| about |
| create weblog |
| news |
| tutorial |
| faq |
| contact |
| show template |
|
|||
 |
|
|
|
|
|||
 |
|
|
|
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
||
the unbearable lightness of blog
This is a weblog open to the public. Anyone can register and start posting here. Find something cool on the net? Leave a link. Anyone who registers can comment on the blog items!
Feb 2003
Grace Matters: What I Learned When I Opened My Mouth About Gay Rights
by Chris Rice
In all my 17 years in Mississippi, I never heard anyone say they were gay. A year ago I moved to Vermont where unmarried couples, both heterosexual and homosexual, live together without shame. The word "partner" has entered my vocabulary. I see adopted children with two mothers or two fathers.
As I awkwardly discern how to ask new friends about their lives and families, Vermont may become the first state to adopt a domestic partnership law giving same-sex couples the benefits, rights, and responsibilities of marriage. Letters pro and con fill my Burlington Free Press. Public radio aired emotional testimony on the subject from packed statehouse chambers. In our small-town church, several people walked out of a Sunday School classroom when a mother shared about her gay son and that she had testified in favor of the law.
I decided to write about Vermont's debate on homosexuality and domestic partnership in "Grace Matters." Before submitting it to the editors, I e-mailed the first draft to 200 friends, asking for critique.
The next evening 57 e-mails greeted me. Slapped me in the face, actually. And they kept coming-eventually I had more than 70 pages of responses printed in 10-point, tightly squeezed type. Old friends came out of the woodwork to offer emotional three-page opinions.
These are all friends I dearly love. All people of sincere faith. And they are deeply divided. I went to bed heartbroken.
I HAVE SPENT 20 years working on an issue-race-where those who try to be bridges get walked on from both sides. Attempt that same approach with homosexuality and the bridge gets detonated.
Before saying what I'm learning from all this, you need to know my bias. Most of my adult life has been in the evangelical world, one part of the larger body of Christ. I believe deeply that God's design for marriage and sexual practice is one man-one woman, for life. I also believe the truth in what one friend shared: "In my profession I'm surrounded by gay people who are so turned off by Christian rhetoric on the subject that they will probably never open their ears to hear the gospel."
I am only a beginner in reflecting more deeply about this issue. Here are some things I have learned: Already my every phrase and every word choice has been suspiciously examined and deciphered, and I have been seriously misunderstood.
I have learned that the debate is dominated by two voices: unqualified condemnation and unqualified acceptance. Many other Christian voices remain fearfully silent.
I have learned that even to voice honest questions invites disdain. What gray areas are there with something so obviously wrong (or right)?
I have learned that to voice opposition to gay marriage is to be immediately branded a bigot, homophobic, unloving, and asinine. Conversely, to note genuine care, commitment, and friendship in the few gay partnerships I know, or to wonder why these friends should not have legal rights of hospital visitation or shared health benefits, is to be labeled automatically as sentimental and condoning of sin. And also asinine.
I have learned that we are deeply divided over what makes for private morality and church policy, vs. what makes for public morality and legal policy.
I have learned that core issues are indeed at stake with homosexuality: the sanctity of marriage as part of God's created order; marriage as a fundamental social institution in a just and healthy society; the raising of children; and, for Christians, the integrity of how we interpret the Bible.
But why the outrage over homosexuality and not over the culture of divorce, premarital sex, and sexual abuse-all of which affect more people and, studies show, occur with the same devastating prevalence in the church as in society? Why is homosexuality treated as a worse sin than the pervasive idolatry of money that is warned about far more throughout scripture? If Christians opposed to homosexuality were equally outraged by racial and economic injustice, we'd have racism and poverty licked by now.
If it is true that "perfect love casts out fear," then it is fear, not love, that is the greater force in the Christian debate on homosexuality. The fear of telling fellow church members, "I am attracted to the same sex." The fear of saying you have friends who are gays and lesbians, who live with partners who are also your friends. The fear in telling a friend, "I love and respect you, but I cannot agree with your gay lifestyle." Some of my friends fear losing their jobs in evangelical institutions if they voiced their honest questions. Wherever self-censorship rules, a real debate is not taking place.
