Some Passions

[liralen]

Here's a very thoughtful article from a UCC-related theological school in Chicago about why they object to The Gospel According to Mel. I found it very enlightening, and will probably keep my voting dollars well out of Mel's kitty.

I don't need any nightmares, anyway.

The other religious-related thing was having Anne, my pastor, stand up in front of everyone and tell everyone that it was a simple matter of social justice to support, help, and encourage same sex marriages. That it was in the same spirit of social justice that had Congregationalists helping out the mutinying Africans on the Amistad, helping working out social injustices with the relatively newer wave of Hispanic people, working for equitable treatment of women, and working on any and all civil rights issues. That it is the duty and responsibility of the followers of Jesus to do what's equitable and go to the effort to make real justice in the world.

I totally agree with her, but it still... surprised me? I don't know. There's some weird thing in the backbone of my 'understanding' of Christianity that says that all Christians are stupid where homosexuality is concerned. Eventhough I'm 'not', and everyone I know in my Open and Affirming church has publically expressed support and in actions every day work specifically towards acceptance of all folks of all orientations. It still never really hit me the same way it did today, that these are a group of people actively working for what I believe is RIGHT and that they simply think of it in terms of social justice for all. Not justice in terms of 'that's not fair!', but justice in terms of, 'here, I can do something to fix this, let me DO something constructive'.

I am mildly ashamed to know that I never really thought of it that way, but it seems so real and solid, now. It's the kind of passion I really can follow.

Comments

[agrimony.livejournal.com]

I think that Christians of all flavors (even Catholics) get painted with the wide brush of the attitudes and actions of the vocal 'minority'. I put minority in quotes because I'm not entirely sure that the evangelical, fundamentalist Protestants are actually a minority of Christians. I certainly hope that they are, because I much prefer Christians who are willing to accept that there are different people in the world with different beliefs and that those people do not deserve to be punished for being different.

But I do think that the loudest, most extreme members of Christianity are the ones who form the image of all the rest, sadly.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It's odd, though, when it involves part of my self-image...

But, yeah, I agree, it's the voraciously vocal folks that shape other people's understanding of the group.