depictions of god on this blog

Ah, yes. God is a man. Or at least, looks like a man.Those defaults that I've been taught all my life by the religious culture that I'm embedded in have really sunk in.

Until something shakes them up a bit:

There is a photo floating around Twitter depicting God the Father as a man with a beard.

— Broderick Greer (@BroderickGreer) May 27, 2016

It might seem like an innocuous tweet, but Broderick Greer is someone I pay attention to. And so after reading it, I thought to myself, oh, while I know that God is not a man with a beard, and while I have even depicted Jesus as a queer black female, I do sometimes depict God as a man with a beard.

how Gentiles almost ended up not being part of the body of Christ

And many years later, Peter and the other Jewish followers of Jesus might still be debating whether Gentiles could or should be part of the kingdom of God.

Remind anyone of our current times?

Churches and denominations dialogue and debate and chat and argue about if and how our LGBTQ+ siblings in Christ can and should be included in the church in a way equal to the way cishet Christians are included.

And while this is carried on by people whose lives it does not directly affect in any way, our siblings in Christ are often left outside the door or in the back pew....

[crossing the line]

In regard to plantations (see previous post), Bishop Flunder says,

It seems difficult in most cases, however, to cross the line from benevolent tolerance to full affirmation; to create a community of affectional orientation parity along with gender parity, class parity, and the like ...

What has occurred is a subculture of SGL [same gender loving] persons in the Christian community who are not necessarily condemned for being SGL, but who are also not given equal status with heterosexual persons in a heteronormative environment. SGL Christians are not often free to celebrate anniversaries, be close in public, or share a last name.

Bishop Yvette Flunder, in Where the Edge Gathers:

building a community of radical inclusion, pages 15-16

not ashamed but...

And how about publicly proclaiming that our lgbtq+ siblings are actually and actively welcome and embraced?

plantations...

I came across a fascinating article which in part said this:

White Christians without multi-ethnic experiences often have a white cultural vision for what it means to be a multi-ethnic church. Their mono-ethnic, predominantly white, and non-multi ethnic experiences will inevitably force them to see multi-ethnic church through the lens of their socially constructed whiteness.

Consequently, it will be easy for these Christians, lacking the necessary multi-ethnic and multi-cultural competence, to import their limited cultural vision onto ethnic minorities in the name of a multi-ethnic church, while genuinely thinking they’re pursuing racial reconciliation with their ethnic minority brothers and sisters in Christ.

How to avoid becoming an unhealthy, multi-ethnic church plantation

Jarvis Williams May 5, 2016

Source

This makes a lot of sense to me.

And then I wondered, how might this apply to our lgbtq+ siblings? Is there a similar dynamic? So I rewrote the paragraphs with that in mind:

Straight Christians without experiences of multiple gender and sexual realities often have a straight cisgender cultural vision for what it means to be a diverse and welcoming church. Their mono-sexual, predominantly heterosexual, and solely cisgender and gender binary experiences will inevitably result in them seeing a sexually-diverse and gender-diverse church through the lens of their socially constructed cisgender straightness.

Consequently, it will be easy for these Christians, lacking the necessary multi-sexuality and multi-gender identification competence, to import their limited cultural vision onto sexual and gender minorities in the name of a diverse and welcoming church, while genuinely thinking they’re pursuing reconciliation with their sexual and gender minority siblings in Christ.

The result will be predominantly straight cisgender churches with predominantly straight cisgender leadership seeking to conform sexual and gender minorities into the cultural idea of straightness and cisgenderedness instead of Spirit-empowered, multi-sexual, multi-gender, gospel-centered churches whose members are seeking to pursue reconciliation with one another regardless of sexual and gender differences, as the members put one another’s needs before their own and as they seek to listen to, learn from, and serve one another in love.

Is this what's happening in some progressive parishes and churches? Are they plantations where lgbtq+ people are welcome to fully be part of the existing order, but not embraced and celebrated for who they are?

first to the jew...

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Romans 1:16

if the apostle paul was like us...

If the Apostle Paul was like us... would Gentiles be part of the church?

things god forgot to put into the Bible (#5)

Would it have changed much if God had put that verse in the Bible? Would the world be a better place? Would we no longer have a history of centuries of cultural genocide of indigenous peoples, of colonization, of white supremacy?

I mean, Jesus himself said things like:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

(Matthew 5:43 - 48, NIV)

and yet look at the world around us and what people who call themselves Christians are saying and doing...

[trouble i've seen, by drew g.i. hart]

Just got Trouble I've Seen: Changing the way the church views racism for my birthday. Pretty amazing book and very readable.

"In this provocative book, theologian and blogger Drew G. I. Hart places police brutality, mass incarceration, antiblack stereotypes, poverty, and everyday acts of racism within the larger framework of white supremacy. Leading readers toward Jesus, Hart offers concrete practices for churches that seek solidarity with the oppressed and are committed to racial justice.

What if all Christians listened to the stories of those on the racialized margins? How might the church be changed by the trouble they've seen?"

(source: herald press)

Here's a key thought from chapter one:

I suggest directly and indirectly throughout this book that our very intuitions cannot be shaped in hierarchy and dominance, as were the postures of Caesar, Herod, and Pilate. Instead, we must come alongside the crucified of the world in solidarity, as Jesus himself did, so that we can have our minds renewed. Dominant cultural intuitions run contrary to Christ's way of knowing. The one taking on the form of Christ in the world does not take for granted the popular or dominant view of things. Rather, the person committed to Jesus follows him to the margins and cracks of society, entering into what I call "counterintuitive solidarity" with the oppressed.

(pages 28-29)

Read more about this book, including praise, a sample chapter, and a free study guide at the publisher's webpage.

things god forgot to put into the Bible (#4)

[we all believe in you]

A community for those struggling with mental illness developed by survivors of mental illness because... we all believe in you.

"We All Believe in You is a rapidly growing movement developed to de-stigmatize and  de-mistify mental illness. WABIY serves to put a face to a typically faceless struggle as many live in the shame and anonymity of their disease. It is the goal of WABIY to use art, honesty, education, and community  to abolish pre-existing ideas and beliefs about mental illness. And above all, for those that are struggling with mental illness to know that they are not alone and We All Believe in You."

(from the WABIY website)

Featured on:

CTV News

http://www.weallbelieveinyou.com/

things god forgot to put in the Bible (#3)

(inspired by a comment made by a nine-year-old)

Loading dishwashers is one of those things in life. There are people who load them willy-nilly and there are the people who load them the right way.

Of course, my right way of loading a dishwasher is not the same as your "right way" of loading the dishwasher. In fact, your way of loading the dishwasher is barely acceptable. And then there's my colleague who does an absolutely abominable job of loading the dishwasher in the staff kitchen!

And people wonder why I'm stressed out at work. Imagine how God feels when he sees all of this!

On a more serious note, have you ever heard anyone say, "God loves straight people but not what they do..."?

guess...

I sent an email to a pastor a few months ago, asking if lgbtq+people are welcome in their church and got an amazing reply, which I read during my break at work.

Later that evening while doing housework, I was thinking further about the reply and realized that I couldn't remember if the pastor had indicated what they believe about same-sex marriage.

That rather puzzled me. When I later checked the email, it turns out they had made one off-hand remark about it.

Now I'm going to ask you to read the email, edited only to remove identifying details and the one specific sentence that offhandedly indicated a specific theological belief.

Based on the pastor's reply, can you guess what theological beliefs are held about same-sex marriage?

things god forgot to put into the Bible (#2)

things god forgot to put into the Bible (#1)