Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Left Behind (for being gay)

by in Christian Issues, LGBT

This guest post is by Renee P. of southern California. A technical writer, Renee describes herself as a former fundamentalist and recently converted progressive Christian.

In fifth grade I enjoyed being at a Christian school where love and peace abounded. I found favor in being obedient and striving for a world beyond this one. I loved the structure, conformity and ‘do unto others’ expectations of the school. I loved improving my penmanship, spelling tests, memorizing all fifty states, being one of the best Bible verse looker-uppers.

I gloried in all of it. I loved learning. I loved God. Life felt safe and happy.

It did, that is, until one Friday morning in the school’s chapel, when they showed a movie that caused me to fear for my soul in a way I never knew I needed to.

Thief in the Night is about what happens on earth after the pre-tribulation rapture—that is, after all the Christians have been taken up into heaven, leaving behind all those who failed to accept Christ when they had the chance.

Looking back on it now I see what a hack B movie it is. But as a highly impressionable nine-year-old I was no film critic. One particularly vivid scene from the movie that terrified me featured a little girl my age (that’s her above) who comes into the kitchen to ask her mom a question. A pan of green beans sits unattended on the stove. The girl calls for her mother. There is no answer. She calls again. No answer. Finally, fearing the worst, she begins to… [Read more…] about Left Behind (for being gay)

Baptist pastor on why the Bible supports LGBT equality

by Chuck Queen in Christian History, Christian Issues, LGBT

Of the handful of biblical texts quoted by opponents of same-sex marriage Romans 1:26-27 is the one most often referenced:
For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
The problem with turning Paul into an anti-gay proponent is that Paul, along with most ancient moralists, would have regarded same-sex relations as an expression of excessive or exploitative sexual behavior by heterosexuals. It is not likely that he would have had any understanding at all of same-sex attraction as a sexual orientation set early in life.

For Paul to have known about sexual orientation is about as likely as for him to have known about atoms and electrons. He would have been totally unaware of the distinction between sexual orientation, over which one has no choice, and sexual behavior, over which one does. Paul (and everyone else in his day) most likely believed that everyone was straight. The idea of sexual orientation or the possibility of same-sex committed relationships were not even on his radar.

On the basis of Romans 1:26-27 it is common for anti-gay proponents to argue that same-sex marriage denies the natural order. This is such a weak and misguided argument. It certainly sounds lame when… [Read more…] about Baptist pastor on why the Bible supports LGBT equality

From the Christian mother of a transgender teen

by in Christian Issues

This letter was sent to John Shore:

Dear John,

Sometimes I think that being able to see from the perspective of a mother what my daughter (who is now my son) went through before his admission of his true self shows why God is with us, no matter what.

My son was never an ordinary daughter. I did not, for instance, ever know what the current fashion style of teenage girls was, because “she” didn’t wear teenage girl clothes.

But the darkness, the two years of depression, and of wondering if I was going to come home to find a suicide attempt or worse, was very real and frightening.

Once my daughter admitted who he really was, however, the one thing that I knew in the back of my head—even though at first I couldn’t quite come to terms with it—was that a great relief had taken place. All of a sudden, the eyes of my child were more alight, the shoulders no longer hunched over. And the laughter was back. The beautiful belly laugh that was silenced for two long long years was back.

Although that great happiness came back, the change was still hard for me to come to terms with. I wondered what Christian friends would think. My son sent out a message to all the people whom he wanted to know, and they have been nothing but supportive and loving.

That is what being a Christian is all about. Accepting the person. Loving them through the dark times, and supporting them when and if they come to terms with who they are.

We are all children of God, and for me to say that my child will… [Read more…] about From the Christian mother of a transgender teen

Got Religion?

by in Book Reviews

Defying the potentially tedious nature of analyzing the decline in religious participation among young people, Naomi Schaefer Riley’s new book, “Got Religion?: How Churches, Mosques, and Synagogues Can Bring Young People Back,” offers an engaging blend of statistical analysis and on-the-scene reporting about the rapidly shifting demographics of American religious involvement.

Riley spent time getting to know the leadership and participants in eight religious groups that are trying to succeed where so many others are failing. She provides an inside view into how these groups are addressing the decline in youth participation by exploring the ministries of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New Orleans, MECA: Muslims Establishing Communities in America, the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), Birthright Israel, Mormon Young Single Adult (YSA) Wards, the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens and Charlotte ONE.

