Quote of Note: Abraham

Many people speak of unconditional love but rarely live it. Instead, when they see a condition that causes them to feel negative emotions, they demand a change in the condition; but in doing so, they set themselves on a long and uncomfortable path of attempting to control others in order to feel good.

When controlling others is necessary in order for you to feel good, you must confine yourself to a very small world over which you can gain control, and then you must give more time and energy than you possess to this impossible effort.

–The Teachings of Abraham in the book The Astonishing Power of Emotions by Esther and Jerry Hicks

Neo-Conservatives/Christ-Cons may not be the only who “attempt to control others in order to feel good,” but they’ve certainly been the most visible. They’ve been losing the Culture Wars for decades by refusing to recognize the truth in the statements above. Until they replace their dogged determination to control with completely unconditional love, they will continue to experience anger, sorrow, and fear as they watch the world progress beyond their subjective views of morality.

Women will never lose the right to choose. State legislatures will continue to recognize equal rights for lesbians and gays. The world will never work exactly how the Neo-Cons think it should (thank God). When they accept these things and recognize that the doctrine they follow is just as fallible as they are, maybe then they’ll emerge from their “very small worlds” and turn their focus to living their own lives.

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Keep your religion off my body, please

Iowa is now the third state in the U.S. to affirm the basic human dignity of committed lesbian and gay couples by recognizing their right to marry. Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark Cady deserves commendation at the highest level for recognizing and acting upon the need to strengthen the separation between church and state.

The beauty and sanctity of religion is diminished when it’s used to hurt people. Until they “get” this, evangelical Christians will continue to witness an exodus from their ranks and the crumbling of their antiquated institution.

How would Jesus feel about these signs? Would he agree they further his messages of love, charity, and forgiveness? I doubt it, somehow.

Source: The Des Moines Register

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Christianity and the “Homosexual Agenda”

Early Christians: “The earth is the center of the universe, because the Bible says so.”

Copernicus and Galileo: “No it isn’t.”

Early Christians: “The Earth is flat because the Bible says so.”

Copernicus and Galileo: “No it isn’t.”

Some modern Christians: “Homosexuality is a sin because the Bible says so.”

The “Homosexual Agenda”: “No, it isn’t.”

Fundamentalist Christians obviously have a bad track record when it comes to interpreting Scripture. The examples above and the parable below illustrate how inaccurate information causes them to make (and defend) assertions devoid of rational thought and compassion.

A fish has no idea of what life is like for a bird. She observes the bird nesting in a tree and thinks, “Why would he choose to live there, instead of in the water?” Her lack of understanding leads her to decide that the bird is wrong for living in a tree, (even though it’s impossible for him to breathe underwater), and she tells him so. She goes on to say how he’s going to die if he doesn’t accept the water as his one and only home. When the bird replies that living in the tree is his only choice, the fish then responds, “You’re endangering the other fish by pushing your tree-dwelling agenda!” But like many fish, she has mistaken her perception for the truth.

The bird is just trying to live his life. He has no agenda. It was the fish who brought this battle to him, not the other way around. There have been “birds” in every culture and in every kingdom of nature since the dawn of time. It is no more a choice for the bird to live in a tree than it is for the fish to live in the water.

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How Unitarianism could save Christianity

 

The walls of Evangelical Christianity are crumbling, and have been for several decades. It’s always astounded me how some Christians blame the queers and unwed mothers for this instead of their own doctrines, which seem completely devoid of the love Jesus lived and taught. Saddling followers with fear, judgement, and guilt is not the way to keep them coming back.

A recent study in The Christian Post shows just how far the disintegration has advanced. The following passages jumped out at me:

Only 16 percent of non-Christians aged 16 to 29 years old said they have a “good impression” of Christianity

Only 3 percent of 16- to 29-year-olds who are not of the Christian faith express favorable views of evangelicals. In the previous generation, 25 percent of young people had positive associations toward evangelicals.

Common negative perceptions among non-Christians is that present-day Christianity is judgmental (87 percent), hypocritical (85 percent), old-fashioned (78 percent), and too involved in politics (75 percent).

Even more telling was what Christians themselves said:

Half of young churchgoers said they perceive Christianity to be judgmental, hypocritical and too political. Also, one-third said it was old-fashioned and out of touch with reality.

…non-Christians and Christians explained that beyond their recognition that Christians oppose homosexuality, they believe that Christians show excessive contempt and unloving attitudes towards gays and lesbians.

