Recently I experienced, once again, a pastor with whom I had contact only on the internet, telling me that my problem is that I should accept "truth" rather than "feelings." It is a similar argument to the whole "you should not call yourself 'gay' because your identity should be in Christ, not your feeling or … Continue reading It’s not about feelings. But it sort of is.
Two Posts you Need to Read
Pastors, please don't look away The Gay Teen Test Both say in a nutshell what I tried to say in a six page letter - very good posts and one every pastor should take seriously to heart.
The Closet, the Cage, the Cost and Caring
One thing I never expected nor understood when I was 15 or 16 and chose celibacy as the path by which to deal with my attractions to other guys was the true price of that choice. There was, of course, no one to talk to about being gay and celibate. The church handled the topic … Continue reading The Closet, the Cage, the Cost and Caring
Mobbing, conspiracy theories, homosexuality and the RCC child abuse scandal.
A rather obscure pan-lutheran discussion site I took part in occasionally until last week published a paper on “Institutional Mobbing in the LCMS” about a month ago. Because the site had degenerated into little more than nasty comments from a couple of pretty wacky ELCA “pastors,” I had already asked the site to remove my … Continue reading Mobbing, conspiracy theories, homosexuality and the RCC child abuse scandal.
Boy Erased
The movie that is causing a lot of discussion on conservative blogs, Boy Erased, came out on Amazon Prime a couple of weeks ago. So I finally had the chance to watch it. It is based on the autobiographical book by Garrard Conley. Part of the controversy seems to be over the decision to make … Continue reading Boy Erased
The Gospel in the Positive
I heard it again this week; a Lutheran sermon on the internet in which the Gospel was presented as "Jesus loves us dirty, rotten sinner." It seems this has become more popular in the last few years - or maybe I am just noticing it more - emphasizing the love of Christ by emphasizing how … Continue reading The Gospel in the Positive
God’s Wrath and Homosexuality – Divine Kintsugi
OK, referencing my last post, so if we sinners are saved by the cross from God's own wrath, what does that mean for issues like homosexuality and transgenderism? It is easy to see why God would be angry at sin when someone is hurt. But what about those times when there is no "victim"? Is … Continue reading God’s Wrath and Homosexuality – Divine Kintsugi
The Wrath of God
On a pan-Lutheran blog I have sometimes visited there is a discussion which asks whether salvation is being save from God's wrath. The question arises, can a loving God really be a wrathful God.. The subject is uncomfortable to modern ears. We have a hard time resolving the conflict between a wrathful God and a … Continue reading The Wrath of God
A War of Loves
Spiritual Friendship recently announced the publication of "A War of Loves" by David Bennett," the account of how a gay atheist teen came to Christ and chose celibacy as a young man. I want to say I enjoyed reading this book. David's belief was formed in a non-liturgical and charismatic church. Since the liturgy has … Continue reading A War of Loves
The True Manna
Our Bible Study on Thursday night was over the "Bread of Life" passages of John 6. I had never noticed before the parallels with the earlier passage in John about the Woman at the well. These parallels should not be surprising as John, in both Revelation and the Gospel, has a complex and elegant structure. … Continue reading The True Manna
Identity in the Gospel 