tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47994017868152945482024-02-20T07:07:30.036-07:00The Bible In Drag - Queering Scripture & FaithSacred texts from a gay perspective...David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-83986978091492791402019-04-12T07:33:00.002-06:002019-04-28T07:02:02.496-06:00Not a Blip on the Radar, but Still... (Exodus 3:7)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="376">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hashtag"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Unresolved Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Link"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>"If who have been told you don’t measure up, or you don’t fit in, or your kind is no good, or God hates you, then you know the type of moral injury I am referring too."</i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then the Lord said, "I have observed the misery of My People in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I know about their sufferings."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Exodus 3:7 (HCSB)</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZNrxxlClOnVS1tJLUk0OxDIKf0026P2TpCxxdQnhHWG_OtvzX_O8BXNqPBIn6nk112mvrDtGCtpKcUu5K_6ZFmclZrdpwoIvcUDY2K1zody9wJeOdYzs3o23Pz4FfPO6L3uwys3S0MA/s1600/NOM-gallows2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="580" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZNrxxlClOnVS1tJLUk0OxDIKf0026P2TpCxxdQnhHWG_OtvzX_O8BXNqPBIn6nk112mvrDtGCtpKcUu5K_6ZFmclZrdpwoIvcUDY2K1zody9wJeOdYzs3o23Pz4FfPO6L3uwys3S0MA/s320/NOM-gallows2.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://reverandsteve.blogspot.com/2010/11/its-official-southern-poverty-law.html" target="_blank">NOM Gallows</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Recently I’ve had to wrestle with
the “why” of this humble blog. I find that a good question to come back to
after starting it nine years ago.</span></b><br />
<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The blog itself was the outcome of
a failed book. Way back then I had the notion of writing a book of devotions for the queer
community encompassing one passage of scripture from each of the sixty-six
books of the Protestant bible. After shopping the book idea around to a number
of queer-friendly publishers, it became clear that no one wanted to touch a manuscript
that promised to sell all of four or five copies.</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I asked myself, Why a book? Why that
format? I realized it wasn’t a book I was after. What I was after was a place
where sexual and gender diverse people could come and find the good news of
God’s infinite love from a corpus of sacred texts that are often used to
suppress naturally occurring romantic feelings. Of course, behind this desire was my own pain. If who have been told you
don’t measure up, or you don’t fit in, or your kind is no good, or God hates
you, then you know the type of moral injury I am referring too.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Those who come to this blog
somewhat regularly, know that this blog is all but dead. By blogging standards
I’m not even a blip on the radar and, if truth be known, I have pondered wether to
pull the trigger on it and pull the blog down. In the blogosphere there is nothing
worse than an old languishing webpage drifting in the void, gathering dust from
neglect and desertion. The truth of the matter is that I have worked through my
pain and the baggage it entailed and the motivation to regularly update the
blog and to fan its embers into a fire waned a couple of years ago.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My wife and I (a reminder that we celebrate a
mixed-orientation-marriage, see <a href="http://thebibleindrag.blogspot.com/2012/02/nonconforming-relationships-1.html" target="_blank">Nonconforming Relationships</a>) </span></b><b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">remain in a loving and faithful
relationship to each other and our kids and our menagerie of pets. Further, I
have no problem approaching the bible from my social location as a gay man and
I’ve said what I felt I needed to say from a perspective of faith and grace
about the pressures facing the queer community. In this respect, the original whys
of the blog have long been satisfied.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">So why is it I cannot bring myself to pull the blog down? I think it is because queer people still need a place to come and hear their voices in the dialogue of faith. For so long we have been denied a seat at the table of the church and this blog, in its own way, provides an ottoman to rest a weary soul on. People historically oppressed by the bible need to understand that the bible speaks liberation to them. LGBTQ people need to know that their wellbeing is also in front of the eyes of God. </span></b><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After all, the image above is not a spoof or a parody but rather an
actual item put out by an actual group that wants to kill me and my kind.
In the face of such atrocity in God's name, I cannot help but to hear the words of God
spoken to Moses as addressing me as well: "I have observed the misery of My people in </span></b><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I know about their sufferings."</span></b></span></b></div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-28783064549448942832018-11-10T06:45:00.000-07:002018-11-10T12:18:11.946-07:00Strange Flesh (Jude vv. 6-8)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b style="text-align: justify;">"This is God's good gift of sex. Let us enjoy."</b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> Let me also remind you of the angels who held positions of supreme authority, which they gave up, abandoning their assigned domain; God now keeps them chained in darkness awaiting the judgement of the great day. Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns serve as a warning to us - they received the punishment of eternal fire because of the sexual promiscuity and their pursuit of fleshly vice (literally: going after strange flesh).</b></span><br />
<b style="font-size: small;"> </b><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> In the same way, these deluded people defile their bodies, reject authority and malign the glorious angles.</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jude 6-8</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b style="font-size: small;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT7Qs0q5RfMyyrDrhfD41OTdbZC35HszQY6zeHu2SdlyFT6MXB6Gnt1a4gezxsF7CfAJdjdW_NPj5Sc5abF1x_hyUnUBK_7rdZ4Pr20Fm7yGrMZ_UhK6zDzmrbW3Y6EZsloSXl4hB065c/s1600/sculpture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT7Qs0q5RfMyyrDrhfD41OTdbZC35HszQY6zeHu2SdlyFT6MXB6Gnt1a4gezxsF7CfAJdjdW_NPj5Sc5abF1x_hyUnUBK_7rdZ4Pr20Fm7yGrMZ_UhK6zDzmrbW3Y6EZsloSXl4hB065c/s320/sculpture.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilim" target="_blank">"The Sons of God Saw the Daughters of Men That They Were Fair," sculpture by Daniel Chester French</a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Jude has not been a friend to sexual and gender diverse people. A cursory reading of the twenty-five verses of this ancient letter leaves one with the feeling that flesh is be feared: sexual perversion being a certainty for arousing God's anger. Unfortunately, the cursory reading became the accepted understanding of the Letter of Jude.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>However, the biblical scholar, L. William Countryman, has noted that the original hearers of this letter may have understood a very different warning. Countryman indicates that the Greek term "going after strange flesh" is not the typical designation for same-gender eroticism which is found in other Greek Scriptures and writings of the time. He takes this unique phrase as a key to understanding the text is referring to sex with angels.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>While sexual relations between angels and mortals seem strange for contemporary ears, it is not a rare concern to the bible itself. Genesis 6:1-4 speaks of the "sons of God" taking the "daughters of men" for wives; referred to as the angles who abandoned their domains in verse 6 of our text. The other episode of such dallying is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah where the men of the city attempted to rape the angelic visitors; noted in verse 7 of our passage (see the blog page <a href="http://thebibleindrag.blogspot.com/p/hosting-rave-in-sodom.html" target="_blank">Hosting a Rave in Sodom</a>).</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>In the New Testament, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews states, "some have entertained angels unawares." More directly related to the issue here in Jude is 2 Peter's use of this same material: "This pertains especially to those who succumb to the desires of the flesh, and to those who rebel agains all authority. Those bold and willful people are not afraid to revile the glorious angels..." states Countryman. Not to mention the widespread understanding of the Greek gods having sexual liaisons with humans. What is there to learn from this ancient prohibition against sex with angels?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>In the bible there is a consistent concern that sexual relations and sexual fulfillment be accomplished appropriately. Sex with angels is prohibited because it was understood as a way of controlling angels and, therefore, divine power. Sex with animals is not permitted because the animal cannot consent to the relationship. Forced sex and rape are outlawed because it proves life-denying.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>In short, the bible sets parameters around the improper and proper use of sex. The inappropriate use of sex is for control or the discharge of sexual frustration. The appropriate use of sex is for strengthening a relationship through pleasure, through shared intimacy, through playful sensuality. This is God's good gift of sex. Let us enjoy.</b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-44855484246424259162018-10-22T10:34:00.001-06:002018-10-22T10:36:15.440-06:00A Queer Shine to the Face of God (Exodus 34:29-35)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="375">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hashtag"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Unresolved Mention"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Times;
panose-1:0 0 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1342185562 0 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"\0022serif\0022";
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;
mso-font-alt:Cambria;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-pitch:auto;
mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <b>As
Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the two tablets of the Covenant, he
was not aware that the skin on his face was radiant from speaking with God.
When Aaron and the other Israelites saw Moses, they were afraid to approach him
because of the radiance of the skin of his face. Only when Moses called to them
did Aaron and the leaders of the community come near, and then Moses spoke to
them.</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">
Later, all the Israelites gathered around, and Moses gave them the instructions
he had received from Our God on Mount Sinai. When he finished speaking to them,
Moses put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses entered the presence of Our God,
he would remove the veil until he came out again, and when he would come out
and tell the Israelites what had been commanded, they would see that the skin
on his face was radiant. Then he would put the veil over his face again until
he went in to speak with God. </span></b></div>
<div align="right" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Exodus
34:29-35</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnRYJrQzH2Zd1btQdLKsxbJieF7r5iCOJ969P1pCvLDMIDANKwo2DdzMMPzdSGThd51abufUlEBks23vkvIYBPRpVNjKjTm7SE0Iv5l5UeW7f8gFc31HnggjCSz1bt1y-P799hyphenhyphenWcwFI/s1600/Donnexdonne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnRYJrQzH2Zd1btQdLKsxbJieF7r5iCOJ969P1pCvLDMIDANKwo2DdzMMPzdSGThd51abufUlEBks23vkvIYBPRpVNjKjTm7SE0Iv5l5UeW7f8gFc31HnggjCSz1bt1y-P799hyphenhyphenWcwFI/s320/Donnexdonne.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.periodicodaily.com/donne-per-forza-toni-cade-bambara/" style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">Donne e Donne by Toni Cade Bambara</a></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif;">Moses represents butch
patriarchy that leaves no place for me – a man who would lie with another man
as with a woman. Yet, Moses experience on Sinai is thoroughly queer in his
knowledge of God and of public repudiation.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif;">This is Moses second trot to
the summit. On his first trek up great spiritual things happened. The lightning
and thunder of revelation and inspiration shook the ground and dazzled the sky
with brilliance. Filled with the ways of God, Moses returned to the people of
Israel. But his own experience of God, like that of queer folks, was dismissed
even before he had a chance to speak it.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif;">The public had already chosen
the idol or frozen metaphors of God. In this culture, there was no place for
Moses and his new spiritual understandings.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif;">Queer persons or at least
religious queer folk – arguably the queerest, as in "odd," of the
queer - face the same silencing. We are rebuffed by those who worship frozen
texts and cold idols of the god of compulsory heterosexuality. </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif;">The lack of queer images of the
Sacred in most religious dialogue is disquieting. But more painful is the
silence and non-existent voice to speak of queer religious experience and queer
spiritual insights. Like Moses, the experience of our Sinai is refused before
it can be expressed, and we dash our experience to smithereens, rejecting our
own relationship and our own received revelations of God. Yet, like Moses, God
calls us back to Sinai – to our transgender-bisexual-gay-lesbian mountain tops.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif;">From Moses, we learn that as
sexual and gender diverse people we cannot, we must not wait on others to
legitimate our own experience of the Sacred. Those invested in their idols will
not give space or thought to the God who is in the business of continual
revelation. As Moses did, we need to quarry our own tablets for writing. We
must claim our own venture with the Sacred in the face of an obstinate
religious tradition.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "" serif "" , serif;">Like Moses, when we continue to
enter into the Sacred, our faces shine! Since it is our faces, the shine has a
fabulous queer tinge, reflecting nothing other than the queer shine of the face
