Even Amid Controversy, “My Soul Still Sings,” Says UMC’s First Lesbian Bishop
The first out lesbian bishop consecrated by the United Methodist Church has long known that…
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On National Coming Out Day, Many Still Can’t Afford the Luxury
Rolling Stone lights the way.
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“Split at the Root”: Adrienne Rich and (Religious) Identity
Rich’s approach to her religious identity was of a piece with her approach to every aspect of her identity. For Rich, any identity worth achieving involved struggle and resistance—be it national identity (“a patriot is one who wrestles for the / soul of her country / as she wrestles for her own being”), gender identity (“A thinking woman sleeps with monsters. / The beak that grips her, she becomes.”), or the committed poet’s identity (“She cannot teach the end of bonds; but she can refuse to justify, accord with, ignore their existence”).
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Communion or Disunion?
The egregious breach of decency that led a Catholic parish priest to deny communion to a lesbian woman at her mother’s funeral has received widespread and well-deserved condemnation. Even the Archdiocese of Washington DC admitted that the priest had violated their policy.
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Lesbian Nuns: Still Immodest After All These Years
In 1986, Judith C. Brown published a book about Renaissance Italy called Immodest Acts. It was reviewed in the New York Times, The Nation, and the San Francisco Chronicle, not to mention many scholarly venues. Why? Perhaps because the subtitle of the book was The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy.
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A Matter of the Heart: Talking to Gay Christian Rocker Jennifer Knapp
Knapp: I’m a relative newcomer to this public discourse. It’s nice when other artists say, “Listen, just doing your art is important.” I’ve had positive conversations with people in the Christian music industry as well. I have a long history with so many of them, and it’s been nice to reconnect. I’ve received a lot of encouragement from people who just really understand the importance of genuine relationships based on compassion and grace.
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Should Gays and Lesbians Argue Scripture? A Dialogue
Recently, on The Huffington Post, Rev. Chellew-Hodge suggested that gays and lesbians should never argue Scripture—in particular, the half dozen “clobber verses” that some people interpret against gays. Why? Because nobody wins, everyone’s opinion hardens, and we talk past each other, because gays and lesbians are usually not biblical literalists, while our opponents usually are. Chellew-Hodge’s suggestion sounds wise, but I want to respectfully disagree with it.
Read MoreRight Wing Disputes Lesbian Motherhood Research
But by airing its anti-gay claims, CNN does not achieve “balance.”
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Lesbian Panic Reaches Apogee With Kagan Rumors
Bizarre rumblings from the right about SCOTUS nominee Elena Kagan remind us that religion, politics, and sexuality are an inharmonious blend. Add education (think lesbian teachers) and you get full-on cacophony.
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Beyond Radical: Mary Daly, Feminist Theologian, Changed Worlds
Mary Daly, who passed away this Sunday, January 3, at 81-years-old, was among feminism’s strongest prophetic voices—an enormously influential, and controversial, iconoclast.
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