All I can do here is tell about my pain and the climate that I see. And to affirm my need for all of my friends-for their discipline, correction, and love, even when my own falls short.
CHRIS RICE lived and worked in an interracial community in Jackson, Mississippi, for 17 years. He was co-founder of Reconcilers Fellowship and co-author of More Than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel. He is now a research fellow at Boston University's Institute on Race and Social Division.
Review Chris' book "Grace Matters". Also check out "More Than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel" by Spencer Perkins and Chris Rice available on amazon.com.
hello...wut is this thing....i saw it on google...o welll....mite as well use it
'Church of Oprah'
For more Christian news, updated daily, go to
http://www.xanga.com/journeywithjesus or click here.
The "Church of Oprah" filled faster Monday than most mainstream churches could ever hope on a Sunday.
The 75 seats in an Abilene Christian University classroom were quickly grabbed, and the remainder of the "congregants" sat cross-legged on the floor.
The "Church of Oprah" is the title of a class being taught by Chris Altrock, preaching minister of Highland Street Church of Christ in Memphis, Tenn. The class is one of many, plus daily lectures, being held during ACU’s 85th Annual Bible Lectureship.
For more Christian news, updated daily, go to
http://www.xanga.com/journeywithjesus or click here.
Feb 2003
Hey y'all. What's crackin?
My boyfriend of several years, who is unhappily married, is in drug reharb right now. I talked him into it. He is married. his relationship sucks. The nurses at the reharb center have pretty mucvh told him that he cant leave until he dumps me. He says he lovesme. I believe him, What are my legal rights against the bitches butting in?
Feb 2003
Call a random person.
Randomly... maybe they will be frightened. Maybe they will be intrigued. Call a Payphone and make someones day a bit more interesting.
If there were no such thing as religion there would be no wars
Many people nod their heads and utter an approving ‘True.’ Others shrug their shoulders somewhat apathetically. There are also those who disagree with the sweeping statement and point to other ‘causes’ of war, such as disputes over politics and land.
Now is the time to stand up and be counted. In an environment of terror and imminent war, religion is a matter of universal importance. The taboo subject that bartenders wince at its very mention must now be tackled. Fence sitters take note; indifference and impartiality are no longer options. The tale of hijacked planes crashing into skyscrapers is one of sad fact and not science fiction. The last eighteen months have placed in explicit perspective the need to examine our religious prejudices and finger pointing.
I suggest that the inference that religion causes war is as ridiculous as implicating football for hooliganism.
Hooligans often mask their violent ways by wearing football shirts, to exonerate themselves from direct responsibility and parade the cause for which they are fighting. Osama bin Laden’s mask is one of religion. He immerses his fluent rhetoric in religious sentiment and Koranic verse to endorse brutality. A fanatical anti-football protestor might try to convince us that the sport causes terror in the terraces. He might use Bill Shankley’s famous quote as evidence to support his theory:
'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.'
Consider the real possibility that people who know nothing of the essence of football would be susceptible to the hypothetical protestor’s argument that football is more important than life and death, thus legitimising violence in its name. Ignorance leaves our hearts and minds open to even the most absurd of suggestions. Mr Shankley’s words have obviously been taken out of context. He was alluding to the passion football induces in its supporters, and certainly not condoning violence and death in its name. Hooligans use football as a means of driving their destructive ways into the heart of something pure. Extremists use religion to do the same. The poison currently being spread about Islam by Abu Hamza, bin Laden and others is a potentially fatal one. Only the antidote of accurate information will render its effects harmless. When we have this information, the messages about Islam will seem as nonsensical as the protestor’s life and death football argument. Know knowledge. No nonsense.
