Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Guest Author

Toward a Radical Inclusiveness

by Michelle Schohn in Christian Issues

I have been thinking a lot about pronouns lately.

Much of it stems from the recent debate over bathrooms and who gets to serve as the potty police. I am not transgender, and yet the debate is personal to me.

Among my people, I am considered a “Two-Spirit,” or someone who possesses both a male and a female spirit. This has always fit with how I feel myself, neither really male nor really female, but both. I am very comfortable in my own skin.

But there are those who are not comfortable with me. These are the ones who have called me “sir” since long before I cut my hair short. Some quickly apologize. Some laugh nervously. Some snicker. Because I feel like I am both, it has never bothered me, except on the rare occasions when the person seemed hostile.

I fear those occasions are increasing. I see more and more reports of attacks on trans* people. And these attacks aren’t limited to trans* people. There are all sorts of gender non-conforming people being accosted in restrooms, even if they are using the restroom that corresponds with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.

One such person is a friend of mine who is a sergeant in the Marine Corps. She is part of the elite group of Marines who guard our embassies. And she has been thrown out of the women’s bathroom because she looks too much like a boy. A nice thank you for your service.

A recent piece by UCC minister Emily Heath describes a similar struggle. She too is female, but gender non-conforming. She jokes with… [Read more…] about Toward a Radical Inclusiveness

Sundown Town

by Christina Krost in Christian Issues

Embed from Getty Images

I live in a sundown town.

I’ll admit, I’d never heard that term until college. But it’s stuck with me since my husband attended a talk by author James Loewen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me and Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism.

The gist is that though northern states were not as overt in racial segregation as the southern states, there were still places that, if you were black, you were not welcome. Some towns posted signs to the effect of “Don’t let the sun set on you here,” meaning those “unwanted” folks had better clear out before dark, or else.

The spread of this rule relied heavily on oral tradition, though some towns had official ordinances on their books. Consequences included threats of physical violence, damage to property, and/or police action to those in noncompliance.

I read that the sundown town sign in my small, rural, southern Illinois town was up until the past decade or so, when it was removed to accommodate a public works project and was not replaced after the work was completed. And I recently heard a story retold by a member of our church about a former pastor in the 1950s bringing home a black friend from seminary and the pastor’s experience of having to explain to his guest why he had to stay inside his host’s home after dark.

As a point of fact, there are not many African-American residents in my town or surrounding towns to this day. That a sign like this could exist for so long in… [Read more…] about Sundown Town

Bible-believing Bisexual?

by Franziska Garner in Christian Issues, LGBT

“A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it.”

How highly controversial! Scripture alone is enough. Scripture is self-authenticating, clear, its own interpreter, and sufficient as the final authority of Christian beliefs. The idea is that whoever bases their faith on Scripture, whoever seeks guidance and answers in Scripture, doesn’t need anything or anyone else and will never be disappointed.

This concept of Scripture Alone or Sola Scriptura was introduced by the same man who said those words in the beginning of this article: Martin Luther, the German reformer who saw so many flaws in the Catholic Church of the 15th century that he simply had to speak up against it. His idea that Scripture alone stands at the center of an individual’s striving for and learning about God was eagerly adopted by many, and eventually by the younger evangelical denominations in the United States. To this day it is a key principal of many conservative Baptist and Lutheran churches and all those who call themselves “bible-believing.”

I firmly believe that the Bible is indeed God’s love letter to us, his children, and that all the guidance and nudges we need to come closer to this love are right there in Scripture. So yes, I call myself bible-believing.

Wait. How can a progressive Christian who is living in a same-sex marriage be bible-believing? How can someone like me adopt the same term as conservative Christians? Do I believe that my… [Read more…] about Bible-believing Bisexual?

A Bolt of Hatred

by Joe Kay in Christian Issues, Current Events

This guest post is by Joe Kay.

One of my roommates in college was gay. He confided in me about his sexual preference, knowing I’d respect his confidence. Back then, gay people were openly ridiculed, rejected, and attacked.

I wish I could say this was no longer true, but obviously I can’t. We’ve come a long way, but what happened in Orlando and the reaction to it provide harsh reminders of how people hate those who are different from them in some way.

Still so much hatred.