All of these organizations are seeking to foster a sense of community, to bring young people together, to allow personal relationships to grow and to lay the groundwork for even greater things. This is the underlying theme of Riley’s book: how can religion create and sustain community when young people are increasingly abandoning these institutions as hopelessly boring, irrelevant and out-of-touch?

Unfortunately, Riley treads softly when it comes to divisive issues impacting the American religious landscape: marriage equality, abortion, women’s rights and homosexuality… [Read more…] about Got Religion?

When is the Southern Baptist Convention a cult?

by Don M. Burrows in Christian Issues, LGBT

Not much that comes out of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) shocks me anymore. As a resident of the south for 15 years, I witnessed the enforced hegemony [leadership or dominance, esp. by one country or social group over others–ed]: of the Southern Baptists, and on a number of occasions was targeted by its leaders.

So it was with little surprise that I read the two biggest news items to come out of this week’s SBC convention: a resolution condemning transgender people, and the election of a new SBC president, Dr. Ronnie Floyd of Springdale, Ark (above).

I’m familiar with Floyd, the head of a series of mega-churches, schools, and related venues in Northwest Arkansas, where I used to work as a journalist. Once, when I took it upon myself to write a column pointing out the myriad factual problems (which amounted to unbridled Islamophobia) in a series of Floyd’s televised sermons on Islam immediately after 9/11, I was met with literally hundreds of letters from Floyd’s fundie flock, each assuring me that I was going to hell, and that their pastor “spoke nothing but the truth,” and “only the Word of God.” Indeed, at the time, lest anyone doubt the authority of his words, Floyd’s lectern was emblazoned with “Word of God” in large letters across the front.

Floyd is the author of the 2004 book The Gay Agenda, an almost wildly paranoiac screed in which, for starters, Floyd: accuses other clergy of blasphemy for taking a different stance from his on… [Read more…] about When is the Southern Baptist Convention a cult?

Keeping Jesus, Letting Go of Christian Exceptionalism

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

The degree to which Christianity will contribute to a more equitable and just world will depend largely, I believe, upon the degree to which Christians can let go of their exclusive claims on God and deepen their actual commitment to the way of Jesus.

This letting go will not come easy for many steeped in traditional forms of Christianity. Christian exceptionalism is deeply entrenched within the general Christian culture—and often feeds upon American exceptionalism, which our political leaders use to justify all sorts of intrusive and unjust polices and actions, such as drone strikes in other countries.

The wave of controversy sparked by a Coca-Cola ad which ran during the Super Bowl is a good example of how embedded in our culture American exceptionalism is. The ad featured diverse voices singing America, the Beautiful in languages other than English. Apparently, some (or perhaps many) Americans believe that true Americans must speak English regardless of what other languages they may know.

Many Christians believe just as strongly that God’s true people must speak the language of Christian faith.

An English teacher once told me that in the original version of the Wizard of Oz, the Emerald City was not any greener than any other city. The wizard had put green spectacles on everyone so that to them everything appeared green.

Many of us were taught to see the world through Christian-colored glasses. Those who taught us were not bad people who were… [Read more…] about Keeping Jesus, Letting Go of Christian Exceptionalism

‘Good’ Demons Vs. ‘Bad’ Angels

by Don M. Burrows in Christian History

I’m a huge fan of the CW show Supernatural. In fact, one could write an entire series of posts on the theological masterpiece it is for exploring the human condition even amidst its fantastical plots.

For those who are unaware, the show focuses on two brothers who hunt supernatural monsters, though the majority of seasons have been preoccupied with the battles between demons and angels, apocalypses, and the rivalries of Lucifer and his archangel brothers. For anyone invested in Christian mythology and interested in the explorations of good and evil, the existence or absence of God, or the postmodern bending of moral absolutes, the show is a must.

So when my dissertation recently afforded me the chance to write a lengthy footnote on ancient demonology, I was (super)naturally stoked. My graduate minor is in religious studies, so any chance to intersect it with my major research interest (the ancient novel – and they’re more related than some may think) is met with atypical enthusiasm at this stage in the writing game.