Young Christians largely criticize the church, saying it has made homosexuality a “bigger sin” than anything else…

There can be no question that Christianity’s survival (especially in the West) depends on the willingness of its leaders to evolve. Perhaps these leaders could take a few queues from Unitarianism:

• The life and teachings of Jesus Christ is the exemplar model for living one’s own life.
• The works of the Bible are inspired by God, but were written and edited by humans and therefore subject to human error.
• No religion can claim an absolute monopoly on the Holy Spirit or theological truth.
• Reason, rational thought, science, and philosophy together with religion and faith are not mutually exclusive.
• Human nature in its present condition is neither inherently corrupt nor depraved, but capable of both good and evil, as God intended.
• All of creation is interconnected and should be respected.

The adoption of any of these points on a widespread scale (and I mean doing, not just preaching) could help restore credibility to the Church and keep people in the pews. But this won’t happen until most Christians let go of the need to be “right” and start living and teaching the love their religion is apparently based on. 

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The More You Know: Defining “Queer”

Did that word make you wince? It still causes me to twinge slightly when I read or say it. However because I recognize the importance of reclaiming this word in an effort to diminish its negative connotation, I offer the following. (This originally appeared in the post “Meeting Hecate.” I’m establishing it as a stand-alone post because I feel it detracted from the focus of the other article.)

“Queer” or “LGBT” (“lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered”) are labels used to describe anyone who has a sexual identity, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation that falls outside the dominant “norm.” Blackcat, High Priest of Seattle’s Sylvan Grove, wrote an article called “Thinking Outside the Gender Box” in which he offered the following explanations of each:

Gender identity, sexual identity and sexual orientation are terms used to further define one’s gender experience. These concepts are not synonymous, nor are they mutually exclusive. Gender identity can be defined as how one sees oneself socially: man, woman or a combination of both. A person may have female genitalia and for all intents and purposes appear female to others, yet still prefer to relate socially to others as a male. Sexual orientation relates to which gender one is erotically attracted to, either a different gender (hetero), the same gender (homo) or any gender (bi). Sexual identity relates to how an individual sees oneself physically. For example, an individual may be born male, yet see himself as a female person. Some with this life experience may elect to change their bodies through hormonal treatment and surgery to match their internal sense of self. A person may express any variation of each of these in any combination. To discourage the free expression of identity and orientation by an individual is to impose horrific and often insurmountable burdens of conformity. There is much information on this complex subject outside the scope of this article.  

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Meeting Hecate

I feel very fortunate to have recently connected with a group of queer Wiccans, Pagans, and Heathens. Because I just threw out four words that may cause a jolt to some of my readers, those so affected may follow the links below for definitions of each if they like.

• A post explaining the groups “queer” is used to describe can be found here. 
• Definitions of “Wiccan” and “Pagan” can be found here.
• I’m afraid I don’t know how to properly define “Heathen,” so I’ll refer interested readers to their favorite search engine.

Yesterday I was having a difficult time maintaining focus long enough to meditate. My mind kept wandering…and worrying. Suddenly I saw an image of an older woman with salt and pepper hair wearing a black cloak. She was walking toward me with a silver sickle in her left hand the shape of the last sliver of the waning moon. She wasn’t menacing or threatening in any way. Her face was wise but not haggard or wrinkle-ridden. She simply said, “All has come to a head. Now is the time to complete what you know you must.”

I had no idea who this woman was before last night – I guess I assumed she was a guide. I usually don’t share the details of my meditations with anyone, but felt safe doing so with the folks at the LGBT wiccan/pagan/heathen group I attended yesterday evening. Blackcat and his partner Jim were there and shared information on the goddess Hecate, whose appearance seems to coincide with the woman I saw and whose qualities matched the feelings I had when seeing Her. She seems to represent the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess, heralding transition – what must die to enable rebirth.

I came across this article when searching “goddess Hecate.” It provides a lot more detail on the Goddess than I have here.

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The seduction of judgment

Edit off.

Emotions are high…recently I’ve had bouts of anxiety rooted in uncertainty. Uncertainty about who I am and where I’m going. The last time I felt like this was when I was 19 and struggling with if and how to tell my parents I’m gay.

There aren’t many people…only one actually…I trust enough to ask for a psychic reading. I shared this with her while she was doing it, and she responded that it’s the same with many psychics…we don’t allow just anyone to give us readings. Not an elitist thing – just a trust thing. There are a lot of folks who have the gift but don’t know how to use it appropriately. Anyway, during my reading she told me “You come from judgment.” This is true, and when I’m struggling emotionally I’ve noticed how easily I fall into the old pattern of being extremely judgmental of myself and others.

It’s like a fetid balm – it smells terrible and the comfort it offers doesn’t last long. So I have to keep reapplying it, meanwhile spiraling down in a whirlpool of negativity.

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