Why the Anti-Gay Movement Failed

Recently I’ve heard some talk comparing and contrasting the anti-abortion and anti-homosexual movements. As I understand it, some people at least feel that the anti-abortion movement has quietly been gaining ground, while the anti-homosexual movement has very quickly lost a lot of support. People have been asking “Why is this?” and sometimes “What can the anti-homosexual movement learn from the anti-abortion movement?”

I get somewhat frustrated when I’ve heard people involved in politics and elections analyze them only in terms of how they prepared for and managed the election. It makes it sound like it’s all a game, with the winner determined by who prepared their team better and who had a better game plan. Sorely missing from these Continue reading →

Traditional Marriage Traditional?

A while ago I thought about how we don’t get to choose our families. We’re born into a family and we’re basically stuck with them (in most cases). But there is one family relationship which is different: marriage. Marriage is the creation of a new family. (Note: I’m not specifically thinking of children here as many do when referring to family, though of course they may be included later on.) That’s why “a man shall leave his father and mother” (Genesis 2:24). He is leaving the family in which he was raised in order to start his own family. As I believe most of my readers will be aware, the majority of marriages outside of modern Western culture have been arranged by families. Even when those entering the marriage have some input, in many Continue reading →

In Honor of Men

Men receive a lot of criticism, both from women as well as other men. Some criticism is deserved; there are certainly men who are making poor, hurtful, irresponsible, and/or immature choices. But it seems that the criticism often isn’t counter-balanced with honor for good men (unless you’re a soldier or firefighter or the like). “I’ve often noticed that sermons on Mothers Day tend to gush over moms, while on Fathers Day they tell dads to shape up.” I haven’t paid a lot of attention to this, but I do have the impression that the church tends to be critical of men.

Today I want to honor men. I want to honor all of the men who are doing their best through the monotony of every day life. They love their wife and kids and do their best to Continue reading →

Shrewd as Snakes: Holiness vs. Love

I really resonated with a video Dale Fincher recently shared on his blog. I feel like he captures a lot of what I try to communicate on my blog. I don’t believe I was ever really in fundamentalist circles, but I have been in the neo-reformed type of groups Dale mentioned, and most of my religious background has been either there or in similar organizations.

I especially liked what Dale says about love vs. “holiness”. In my experience, the word “holiness” hasn’t been used much, but still the focus has been on morality, not sinning, and keeping up appearances. If you understand this as my background, I would guess it would make more sense why I say the things I do and emphasize the importance of love (properly understood). I also like how Continue reading →

Act Like Men

There is a conference traveling around which happens to be in Indianapolis this weekend. It’s called Act Like Men. What does it mean to “Act Like Men”? What does a good Christian man act like? According to some Christians including at least one of the main speakers at this conference, being a good Christian man involves, among other things, drinking beer, eating meat, and ruling over leading women. In other words, they have taken our American macho-man stereotype and blessed it as God’s holy will. (Note: I am not intending this to be a critique of the conference itself since I have not attended it. I am using it as a jumping off point to critique some ideas I’ve encountered.)

Another similar problem is how some people have taken traits Continue reading →

The Bible and Homosexuality

Recently, Rachel Held Evans shared a video on her blog in which a young man, Matthew Vines, addresses all of the passages in the Bible regarding homosexuality. He attempts to argue that the Bible isn’t against committed homosexual relationships. I wanted to take a moment and respond with my thoughts. (I assume that you either watched the video or are familiar with the arguments; I don’t take time to fully explain each point below.)

  1. Sodom – Vines quotes Ezekiel 16:49, where God states: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” (NIV). Continue reading →

Start with Theology or Life?

I love this recent post from Kathy Escobar. For me, she captures one of the things I’ve been trying to express for years: why I don’t like “abstract theology”. I obviously have an interest in theology, but I hate when preachers and other Christians just emphasize their systems and doctrines. It seems so detached from real life. I don’t think God is a formula. I think that God is much less interested in our theologies (which can’t all be wholly accurate no matter what people claim) and is much more interested in our lives, comforting us, celebrating with us, and in how we treat others.

Here are a couple of quotes from the article:

Do You Know What’s In the Bible?

Where are these popular phrases found in the Bible (if at all)? Do you know?

  1. Love the sinner, hate the sin.
  2. Money is the root of all evil.
  3. Be in the world but not of it.
  4. Once saved, always saved.
  5. Spare the rod, spoil the child.
  6. God helps those who help themselves.
  7. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
  8. This too shall pass.
  9. God works in mysterious ways.
  10. Pride comes before the fall.
  11. God will never give you more than you can bear.
  12. A penny saved is a penny earned.

photo credit: Ryk Neethling via photopin cc

Shrewd as Snakes: Spiritual Abuse 2

Dale Fincher is currently doing a series on spiritual abuse on his blog. (In fact, his whole blog may be about spiritual abuse—I’m not sure.) He talks mainly about his own experiences. I admit, this isn’t something I like to talk about for several reasons. First, I generally try to stay away from speaking negatively about anyone specifically. Second, spiritual abuse can be a complicated subject. Third, people who have been hurt by this can be quite bitter. While rightly angry, it can be challenging to listen to, especially when trying to stay away from bashing others, as mentioned in point one.

Nevertheless, I think it is an important subject to address. It’s part of the idea behind this series, “Shrewd as Snakes”. As I mentioned Continue reading →

Seeing the Beauty in Others

Jonalyn Grace Fincher created a video inspired by my recent post, “Respect Women, But…“. How cool is that? Jonalyn shares many good thoughts regarding seeing people and looking for a person’s true beauty beyond the surface. I am honored that she took the time to do this. Watch the video and see what Jonalyn has to say here. After that you may want to check out and support Jonalyn and her husband’s organization Soulation.

A few thoughts on what she discusses: I have recognized that I find some people more attractive than others, and that naturally I am more drawn to those people. I have chosen not to worry too much about this, not worrying if I am treating everyone the same. After all, attraction is natural and I don’t feel like I Continue reading →