Do we know the affirmations regards Islam drilled into our minds by extremists are not taking the religion out of context, in the same way Mr Shankley’s words were above? Most of us could not claim to know about the essence of Islam. The Koran is believed by Muslims to be the actual word of God. The Holy Book warns that killing a single innocent individual is like killing all of humanity. God created humankind for the specific purpose of serving Him (51:56), and so the present life is cherished to the full. The call for Muslims to make martyrs of themselves by sacrificing their lives is fundamentally departed from the true essence of Islam. Knowledge of the spirit of Islam exposes the likes of Osama as laden by hatred and intolerance; the antithesis of the religion they claim to espouse. Tony Blair, in a letter to the Muslim media, said about bin Laden, “Let nobody believe this is about religious faith, when in the pursuit of his goals he has been willing to murder innocent women and children, including Muslims.” The motive for terrorism is destruction and not doctrine, corruption and not creed, hatred and not love.
Robert Green Ingersoll said, “Religion has not civilized man, man has civilized religion.” The essence of religion is pure and unifying. The nine major faiths in Britain have different practices, and religious symbols, as football teams have different strips. However, they are all bound by the morals that every civilized person would claim as their own. Non-violence, care and compassion, respect, forgiveness, faith and community are common themes underpinning all the religious faiths in Britain. Practices that are contrary to these central values are not attributable to religion. People cause war. Not religion. The responsibility for violence lies with humanity, and not the masks we use to cover our prejudiced ways. Relationships grounded in respect, expressed with understanding, and motivated by the desire to co-exist in peace, will represent the weapons of mass instruction that will ultimately prevail in the war against terror.
Feb 2003
The Jesus Speaks
Hey everyone, I just wanted to come and say hey, and also to link you to some cool ass places on teh Intarweb. I gotta say Hi to everyone of course. Hey you, and hey you. Anyway, I do have to link some of these sites. MacHall / Sinfest / Real Life / It's Walky
Aight, Till next time, Aint nobody dope as me
Feb 2003
Mood: Happy and tired
Wearing: A black sleeveless shirt, navy blue hoodie, and jeans
Listening to: My lil bro playing Grand Theft Auto Vice City
Awww... my baby's 20th birthday was yesterday!!! *sniff* *sniff*. I am sooo happy for my babe... he finally reached the bigg 2-0!!! lolz. Shyttt.. my young azz... haha I am not even 18... that's bad... =| And hes 20... ahhh. Oh wellz, who carez... I till love mi amor... *muahzz* babe.... Te Amo!!!
Anywayz, atleast we got only a 4 day week this week. Since yesterday was presidents day we didn't have no school. So that means now theres less days until Friday.... =P less days till the partying starts... lolz. I am definitely going to have fun this weekend. Too bad I wont be able to see my babe though... =*( I wish I could see him everyday. *sniff* *sniff* Damn, I talk and think boutz my babe alot... that's only cuz I love him... hehez.
Wellz, I am bout to end this shytt... I need to go to Wal-Mart with my mommie... I need to get a few things. Also I need to get started on my homework. Imma pass watch... Imma graduate juss like my babe did. Imma be smart jus like him ((hehez)) juss watch... I been trying and Imma do it!! lolz. Wellz, I am uppz n outtz. <3 La Sad Eyez
Feb 2003
Hi..here my first page
Just testing the blog..
Feb 2003
Questions on comments
I'm helping a friend of mine with her blog. When she signed up, it seems there was a problem with her template (the original weblog one). If someone would make a comment in her blog, it would show up, not only under comments but in the main body of her blog. Please check out From under the Leaves and you'll see what I'm talking about.
My question is,...how do we change it so comments won't show in the main body of her blog...but only under comments where they belong???? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Check these out..Mainly anti-Corprate, Leftist Radical things..
Crimethinc.net
Ad Busters
A forum for Punks from CT
thats it for now.. im on cold medicine, and i cant think
-IP
Feb 2003
rookie question
Where in the template can you change the "edit" and "# comment" colors? Thanks in advance!
Feb 2003
PEACE
When the people of Iraq open their windows, they see the mightiest armed warmongers in world with the best weapon technology surrounding their house. These are the culprits that had bombed Japan, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Libya and several other countries. Soon weapons of mass destruction will be dropped on the Iraqis who allegedly hide weapon of mass destruction. How ironic. The real motive of this war is greed. Businesses have lobbied the goverment of US to bomb Iraq so that they can make more money with the oil underneath the Iraqi soil.
