scripture

Sexuality/Gender

Who Would Jesus Bully?

By

In a move not widely reported outside of Michigan, the Michigan State Senate passed the country’s first pro-bullying bill on November 2. At first, it was an anti-bullying measure not unlike the laws passed in many other states. But under the perverse influence of a few far-right opportunists, legislators led by State Senator Rick Jones (R, of course) became convinced that the law would somehow persecute those noble enforcers of Christian—I’m sorry, “Judeo-Christian”—values in our nation’s high schools: bullies.

Read More
Sexuality/Gender

Should Gays and Lesbians Argue Scripture? A Dialogue

By

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 More
Politics/Law

Congress Reads the Constitution, Tea Party-Style

By

The Tea Party-inspired constitutional recitation of January 6 immediately ran into the problems any fundamentalism has with sacred scripture: what do you do with the parts that speak to the original intent of an entirely different era—stoning adulterers, casting down fire on one’s enemies, selling all one’s possessions and giving to the poor, requiring the return of runaway slaves, and counting slaves as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of taxation and representation?

Read More