of God.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br /></div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-12869753146630582692018-10-08T05:07:00.003-06:002018-10-08T06:26:03.511-06:00Sick Religion (Genesis 22:9-13)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: medium;">"It is a sick religion to sacrifice your children to God</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> ." </span> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;">When they arrived at the place God had pointed out, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged wood on it. Then he tied up his son Isaac and put him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and seized the knife to kill the child.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> But the angel of God called to him from heaven: “Abraham! Abraham!”</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> “Here I am!” he replied.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> “Do not raise your hand against the boy!” the angel said. “Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how deeply you revere God, since you did not refuse me your son, your only child.”</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. He went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his child. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Genesis 22:9-13</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrO5027B5kqa9DOjKH8jge2FyQwrFz2nxYiWdQHZlEDBb8YlFLqL_02VERhQhrWFPvFqHxeafoXbQkRmaRNMUj6cT7FvwHaqcKDZF66hDkRlh6_fV_ZrYBtm_iTd8eElWf98VzGJRgJw/s1600/abraham-n-isaac4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrO5027B5kqa9DOjKH8jge2FyQwrFz2nxYiWdQHZlEDBb8YlFLqL_02VERhQhrWFPvFqHxeafoXbQkRmaRNMUj6cT7FvwHaqcKDZF66hDkRlh6_fV_ZrYBtm_iTd8eElWf98VzGJRgJw/s320/abraham-n-isaac4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.josephbonifacio.com/2016/01/06/the-offensive-god/" target="_blank">Abraham and Isaac</a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Abraham and Sarah wrote the book on sexual ruse. Abraham passed Sarah off as his sister to escape a ruler's covetousness of her beauty not once, but twice (Gen. 12:10-20; 20:1-28). With God's help, the couple lived to tell the tale both times. Later Sarah hatched a plan to ensure an heir. With her blessings and insistence, Abraham had sex with Hagar, Sarah's house slave. Nine months later Abraham had a bouncing baby boy on his knee. Even through as old as dirt, Abraham and Sarah still enjoyed sex play and Sarah also birthed a bouncing baby boy named Isaac. Hagar, now an embarrassment, found herself and her son left in the desert to die. With God's help, Hagar and her son Ishmael live to tell the tale.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Besides dabbling in sexual subterfuge, Abraham also dabbled in the Sacred. Along the way, he got the idea that an appropriate laudable sacrifice to God would be Isaac, his son by Sarah. It comes as no surprise, after all, he had already sought to sacrifice both Hagar and Ishmael.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It is a sick religion to sacrifice your children to God, yet that is the experience of many a queer person. Our families of origin often sacrifice us in the name of the twin idols of heterosexism and homophobia. Like Hagar and Ishmael, we are left to die of exposure. Worse, like Isaac, we are led by lies and half-truths to the altar of our own deaths.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Once again God stops the silliness of blind devotion and calms the soul of misdirected passions. Those involved live to tell the tale. Isaac was saved. But I am not sure he and Abraham were ever restored as father and son. How can you trust a parent who is crazy enough to appease the Sacred with your blood?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Queer persons know intimately the distinction between being tolerated and being celebrated within our families. We know the humiliation of leaving portions of our lives outside family gatherings so as not to upset others. We know rupture. We know the difficulty of sleep as we lie awake at night wondering why atonement is made with our blood.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It is a shame that the Holy could rescue Isaac, but was unable to touch the mind and heart of Abraham. Indeed, Isaac would have inherited something far more meaningful than herds and flocks, if the Sacred was more fully loved rather than feared by Abraham and Sarah.</b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<!--EndFragment--><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-62170192591392182872018-09-22T14:19:00.000-06:002018-09-22T14:19:37.081-06:00Queer Prodigal (Luke 15:11-13)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><i>This beloved parable of the prodigal, with all its beauty and sensitivity, is for me a text of terror.</i></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(Jesus) added, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to their father, ‘Give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.’ So the father divided up the property between them. Some days later, the younger son gathered up his belongings and went off to a distant land…</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Luke 15:11-13</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqlbtXrlPALnl5_lqtpT2BdJ6pq3RiuT1khG5ZcW8EobIDOZh4Ev89qWvOmj7YccsqYOnuuBADtxKS4l3OmLvjvAoNa6mU4ri4XiIRYcABv4QS4h83JePrXyZfsOLHqJ3CiQWuMJX9D0/s1600/he-qi-prodigal-son.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="500" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqlbtXrlPALnl5_lqtpT2BdJ6pq3RiuT1khG5ZcW8EobIDOZh4Ev89qWvOmj7YccsqYOnuuBADtxKS4l3OmLvjvAoNa6mU4ri4XiIRYcABv4QS4h83JePrXyZfsOLHqJ3CiQWuMJX9D0/s320/he-qi-prodigal-son.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://pelicandiaries.wordpress.com/inquirers-class/reconciliation/he-qi-prodigal-son-2/" target="_blank">He Qi <i>Prodigal Son 2</i></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Thus begins the beloved parable of the prodigal son. This parable unfolds family relationships in the midst of loss, pain, forgiveness, and restoration. We flinch at the damage of arrogance, cry at the humble moment the prodigal "comes to his senses," take joy in the reconciliation experienced and ponder the older brother's jealousy. This parable is a favorite because we identify with its sadness and rejoice in its hope.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Phyllis Tribble coined the term "texts of terror" to identify those scriptures used as a warrant to treat women as objects of lesser value than men. Queers also deal with well-known texts of terror: Sodom and Gomorrah, the Holiness Code of Leviticus, Paul's reasoning in the opening of the Letter to the Romans. This beloved parable of the prodigal, with all its beauty and sensitivity, is for me a text of terror.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>When I came out, my family dutifully placed me in the role of the prodigal. Unfortunately, I accepted the roll equating my homosexuality with the foreign land of the parable. A land unknown and feared by my parents, my brother, my sisters. I also assumed that the issue of distance and familial strain lay within me, as the parable illustrates for the prodigal.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The worse damage of this text was the false hope it gave my family. As good conforming christians they patiently waited, and fervently prayed, for the day I would "come to my senses." The irony is that it was coming to my senses which caused them to cast me as the prodigal, to begin with.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>To be sure the mapping of the parable upon my life was only partial at best. Owning my homosexuality did not put me among foreigners as a second class alien. Instead, I began to find my home, and figure out I was not alien after all. Far from longing for the land of heterosexual conformity, I became grateful for a wholeness that had eluded me. Still, with great piety, my family assumed the role of the wounded father who loved the sinner but hated the sin. This sacred text caused me great pain until I realized it had been wrongly applied.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Queer persons are not and cannot be the prodigal. We have not left home instead we have found home. If we are to appropriately map this parable, we must understand that our role is that of the parent. We are the ones who patiently wait, scanning the road from time to time for a hint that our families have come to themselves and are returning from the foreign land of intolerance. This text models for us the forgiveness we can give: forgiveness given not in the paternal "if you had listened to me" way, but forgiveness given out of the sheer joy that comes with authentic reconciliation.</b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-39267664038617735952018-09-15T04:49:00.003-06:002018-09-15T04:50:26.135-06:00A Drag Queen In Revelation (Revelation 22:17)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Revelation speaks poignantly to the queer experience.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Spirit and the Betrothed say, "Come!"</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Let the one who hears it answer, "Come!"</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Let the thirsty come forward. Let all who desire it accept the gift of life-giving water.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Revelation 22:17</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguagAEQ6Ua0e7VSv7fLmD3eNQauTB9vVoTc6ZSjPjPvlymm4cioqBzEfVrfQOgHPAAMUwS28e7rnj9J_tdcuoeHWgr0ACVsWR8ofNKcl99o_eM-yDdG0pTrIcOmiHq9nCTlKOPcOCTnog/s1600/eva+young+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1242" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguagAEQ6Ua0e7VSv7fLmD3eNQauTB9vVoTc6ZSjPjPvlymm4cioqBzEfVrfQOgHPAAMUwS28e7rnj9J_tdcuoeHWgr0ACVsWR8ofNKcl99o_eM-yDdG0pTrIcOmiHq9nCTlKOPcOCTnog/s320/eva+young+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.theoutsiderz.com/eva-young-pharmacy-student-day-drag-queen-night/" target="_blank">Eva Young</a></b></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>At first glance the writer of Revelation appears well known to us, he is John of Patmos. He should not be confused with the anonymous writer of the fourth gospel. He may or may not be the John of Jesus inner-circle, and he may or may not be a John known to christian or jewish history. Tongue-in-check, I think John of Patmos is the best candidate for a drag queen author of a book of the bible.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The images and language of Revelation, raw even in translation, speak to me of my drag-queen sisters' imagination: multi-headed beasts, whores, wrath and plagues, a savior in white, and at the end, hope for reconciliation and renewal. All of it sounds like a queen rant to me. I wonder if our failure to understand this book is born out our failure to appreciate the author's social location.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>All punning and stereotyping aside, Revelation speaks poignantly to the queer experience. It speaks from the low point of view, the underbelly of life. John does not write from a position of privilege or power. The book of Revelation is dark and brooding because John's world is foreboding and dangerous. It seems to be that this is often the queer experience. And like John we often find dominant religious and cultural voices allied against us.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Our straight brothers and sisters in the faith often miss this struggle. For they have not been engaged in the daily exertion for dignity. John of Patmos has, and his experience of fear, uncertainty, and worry – of closet dynamics – mirrors the queer experience on multiple levels. His community has been decimated, his society is uncaring. His world is filled with monsters and armies coming for him. Terrifying shadows drift across his soulscape.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Only great conflict can resolve the weighty oppression John is caught in. The moon will need to be ex-sponged and the sun to burn blood-red before John is rescued from a closed–off life. Nothing in all the earth is scarier than an unhinged queen – we fight like cats and spit like vipers.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>More so the beauty of the closing chapters where John, freed of his fears and demons, describes the world set right by a gracious and welcoming God. The closing includes a vision of a new heavenly Jerusalem. From her center flows the river of life carrying in her waters the hope of sustenance and abundance for a weary land. Following this description is the great invitation "Come all who are thirsty and drink."</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Thank you my sister John, for I am thirsty, my throat is dry and cracked. I need the sacred water of the Divine to revive a life worth celebrating.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-67175938953720254822018-09-08T08:49:00.000-06:002018-09-08T09:13:01.506-06:00Textual Harassment (1 Timothy 6:1-2a)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I cannot fathom the One who hung on the cross endorsing the sentiment that is shared in this passage. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt;">Those who are under the yoke of domination (slaves) should consider their superiors as worthy of full respect, so that the Name of God and our teachings may not be brought into disrepute. If their overseers are believers, those who are in subjection should show their overseers (slave owners) even greater respect, for they are members of the same family. Indeed they should be even more diligent in their work, because those who benefit from the work are believers, and they are beloved. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt;">1 Timothy 6:1-2a </span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EngplwCvjgwjDJamfrHEsiR89_-RC9Vk8gb_k1dbjya_dBsV4tRJK7XUCgacvUQNlodk8o5dXIYE0fpC9lGlrEyjcWmzzdYpsH4tFagpC-d9akl0PtXkpPrm-fLKTAeRLTFAxD8fNAs/s1600/bible+slave+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EngplwCvjgwjDJamfrHEsiR89_-RC9Vk8gb_k1dbjya_dBsV4tRJK7XUCgacvUQNlodk8o5dXIYE0fpC9lGlrEyjcWmzzdYpsH4tFagpC-d9akl0PtXkpPrm-fLKTAeRLTFAxD8fNAs/s320/bible+slave+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="375">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hashtag"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Unresolved Mention"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Sometimes the scriptures get it
wrong. Take for example the issue of slavery. Instead of mirroring the freedom
and equality which the Sacred extends the scriptures have a long and tortuous
affirmation of slavery.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Here in the writings associated with
Paul (his authorship is debated) is a somewhat glaring error to encourage
slaves to work harder for the master who profits from their sweat. One
commentator, in an awkward defense of scriptures odd affirmation, argues that
the Bible does "not emphasize individual rights, but individual
responsibilities." The same commentator goes as far as to state that the
chief concern for scripture is the glory of God and not "manumission of
the slaves." Funny, it strikes me that freeing those laden with oppression
adds to the glory of God. I think we can safely assume that this commentator is
male, white, and heterosexual – a person insulated from any real threat of
subjugation.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Another less stringent commentator
tried to rescue the passage by defining it as a spiritual care issue. Slaves
must have taken great comfort in being afforded admittance to a faith community
that treated them as equals. Nevertheless, slaves needed to pay appropriate
respect for the "legally designated master." Again I think we can
safely assume that this commentator is removed from the threat of any genuine
tyranny.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Interestingly, I agree with both
commentators, who in one way or another protect the integrity of the text. We
