign each a QP ranking. That is, just how “queer” is the scripture on a scale of 1 bible (not at all queer) to 5 bibles (way way queer!). Most consider that the Bible is condemning of homosexuality, but I think what we are going to find is that the vast majority of it has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality, and will score a 1bible ranking. The passages that appear to be about homosexuality will be few and score a 5bible ranking. There is just the question about what to do with the issue of passages that appear pro-homosexual, and those which appear as anti-homosexual. In terms of my QP ranking, I won’t make any distinction/ for or against, it is still queer. but I will talk about each to see what we can learn about how pro- or anti the passages might actually be.

A Queer Look at the Bible isn’t intended only for the religious, but for everyone, even those who see themselves as atheists or agnostics. But I’m not trying to convert you. You are welcome here, no matter what your faith (or lack of faith) tradition. and here is why. If you are a gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight, or transgendered person, the Bible impact your life today, here in 2009. Doesn’t matter if you are a believer or not. The Bible serves as the foundation of all of the opposition to GLBTQ rights, as well as many of the conservative movements, such as to deny a woman’s right to choice. The growing battle cry of this radical right movement, is Religious Liberties, as if they own the Bible, and everything in it is on their side. but they don’t, and it isn’t. and the more everyone knows about that the easier it is to see through the fallacious arguments that they put forth.

Let me say, as straight (ha ha) forwardly as I can. I am not anti-God. I am not anti-Bible. I am not anti-Faith. I just think that the Bible has been co-opted by the radical right, and t is time to take it back and put it out there for anyone to pick up and consider. And the best way to do that it to take a new look at it- a Queer Look. If I can rightfully be accused of anything, it may be that I can come across as anti-religious. Like many theologians since the beginning of the Judeo-Christian story, I ask that rather than simply wearing “religious” as an adjective to describe oneself, consider it a journey to be traveled. Consider it a puzzle to be pondered. consider it a question to be asked rather than answered. I am fairly anti- those who self-righteously think they have all the answers. I certainly don’t have them. But I have and can ask and explore questions. I think that when we are willing to ask, and see where the question takes us, we can find things we never anticipated. That for me, is about hearing God.

I’m going to start by producing an audio podcast in the iTunes enhanced podcast format, but there will also be an MP# file to download for other brands of players. Each week’s podcast will be a part of a blog post that has notes and stuff I want to share. Feel free to comment here, but please be warned. I have no patience for folks who can;’t do any more than tell me I’m going to hell, or can’t say anything except to quote scripture, or issue some blanket generalized statement with out anything backing it up. I will only accept comments from real people (no anonymous postings) who register for the site. If you don’t have the guts to have a name and an email, I don’t have the time for you. But feel free to disagree with me- just be man or woman enough to represent yourself authentically.

So you ready for a Queer Look! Great! Glad to have you along!

Gay Marriage: Failing Both Sides?

Posted on by
Reply

The subject line of this blog entry caught my attention and I dug into what is a very good read! I’ve been neglecting to post here on Queer Look at the Bible, so I thought the religious quality to this post and ideas lent itself to QLATB nicely.

First, I really appreciate Eugene’s honesty and what comes across as his authentic faith journey surrounding the issue of Marriage Equality. On the one hand, I wish there were more ministers willing to risk, as Eugene is, and share what their process of discernment on this issue is. but it is plain why that isn’t/won’t happen. Look at the criticism and hatred Eugene receives from other so-called Christians.

One reason I started Queer Look at the Bible, was because I have experienced feeling called to ministry in a very big way. However, I left active ministry ( I was only a lay minister and preacher) and decided against seminary, when I realized that I felt like an imposter. I was asked one Sunday to give the sermon at a small church north of Pittsburgh. After sitting through the Sunday School and talking to the church members, it became very clear, that if they had known I was gay, I never would have been invited. I left feeling “dirty” and dishonest, even though I said or did nothing dishonest at all! But I realized that I didn’t want to fight from the inside like that. There were other ways to minister than struggle to work within a denomination that really didn’t want me, even though my home congregation loved, supported and wanted me to continue.

It isn’t God that’s the problem, but rather some of God’s flock of followers. That’s what I came to understand, and what Eugene has come to experience as well.

My favorite biblical character, or at least one of them, is Saul, who was renamed Paul. Here was this guy, a devote and intense Jew, running around persecuting the early Christians! Until one day, where he has a conversion experience! Everything as he knew it… everything, changed for him that day.

Imagine what it was like for everyone around him, who had known him forever, and for those for whom his reputation as a persecutor preceeded him. What do you think his old rabbi buddies would have said to him? What would have been the emails he received (if email had existed then)? Would he have been called a coward, and a bad example of a Jew?

I tend to think that conversion experiences still happen, and little by little woman and men come to see a bigger picture set before them by a God. All that they thought they know about righteous living can get turned on its head. and those, not really open to god, who wish to blindly cling to whatever seems to rationalize everything for them will get pretty angry.