I can do nothing to stop the war and promote peace except I'll boycott all capitalist icons of the mighty US. These are the luxury things I will not buy:
Levis: Now I wear Pagoda, made in China.
McDonald: I just buy toys at the toys shop.
KFC: I just eat chicken at the stall
Estee Lauders: I don't wear make up.
All Hollywood Movies: The pirated VCDs are viewable.
Shell Gas: The are always other gas stations
(This list will grow as the war progresses)
I know these businesses might not involve in starting the war but they are guilty by not doing enough to stop the war. Join me in pressuring the giant companies to lobby for PEACE in the world. Share with me your efforts to promote peace.
Feb 2003
mu
mu
Nýja flotta síðan mín.
Þetta er nýja flotta síðan mín sem er samt enn í byggingu.
Hit and Run
I know one isnt supposed to do this but i am, anyway...
Planarchy is a brilliant little tool for publishing to a news/blog on the web. If you dont have your own webspace, we::blog is damn good, but if you do, get planarchy. You wont be sorry...and, like we::blog, its free.
Feb 2003
Prejudice and Scripture (comments requested)
Please email your comments to jackiewill@myexcel.com.
Thank you!
"Christians often hesitate to reach out to those who are different," according to Cymbala. "They want God to clean the fish before they catch them." -Pastor Cymbala
Who Are Our Brothers And Sisters?
Scripture: For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. Matthew 12:50
Question: Do we view Christians of other races and ethics groups as our brothers and sisters?
Loving Our Neighbors As Self
Scripture: "Teacher," he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"…He answered: "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, "Love your neighbor as yourself.’" Luke 10:25-29
Question: Who are our neighbors and how do we love them?
Book Suggestion: Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Pastor Cymbala. A review of the book states, "Twenty-five years ago, the Brooklyn Tabernacle could barely draw 26 people to a Sunday service. Nowadays the congregation is 6,000 strong--filled with converted prostitutes, pimps, drug addicts, and homeless people, as well as yuppies and wholesome families. Although he's quick to give God credit for this miraculous success story, Cymbala admits that there may be a few human decisions that led to this Christian triumph. Most significantly, he made sure his church community embraced everyone, from all walks of life--no matter how distasteful or foreign. "Christians often hesitate to reach out to those who are different," according to Cymbala. "They want God to clean the fish before they catch them. If someone's gold ring is attached to an unusual body part, if the person doesn't smell the best or the skin color is not the same, Christians tend to hesitate." Thus, Cymbala encouraged his congregation to adopt the very same tolerant and accepting attitude as their God does. The results? Let's just say a church thrives in Brooklyn."
Parable Of The Good Samaritan
Scripture: See Luke 10:30-37. Jesus tells this parable in response to the question "who is my neighbor?. After reading the scripture consider the following.
Consider:
The person Jesus was speaking with sought to limit the scope of his responsibility to others. "He wanted to justify himself" verse 29
The Samaritans the lawyer felt entitled to disenfranchise are the people Jesus uses to reveal the lawyer’s limited and incorrect thinking.
Jesus does not answer the question who is my neighbor in this story. Instead Jesus forces the lawyer to pick the Samaritan over two religious Jews, as the person God wants the lawyer to imitate.
The Lesson: We have a responsibility to ALL people, not just those who are like us. We even have a responsibility to our enemies.
Loving People Who Don’t Love Us?
Scripture: If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? Matthew 5:46
Questions: Are we willing to love those who are different from us or people who dislike us? Does the racial or economic make-up of a church reflect its level of commitment to loving neighbors and viewing Christians of all backgrounds as brothers and sisters?
How Do We To Treat The Less Fortunate?
Scripture: Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. "They also will answer , ‘Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’"He will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Matthew 25:40-45
Thoughts and Question: By neglecting those less fortunate Jesus says we neglect him. By helping those less fortunate we have helped him. As Christians how can we neglect Christ?
God’s Will Or Ours?
Scripture: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb! Revelation 7:9.