cannot make it say "Rebel!" For clearly it says, "Serve
harder!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The resolution of our dilemma as to
the harassment of this text can never be resolved in the passage itself. It
reflects attitudes and thinking which horrify us. To address the terror of this
text and others like it, we must look at scripture from a larger lens, moving
from a couple of verses to the entire flow of the sacred stories.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">As a christian, the teachings,
actions, and resurrection of Jesus forms the lens through which I read and
critic any sacred text. How does his love for humanity inform how I receive
these instructions? Jesus tells me that the attitude of this particular text is
naïve of human deprivation, void of authentic compassion, and ignorant of the
damage to personhood done by slavery.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I cannot fathom the One who hung on
the cross endorsing the sentiment that is shared in this passage. Therefore, I
know the text to be ugly, brutish, and ungodly. I just refuse to take part in
the exploitation of others, even if I can justify it from scripture.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br /></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-1344535698901493252018-09-01T04:28:00.001-06:002018-09-01T04:38:00.808-06:00Forbidden Eroticism (Song of Songs 1:5-6)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Thank you my black and beautiful sister for singing and raising your voice among the scriptures.</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><b> Me? Do you think me dark, oh daughters of Jerusalem?</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Oh, I am; but I’m lovely, yes?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Dark as the night inside a tent in Kedar;</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> dark as the secrets inside of Solomon’s tents.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> You wonder why I’m so dark? I’ll tell you:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> it was my brothers – they thought I was loose</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> and wild – they put me to work in the vineyards,</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> hoping I would neglect my own vineyard.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> The sun turned me brown like a grape;</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> but, oh, the fire that burns inside me now!</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Song of Songs 1:5-6</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSK1kvXvIMn9aYK3WtY9ltjWv6GdqL4wJKokpTCmbpRxBghS7A9X5m8VwTy3xMXZXxWmlkVBDMLFfkqlSSXfHpTue258ltGMQG3YtpPUglCCkzqOT13DVzFg6r8bK9wVBS10SGfPnhi_o/s1600/muholi_liter_3__1600x2175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1177" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSK1kvXvIMn9aYK3WtY9ltjWv6GdqL4wJKokpTCmbpRxBghS7A9X5m8VwTy3xMXZXxWmlkVBDMLFfkqlSSXfHpTue258ltGMQG3YtpPUglCCkzqOT13DVzFg6r8bK9wVBS10SGfPnhi_o/s320/muholi_liter_3__1600x2175.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.ifex.org/south_africa/2012/12/20/zanele_muholi_photos/" target="_blank">Photo by South African photographer Zanele Muholi</a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It is the voice of an audacious female which is raised in this song. She is “dark” or “black” as other translations render, and she is beautiful. She celebrates and rejoices in the beauty and sensuousness of her body. The female lover of this song is black because her brothers sequestered her as a domestic servant in their fields where the sun bled into her skin.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Society will not support her desire for a beloved who deserves more than a working class girl. She is a peasant and should be satisfied with a peasant’s lot. Boldly she faces down society’s disapproval. Courageously she asserts that being black is not ugly but a mark of beauty. Her work in the fields does not detract from her sensuousness but rather augments and accentuates her sexuality. This extraordinary black and beautiful woman stands strong in the face of cultural norms and dares to transgress societal boundaries of eroticism.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">During a milieu steeped in arranged marriages this female celebrates her heart’s desire. It is her determination to share intimacy with the lover of her choice. We can safely assume he is not the affianced of her family’s choosing.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Our proud sister also resists the proscription of sexual etiquette. Her brothers have set her to work in their vineyards to guard her virginity and consequently, the family honor. Yet, she unequivocally proclaims she has not kept her own vineyard – her own virginity, or the family honor.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The Song celebrates the consummation of forbidden love. While queer love knows well the proscriptions and dynamics faced by our audacious sister in these verses, we must not miss what is most brazen here. The voice of the female lover has, through sacred writing, become the voice of God to us. The bible, in celebrating forbidden eroticism, leads us to rejoice in that which resists culture’s prohibitions.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Thank you my black and beautiful sister for singing and raising your voice among the scriptures. You are a part of our spiritual ancestry. May your daring spirit of pride live on through us.</span></b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-66338381413304207432018-08-25T03:34:00.001-06:002018-08-25T03:34:33.455-06:00Adam, Eve, & Steve (Genesis 2:18-25)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Then <i>Adonai </i>said, “it is not good for the earth creature to be alone. I will make a fitting companion for it.” So from the soil <i>Adonai </i>formed all the various wild beasts and all the birds of the air, and brought them to the earth creature to be named. Whatever the earth creature called each one, that became its name. The earth creature gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> But none of them proved to be a fitting companion, so <i>Adonai </i>made the earth creature fall into a deep sleep, and while it slept, God divided the earth creature in two, then closed up the flesh from its side. <i>Adonai </i>then fashioned the two halves into male and female, and presented them to one another.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> When the male realized what had happened, he exclaimed,</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> “This time, this is the one!</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Now, she will be Woman, and I will be Man,</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> because we are of one flesh!”</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> This is why people leave their parents and become bonded to one another, and the two become one flesh.</span></b></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Genesis 2:18-25</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCP6BOSMv69fV9s7TlXg_7-QUZSvN2tk3VuT6IGibY5QwxzimGdoCD8ZnHESzqv41y1o5_68P2IHuTTISmvW-dnh2y2OQsWxkiljxRHMsu4tAIdN42yk-M_gdpSXDSe6BcHjP4AHP4O0k/s1600/adamevesteve-backside-2017_dba20c73.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCP6BOSMv69fV9s7TlXg_7-QUZSvN2tk3VuT6IGibY5QwxzimGdoCD8ZnHESzqv41y1o5_68P2IHuTTISmvW-dnh2y2OQsWxkiljxRHMsu4tAIdN42yk-M_gdpSXDSe6BcHjP4AHP4O0k/s320/adamevesteve-backside-2017_dba20c73.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://livetheatreuk.co.uk/2017/02/08/kings-head-theatre-premiere-musical-adam-eve-and-steve/" target="_blank">From the play <i>Adam, Eve, and Steve</i></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Implied in this text of scripture, though often overlooked, is the assumption by God that the Sacred alone is not sufficient for human fulfillment. It is this concern of God to complete Adam that proves the impetus for the creation of the animals. Building suspense, each animal is brought to Adam, and each animal fails in the hope of bringing wholeness, here understood as companionship, to Adam. Poor Adam, the world is his alone, God is his alone, yet Adam is all alone.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What is the Creator to do with the prized creature? God has provided a garden, animals of the sea, land, and air. All this attention and Adam is still solitary. This is the point at which literal interpreters tend to run afoul of the passage. Either they make the binary gender model of boy-girl God’s only plan for coupling, or they turn the pre-Eve Adam into an androgynous, omnigender being, as the above citation demonstrates.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I have nothing against an understanding of Adam as the original hermaphrodite. However, it is the metaphors of relational dynamics with which the passage is concerned. Humans are not complete without other humans. We know how our fragile hearts yearn for intimate connections. How the heart aches when such connections are denied.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">There is something in our deepest mystery which searches for others. God, we find, is helping us with this quest for completion. It is fitting that what completes and fulfills Adam comes out of his very being. Eve is not an afterthought, but rather Gods’ tender solution to Adam’s dilemma. Adam is made whole with Eve. It is implied that Eve is made complete with Adam.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The wisdom of the Sacred is touching – it is a terrible thing to be lonely. This passage does not celebrate Adam and Eve as an exclusive model of binary gender pairing, or even Adam and Steve as an exclusive paring pattern. Rather it celebrates God’s recognition that humans need companionship in a world which can often be a lonely place.</span></b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-31835978751048708502018-04-25T10:26:00.000-06:002018-04-25T15:01:24.069-06:00The Problematic Sin of Straight Christian Privilege (Matthew 7:15-16)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">The Reclaiming Jesus Proclamation is just one more frustrating incidence of the oppressing and soul-crushing sin of heteroarchy.</span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep, but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruit. Can people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?" </i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Matthew 7:15-16</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP380AfbVA2BWfCS0X5805yg2b6d1EMwfCtx6pc7s7kKjSyjXSNyRkJ4-6QAg-GI4KndSgdYBjAFm21ijGpZF6To17qLGcQi3ywsgaMIiZHUaB1grxlqIaSDwq2EC7yo54wOLowRIglQQ/s1600/Wolf+in+Sheeps+Clothing+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="550" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP380AfbVA2BWfCS0X5805yg2b6d1EMwfCtx6pc7s7kKjSyjXSNyRkJ4-6QAg-GI4KndSgdYBjAFm21ijGpZF6To17qLGcQi3ywsgaMIiZHUaB1grxlqIaSDwq2EC7yo54wOLowRIglQQ/s320/Wolf+in+Sheeps+Clothing+2.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Recently some well-intentioned christian leaders gathered for an Ash Wednesday retreat to discuss and reflect upon the current state fo affairs in the US society. This gathering produced the Reclaiming Jesus Proclamation (<a href="http://reclaimingjesus.org/" target="_blank">reclaimingjesus.org</a>). A confessional document which mirrors the Barmen Declaration by leading church figures, theologians, and leaders to oppose the evils of Nazi Germany. Already you can tell the rarity and importance of such a document for they only appear when the "soul of the nation" is at risk.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>As it was for the Barmen Declaration, so it is for the Reclaiming Jesus Proclamation - leading church figures, theologians, and heads of denominations and national councils prayed and discerned and brought the profound wisdom of the christian faith to bear upon the current attitudes and conceptual systems at work in the American cultural landscape. For what it's worth I find it a useful document with depth, critical theological reflection, and prophetic insight. I applaud the Proclamation's sensitivities to the six areas of sinfulness which it raises up: racism, sexism, xenophobia, deceitfulness, autocracy, and nationalism. The Proclamation speaks boldly to the abuse in all these areas and the sinful oppression which flows from them. It is a document which, no doubt should shape the course of American christian discussions.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>However, for all the wrong it strives to correct, the document fails to raise to the distinction of a defining declaration. This failure lies in its silence toward issues facing sexual and gender diverse people. We must insist that:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><b>the continued harassment of transgender people who suffer violence and death, </b></li>
<li><b>the continued struggle of queer youth to find safe places to just be themselves, </b></li>
<li><b>the continued invasion of lesbian lives for the voyeuristic needs of straight men </b></li>
</ul>
<b>are the results of the continuing silence of large swaths of "christian" America toward gender and sexually diverse people. The Reclaiming Jesus Proclamation is just one more frustrating incidence of the oppressing and soul-crushing sin of heteroarchy. This document could transcend. But unfortunately it is mired in straight christian privilege and muddies us all.</b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I have reached out to the group in hopes that this oversight will be corrected. But until it is, I will heed the words of Jesus and understand that wolves are in our midst.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style><style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style></div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-38563641210520039272017-06-08T09:23:00.002-06:002017-06-08T15:24:45.548-06:00Sodom and Gomorrah and Emmaus (Genesis 19:4-5; Luke 24:30-32)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><b>“Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house. They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came with you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them.” (Genesis 19:4-5, Holman Christian Standard Bible)</b></i></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><b>“It was as He (Jesus) reclined at the table with them that He took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, but He disappeared from their sight. So they said to each other, ‘Weren’t our hearts ablaze within us while He was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:30-32 Holman Christian Standard Bible)</b></i></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGY0MQoyzD2nhId6pJ-08LLramxjIxpf0MASuGNThqLUfkvBcmQts9oX_c1v_CXqcdgIkzoFFwK4YifpKf8I_WVwS6FYvQTnZzchkbO-s8XnjJGSvca7HqKL-hRrY5RBPEYKARpCKcdOI/s1600/sodom-gomorrah-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="468" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGY0MQoyzD2nhId6pJ-08LLramxjIxpf0MASuGNThqLUfkvBcmQts9oX_c1v_CXqcdgIkzoFFwK4YifpKf8I_WVwS6FYvQTnZzchkbO-s8XnjJGSvca7HqKL-hRrY5RBPEYKARpCKcdOI/s320/sodom-gomorrah-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://gajitz.com/sin-cities-dark-digital-depictions-of-sodom-gomorrah/" target="_blank">Sodom & Gomorrah 4, Sodom & Gomorrah series by Alessandro Bavari</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>No hate is as tenacious as religiously sanctioned hate. The story of Sodom traditionally justifies the utter rejection of queer folk. Raising the question, does God approve of hate?