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Sunday, October 9, 2022
Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - October 9, 2022 💌
Saturday, October 8, 2022
Via White Crane Institute // Rev. Nancy Wilson, Our Tribe: Queer Folks, God, Jesus and the Bible
Today's Gay Wisdom
2017 -
"In such a toxic environment, the poor, the minorities, and the politically vulnerable populations will be the first to exhibit signs and symptoms of the deteriorating immunological picture. It is the canary-in-the-mines syndrome. When miners wanted to know if a particular mineshaft was safe from poisonous gases, they sent a canary in first. If the canary returned, the miners felt safe to go in. On our planet today, poor people, people of color, women and children, and gays and lesbians are the canaries (or sitting ducks if you prefer). Those who have any kind of privilege (gender, race, class, sexuality, age) are better able, for a time, to buffer and insulate themselves from the toxic environment — from AIDS, cancer, and other diseases. But not forever.
"There is also a moral and religious toxicity in reaction to so much upheaval, change, and worldwide political challenges. This phenomenon is called in many religions fundamentalism. In a century of increasing relativity in values, morality, and religion, fundamentalism provides absolutes and identifies the enemies. It is a kind of collective mental illness that includes obsessive thinking, tunnel vision, and functions much like other addictions."
- Rev. Nancy Wilson, Our Tribe: Queer Folks, God, Jesus and the Bible
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson
Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org
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Via FB // Have A Gay Day
Image Description: A scene from the animated series The Simpsons. Marge Simpson is shown speaking with Reverend Lovejoy in what appears to be an office area of the church building. Marge is wearing a green dress with matching triangle earrings, her back mostly to the viewer. They're both standing, and the Reverend is looking down while she speaks. Based on their garments and location, this appears to be taking place shortly after a church service. Text indicates dialogue. Pinky-purple text says: (Quote) Excuse me Reverend, as long as two people love each other, I don't think God cares whether they have the same who who or ha ha. End quote. Marge Simpson.
Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States
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Via Daily Dharma: Life Is Simple
Life
is a very simple matter. We’re just doing what we’re doing. But we add
extra tension all the time. If you stop and feel your face, you’ll
notice it’s usually a little bit tight. We don’t need that tension. We
have a face; we don’t need to have an extra face.
Charlotte Joko Beck, “Mute the Commentary”
Friday, October 7, 2022
Via Daily Dharma: Embracing Ambiguity
We
can spend our whole life suffering because we can’t relax with how
things really are, or we can relax and embrace the open-endedness of the
human situation, which is fresh, unfixated, unbiased.
Pema Chödrön, “The Fundamental Ambiguity of Being Human”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings
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Thursday, October 6, 2022
Via Daily Dharma: Becoming a Vehicle for Helping Others
Meditation
on lovingkindness accentuates the altruistic dimension of practice,
showing us that we practice not merely for our own benefit but to make
ourselves a fit vehicle for truly benefiting others.
Bhikkhu Bodhi, “The Four Protective Meditations”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Bodily Action
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Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Via Facebook // Chestor Hitchcock
I retired in July of 2019 with a plan to launch a ministry teaching my Gospel Memory Course in churches, first locally and eventually taking it nationwide.
My wife and I mailed out flyers and were beginning to plan our schedule for evening and weekend seminars; then the pandemic hit in January 2020 and churches canceled their plans.
Through 2020 I shifted my ministry focus to launching a YouTube channel where I recorded various Bible lessons for people to enjoy at home while church attendance was canceled in some places and greatly limited in others.
One of my YouTube Bible series is titled “God Loves the LGBTQ+ Community”.
For most of my tenure in pastoral ministry I accepted the general view held by most Christians regarding the LGBTQ+ Community. While I showed love and compassion, I also believed that all same-sex relationships were sin. I have to admit that it isn’t always easy to change one’s life-long beliefs when we consider evidence.
Nevertheless, when the need presented itself to consider the evidence, due to questions that were asked by some in my congregation, I fully expected to show how the texts demonstrated what Christians generally believe about being gay. While my professional training didn’t address the LGBTQ topic, it did provide the biblical research tools and skills to reexamine generally accepted beliefs and to my surprise, I wasn't finding the answers I expected to find there.
The research tools and skills are pretty simple, not requiring a college degree as much as a courageous heart to respond to what the Bible says regardless of what one expects it to say. My YouTube series on LGBTQ uses these simple principles to examine every passage used to address the LGBTQ topic in the generally accepted understanding.
While the view that I present in each passage may greatly alter the accepted view of the passage, it causes no harm to the Christian doctrines of love, grace and righteousness by faith which is the heart and soul of the Christian faith.
Unfortunately, many loving, grace-oriented Christians struggle with the idea of fully accepting and affirming the gay community even after seeing the evidence. To do so not only challenges their own life-long view, but also puts them at odds with most traditional and conservative churches where they attend. Furthermore the topic has become so politically charged that to acknowledge that the Bible isn’t as anti-gay as they once believed, puts many people at odds with their political views.
Suddenly, evidence or no evidence, changing one’s mind regarding what the Bible really says or doesn’t say about the gay community requires more than a simple change in thinking. It requires more than altering one’s understanding of a Bible passage here and a Bible story there. It requires an entire altering of our spiritual, political and social relationships.
Sometimes these alterations in life are not possible unless we witness someone close in our family dealing with the pain and suffering associated with being born different from the majority and being accused of choosing a sinful lifestyle. When that happens, many people are willing to open their eyes to the evidence for the sake of the one they love.
As a straight, cis-gender, heterosexual, white male pastor with all of the privileges afforded to me; I have chosen the road less traveled. I don’t have “a dog in the fight” as they say. I don’t know anyone in my family who is LGBTQ. I am not trying to defend myself or anyone close to me. I am however, committed to defending God’s Word at all cost.
While defending God's Word from the misinterpretations and speaking out against traditional views, I have suffered rejection, criticism, silence and avoidance for my stand for truth. When Paul says “rejoice in suffering” I have discovered how difficult that is when it could be totally avoided by simply following the religious crowd, but so it is! Here I stand! And I cannot do anything else but be true to my calling. All professionals must be willing to take a hard stand when necessary regardless of whether it affects themselves or others. In this case, I rejoice in whatever criticism comes my way if it brings hope and happiness to those suffering from misinterpreted Bible passages.
Watch for my upcoming video that addresses the phrase, “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” used by some against the LGBTQ Community.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Chester
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