I’m Back
Posted: March 3rd, 2010 under blog post.
So, pretty much none of my New Year's Resolutions have been kept. Especially not the one to update this blog more. Oh, well. There's not much to tell anyway. I haven't been writing anything new, concentrating instead on editing old stuff. Or thinking about editing old stuff, to be more precise. I totally INTEND to edit my old works. I just never actually seem to get around to it. I think I have the winter blahs (technical term). It's not a good thing since winter up here lasts about 5 months.
?
Also, there's all this anti-gay nonsense at my church. My former church now, I guess. They voted to leave the ELCA because it decided to allow gays in committed relationships to be pastors. Like they're humans with equal rights or something. The nerve! Of course, all our pastors made it clear that they totally LOVE and ACCEPT all members, regardless of their sexuality. They just don't think they should be allowed to do more than sit quietly in the back of the church.
The vote was a couple weeks ago and we had to sit through 30 minutes of discussion first. In which--I kid you not--people got up to talk about how a SUBVERSIVE MINORITY had taken control of the ELCA leadership and passed this resolution (by a majority vote....) and some woman came up carrying her child and warned how if they allowed gay pastors, their children would start wondering if it was okay to be gay. THINK OF THE CHILDREN! I sat way in the back with my parents and totally MST3Ked the thing just to keep my sanity. I got a dirty look from some woman in front of me after a while. I think it was right around the time one of the pastors got up and talked about how it would still be a welcoming church and blah, blah, blah and I started muttering "except if you're gay" after every statement.
There's 90 days of discussion before we take a second vote to actually leave the ELCA. Or they do. The first one passed 200+ to 50, so I'm betting the second one will pass. I did plan to speak. I went through and picked out some other parts of Leviticus and other chapters that we seem to ignore without any uproar from conservative pastors. But, honestly, I think I'd be wasting my breath. Any church where a pastor stands up and speaks out AGAINST tolerance just isn't worth my time. Seriously, he said he heard someone say that in a few years the church would be just as tolerant as the rest of the world. And this worried him. It would be a VERY BAD THING if the church caved to social pressures and started accepting everyone (without forcing them to pretend they're straight).
Anyway, if you're curious, here are some of the verses I picked out, dealing with female pastors, a woman's place, and handicapped people:
Female Pastors:
1 Corinthians 14:34-36
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
1 Timothy 2:11-15
Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing.
(My old church has a female pastor.)
Woman/Wife's Place
1 Corinthians 11:3
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Ephesians 5:22-24
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
(Plus there's all that stuff about women are inherently sinful because we ate the apple and Adam didn't. And childbearing is our punishment. Yep. Bible says that.)
Handicaps
Lev.21:17-23_
Whosoever ... hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. ... Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries.
(We don't put them to death or anything, they just aren't allowed to enter the church.)
That's leaving out all the stuff about how all dark skinned people are the descendants of Ham and slavery is their rightful punishment for being descended from him. We only get about 2 minutes to talk and for all I know a good portion of the congregation are racists, so I figured they might not get my point.
As you might have guessed, the previously discussed ignorance wall is down. For the moment anyway. We'll see how my blood pressure's doing at my next checkup. In celebration, I bring to you some illustrations of Why I'm Sad for America:
Of course, the marriage map is outdated since they voted to repeal the gay marriage law in Massachusetts. First cousins can still marry, though. So, there's that.
?
Also, there's all this anti-gay nonsense at my church. My former church now, I guess. They voted to leave the ELCA because it decided to allow gays in committed relationships to be pastors. Like they're humans with equal rights or something. The nerve! Of course, all our pastors made it clear that they totally LOVE and ACCEPT all members, regardless of their sexuality. They just don't think they should be allowed to do more than sit quietly in the back of the church.
The vote was a couple weeks ago and we had to sit through 30 minutes of discussion first. In which--I kid you not--people got up to talk about how a SUBVERSIVE MINORITY had taken control of the ELCA leadership and passed this resolution (by a majority vote....) and some woman came up carrying her child and warned how if they allowed gay pastors, their children would start wondering if it was okay to be gay. THINK OF THE CHILDREN! I sat way in the back with my parents and totally MST3Ked the thing just to keep my sanity. I got a dirty look from some woman in front of me after a while. I think it was right around the time one of the pastors got up and talked about how it would still be a welcoming church and blah, blah, blah and I started muttering "except if you're gay" after every statement.
There's 90 days of discussion before we take a second vote to actually leave the ELCA. Or they do. The first one passed 200+ to 50, so I'm betting the second one will pass. I did plan to speak. I went through and picked out some other parts of Leviticus and other chapters that we seem to ignore without any uproar from conservative pastors. But, honestly, I think I'd be wasting my breath. Any church where a pastor stands up and speaks out AGAINST tolerance just isn't worth my time. Seriously, he said he heard someone say that in a few years the church would be just as tolerant as the rest of the world. And this worried him. It would be a VERY BAD THING if the church caved to social pressures and started accepting everyone (without forcing them to pretend they're straight).
Anyway, if you're curious, here are some of the verses I picked out, dealing with female pastors, a woman's place, and handicapped people:
Female Pastors:
1 Corinthians 14:34-36
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
1 Timothy 2:11-15
Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing.
(My old church has a female pastor.)
Woman/Wife's Place
1 Corinthians 11:3
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Ephesians 5:22-24
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
(Plus there's all that stuff about women are inherently sinful because we ate the apple and Adam didn't. And childbearing is our punishment. Yep. Bible says that.)
Handicaps
Lev.21:17-23_
Whosoever ... hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. ... Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries.
(We don't put them to death or anything, they just aren't allowed to enter the church.)
That's leaving out all the stuff about how all dark skinned people are the descendants of Ham and slavery is their rightful punishment for being descended from him. We only get about 2 minutes to talk and for all I know a good portion of the congregation are racists, so I figured they might not get my point.
As you might have guessed, the previously discussed ignorance wall is down. For the moment anyway. We'll see how my blood pressure's doing at my next checkup. In celebration, I bring to you some illustrations of Why I'm Sad for America:
Of course, the marriage map is outdated since they voted to repeal the gay marriage law in Massachusetts. First cousins can still marry, though. So, there's that.