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>To answer this question from the perspective of the Sodom and Gomorrah text we must note that before our strangers thread their way to Sodom, they first visit Abraham and Sarah. The couple extends hospitality to the strangers as was the custom of a nomadic society. Guests, expected or not, got the red carpet treatment. Abraham sends word to kill the fatted calf and have it served on the good china with the wine put back for special occasions. Typically in these encounters it was the host’s duty to bless the travelers. However, it turns out that our strangers are actually messengers of God. Instead of receiving the blessing they in turn bless old Abraham and Sarah with the news that within a year Sarah will bear a bouncing baby boy.</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Then the messengers journey onto Sodom. The strangers enter the town as evening is falling. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, offers to take them to his home for supper and to house them for the night. Lot is aware that Sodom is a rough city. Hearing of the messengers’ presence, the town’s men descend upon Lot’s house in order to gang rape the strangers as a show of dominance through sexual aggression. </b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>A more recent example of this dynamic is the prison of Abu Ghraib at the hight of the Iraqi war. You will remember that sexual humiliation was part of the routine at the hands of the interrogators. At Abu Ghraib we recognized this for what it was - an act of power and humiliation. Like the American personnel at Abu Ghraib, the actions of the men of Sodom had nothing at all to do with same gender loving relationships.</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>You may counter, “But pastor, Sodom and Gomorrah is scripture!” And it is. Yet, our interpretation of what took place there is not scripture. So let us look at another biblical text which also speaks to this issue of host and guests, of strangers and messengers, of meals and hospitality.</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>At the end of Luke’s Gospel, two disciples are threading their way to Emmaus when they are joined by a stranger. Once again the stranger is more than he presents. Once again we arrive at a village at evening. Once again there is invitation to enter a home and share a meal. </b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>We are poised at the edge of our seats, aren’t we? We know there can be two outcomes here. There can be an Abraham and Sarah extension of friendship. Or, there can be the Sodom and Gomorrah aggrandizement of ego needs and self-interest. The issue of hospitality is forefront for us. For we know hospitality will determine how the story concludes.</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>We enter the home with the two disciples and the stranger. The door is shut. It’s two against one. The disciples, living the Abrahamic faith, extend hospitality. They even give the stranger the opportunity to bless the meal served in their house. Upon blessing and breaking the bread the stranger is recognized as the resurrected Christ - the presence of God in their midst. </b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>The interplay in these three stories between God as stranger and God as host is challenging. As Dr. Kenneth Samuel states: “This means that at times we may be challenged to host God in the stranger, or we may have the need to be hosted by God as strangers. Displacement and dislocation are universal experiences.” And certainly we all bear wounds from such experiences in our lives.</b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Back, though, to our original question - Does God approve hating LGBT folk? No. God does not sanction gay hate. For Sodom and Gomorrah were never about hate. God is telling us to welcome the stranger, even as God welcomed us when we were strangers.</b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-70877613403058076592016-12-24T06:19:00.000-07:002016-12-27T13:53:32.418-07:00The Risks of Fruitcaking (Luke 1:39-45)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;">What do we who share the common lot of the LGBTQ+ umbrella have to learn from this encounter? Nothing? Everything? </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />
<br />
<b><i>In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah where she entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped insider her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she exclaimed with a loud cry:</i></b><br />
<b><i> "You are most blessed of women,</i></b><br />
<b><i> and your child will be blessed!</i></b><br />
<b><i>How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me! She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled!"</i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b> Luke 1:39-45 (HCSB)</b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRTrmYf4bB6__atDW2iIECoq1CyajAfjFfDDbioM200nKGPwJFQW9NrFMIOeMRZS9526wHutcIbsC0uaPrzS34gYmHwWbx30WYygWGgidOhh5F3VO3UQvmShRq8z95yv4JWxJsAaGAu3k/s1600/Annunciation+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRTrmYf4bB6__atDW2iIECoq1CyajAfjFfDDbioM200nKGPwJFQW9NrFMIOeMRZS9526wHutcIbsC0uaPrzS34gYmHwWbx30WYygWGgidOhh5F3VO3UQvmShRq8z95yv4JWxJsAaGAu3k/s320/Annunciation+2.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
<h1 class="passage-display" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://ohlson.se/" target="_blank"><i>Annunciation</i> by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin</a></span></h1>
<h1 class="passage-display" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 0; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: left;">
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Why did Mary seek out Elizabeth? Was the unplanned teen pregnancy too much for the parents and this teenager? Was this their hastily arranged plan for getting Mary out of the village before whispers started?</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It is a risky thing to be in conversation with our elders. Their wisdom is polished by experience and hardened by lived truth. The younger might learn something about life they have not understood. The younger might learn some truth about themselves they prefer to turn a blind eye to. Elders rarely have time to play the game of pretense that the younger invest so much energy in. Once the pretense is up, there is but the cold hard steel of reality: “You are an unwed pregnant teen Mary. You have brought shame upon your family, upon your affianced, upon your God.” </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Yes, it is a risky thing to be in conversation with our elders. I can hear the elderly Elizabeth asking, “Why did you come Mary? Did you think that just because we are both pregnant that you are welcome here? My pregnancy is a noble one, born out of a closed womb now open like Sarah, Rachael, and Hannah - the great mothers of our faith.” This is the right of the elders to understand the deep connections of action and reaction to the history of their people. The elders understand they are not the first, nor will they be the last, to face a particular situation and lessons learned can be lessons taught.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Mary is at risk. In her naivety did she not understand the consequences if this encounter had gone wrong? It is one thing to be spurned by those outside our circumstances, it is another thing altogether to be spurned by those with whom we share a common lot. What if Elizabeth was jealous? What if Elizabeth did not want a detractor to her long awaited maternal joy? How easily she could turn Mary out to the street, another wayward teenager with poor impulse control.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Elizabeth was at risk too. As an elder she knew well the consequences of meeting with the young. The young, not yet made cynical, have a way of questioning the foundations elders have built their understandings upon. Mary could easily come and scoff at a woman who yearned toward one late-life pregnancy, while Mary’s own conception seemed readily easy in comparison. Mary could laugh at ancient tradition far removed from pressing contemporary issues. </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Yes, there is risk in this meeting. Far more than the text can acknowledge. The old and the young grappling with their common lot. The scene could fly apart, except that it doesn’t. Doors could be slammed, except they aren’t. Tears of anger could be spilled, except they don’t flow.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Mary is warmly greeted. Recognized for who she is. Celebrated for what she has done. That is the deep wisdom of the elder Elizabeth. Mary is not repeating the history of her tradition, she is opening up new horizons with new possibilities. That is the true gift of the young. </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">What do we - who share the common lot of the LGBTQ+ umbrella - have to learn from this encounter? Nothing? Everything? </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 500;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
</h1>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-40200981375434997682016-12-05T19:43:00.001-07:002016-12-05T19:43:09.331-07:00Break Down the Barrier (Galatians 6:2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>"Break down the barrier which stops us from reaching out and taking upon ourselves the need of others."</b><br />
<br />
<b><i>Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.</i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Galatians 6:2 (English Standard Version)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5sdrHPxXkmH469Toy5XBDgzLLYm1M_jQCPB1fxvO7LU013iAYlltOcvhDTznBOKPbzSo0NK3Sy4JiMxDIbi7Rdvz4m0F4fBAFzJ-2n0DmYCY87-5oUgjARHgnKs5Lye4qf_WMdvKvmg/s1600/woodstock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5sdrHPxXkmH469Toy5XBDgzLLYm1M_jQCPB1fxvO7LU013iAYlltOcvhDTznBOKPbzSo0NK3Sy4JiMxDIbi7Rdvz4m0F4fBAFzJ-2n0DmYCY87-5oUgjARHgnKs5Lye4qf_WMdvKvmg/s320/woodstock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://favim.com/image/127454/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Woodstock</span></a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Sometimes I need a story to flesh out teaching nuggets such as this. Here is my attempt to illustrate this summation of Paul's ethics.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Once upon a time a boy and his mother lived deep in the woods. The mother had chosen this place to raise son away from the influence of other folks. Goodwill could not yet be found among the people, who spent their days fighting and taking from one another. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>As happens, the boy grew and one day told his mother that since he was as good as a man he would set off and seek his fortune in life. As sorrowful as his mother was, she knew she could dissuade her son not yet a man from his choice. In her wisdom she made a blanket for him to take. At least at night he would be warm and protected from the cold nights.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>After wishing his mother well, the son left the cabin deep in the woods. He sought his way in the world.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>On the first day of his journey, since the people did not know goodwill, he was set upon by bandits that demanded his money. That night the boy not yet a man lay dismayed under his m</b><b>other's blanket, yet warm and protected from the night.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>On the second day of his journey he was befriended by swindlers who took his coat, his shoes, and his food. That night he laid hungry huddled under his blanket agains the cold night.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>On the third day - barefoot, thinly clad, and hungry - the boy not yet a man continued his journey. He hadn't walked far when he came upon a solitary girl standing beside the road. Stringy hair. Smeared face. Tattered dress. Shivering against the cool of the morning air.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The boy asked if her parents lived nearby. The girls shook her head no.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The boy asked if her parents were in the woods gathering food. The girls shook her head no.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The boy asked if her parents were alive. Again, the girl shook her head no.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The girl saying nothing, just stood in the cold morning with chattering teeth.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Moved by concern, the boy puled off his mother's blanket and wrapped it around the girl. Now it was his turn to shiver in the cool morning air, standing there not really knowing what else to do. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Warming up the girl finally spoke. "Do you know who I am?"</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>"No."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>"I am compassion. I have played along this road for many years. Each day rich travelers, and bright travelers, and important travelers with important places to be cross my path. But none of them ever stopped. How is it that you, a boy not yet a man recognized me and stopped?"</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The boy answered, "I do not know about seeing compassion. All I saw was a lonely girl shivering in the cold morning." And that is how goodwill was nurtured into the world of people. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Goodwill encourages us to do our part, even when we feel we don't have much to offer. Bear one another burdens, Paul tells us. Break down the barrier which stops us from reaching out and taking upon ourselves the need of others. This may be the special role les-bi-gay-trans-queer-inter-asexual people have in society since we know the pain of being overlooked and dismissed. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Bear one another burdens. Break down the barrier. Nurture goodwill.</b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-17682429064696572162016-11-15T09:52:00.001-07:002016-11-16T19:44:31.035-07:00Holla At Ya Boy (Isaiah 6:1-8)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><i> </i></b><b>Like Hellen Keller making her way through the world of darkness, yet "seeing," as the curtains falls I shuffle across the stage with the Mute, yet listening. </b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i> In the year of the death of Uzziah, ruler of Judah, I saw </i>Adonai<i> seated on a high and lofty judgement seat, in a robe whose train filled the temple. Seraphs were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet (or genitals), with two they flew.</i></b><br />
<b><i> They would cry out to one another, "Holy! Holy! Holy is </i>Adonai <i>Omnipotent! All the earth is filled with God's glory!" The doorposts and thresholds quaked at the sound of their shouting, and the Temple kept filling with smoke.</i></b><br />
<b><i> Then I said, "Woe is m, I am doomed! I have unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips! And my eye have seen the Ruler, </i>Adonai<i> Omnipotent!"</i></b><br />
<b><i> Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding an ember which it had taken with tongs from the altar. The seraph touched my mouth with the ember. "See," it said, "now that this has touched your lips, your corruption is removed, and your sin is pardoned."</i></b><br />