In the show Supernatural, demons are said to be the damned souls of humans who have returned to earth from Hell. Now, I don’t actually believe in that sort of thing, but I don’t “believe” in talking dragons or emotional robots either, so bear with me.

For most of us raised in traditional Christian mythology, this probably screams as a sort of error. We all know, after all, that demons are of course the fallen angels who rebelled with… [Read more…] about ‘Good’ Demons Vs. ‘Bad’ Angels

God with me still. (For my teachers.)

by Sonja Lund in Poetry

From my family and my church

I learned how to pray

how to sing

how to ask questions in a manner

that wouldn’t make anyone

too uncomfortable. I learned

how to forgive so much

that when my mother expressed surprise

at how much I let my partner off the hook

all I could say was,

“I was taught to forgive.”

From my Jewish friends

I learned how to value community

how to observe holidays

when no one cares enough

to make it easier for you.

I learned how to persevere

when everyone around you

wants you to go away.

From my atheist friends

I learned how to ask

the uncomfortable questions

how to find the beautiful

and (dare I say) spiritual

in science and space.

I learned how to see my people

my family

through the eyes

of those who have no interest

in joining a congregation

no matter how many times

you invite them to church.

From my pagan friends and my witch friends

(because no, those two are not

the same thing)

I learned how to love ritual

how to use my body in prayer

how to bring Feeling to my worship

instead of sitting back

and expecting God

to do all the work.

From Rachel Held Evans,

Brian McLaren, Rob Bell,

and John Shore

I learned that questions

could be faithfully asked

while still being difficult,

that one can still be a Christian

while feeling like an outsider,

that ritual is not stuffy

or suspect

but Godly if I wish it to be.

From Justin Lee and my dear Stephen

I learned that queers like me

can be religious

and… [Read more…] about God with me still. (For my teachers.)

What would Jesus make of Southern Baptist leader Al Mohler’s argument for the death penalty?

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues

In a 2014 piece on CNN’s Belief Blog, Dr. Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world), argues that Christians should support capital punishment.

He mitigates that view with these three qualifications:

There should be every protection for the rights of the accused.

There should be every assurance that the social status of the murderer will not determine the sentence for the crime.

There should be no reasonable doubt that the accused is indeed guilty of the crime.

Having laid out those caveats, Mohler then asks:

Should Christians support the death penalty today? I believe that we must, with the considerations detailed above.

The first problem with Mohler’s reasoning is that we do not live in a just society—so entertaining the notion that the death penalty will be justly applied is wishful dreaming.

In his article Mohler admits as much:
Christians should be outraged at the economic and racial injustice in how the death penalty is applied. While the law itself is not prejudiced, the application of the death penalty often is. There is very little chance that a wealthy white murderer will ever be executed.

Shouldn’t a Christian who in principle supports the death penalty, but who also acknowledges all the current injustices associated with it, argue for a halt in the implementation of the death penalty until those injustices are corrected?

Is… [Read more…] about What would Jesus make of Southern Baptist leader Al Mohler’s argument for the death penalty?

Three questions about the Bible Jesus might ask

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

Last December, in a piece for the Washington Post, E. J. Dionne beautifully wrote of our imperfect quest for the truth. Christians need to humbly acknowledge, wrote Dionne, how “imperfectly human beings understand the divine” and how, “over the history of faith, there have been occasions when ‘a supposedly changeless truth has changed.’”

Truth exists, but our experience of it is limited and fallible. Christians would do well to humbly acknowledge that our sacred texts are also limited and fallible. Jesus did.

According to the Gospels, Jesus had no problem dismissing, rejecting, and reinterpreting the sacred texts within his Jewish tradition. Surely, part of reading the Bible through the lens of the story of Jesus involves consideration of how Jesus read his own Scriptures.

For example, some religious authorities in Jesus’ day abusively used Deut. 24:1 (If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house . . .) to justify divorcing a wife for any reason whatsoever, very much the same way religious authorities today abusively use Scripture to condemn the LGBT community, condone violence, and subjugate women in the home and in the church.

Jesus dismissed Deut. 24:1 by offering a critical reading of it. Jesus said that this law did not, as the Scripture claimed, come from God, but from Moses himself, who made the concession due… [Read more…] about Three questions about the Bible Jesus might ask