I’m the associate minister at an open and affirming United Church of Christ church. We accept everyone just as they are. I’ve heard many stories about how members of my church family have been treated horrifically by their families, their former “Christian” churches, and co-workers because of their sexual orientation.

Their openness touches me. Their courage inspires me. Their stories remind me how I enjoy a sort of “straight” privilege. Nobody has ever threatened me because I was holding a girl’s hand, or refused to rent me an apartment because I was dating a woman. Nobody has ever refused to bake me a cake because I’m straight.

I have never had to worry that my sexual identity was going to get me killed.

One thing about the reaction to Orlando troubles me greatly. People who have said so many hateful and harmful things about LBGT people are now trying to distance themselves from what happened. They’re trying to frame it as merely another instance of extremism by different people from a… [Read more…] about A Bolt of Hatred

Hell Might Be Empty

by Brian Niece in Christian Issues

This guest post is by Brian Niece.

Theologian Jürgen Moltmann once said in a discussion, “In the final analysis I believe hell will be empty.”
God’s Future
This theological idea comes from Moltmann’s understanding that all who are dead are dead in Christ, just as the living are alive in Christ, whether they acknowledge the presence of the deity or not. God’s presence is in all and through all. Therefore everyone, the living and dead, are contained in the loving presence of the God who Jesus called “Father” and are moving with this God toward God’s future.

That’s some heady stuff, for sure.

Moltmann further asserts, as do many Christian theologians, that all time is already contained in the life of God. Past, present, future, and eternity all glow with God’s presence.

More heady stuff, I know.

If you, like me, are an outsider to the Western institutional church, it could be for any number of reasons. It pains me to know how many friends I have who walked away from the whole faith thing because they were told that anyone who didn’t measure up to an institutional standard was going to hell.

Maybe you’ve experienced the very damaging and un-Jesus like narrative that creates an “us” versus “them” mentality. The kind of thinking that elevates groups of the “ins” over the “outs.” Please hear this: you aren’t going to hell.
Unbounded Grace
See, God’s grace, as displayed through Jesus of Nazareth, is unbounded grace. There is no limit to it. So there’s no way that… [Read more…] about Hell Might Be Empty

Spiritual Terrorism

by Robyn Shepherd in Christian Issues

This guest post is by Robyn Shepherd.

Some months ago, as I was preparing to go on maternity leave, the church where I had been training as a student minister was preparing to make a very important decision. This decision came after years of conversation, but the opinions in the church were still deeply divided.

One Sunday morning, an elderly member of the congregation cornered me after the service to assure me that he had been given a message from God, and he would set the meeting straight. Accustomed to his language, and certain no words of mine could alter his purpose one iota, I adopted my usual response–smile and nod–as he described his plans with his usual passion and depth of conviction. Within myself I could only be grateful that it would not be my job to counter his “message” or to deal with the fallout of his words.

Not that there would be much fallout. I expected that the result of whatever he felt compelled to say would be silence, the unspoken reactions to his words ranging from bewilderment to frustration. Since he had done similar things at other meetings, but never succeeded in providing a coherent argument or a discernible plan, his “messages” tended to amount to a rant about his convictions followed by a judgement on the church for failing to be led by the Spirit, or something similar.

It is not my desire or intention to mock this man or dismiss his deeply-held convictions, but his way of sharing his beliefs about the church and its future… [Read more…] about Spiritual Terrorism

power in the blood

by Jill Crainshaw in Current Events, Poetry

Embed from Getty Images

I have been searching for what to say or even think about the Orlando massacre. All words fail. The story of the hundreds of donors who gave blood for those who were wounded inspired this poetic response:

power in the blood

aunt gertrude played the antique upright in church every sunday
sometimes by ear
sometimes the old-timey way
reading notes shaped like diamonds or triangles
but the hymn she cherished most
her fingers knew by heart

power in the blood
wonder-working power

as much as i loved to hear gospel favorites
spilling from Aunt Gertrude’s fingers
blood hymns troubled my soul
too violent
too brutal
i knew even as a kid
how much life and hope
the old old story had bled out over the years

early that vicious sunday morning
shots rang out
precious blood
wonder-working blood
spilled out
on the dance floor
in the streets
spattering shoes
dancers
doctors
nurses
police officers
lovers
friends

as we gathered for church that day
several states away
in orlando they did it the old-timey way
by heart
for those too often discarded
discounted
disremembered now dismembered
a mile-long vein opened up
friends and strangers enfleshing care
until a flood of plasma pulsated through the city
into wounded souls
and as my little group of worshipers
lined up at the communion table
to eat the bread
drink the cup
share the holy body
i remembered that old hymn flowing out from
aunt gertrude’s hands and… [Read more…] about power in the blood