<b><i> Then I heard the voice of the Holy One saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"</i></b><br />
<b><i> "Here I am," I said, "send me!"</i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Isaiah 6:1-8</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Nwpi5w3n8TtedJ8S6ZZ6WsdewKRoxZ-exTcbicoYNott9EyHi77-r5RTpMwbfmOKqRrpcLM-audcNofkcSuM_kAw9j7jGkzD68qDaWhsi_TLlqzB161xks-bsYHcD_YB_Z_izSAFPfs/s1600/rainbow+stowl+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Nwpi5w3n8TtedJ8S6ZZ6WsdewKRoxZ-exTcbicoYNott9EyHi77-r5RTpMwbfmOKqRrpcLM-audcNofkcSuM_kAw9j7jGkzD68qDaWhsi_TLlqzB161xks-bsYHcD_YB_Z_izSAFPfs/s200/rainbow+stowl+.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1128251597"></span><span id="goog_1128251598"></span><a href="http://www.ioffer.com/i/guatemala-catholic-priest-stole-vestment-rainbow-92-523924539" target="_blank">Guatemalan Rainbow Stole</a></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Recently I was asked to share my story about how I hear the voice of God. At first I was a bit concerned. I have never really heard God speak to me. At least not an audible voice that I can point to and say, "On this day thus said the Holy One to me." How I wish I was an Isaiah, but I am not. Half the time, I'm not even sure if I'm a gay man who happens to be a minister, or if I'm a minister who happens to be gay. I tend to leave that for others to figure out. It is their choice in how they wish to relate to me. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>But all is not lost. For I do have a story for how God talks to me. It is a tale in three acts and like Isaiah, I am happy to share it with you.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Act One stars the voice of authenticity. This voice came with the accruements of my faith - bible, worship, and discipleship. I call this the Orthodox voice, not because of theological purity, but because it is a deep resonating voice arising from some large chamber of credibility and trustworthiness. At times I hid from this voice, like Darth Vader it came to indicate my failures. At times this voice thrilled me, as One with such gravitas would call me by name and be concerned with the trivialities of my life. This voice retreated over the years, yet once in a while, when a moment of grace breaks open, there is an echo of the booming bass. At these times I rest in the fullness of my faith tradition.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Act One anticipates the role of faith in shaping a young life. As the curtain closes, a youthful me stands like Charlton Heston's Moses before a thunderous voice.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Act Two opens upon a restless soul as I seek to navigate my faith journey as a gay person within the Christian tradition. In this restlessness comes the voiceless voice. Like an old friend standing behind us and we sense their presence, so the Mute gets my attention, silently relying on me to take notice. There is a curious "hmm," or "umm" which lingers and is not easily shaken off. These little nudges plant themselves like seeds and send their sprouts into my awareness. Because I am not always conscious of the Mute, the Mute can be easily dismissed. I use friends, colleagues, and mentors to confirm I've heard correctly. When I do listen, oh, the great and wonderful paths that open up. Ironic that it is the Mute who proves most directive in my life. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Act Two wrestles with the tension of silence and listening. Like Hellen Keller making her way through the world of darkness, yet "seeing," as the curtains falls I shuffle across the stage with the Mute, yet listening. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>At one point, that was it. A two act play easily divided between childhood and adulthood.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>But the voice of God came anew. This time it is feminine and appears in a white lab coat. She speaks from the wonders of cosmology, evolution, and the natural sciences. She tripped out over the writings of Karl Rahner and John Haught, much to my surprise. This prim, bun on the back of head, task oriented scientist quickly let me know that evolution is the language of God. God's syntax is there in the whole sweep of deep time, of chance and risk, of struggle and dead ends, of diversity and thickening of consciousness. When I set with the scientist she probes the nature of Divine Being, as one probes the personality of artists based on their art. She shakes my thinking. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Act Three indicates my search for knowledge of God outside of faith traditions. The end of the third act finds me like an awe-struck student sitting at the wise professor's feet, in wonder of her wisdom and intuition. The scientists not only speaks of God, she speaks from God for she is Sophia, the wisdom of God. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>This concludes my three act play of Orthodox, Mute, and Sophia. Now it's your time. Come up on stage. What acts do you add to the voice of God?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-73283561719658685722016-11-04T12:39:00.002-06:002016-11-04T14:51:32.698-06:00Great Green Gobs of Ugg (Psalm 34:4-8)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14.4399995803833px;"><span style="color: white;">Taste and see how good God is - even as a naked bear served by a transgender Christ. </span></b><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
<b><i><span style="color: white;">I sought Our God, who answered me</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: white;"> and freed me from all my fears.</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: white;">Those who look to Our God are radiant,</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: white;"> and their faces are never covered with shame.</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: white;">The poor called out; Our God heard</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: white;"> and saved them from all their troubles.</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: white;">The angel of Our God encamps around those</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: white;"> who revere God, and rescues them.</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: white;">Taste and see how good God is!</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: white;"> Happiness comes to those who take refuge in Our god.</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNYl5-5DlcjQ6G7OokFuD8VlB4LnsHHgFAEc0TsZ1tmdaYlvELKsJQwsBrqGwBasZuMeAe4VviJxb7eV8uAKtJxV3P3cpYdAJA1BOfT7D0HOLrlpzSiuRAMzBrKd2cB_SIznnXU9p2ds/s1600/qls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNYl5-5DlcjQ6G7OokFuD8VlB4LnsHHgFAEc0TsZ1tmdaYlvELKsJQwsBrqGwBasZuMeAe4VviJxb7eV8uAKtJxV3P3cpYdAJA1BOfT7D0HOLrlpzSiuRAMzBrKd2cB_SIznnXU9p2ds/s320/qls.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://mewlop.blogspot.com/2009/08/homocentric-images-of-last-supper.html" target="_blank">From the Blog <i>Hell's Teeth</i></a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: white; font-size: 14.4399995803833px;">Many a les-bi-gay-trans-queer-plus person has been turned off by the church and for good reasons - rejection and hate. While we realize that God is not synonymous with the church or synagogue or mosque or elm grove it is often hard to separate the place of sacredness from the sacred object of veneration. When this happens, when we confuse the less for the greater we often have to find our way back to discover the Holy as for the first time. </span></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: white; font-size: 14.4399995803833px;">The best I can describe the tenacity and courage for this journey is to relay an experience from a number of years ago. </span></b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif, important; font-size: 14.4399995803833px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="color: white;">I was hungry. Not one of those end of the day, peckish, longing for a snack to tide me over yearnings. My belly was crying out as it’s own Oliver Twist, “More please!” But there hadn’t been any firsts to offer a second of. My naiveté of distance, conspiring with my penchant to slip by breakfast, forced me to play the role of the unmoved authorities to Oliver's and the boys pleading.</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif, important; font-size: 14.4399995803833px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="color: white;">Now seated in the dinning car of the overnight train to Nairobi, I was ready to give attention to my personal Oliver and grant it the much needed "more." The serving staff brought out the first course. I recoiled in fear and dismay - asparagus soup. Like a kid finding underwear under the tree at Christmas, I felt the universe had betrayed me.</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif, important; font-size: 14.4399995803833px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="color: white;">Asparagus, that pretentious weed, floating in a questionable pond of cream. Is there, in all this wide world, a more cruel use of dairy than as soup stock? What poorly resourced cook was so desperate as to heat up milk, throw in the devil’s creeper and proclaim it “good?" As if God could ever bless this unholy mixture. </span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif, important; font-size: 14.4399995803833px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="color: white;">But I was hungry. My hollow stomach looked at the bowl as an sign of hope and comfort and wellbeing. My mind though, lit up like a blazing neon sign, “WARNING! WARNING! Great green gobs of ugg are in that bowl.”</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif, important; font-size: 14.4399995803833px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="color: white;">But I was hungry. The single need of my gut was to get filled, green gobs of ugg, notwithstanding. </span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif, important; font-size: 14.4399995803833px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="color: white;">I stirred the soup, watching the tiny green boats ride out the swells. Not fully committing myself to relieve the maddening hunger, I tentatively picked up half a spoon of the swill. I hesitated, for my tastebuds, those tiny bumps wise in knowledge of culinary good and evil, tried to crawl out of my mouth. Oh, how I loathed asparagus soup. </span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif, important; font-size: 14.4399995803833px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="color: white;">But I was hungry and the badgering, harassing, provoking need to eat took over. I sipped from the spoon. Not a lot, just enough to quickly swallow before gagging. </span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif, important; font-size: 14.4399995803833px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="color: white;">What was this taste? What beauty of flavor in happy marriage of cream and herbaceous plant. What joy of delicate spices which washed over and baptized my tastebuds bringing them abundant life. It was pleasure and peace of mind and contentment all rolled together.</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif, important; font-size: 14.4399995803833px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="color: white;">Taste and see how good God is - even as a naked bear served by a transgender Christ. </span></b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-74569907797278183822016-10-28T12:15:00.001-06:002016-10-29T07:23:00.465-06:00Drag Queen Ranting (Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>God can be such a queen!</b><br />
<b><i> </i></b><br />
<b><i> The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received in a vision.</i></b><br />
<b><i>"How long, Our God, am I to cry for help while you do not listen?</i></b><br />
<b><i> How long will I cry 'Oppression!' in your ear and you do not save?</i></b><br />
<b><i>Why do you make me look upon injustice?</i></b><br />
<b><i> Why do yo countenance tyranny?</i></b><br />
<b><i>Outrage and violence - this is all I see!</i></b><br />
<b><i> All is contention, and discord flourishes.</i></b><br />
<b><i>The law loses its hold, and justice never shows itself.</i></b><br />
<b><i> The corrupt triumph over these who are righteous, and justice is perverted once again."</i></b><br />
<b><i>.....</i></b><br />
<b><i> Our God replied, </i></b><br />
<b><i>"Write down this vision,</i></b><br />
<b><i> inscribe it legibly on tablets so that a herald can read it,</i></b><br />
<b><i>since this vision will stand as a witness to the appointed time of judgement;</i></b><br />
<b><i> it gives a faithful testimony, about a time that will come.</i></b><br />
<b><i>It it is slow in coming, wait for it -</i></b><br />
<b><i> for come it will, without fail."</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Look - those who hearts are corrupt will faint with exhaustion,</i></b><br />
<b><i> while those who steadfastly uphold justice (alternatively, "faith") will live.</i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><i>Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4</i></b></div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBnr8hRd0qXJ8dCA0IvyFzXQcwXCsk6J5sOBuwKjOj2k-jr9rEPDjPQbxBNN7dXyj6Wg0rEACkjOEj-CnCOY0uGt9E5lnBMHuNFEVagG99TiMMhgKy-IrU8rRBeY8wFcGW4eUp7c2SHU/s1600/Jesica.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBnr8hRd0qXJ8dCA0IvyFzXQcwXCsk6J5sOBuwKjOj2k-jr9rEPDjPQbxBNN7dXyj6Wg0rEACkjOEj-CnCOY0uGt9E5lnBMHuNFEVagG99TiMMhgKy-IrU8rRBeY8wFcGW4eUp7c2SHU/s320/Jesica.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://mic.com/articles/103204/a-photographer-s-stunning-portrait-series-challenges-how-we-think-about-gender#.85hlPeq0Q" target="_blank">Jessica in Bobbé <i>Half-Drag</i></a> </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>I yelled at God today. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>I was tired and feeling a bit put out. Nothing new that I haven't already ranted about. A Facebook post. You know, one of those going on about the queers being the cause of the decline in U.S. prestige. I don't know why it got under my skin, but it did.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>So I yelled. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>It was a brilliant rant about all the real reasons the world is going to hell in a hand basket: oppression, injustice, tyranny, violence, discord, perversion of the right. I pulled the list straight from Habakkuk. It seems not much has changed since the early 600s B.C.E. I threw that in too, just to mess with God's head.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>I'm a classically trained minister. I know all the arguments. So I let God have it. Someone had to. In you face God! </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Mic drop.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Then God talked back. </b><b>Now, I'm not saying I heard an audible voice. God has never talked to me in such a way. No, it was more of a nagging feeling, more of a fleeting thought that didn't quite fly off. </b><b>Even in this mode of communication God can be blunt, for </b><b>God really is not one for subtleties and innuendos.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>"Look at the drag queen, he/she lives in the fluidity of gender identity among many who abhor any notion beyond binary gender categories. Beat on, leered at, and laughed at as stereotypes of human audacity, the drag queen lives on, faithful to who she/he is and does what is right. And in doing what is right, finds life."