I got several messages from straight listeners encouraging me to post my Pride Month podcast episode more broadly, but the reason I’m going ahead with this blog post, which I’ll share on social media, is because of a message I received from a follower of Jesus who is LGBTQ and is committed to the traditional interpretation of Scripture that sex and marriage is to be between a man and a woman. This listener has sacrificed and surrendered their own sexual behavior so that their life lines up with Scripture (if only more straight Christians would have this type of faith and obedience), yet still has been rejected and dehumanized by Christians. Here is an excerpt from what they wrote me:
As Culture’s Cloud of Sex Darkens, Christians Must Shine Brightly
Our culture’s cloud of sexual living continues to get darker, denser and more and more expansive. Everything is becoming normal and everyone is starting younger. Sexual immorality is no respecter of persons. This has little to do with homosexuality vs. heterosexuality or any of the many cultural wars going on in this arena today. It’s […]
Shane Claiborne, Author & Activist – Episode 29 – #GoPublic against the death penalty, celebrityism as idolatry, speaking the truth in love, and how to engage in being an ordinary radical if your spouse isn’t into it
Noah Filipiak interviews Shane Claiborne about how to engage churches in helping the poor, activism and justice issues. They talk about celebrityism within popular Christianity, about what can be done to stop the death penalty (Shane’s latest book is Executing Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It’s Killing Us), and about how […]
How Evangelical Christians Should Respond to the Orlando Nightclub Massacre
49 people were gunned down and killed in an Orlando gay bar early Sunday morning, with another 53 wounded. You can read more about the gut-wrenching story here (CNN). The Orlando Sentinel is compiling a page where you can read a short tribute about each of the victims. There are lots of heavy elements to […]
An Agnostic and a Druid on Church in a Bar, Free Beer
We’ve been doing church in a bar, buying a free drink for first timers. Here’s an unsolicited blog comment I received this week following our 2nd time doing The Upper Room. Check out ChurchAtTheLoft.com if you’d like to come join us on a Tuesday night. This post was written by an agnostic who came to […]
What Does the U-shaped ن Arabic letter mean on Facebook and Twitter?
You might be seeing the Arabic letter ن popping up on friends’ Facebook and Twitter profile pics and have been wondering what it means. ن is the Arabic letter for “N” and was spray painted on all Christian property to be seized by ISIS militants in Mosul, Iraq. The “N” stands for the Arabic word […]