Is it more important to believe the right things or to do the right things?

by Randal Rauser in Christian Issues

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” —Matthew 25:37-40 (NIV)

Right belief and right practice: you might call them the two oars in the rowboat of a healthy Christian disciple. But if you had to choose to prioritize one of those two oars, which one would it be?

Growing up as an evangelical, the answer was simple. Belief is the starting point of salvation, in particular the beliefs that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). Salvation may require more than this in terms of belief and action, but it surely could not require less.

That idea worked for me for several years. But the more I examined that simple position, the more cracks appeared. In this article I want to consider one of them. In order to see it I want to propose a simple thought experiment, one that is based on two real life cases, one of a Christian who believed the right doctrines but acted wrongly, and the other of a Muslim who (according to Christian doctrine) believed the wrong doctrines but acted rightly.

The setting is the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Commentators have noted that this… [Read more…] about Is it more important to believe the right things or to do the right things?

What if the Orlando shooter was gay?

by Franziska Garner in Current Events, LGBT

Who was Omar Mateen?

The evidence is getting stronger. The Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, was frequently seen at the Pulse nightclub in the months before the attack. He also had profiles on gay dating websites and his (more or less intimate) contact with gay men reaches back at least ten years. On at least one occasion he expressed the desire to date another man.[1]

Nevertheless, he was married to women twice. His first wife divorced him after only four months claiming he was unstable and abusive. His second wife mentioned that he was not very religious. Allegedly, he called 911 during his attack, pledged allegiance to ISIS, and spoke about being inspired by the Al-Nusra Front. The two organizations are enemies. It is therefore highly questionable why someone who really sides with one of them would be supportive of both.

Scripture Abuse

Omar Mateen was raised in a Muslim home. Islam does, just like Christianity, condemn homosexuality–at least as long as we don’t look too closely. In the Bible, Genesis 19:1-29 tells about Sodom and Gomorrah. The story speaks about two cities that were destroyed by God for a very grave sin–allegedly homosexuality. This passage is often used to demonstrate God’s treatment of and disgust with homosexual people.

A reference to the very same story is given in the Quran, stating that yes, God does not like LGBT people and will punish them horribly:

“And [We had sent] Lot when he said to his people, “Do you commit such immorality as no one has… [Read more…] about What if the Orlando shooter was gay?

Dear Non-LGBT-Affirming Christians, Please Search Your Hearts

by Emma Higgs in LGBT

I’ve just seen a news article showing the faces of those killed in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub on Saturday night.

Face after face; beautiful, young, LGBT+ people, their eyes full of light and life.

Lives so precious, unique, fragile, sacred.

Each one reflecting the image of their Creator.

Each one a beloved son or daughter. Their loss is a gaping wound, a searing pain, an everlasting ache.

LGBT+ people around the world are feeling the impact of the Orlando shooting deeply. They are mourning the deaths of these people as if they were family, connected somehow by invisible but unbreakable strands.

This is because they know.

They know what it’s like to be despised for who they are.

They have felt the hatred in the cold glances and suspicious stares.

They know how it feels to have disapproval and disgust pushed down upon them like a suffocating pillow.

They have felt the fear of physical attack.

Non-LGBT-affirming Christian, I know you know this.

I know you are outraged by this shooting. I know you feel the anguish and pain of the friends and families and are praying for them.

But when you say that you “love the sinner, hate the sin,” or offer condolences with the qualification that you “don’t agree with homosexuality,” do you realize what you are doing?

You are preventing people from being fully alive.

In trying to save people from their sin, you are oppressing… [Read more…] about Dear Non-LGBT-Affirming Christians, Please Search Your Hearts