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>God can be such a queen!</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-39082894597340138482016-10-19T19:52:00.002-06:002016-10-28T08:09:20.287-06:00I hate life (Genesis 3:8-11)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>I hate this walk. I hate life. And here She comes.</b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, "Where are you?"</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>And he said, "I heard You in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid."</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><i>Genesis 8-11 (HCSB)</i></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXi0HTy3MBUGIr5_dxghOeCslnJHa3ivUIs9gDLc7xig2fLf4mqmvoZ5vaLIId7f3SiAAc46dZbFjiaYkcRjfmPEtRIikExMu8UBPUGs3J4M8rpai5CpedJ5AhwPZXgxH8zsG0Tas4Fw/s1600/Islamic-Adam-and-Eve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXi0HTy3MBUGIr5_dxghOeCslnJHa3ivUIs9gDLc7xig2fLf4mqmvoZ5vaLIId7f3SiAAc46dZbFjiaYkcRjfmPEtRIikExMu8UBPUGs3J4M8rpai5CpedJ5AhwPZXgxH8zsG0Tas4Fw/s320/Islamic-Adam-and-Eve.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://public-domain-images.blogspot.com/2010_07_04_archive.html" target="_blank"><i>Adam and Eve</i>, by Abu Said Ubaud Allah Ibn Bakhitshu</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Today I walked with God through the forest. </b><b>I wore my rainbow shoes. Queer pride on display. Queer pride taking me forward.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>I didn't get far and soon realized my mistake: my old nemesis - mud. It is found in society as that deep sucking, sinking-past-your-ankle, stealing-your-shoes mud of fear and anxiety. How often did it send me home barefooted to my angry mother?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"Where are your shoes, boy?!"</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Sure enough - gluck, gluck, gluck - my queer pride was snatched away. </b><b>Fearfully, I raised my naked feet.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>"Shit!" I shouted. Forgetting I was on a walk with God my Mother. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Great - lost shoes, lost pride, and now my loose tongue will get my mouth washed out.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>I hate this walk. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I hate life at this moment.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>And here She comes. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>Failing this thing called "</b><b>faith," I start stammering out the ten commandments. Can't remember but three of them. So I start to quote the Beatitudes? Crap, who is among the blessed? Certainly not me. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>She's here. </b><b>Stinky rainbow shoes muddying her hands. </b><b>In Her eyes - laughter.</b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-33746882656019001592016-07-16T08:28:00.001-06:002016-07-16T13:39:45.747-06:00Taming God (Exodus 3:13-14)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>In the context of the issue of devotional captivity, God declares freedom to express the Divine Self as God chooses, leaving us with a sense of non-conforming. Which, once you think about it, is a transgressive act against any thought of capturing the Divine Essence. </b><br />
<b><i> </i></b><br />
<b><i> Then Moses asked God, "If I go to the Israelites and say to them: The God of your fathers (and mothers) has sent me to you, and they ask me, 'What is His name?' what should I tell them?"</i></b><br />
<b><i> God replied to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you." </i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Exodus 3:13-14</b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTqNMY-eDbvj_l2N7DiuWWhftWyE41_6csNNwGO4rcOhY6iMi60kDgF5XR9QkmWSPP-rxgtTUh4A8PtVngKbKXT9K-g9EKDsyOap9nKLPwwCDuMvLlxMl5piXlEPqnC0ZP6gmX6mrrPc/s1600/captura_de_pantalla_2014-11-25_a_las_07.56.03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTqNMY-eDbvj_l2N7DiuWWhftWyE41_6csNNwGO4rcOhY6iMi60kDgF5XR9QkmWSPP-rxgtTUh4A8PtVngKbKXT9K-g9EKDsyOap9nKLPwwCDuMvLlxMl5piXlEPqnC0ZP6gmX6mrrPc/s320/captura_de_pantalla_2014-11-25_a_las_07.56.03.png" width="251" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.manifestajournal.org/online-residencies/miguel-lopez/god-queer" target="_blank"><i>Ofrenda</i> by Nahum Zenil</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Can God be snared by our devotions? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Can God be trapped by our ideology, wrapped up as it is in spiritual garb?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Can God be worshipped only when we have tamed the wild lion and ensured divine acquiescence to our agenda?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Can God be bought with our praise and turned into an idol of devotion without fear of any demands in return?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>If God must be snared, trapped, tamed, and bought what does this say about us?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Zenil's painting <i>Ofrenda </i>("offering in English) confuses me. I am drawn to the intimacy of the composition with our ability to touch and love on Jesus. However is this a willing Jesus? Is he adored because he is a captive? Is he adored because he too has been marginalized and chained up? What exactly is the nature of this relationship? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Zenil is a gay Mexican artist known for tweaking the religious iconography of Mexican culture to speak to the disenfranchisement of queer men in a macho society. Zenil writes, "I have always felt marginalized in my life and have experienced a great sense of solitude. In my art I've tried to effect a communication between members of society and myself."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>I take great comfort in the idea that Christ has been marginalized as sexual and gender minorities have been marginalized. Still I wonder, do I only worship God because the divine too is marginalized? Is my intimate devotion based upon the notion that She (or He) is one of us? If this is true has God not become ensnared in my devotion - the eternally marginalized and hated? Is God destined by my devotion to the Ostracized Divine to spend eternity in ropes and chains?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The same can be said of those whose worship of God is tethered to heteronormative ideologies and leanings. These folks would see Zenil's work as blasphemy and declare any talk of an "Ostracized Divine" as heresy. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>In the context of the issue of devotional captivity, God declares freedom to express the Divine Self as God chooses, leaving us with a sense of non-conforming. Which, once you think about it, is a transgressive act against any thought of capturing the Divine Essence. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>This transgressive act of Holy Freedom resists "institutionalized systems of morality and social respectability," according to the pseudonymous writer Profane Joy, "opening pathways that had been blocked, and doing so in order to establish new territories of critical devotion for non-normative desires and bodies."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>I am humbled in the realization that God is not trapped within the yearnings and needs of my queer devotion. For my devotion can also shutdown and block new territories for those who need non-normative pathways to the Divine.</b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-41160808028086870212016-07-09T07:47:00.007-06:002016-07-09T12:57:52.491-06:00The Unlovable Divine (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 12px;">In this primal divine scream God becomes the unforgiveable, God becomes the unlovable, God becomes the unacceptable. </span></span></b> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> "<i>Completely illusory!" says Qoheleth</i></b></span><br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> "Completely illusory! Everything is just an illusion!"</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></b>
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I, Qoheleth, was a ruler of Israel in Jerusalem. I saw it was my duty - aided by Wisdom - to determine all that is accomplished under the sun. What a heavy task God has laid upon us! So now I've see all the works that have been down under the sun, and let me tell you: Everything is an illusion, like chasing the wind.</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></b>
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I have come to abhor all my labor under the sun, the fruits of which I now must pass on to my successor. Will this person be wise or foolish? Regardless, my successor will be in charge of all mighty things I created under the sun. This too is illusory. For I, a person who has worked wisely, skillfully, and successfully, must leave it to someone who has not so much as lifted a finger - more illusion, another miscarriage of justice. Why do I gain from all my sweat and struggle under the sun? What about the daily struggles, the strain of official duties, the anxiety in the dead of night? This too is illusory.</span></i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23</span></b><br />
<b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpz9Fl9nQqtIIoVni7UCuaKU0XQYKW9UbjByNFg-bJr6Ocdh9jXD_F81hclD-QmljiSsliWdvS6BNnzk-bCSs_VMJkNxJQ4iqbwf1TzimjLbuuX1GoZJeUv_GC96Q6wQvxBQDcnA2eQxk/s1600/i-am-a-lesbian-and-beautiful-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpz9Fl9nQqtIIoVni7UCuaKU0XQYKW9UbjByNFg-bJr6Ocdh9jXD_F81hclD-QmljiSsliWdvS6BNnzk-bCSs_VMJkNxJQ4iqbwf1TzimjLbuuX1GoZJeUv_GC96Q6wQvxBQDcnA2eQxk/s320/i-am-a-lesbian-and-beautiful-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";"><a href="https://artblart.com/tag/dancing-with-the-hare-krishnas-in-the-sydney-domain/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Phillip Porter <i>Gay is Good</i>, 1971, printed 2014</span></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Welcome to the world of Ecclesiastes whose author, Qoheleth, gets the award for the most depressing biblical book. Nonetheless though, her insights into the human predicament are keen and stands out in scriptures for her bravery to fix our gaze on the absurdities of life. </b></span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">I keep saying her, for the word Qoheleth, often translated as "the Preacher," is a feminine noun. I take that to mean we are hearing a female voice.</b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>The insights of Qoheleth can be summed up in two words: LIFE SUCKS.</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">For Qoheleth there is a tediousness to daily living. In face of the onslaught of recalcitrant and intractable powers Qoheleth feels she is existing on the edge of absurdity. Life is a predator dealing out indiscriminate and undeserved sorrow. </b><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">All life sucks. And according to Qoheleth the reason it sucks is because we carry around in our heads pictures of what life should be like - nostalgic and romantic illusions that, in the end, have nothing to do with reality. </b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Partnerships and families that don’t stack up to the illusion in our heads. Work situations that don’t match the picture in our heads. Friendships that don’t measure up to the yard stick in our heads. Health needs that bang against the life-maps in our heads. School settings that don’t live out the scenarios in our heads. </b></span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Qoheleth says it is vanity to think that life should ever measure up, for life, once stripped of its illusions, sucks! </b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>This is often difficult for me as a progressive christian to understand. Where I would say the foundational reality of life is that we are children of God, Qoheleth argues that the foundational reality of life is that we are children of sorrow. </b></span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">From her point of view life is an experience to be endured. She tells us she made it her life goal to find out how things got accomplished but it was like chasing the wind. She tells us that she worked hard to leave a legacy for her family, yet the family has no appreciation for the wisdom and skill involved. Her hope that there would be gain from her sweat and struggle was misplaced, an illusion in her head.</b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 12px;">Certainly sexual and gender </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">transgressive</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 12px;"> people can understand Qoheleth's desperation. Porter's photograph from 1971 could be almost any </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">city</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 12px;"> today some 45 years later. For all our protesting and all our "gains," society only tolerates us at best; hu</span><span style="font-size: 12px;">nts</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 12px;"> us down at worst. </span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 12px;">From a queer </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">perspective</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 12px;"> we find God doesn’t offer us a way out, but rather God offers us companionship in the midst of life’s absurdities. Wrote the Methodist theologian, Paul Jones, “As we scream over the way things are for us, so God screams over the way things are for God.” In this primal divine scream God becomes the unforgiveable, God becomes the unlovable, God becomes the unacceptable. </span></span></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 12px;">Whatever it is that is the seldom-acknowledged “un” of our life, which our illusions help hide from us, that “un” God becomes. In becoming our “un” God also becomes a true participant in our sorrow. From a christian perspective we acknowledge that Christ stretches out upon the cross of the world’s absurdity with us and in this act of solidarity our lives are named as holy, sacred, worthy - even as we scream at the </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">banality</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 12px;"> of it all.</span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-53624627842141827352016-07-02T05:45:00.000-06:002016-07-17T06:41:20.596-06:00Hate is Hate is Hate is Hate is Hate (Proverbs 10:12)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>"This exercise to claim that I am more hated than you, is itself a product of disgust, revulsion, and blame." </b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers all wrongs.</i></b><br />
