Just breathe people - gay marriage decision from SCOTUS

I just read a post from CNN :

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/18/politics/supreme-court-gay-marriage/index.html

The title of the piece is "Activists prepare for gay marriage decision".  

In the piece, there is talk over concern that folks like pastors could end up in jail for not accepting gay marriage if SCOTUS rules in favor of gay marriage. To me, things like this speak of the fear that some conservative Christians are feeling. This court case is not about marching into religious organizations, and telling them what to believe. What it is about is whether or not a gay couple can walk into a county clerk's office and obtain a marriage license. Who officiates at the wedding and signs the license is not being ruled upon by the Supreme Court. Churches refuse ALL THE TIME to marry people for all kinds of reasons. That will not change if the Court rules in favor of gay marriage. Just breathe people.....

I really deeply believe that there would not be so much fear about the whole gay marriage thing if various church leaders weren't whipping people up into a frenzy. When you preach fear, then folks are going to be fearful. And, fear is easy to sell. Peace and love are a hard sell - Jesus is certainly proof of that. 

Us humans, we fear that which we do not understand. We fear what we don't know about. Ignorance breeds fear like nothing else.  But, I deeply believe that as Americans we are very very good at not letting our ignorance get the better of us. We're really good at staying calm and non-violent when compared to a number of other places around the globe. There's a mentality that I see here in the States that I've never seen anywhere else of 'we're all in this together' (now a few folks from the UK might disagree with me, but I digress....). No matter what is happening, we stay focused in this country on getting through whatever we perceive to be difficult things.  

We have an election in this country, and we don't see violent protests. We accept the decision of the voters and go on with life.  Well, I sincerely hope that with whatever decision is made by the Supreme Court on gay marriage, we as a country can accept peacefully and move on. Do we have to like it? No of course not. Can we continue to find peaceful legal ways to work for changes? Yes, of course. But let's do what we Americans do so well of remembering that we are all in this together. 

Peace. 

The Reading List - Christianity and Leaning to the Left

I get asked occasionally what I read. Well, I read quite a bit. I love to read some fictional books over and over again - particularly ones from my childhood. Elizabeth George Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond remains one of my all time favorite stories. Only now, it only takes me a couple of hours to read it.

I decided to start keeping track of what I do read mainly to satisfy my own curiosity of how many books I do actually consume. It turns out, I mainly read non-fictional theology type stuff. I only actually read two new fiction books this last year.

So.....just in case you were wondering.....here's the approximate list of what I've read over the last year, or so. Along with a few thoughts.

Hospice Whispers by Carla Cheatham (great true stories, made me laugh and cry)

A Letter to My Congregation by Ken Wilson (another way of approaching LGBT 

                   rights in the Church)

How We Sleep at Night by Sara Cunningham (a mom's personal story about her gay 

                   son)

“Mom, I’m Gay” by Susan Cottrell (kinda a how-to on how to handle your kid 

                  coming out)

Written in my Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon (fiction)

Same-Sex Unions in PreModern Europe by John Boswell (a classic, couldn't 

                  put it down)

Without You, There is No Us by Suki Kim (what it's like to teach at the Pyongyang

                 University of Science and Technology)

Undamned: My Escape from the Old Testament by L.E. Kinzie (a personal 

                 spiritual journey)

The Nazi Officer’s Wife: How one Jewish Woman Survived the

            Holocaust by H. Beer (amazing true story)

Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality by John Boswell (another classic, 

            couldn't put it down)

Torn by Justin Lee (written by a gay Christian and what it's like to be a gay Christian)

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness (fiction) [MOM - This is the last book in the 

             I said you should read. Totally entertaining stuff without being TOO much

             cotton candy for the brain!]

Killing Jesus by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard ('meh')

Jesus, the Bible and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the

            Church by Jack Rogers (very very well researched and written by a  

            Presbyterian minister)

Women in Late Antiquity: Pagan and Christian Lifestyles by Gillian  

            Clark (a classic, couldn't put it down)

The Book of Mormon: A Biography by Paul C. Gutjahr (respectful and interesting

            read for a non-Mormon)

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible

            And Why by Bart T. Ehrman (I LOVE Ehrman's work, always thought 

            provoking)

In Search of Paul: How Jesus’s Apostles Opposed Rome’s Empire

            With God’s Kingdom by John Dominic Crossan and Johnathan

            L. Reed (lots of new ways of thinking about Paul's writing in the 

            New Testament, great read)

Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We

            Never Knew by Bart T. Ehrman (super book, couldn't put it down)

See Me Naked: Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity

            By Amy Frykholm (an interesting group of stories)

I buy what I can at Half Price Books, but having the Kindle app on my iPad is seriously dangerous to my budget.

Peace. 

What's the deal with daughters??????? (Social media is nuts)

Ok folks. What's the deal with social media posts about daughters? Recently, I've posted on social media pictures of my kids and awards they've received.  But it never fails, posts about my daughter always get more 'likes' and more positive comments. Really??????? I've noticed this with others' social media feeds as well. The son can do something beyond awesome and will get like 10 'likes'.  The daughter just stands there 'looking cute' and gets like 100 'likes'. What's the deal?

I really think that in our society we tend to brush our sons to a degree under the rug. Yes, women are still not fully equal with men in our society, but why do we reward a 'cute dress' so much more on social media then we do an awesome accomplishment? Do I enjoy reading friends' comments about how pretty my daughter is? Sure, of course I do. But, the chirping of the crickets is deafening when I post some great accomplishment of my son. 

And it's not just me. Another mom I know will post stuff about her son's athletic accomplishments, but the daughter in a dressy dress always gets more 'likes' and comments. What kind of a message do we think we're sending to our kids with this? It's like 'Ooooooo....pretty clothes are so important!!!!' but getting a major award, nah...... Seriously, this is the message!!!!! 

Yes, we all enjoy nice pictures. But, we really need to stop and think about what we are 'liking' on social media. Yes, we're letting a friend or family member know that, "Hey, that's cool!" But, we're also leaving a very real record of what we appear to approve of. When that very real record of approval shows a preference for what's nice looking over substantial achievement, then what does that say about us? 

And on a lighter note..... Max Kitty above just wants to let all the girl kitties out there know, "Hey ladies! It's all for you!" 

Peace.