Eugene started his post talking about how, WhoSigned.org announced that they will release the names of petitioners. He wonders if this will backfire. In other places where this has been done, it hasn’t backfired. It has brought the bigotry out into the light. For example, in Arkansas, when this was done, it was learned that many people had been mislead about what they were signing.

My suggestion to you, Eugene, is to just keep following your path, trying to sort out how to “love God and love People.”

gay marriage: failing both sides? « eugene cho’s blog.

Faith and the Question “What if you’re wrong?”

Posted on by
Reply

Saw this posted to Facebook, by Patrick Yaeger who maintains the GCRM Media Center on Facebook, an unbelievably wonderful resource.

Dawkins is asked at a lecture, what if he is wrong, and the video is of his reply. This is where I think most contemporary Christians, and all far right religious zealots and bigots have it all wrong. They are so sure that they are right. Faith isn’t about “knowing you are right.” Faith is about trusting God without knowing you are right.

Abraham is the Father of Faith, and the most basic Biblical story of Faith is the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. If Abraham took Isaac to the mountain and wasn’t afraid of what would happen- in other words, on the way up the mountain, his mind was full of the thoughts “God won’t let my son die,” Then he really had no faith. He would know everything, and would in essence, be God. If Abraham had gone up the mountain believing it was God’s will to kill his son, he really had no faith. He would have been a murderer, who thought that murder was justified. But the truth is that Abraham made his way up the mountain, not knowing what would happen, and he had the strength to do that precisely because he had faith. He had no idea what would happen. But he knew his job was to trust God. God gave Abraham specific instructions and Abraham followed them.

Most important to the story is that Abraham says nothing to anyone about what is about to happen. This too is a part of having faith. This is where today’s Christians get it all wrong. They don’t stay with the not knowing and following God’s directions because that is very difficult, and they have too little faith to sustain them. So they move to a place of knowing they are right, and trying to push that on everyone else, to create a self-fulfilling prophesy.

YouTube – Richard Dawkins – “What if you’re wrong?”.

Changing Homosexuality or Suppressing the Self?

Posted on by
Reply

Years After Resigning in Disgrace, Archbishop Speaks Out – NYTimes.com

This piece from the New York Times contains a few very large issues to ponder. I can’t necessarily speak to all of them in this blog entry but will raise them at least. Over the next week, I hope to write a blog entry for each question. But weigh in- let me know what you think- leave a comment.

1) The organized Church’s role in maintaining the status quo. Who is benefitted by the status quo?

2) Do people change their sexual orientation or simply suppress their real selves and delude themselves about who they are and/or their orientation?

3) The problem of understanding God as a “loving God” when there are so many homosecxuals.

4) What is the nature of a faith journey?

I think the last 2 are the most interesting of the topics for me, however, all 4 are big and there can be valid or thoughtful viewpoints from divergent opinions.

Years After Resigning in Disgrace, Archbishop Speaks Out – NYTimes.com.

My Work is Done.

Posted on by
Reply

Church of the Resurrection : Show : When in Conflict with Science or Married to Politics

Well it isn’t so much that I have done anything, but it is already being done by others, far better than I could ever done it. A commenter on my other blog, thomascwaters.com send me this link to a Methodist church’s on-line sermon. Good stuff here. Now, maybe the whole work isn’t done, burt there is still good stuff here.

Church of the Resurrection : Show : When in Conflict with Science or Married to Politics.

Remembering Galileo Galilei

Posted on by
2

I’ve been thinking so much about the Biblical scripture being used against GLBTQ people as proof that Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered people are less than acceptable in today’s world, and clearly unacceptable to God. The Bible thumpers argue that God says these things about gay and lesbian people. I think we really don’t know what God would say about 21st century gay and lesbian people, as the social structure that exists today, that allowed relations to be as they are never existed in Biblical times.

And that got me thinking about Galileo. From Wikipedia:

Galileo’s championing of Copernicanism was controversial within his lifetime, when a large majority of philosophers and astronomers still subscribed to the geocentric view that the Earth remained motionless at the centre of the universe. After 1610, when he began supporting heliocentrism publicly, he met with bitter opposition from some philosophers and clerics, and two of the latter eventually denounced him to theRoman Inquisition early in 1615. Although he was cleared of any offence at that time, the Catholic Church nevertheless condemned heliocentrism as “false and contrary to Scripture” in February 1616,[8] and Galileo was warned to abandon his support for it—which he promised to do. When he later defended his views in his most famous work, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in 1632, he was tried by the Inquisition, found “vehemently suspect of heresy”, forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.

Today, even Creationists who accept a literal Biblical age of the planet Earth, do not still think the earth is the center of the universe! How is it that = or better question- will it take 400 or so years, before modern understandings of sexual orientation are accepted as fact, instead of dismissed and condemned as false and contrary to scripture? Are there any similarities to be drawn between the Inquisition and what groups today, lile focus on the Family and the Family (AFA) and National Organization for Marriage (NOM) are doing? That comparison is most likely way too strong, but a comparison would be interesting, none-the-less.

Galileo Galilei – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.