<b><i> </i>Proverbs 10:12</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NAOhVmK2b3JVa49R5uZtQYdgmNVw76wXLpLGWyILUdUQQVXBT42lYYf32l80-JNDNo__br3Cf62kt4g2br9-9Y7V3RGIn_Ek17AhPnZd_yq203AumaujoZohV2zqncweVz2RPm7YgDc/s1600/blog1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NAOhVmK2b3JVa49R5uZtQYdgmNVw76wXLpLGWyILUdUQQVXBT42lYYf32l80-JNDNo__br3Cf62kt4g2br9-9Y7V3RGIn_Ek17AhPnZd_yq203AumaujoZohV2zqncweVz2RPm7YgDc/s200/blog1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>It has been three weeks since the shootings in Orlando. For all our promises that, "We are Orlando," most of us have moved on. After all it was Pride Month and the victims would have wanted us to celebrate Juneteenth with even more vigor in their memory. The pundits have the bombing of the Istanbul airport and the hostages in Bangladesh to kick around. The unfortunate truth is that the Pulse Nightclub was just one more act of hate in a sea of hate. We were outraged for the moment and the moment passed.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>In my last post I referenced a friend who invited me into conversation about sin. In the end he did reply - once. I guess his Orlando Vigil did the trick of relieving him of any association with the thought that his anti-gay preaching might have something to do with the rise of hate against queer people. Clearly, he wasn't going to enter a conversation that might remove the thin rusted tin of that facade. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>We're still seeking to figure out the motivation of the shooter. Was he homophobic? Did he seek to go out a notorious ISIS agent after his life had amounted to one failure after another? Was it revenge for being rejected in his own search for gay partners? It may take years to untangle the shooters' motive. Of course by then no one will really care. Which is a shame, I think there is much to learn here if we but have the courage to keep our gaze on the rage and carnage.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Hate, at least in US culture, is relational. We just don't hate in general (the French apparently have an expression which allow for unfocused hate). But in the US our hate is directed at someone or something. To hate assumes a relationship. A relationship in which we act aggressively toward another with destructive thoughts. The object of our hate brings disgust into our lives and we act on our revulsion and seek to remove from our lives the person we blame for the disgust. Of course in order to remove a person we must first see them as something less than human or at least less than worthy of our good will. This is the particular dynamic hate allows.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Which brings me to my point: hate is hate is hate is hate is hate! In situations such as the Orlando shootings there is a tendency toward ranking who is hated the most. Several posts of my Face Book feed took up the cry that the worst massacre in US history was not the Pulse Nightclub but rather Wounded Knee. Another thread compared the relative privilege of white queer people to the continuing vulnerability of African Americans. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>This exercise to claim that I am more hated than you, is itself a product of the system of disgust, revulsion, and blame. All such thinking does is to invite us to perpetuate the cycle of thoughts and emotions that hate feeds off of. Better is that we come to understand networks of thinking patterns and attitudes which allow for hate to flourish and capture all in their nets of "us versus them."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The proverb has it right, hate does stir up conflict to such a tumult of chaos and ugliness that we can even hate ourselves. Love, however, covers wrongs. That is love does not react to others with disgust but with empathy and compassion. Love refuses to dehumanize in order that I may justify my actions. Love allows me to understand that the better path in life is to welcome instead of exclude.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-42706383799419673402016-06-22T16:01:00.000-06:002016-06-25T06:31:43.500-06:00Queering Sin (Romans 3:23)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>"Under no circumstance should the innocent sight of two men kissing in public be the trigger of so much hate and ill will."</b><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b>For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.</b></i><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b> Romans 3:23</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWHxm-G7fxy-rhBdbVZpZF4GDlUOAEZlQQIdQ5d-hi91fDLaXAi6aeK6X3LeHacr54OHO46W_PQ2AJqX7sN6-rl2H9EcnnPjXG0u1rSdu7x13QFyNSWI4Vc5WKb2UMeZz4f_CzPiT9nQ/s1600/Two+guys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWHxm-G7fxy-rhBdbVZpZF4GDlUOAEZlQQIdQ5d-hi91fDLaXAi6aeK6X3LeHacr54OHO46W_PQ2AJqX7sN6-rl2H9EcnnPjXG0u1rSdu7x13QFyNSWI4Vc5WKb2UMeZz4f_CzPiT9nQ/s320/Two+guys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Sin is not a subject I spend much time writing about on this blog. Largely because it is a much misunderstood biblical concept. On the one extreme are those who see the fires of hell when this issues is spoken about. On the other extreme are those who cry out "sin like you mean it!" Those that see the act of breaking one taboo or another as a protest against the marginalization and disenfranchisement the taboo speaks too.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>One of the problems of the concept of sin is who gets to define what sin is. Typically it is those in power and they define sin in such as way as to buttress their hold on power. Take for instance the "sin" of homosexuality. Clearly queerness is defined as a sin to buttress the power base of the heteronormative. </b><b>Under no circumstance should the innocent sight of two men kissing in public be the trigger of so much hate and ill will. Yet it was, because a whole swath of conservative religious voices has declared it to be "sin!"</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Interestingly what I found to be sinful was the number of these conservative voices calling for vigils and prayers for the victims of the shooting. </b><b>As I rather nastily said to a Southern Baptist minister acquaintance, "If you can't honor us in life, keep your bullshit out of our funerals." Still he could not see the disconnect of preaching against homosexuality on Sunday and praying for our dead brothers and sisters on Monday. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Personally, I do have a rather strong understanding of the manifestation of sin. Let me start with the insight of postmodern thinkers: we humans cannot transcend ourselves. We are enmeshed in our very creatureliness and cannot be something other. The bible enlarges this insight to denote that deep within the self is the will to dominate in order that I may survive. This dynamic is so great that just to be born is to participate in the will to dominate. We "do" in order to justify our existence. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>In the case of the Pulse Nightclub the "doing" was to seek to eradicate the sinner. Which demonstrates the final biblical insight into sin, that even when we think we are seeking God, we actually act out of self-preservation and seek to <i>be</i> God.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>It is not my intention to be cliched and say the shooter was a sinner and if he had just been right with God, Orlando would never have happened. It is my intention to say that due to the sin of intolerance to the LGBTQIA community an attitude was birthed by which the shooter could justify his actions in the name of religion. The same sinful attitude allowed conservative religious folk, who speak against and joke at queer people, to see themselves as unstained by this incident. Although the blood of our queer martyrs flows across their hands as sure as if they pulled the trigger themselves. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>As I mentioned to my Southern Baptist minister friend, because we are all sinners, because we are all driven to live in self-delusion, because we humans cannot transcend ourselves, then we must entertain the notion that even our interpretations of the bible are laced with sin. That our interpretations tend to be more about our will to dominate rather than a true and earnest desire to connect to God.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>My acquaintance has not replied, although he was the one who invited the conversation. I'm not surprise for hypocrisy often stumbles when the facade of self-delusion is pulled away. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>As a religious person I am not stumped by sin. Good religions are those that indicate a way from the trap of self-delusion and the will to dominate. However, as a religious person I'm also very much aware that we all need to adopt a posture of confession, knowing that even at our best the drive to dominate will manifest itself: that what I think I'm doing for good, only turns out to be a delusional excuse for self-preservation and self-promotion.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>May Eternity have mercy on our souls.</b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-56886435847516538712016-06-12T19:23:00.000-06:002016-06-13T19:57:21.829-06:00In the Wake of Orlando (Matthew 23:27-28)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>I am sorry, but one cannot pray for Orlando if one speaks against homosexuality, seeks to pray the gay away, refers someone to aversion therapy, opposes marriage equality, or otherwise uses one's office as a minster or civic leader to disparage the "gay lifestyle."</b><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b>(Jesus said) Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness </b></i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Matthew 23:27-28</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span id="goog_1992888111"></span><span id="goog_1992888112"></span><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_jOK8pKfVomqts3Q_pRQ2TB7DfRBlDkNNCrsY_gSWp-883l5oh46kSIgZsa3x2DCbwyYTbr6UALAgeY_94rlyys7fa2nmKmQYLeFKPM9ilzBWPcBkB7Jk56QXe1FZRF5bVymrb-2IYc/s1600/orlando.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_jOK8pKfVomqts3Q_pRQ2TB7DfRBlDkNNCrsY_gSWp-883l5oh46kSIgZsa3x2DCbwyYTbr6UALAgeY_94rlyys7fa2nmKmQYLeFKPM9ilzBWPcBkB7Jk56QXe1FZRF5bVymrb-2IYc/s200/orlando.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>It's been ten months since my last post. Taking a break as I've felt I've not had much to say. But the acts of a hate terrorist in the Pulse Nightclub has caused my voice to awaken. I have so many feelings watching the news and then the reactions to the event. If you happen to be a Face Book friend with me, you have seen my posts throughout this day. What I write here restates and explores what was posted there.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Strangely, I find myself not angry at the perpetrator of the horror. I thought I would be. I thought once a name was given and an inevitable picture of the shooter appeared I would burn with a deep brooding anger. The kind that smolders until touched by oxygen and then explodes. But that did not happen. Instead when I met the hater I could only feel pity for him. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>His name is Omar Mateen. My pity goes out because he is a product of heterosexist attitudes that continue to understand queer lives as "less then" and "less worthy." In reality he goes by many names, Susan, Mark, Shara, Donald. He inhabits many expressions of faith including Islam, Christian, and Jewish. He is average and nothing sets him apart, which is why he represents all the failure of hetero-patriarchy. I do pity those caught up in the entanglements and chains of the heteroarchy complex of homophobia and heterosexism. Great is the hate they must bear in order to validate their world. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>If anything I am frustrated with the heteronormativity which allows those who set the stage for this tragedy through attitudes and words to claim innocents of their part in the terror. There is a great temptation among such people to say, "The shooter doesn't represent us!" The sobering truth is that the shooter does represent everyone who has ever made a snide remark, sneered, told a joke, posted anti-queer memes, or remained silent as others did these things. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>My brother, who is ensnared in heteronormativity, stated, "No. He was an Islamist terrorist. No more no less." With this statement my brother does not have to hold himself accountable for the barbs, the shaming, the cold shoulder that exists between us. He is innocent for an "Islamist" killed and maimed. The heteroarchy complex is unstained and remains the untouched and unreflected upon abode of prejudice and hate. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Also caught up in the entanglements of heteronormativity are clergy and politicians who have been strident in their anti-queer rhetoric and activities. The most recent being their tantrum over bathroom use. If anything has raised anger in me today it has been the hypocrisy of these folks to raise up "prayers for Orlando."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>I am sorry, but one cannot pray for Orlando if one speaks against homosexuality, seeks to pray the gay away, refers people to aversion therapy, opposes marriage equality, or otherwise uses one's office as a minster or civic leader to disparage the "gay lifestyle." The attitudes behind these actions set the stage for the tragedy in Orlando, as surely as striking a match sets a fire. The only prayer these folks can lift up is "God forgive us, for we know not what we do." Otherwise these clergy and politicians run the risk of becoming what Jesus describes as whitewashed tombs - pretty on the outside, harboring death and decay on the inside.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>For those who went to enjoy a night out and a time to connect with like minded people,</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>For those who went in trepidation of exploring internal markers long denied,</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>For families suffering the news of lost loved ones and the lost chance to love their children fully,</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>God grant your merciful presence of love, comfort, and peace. Amen.</b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-76328716321505519212015-08-25T10:06:00.003-06:002015-08-27T07:00:59.022-06:00Queers on Pilgrimage (Deuteronomy 26:5-11)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Like each individual snowflake the path will be the one of our own making, yet our destiny is the same: full inclusion in the human experience of being loved and valued so we might express ourselves openly and without fear of retribution.</b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Then you will declare before Our God, "My ancestor was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an alien. There they became a nation great, strong and numerous. When the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed, who heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression? Our God brought us out of the Egypt with a strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs of wonders; Our God gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Therefore, I have brought now the first fruits of the products of the soil that you, O God, have given me." Then you must set them before Your God, and bow down before the Most High.