Over 15 years ago, Ros and I were in the heartbreaking process of wrapping up our work at a church we were employed by and had poured our souls into. As we helplessly witnessed the Synod barely even attempting to mask its systematic efforts to destroy the community of healing we had built,
Read moreOne of the weirdest rituals Christian religious leaders perform seems to happen at nearly every funeral: The service is drawing to a close when either the Reverend or someone else stands up to do a Scripture reading taken from Psalm 23:
Read moreRead moreBut no matter how comfortable it is, no matter how much Warren, Venn, NAMI or Big Pharma, or anyone wants it to be THE cause, it’s not.
The facts are clear: the majority of people in treatment for substance use have histories of childhood trauma. And as many as 90% of the people receiving care in the public system have histories of childhood trauma, most notably abuse and neglect. An even bigger truth is that there are lots of things in addition to abuse and neglect that overwhelm children-and parents – leading to what is frequently diagnosed as mental illness.
Read moreThe point that must be remembered is that most of political and church history has been controlled and written by people on the Right because they are normally the people in control. One of the few subversive texts in history, believe it or not, is the Bible.
So many times I get couples in my office where the unspoken message is simply, “If you could just make him a little more like me, everything would be just fine.”
In other words, make him just like the men I see on X soap opera or in my favourite romance novel and everything will be fine. Just make him a bearer of feminine power and I’ll be happy…
Read moreNote: Start reading at part #1 if you expect this to make any sense at all…
God said it and I believe it and that settles it for me
God said it and I believe it and that settles it for me
Though some may doubt that His word is true
I’ve chosen to believe it, now how about you?
God said it and I believe it
And that settles it for me
If we are going to ever approach understanding what Scripture is actually presenting about women, then the starting point is trying to understand how to understand Scripture. The trouble is, so few ever bother to try…
Read moreRead moreDA: You are talking about so many different levels and layers with the question “is it hyper-sexualized?” Compared to my understanding from Tremper (Longman III) about the Assyrian and Babylonian cultures, no, we’re not hyper-sexualized. If you compare where we are even in the context of other modern cultures’ engagement with sexuality, we’re still somewhat restrained, there is still some regard. Who’s the judge of the term “hyper-sexualization?”
Read moreBefore I go on, I feel I must say something one time. Today’s post is not about homosexuality. It’s not about Christians. It’s not about religion. It’s not about politics. It’s about something else altogether. Something greater. Something simpler.
It’s about love.
It’s about kindness.
It’s about friendship
Anne Rice Quits Christianity, Says Followers Not True to Christ.
Read moreNovelist Anne Rice, famous for her darkly seductive works such as Interview with the Vampire and The Witching Hour, announced this week via her Facebook page that she has decided to “quit” Christianity because of how the religion is increasingly being used to push anti-gay, anti-feminist and anti-science views.
Her publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, has confirmed that this posting and subsequent comments were indeed written by Rice and not an impostor.
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