Questions: In the Lord’s Prayer we agree to submit to God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. What does Revelation 7:9 tell us about how heaven looks? It is a place of many nations in living equality.
How Much Love?
Scripture: And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman…And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them (Miriam and Aaron); and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. Numbers 12:1, 9-10
Thoughts and Questions: The fear of interracial marriage seems to be central to keeping people and churches from welcoming and embracing other races. Is there any scripture which speaks against marrying people racially different? Or, is this a cultural/secular tradition? If there is no scripture which speaks against it, why do some Christians cling to unbiblical traditions and condemn these relationships? Why not choose Jesus over "cultural Christianity" (Christianity driven by cultural and secular traditions rather than scripture.). If we put cultural and secular traditions ahead of God’s word, who is our Lord and master? Secular society and cultural traditions or Jesus?
Imitating Christ
Scripture: The prophet Isaiah said that Jesus would "proclaim justice to all the nations."
Thoughts and Questions: To be a Christian is to be an imitator of Christ. Our Daily Bread of January 20th, 2003 (MLK Day) asks: How does our response to injustice strengthen or weaken our witness for Christ? How is prejudice (see definition of prejudice, racism and discrimination below) related to injustice?
Reflect on this passage by Frederick Douglas written in 1845. Frederick Douglas, a former slave who achieved his freedom in 1845, writes this about our faith in his day. "I love the pure, peacable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of al misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels...I am filled with unutterable loathing when I contemplate the religious pomp and show, together with the horrible inconsistencies, which every where surround me. We have men-stealers for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries, and cradle-plunderers for church members...He who sells my sister, for purposes of prostitution, stands forth as the pious advocate of purity.....We see the thief preaching against theft, and the adulterer against adultery....The dealers in the bodies and souls of men erect their stand in the precense of the pulpit, and they mutually help each other. The dealer gives his bloodstained gold to support the pulpit, and the pulpit, in return, covers his infernal business with the garb of Christianity...Dark and terrible as is this picture, I hold it to be strictly true of the overwhelming mass of professed Christians in America."
Further Thoughts and Questions
Neighborhoods may not be diverse. This has an impact on the diversity present in some churches. How can a church reach out to Christians not in their neighborhood to foster a more diverse congregation? People of different backgrounds have different music and styles of worship. If neither group is interested in change, how can they worship together? Which group sacrifices their music and worship style? Can music and worship style be secondary to reaching people with the Gospel?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Definitions: "Racism [is the] abuse of power by a racial group that is more powerful than another group and the abuse of that advantage to exclude, demean, damage, control or destroy the less powerful group; a belief that some races are by nature superior to others; racial discrimination based on such belief. Racism confers benefits upon the dominant group that include psychological feelings of superiority, social privilege, economic position, or political power. Prejudice – a judgement or opinion about others, made before one has the facts. Discrimination – any kind of action taken to deprive members of a certain group or person of their civil rights."
"The essence of racism is prejudice coupled with power. It is rooted in the sin of pride ad exclusivity which assumes “that I and my kind are superior to others and therefore deserve special privileges.” In our religious tradition the people of the covenant have frequently expressed this attitude. Often we have been challenged by prophetic witness to turn from a life of privilege to a vocation of responsibility and moral rectitude. Jesus, in his time, clearly called the people of God to lives of discipleship and servanthood without boundaries of race or class."
"Racism perpetuates a basic untruth which claims the superiority of one group of people over others because of the color of their skin, their cultural history, their tribal affiliation, or their ethnic identity. This lie distorts the biblical understanding of God’s action in creation, wherein al
Feb 2003
gack...
gack!... where are the reallie reallie nice blogs?!?!!?... >.<.... i wanted to see what some people did with their blogs n stuff... but i dunno where to start looking... hmph... is there a clique?... n if there isnt... mebbe ill start one... he he... ^^...
Feb 2003
About the Archives
I'm confused. On my blog (which I started at the beginning of January) there are all the posts I've made so far. Aren't some of the older posts supposed to go to the archives at some point? Or does the page just keep getting longer and longer? Please let me know about what happens! Thanks!