</i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><i>Deuteronomy 26:5-11</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXuFIAkykLA_WrRX-ksfs2VB-xmV5qyOG7aNrVpVqRw43pHpAbxbhCDR_GfL40teYHG2t7fyKlTGRssXKklmSDZuDza4s4Bj0ibz9G_bVOdZND-sJOu51a4CXSIiU1CvsIQKO8kWasSc/s1600/Queer+Parade+Hyderabad+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXuFIAkykLA_WrRX-ksfs2VB-xmV5qyOG7aNrVpVqRw43pHpAbxbhCDR_GfL40teYHG2t7fyKlTGRssXKklmSDZuDza4s4Bj0ibz9G_bVOdZND-sJOu51a4CXSIiU1CvsIQKO8kWasSc/s320/Queer+Parade+Hyderabad+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://archives.deccanchronicle.com/130204/news-current-affairs/gallery/hyderabad-pictures" target="_blank">Pride Parade Hyderabad</a></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>"Wondering Arameans were our ancestors," is both a claim of faithful remembrance and a claim of trust in the Sacred to guide us into the unknown. To say that our ancestors in the faith were wondering Arameans is to affirm that the journey of Abraham and Sarah is our journey too and their journey is continued today through you and me ever stretching, ever moving forward, ever responding to the nudges of the Holy.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Today we often take on journeys, or quests, or pilgrimages as a result of seeking and desiring. We seek something to complete us or we desire healing and that which provides is our destiny. However, Abraham and Sarah did not leave their dusty, cluttered souls-capes in order to "find." They started their quest because the Sacred called them to move on with their lives. God, we discover, walked beside them all the way of their journey.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Those of us who count ourselves among the sexual and gender diverse are also on a quest. And like the children of Abraham and Sarah, we too find that our journey is the present leg of a pilgrimage that is as old as humanity. What the queer pilgrimage has taught me is that while our destiny is the same, the path by which we get there is varied, hence the alphabet soup of initials: L G B T Q I A. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Steve Maraboli speaks to the dynamic of destiny and paths in his book, <i>Life, the Truth, and Being Free: "</i></b><b>We have all heard that no two snowflakes are alike. Each snowflake takes the </b><b>perfect form for the maximum efficiency and effectiveness for its journey. </b><b>And while the universal force of gravity gives them a shared destination, the </b><b>expansive space in the air gives each snowflake the opportunity to take their </b><b>own path. They are on the same journey, but each takes a different path. Along </b><b>this gravity-driven journey, some snowflakes collide and damage each other, </b><b>some collide and join together, some are influenced by the wind ... there are so </b><b>many transitions and changes that take place along the journey of the </b><b>snowflake. But, no matter what the transition, the snowflake always finds </b><b>itself perfectly shaped for its journey."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Like each individual snowflake the path will be the one of our own making, yet our destiny is the same: full inclusion in the human experience of being loved and valued so we might express ourselves openly and without fear of retribution.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The ending of the biblical passage points to the time of completion when we have made it to our journey's end and live within the full expectancy waiting for us. During this time our hearts and minds are to turn not to ideas of comeuppance or victory, but rather are to turn to the singular notion of humility. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>It is a humble act to acknowledge that we did not arrive by ourselves. Like slaves from Egypt, we arrive in our promised land because other's fought and marched, were jailed and even killed. We lift up this legacy, not to be ashamed, but rather to honor the journey and those who got us this far. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The biblical passage also calls us to honor the Source of our being as one who walks with us until the pilgrimage is completed. This Source goes by various names in queer circles - some religious and some secular. It is important that we acknowledge that something both within and outside of us moved along the snowflake path with us bringing us to our final destiny.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Let us move one with courage born of the knowledge that we have been </b><b>perfectly formed for "maximum efficiency and effectiveness" on our journey. Let us travel down the road in the expectancy that the promised land does await. And let us acknowledge with love and honor those who started the journey and got us this far.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-20751701958457378862015-06-22T10:21:00.001-06:002016-07-04T12:27:29.609-06:00Dished by God (Isaiah 49:14-16)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>We who gather under the queer umbrella find ourselves, like Israel, questioning the validity of God's actions. </b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i> But Zion said, "</i>Our God<i> has abandoned me, Adonai has forgotten me."</i></b><br />
<div>
<b><i> (Our God replied) "Does a woman forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the child of her womb? Yet even if these forget I will never forget you. Look and see: I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are forever before me."</i></b></div>
<div>
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmweJLPybY4S28MXSab36OsaISfKvY4INP3tHbhRdn29gte9Npj6PIUO94Ot4Meg7d3J5MFYnrpZfLpQI4lakGXcCnSpZdbVWMKyd-BBBWPYPtuuZsGPRcUAu3Ur4lAJTkSpulCZUOZs/s1600/Mary-breastfeeding-Jesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmweJLPybY4S28MXSab36OsaISfKvY4INP3tHbhRdn29gte9Npj6PIUO94Ot4Meg7d3J5MFYnrpZfLpQI4lakGXcCnSpZdbVWMKyd-BBBWPYPtuuZsGPRcUAu3Ur4lAJTkSpulCZUOZs/s320/Mary-breastfeeding-Jesus.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.the-exponent.com/nursing-madonna-as-gods-love/" target="_blank">Black Madonna Nursing</a></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div>
<b>Israel is angry with God. Promises have been made. Promises which Israel feels have been broken. "God has abandoned us," they say shaking their fist in the face of the Sacred. "You have abandoned us and left us nothing more than a door-mate for others."</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>These strong words reflect deep seated angst concerning Israel's place in the world. They are vulnerable, disliked, and perceived as a worrying nuisance by her neighbors. Sounds familiar doesn't it? </b><b>We who gather under the queer umbrella find ourselves, like Israel, questioning the validity of God's actions. Is this true gracious movement towards us, or are we being set up to take a bigger hit?</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>The queer person of faith often asks - if you hate gays then why did you make me this way? We are, just like everyone other human, an accident of our birth. Our country, our hair, our skin color, our sexual orientation are the chances of dice rolled without our blessing. We come vulnerable and alienated with only one promise - that life, or the God of life. is on our side. Yet, queer kids, queer teenagers, queer adults tend to find out it is not necessarily so. </b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>"We won't sale cakes to your kind." "Oh, that so gay!" "God hates fags." "Let's pass this law for 'religious freedom.'" Of course there is more hate masquerading as religious zeal and it leave us wondering why God abandoned us. It might be, that like Israel, we need to shake our fists and demand an accounting from the Holy. </b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Maybe I should end my post here. At times we are not angry enough. The slurs and the taunts will keep coming and only our anger will be able to point our compass to true north. It is our anger which alerts us that life should be better. Our anger motivates us to march and to have pride and to stake our claim for dignity and respect.</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>God replies to Israel's anger - and to ours - with images that are both intimate and striking. The first image is of childbirth and suckling a new born, "Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you." The image of the mothering God feeding us at the breast and singing soft lullabies in our ears speaks to God's tender intimacy. An intimacy which knows us through and through, and while holding us accountable, never reject us as suggested in the Black Madonna icon above.</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>The second image vibrates along a forgotten metaphor. The phrase "to cut" brings to mind the stylus and clay tablet or chisel and stone monument. When an important promise was made the words were cut into stone - into that which last beyond our lifetimes. God's announcement that our names are cut into the diving being means our name - our own essence - is before God from everlasting to everlasting.</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>When we broaden the context of this passage and place it into the flow of the full book of Isaiah, especially the second half, we discover that God's promise is not necessarily to remove us from the accident of our birth. Rather God's promises to honor that we were born and to walk intimately with us on the trajectory the accident of our birth places us on. </b></div>
</div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799401786815294548.post-1261183794314144932015-04-25T04:37:00.002-06:002015-04-28T15:45:28.182-06:00Celebrating the Queer Affirming God (1 Peter 3:15)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Beloved of the Lover, who equips us to flourish, accept the offering of our queer living and loving.</b><br />
<br />
<b><i>But honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.</i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>1 Peter 3:15 HCSB</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuZdyjqFsXzrKdpYC-Cqsj-qR_uNHRU39bMUqw5xFwK-somBXk-0yWtSFfR7KjQ7JQWUMKE_uF8DCyFa0Rqv8dbnLK7K-guIducHi2bfwThXDKYacjFaBJjaUVUgFZ_RdFSQuYJkHYc9w/s1600/gay+messiah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuZdyjqFsXzrKdpYC-Cqsj-qR_uNHRU39bMUqw5xFwK-somBXk-0yWtSFfR7KjQ7JQWUMKE_uF8DCyFa0Rqv8dbnLK7K-guIducHi2bfwThXDKYacjFaBJjaUVUgFZ_RdFSQuYJkHYc9w/s1600/gay+messiah.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://queerscifi.com/a-gay-messiah/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">from Queer Sci Fi</span></a></b></div>
<b><i style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></i></b><b>What are the contours - the images, vocabulary, and metaphors - of the God who is queer affirming? How do queer people of faith "give reason for the hope" that is in us? What are the attributes of the God we worship? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Mass Celebrating the Queer Affirming God</b></div>
<br />
<b><i style="text-decoration: underline;">Kyri</i><u><i>e (the nature of our relationship with God)</i></u></b><br />
<b>Our God, in which passion finds its beginning and its end, inspire us.</b><br />
<b>Jesus, lover of our souls, rouse us.</b><br />
<b>Our God whose erotic expression birthed creation, energize us. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><u style="font-style: italic;">Gloria</u><u> (praise for what God and Christ bring into our lives)</u></b><br />
<b>Glory to you, our God the source of life who is above, below, around, within.</b><br />
<b>May the earth be filled with your joy and acceptance of all people.</b><br />
<b>We praise your beauty. We glorify your creativity.</b><br />
<b>We give you thanks for your great passion;</b><br />
<b>Heart of the universe, source of life, the ribald God.</b><br />
<b>And to the lover of our souls, the beloved of God, Jesus our Christ.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Jesus our friend, wounded companion, joy of our hearts desiring:</b><br />
<b>You who enable our lives to flourish, inspire us.</b><br />
<b>You who empower our souls to shimmer as rainbows, hear us.</b><br />
<b>You who are intimate with the source of life, energize our own yearning.</b><br />
<b>For you are primal desire. You are the lover of our souls.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>You, Jesus, are the passion which stirs our living and our loving</b><br />
<b>Along with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God, whose erotic expression is the source of life.</b><br />
<b>Amen.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><u style="font-style: italic;">Credo</u><u><i> (why we stake our living and loving on God)</i></u></b><br />
<b>We give the purpose of our living and loving to you, Our God, source of life, eternal lover,</b><br />
<b>Who poured being into created reality, comprising the wild diversity of life. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>And we give the purpose of our living and loving to the lover of our souls, Jesus our Christ, joy of our desiring, beloved of the lover.</b><br />
<b>Born of the source of life as primal desire, beloved and lover, desire of desiring, true passion from true passion,</b><br />
<b>Erotic expression, not lustfulness, of one with the source of life.</b><br />
<b>Through Jesus all desire - longing and belonging - emerge and merge.</b><br />
<b>Who for our flourishing did take up creaturely life.</b><br />
<b>Enfleshed by the Holy Spirit of the socially subversive Mary:</b><br />
<b>And was made an embodied, gendered, sexual being. </b><br />
<b>You, our Christ, suffered hate and rejection:</b><br />
<b>Your body, like many of your queer brothers and sisters, was beaten and tortured. </b><br />
<b>You died and was buried.</b><br />
<b>On the third day you flourished anew by the consummation of God's searching heart.</b><br />
<b>Passion found desire and you, the beloved, was reunited with God, the lover. </b><br />
<b>You lure creation with your longing for us, so that our living and loving may also flourish.</b><br />
<b>Your kin-ship knows no bounds.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>And we give the purpose of our living and loving to the Holy Spirit, blesser and sustainer of our flourishing.</b><br />
<b>You are the erotic eruption of the passion shared between the Beloved and the Lover.</b><br />
<b>You, with God and Jesus, are glorified.</b><br />
<b>You come to full expression through prophets who queer culture and call into question our assumptions. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>And we give the purpose of our living and loving to the safe places and supportive communities</b><br />
<b>Where your desire for creation, O God, envelops us.</b><br />
<b>We confess one source of passion for the flourishing of life,</b><br />
<b>Even as we await the fullness of inclusion and life in a world honoring all expressions of love.</b><br />
<b>Amen.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><u style="font-style: italic;">Sanctus</u><u> <i>(praising of God's actions)</i></u></b><br />
<b>Sacred, sacred, sacred is God,</b><br />
<b>Whose erotic passion fills the height and breath of the universe.</b><br />
<b>Hosanna in the highest.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><u style="font-style: italic;">Benedictus</u><u><i> (praising of Jesus' actions)</i></u></b><br />
<b>Blest is Jesus, </b><br />
<b>Who expresses inclusive love.</b><br />
<b>Hosanna in the highest.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><u style="font-style: italic;">Angus Dei</u><u> </u><i><u>(acknowledging the role of God through Christ in our lives)</u></i></b><br />
<b>Beloved of the Lover, who enables us to flourish, inspire us.</b><br />
<b>Beloved of the Lover, who empowers us to flourish, rouse us.</b><br />
<b>Beloved of the Lover, who equips us to flourish, accept the offering of our queer living and loving.</b></div>
David K. Pophamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761125269878514491noreply@blogger.com0