Posts Tagged ‘Conservative Religious Groups’
The Radical Reversal
The recent news that World Vision USA had decided to honor marriages in all forms—between those of opposite genders and those of the same gender—had many within progressive circles of faith elated. I was one who believed that their decision was prophetic in nature, and that by taking this stand, they were saying to same-gendered…
Read MorePraying For Our Enemies
I remember the first time I heard the name Fred Phelps. Five days before I turned sixteen, Matthew Shepard was brutally attacked in Laramie, Wyoming. One day after I turned sixteen, Matthew Shepard died. Like many of you around the country, I was glued to the news reports. Enter: Fred Phelps. The first I heard of…
Read More“We’re Nothing Like Fred Phelps”: An Excuse That Can No Longer Be Used
“As a pastor who has served a church where Fred Phelps protested, I have experienced the vitriol he spewed throughout his life. But if my tradition has taught me anything, it has taught me the power of forgiveness. May his funeral be filled with signs that read ‘you are a beloved creature of worth;’ may…
Read MoreA Prayer For Fred Phelps
In the wake of news that Fred Phelps—famed for picketing funerals with signs of hatred toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people—died, I want to take this opportunity to release this statement of prayer for Fred Phelps and his family. Members of the Metropolitan Community Churches do not celebrate the death of Fred Phelps.…
Read MoreWhy I Might Not Get Confirmed In The Catholic Church
I have not yet gone through confirmation in the Catholic Church. There is a high chance that I will eventually, but I haven’t right now. In the Catholic Church, it is around this time that kids around my age get confirmed through their own free will or with their parents dangling college tuition money over…
Read MoreBuilding Safer Spaces For Our Transgender Youth
When I was in high school in rural North Carolina, I wasn’t very out. It was the early days of what you might call online social connection. I set up dummy email addresses to create secret identities on usenet forums where I tried to figure out what it meant to be transgender. I had friends…
Read MoreMy Christian College Censored My Alumni Update
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8) When I was asked at the start of last spring semester whether I would be interested in assisting on research for an amicus brief…
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