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I'm gay and I've had no problem reconciling my faith with my sexual orientation from the time I was 14/15.
The most important thing in my mind is acknowledging that historical context impacts the way the Bible should be interpreted. The word "homosexuality" wasn't in the Bible until the twentieth century. Verses that have been used to condemn all same-sex sexual activity are surrounded by verses that would seem to approve of slavery, if taken at face value.
Jesus, in reference to Christian teaching, says that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit. If teaching is sound, it will not result in the harm of those impacted it. This hasn't been the case with the conservative teaching on homosexuality. The church needs to act in a way consistent with the idea that "perfect love casts out fear."
There's a lot that can (and has) been said about this topic. I'd encourage you to grapple with it yourself, but to never forget that God loves all of their children. Also, if you haven't read them, God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines and Torn by Justin Lee are great books on this topic.
Warmest of wishes, friend.
>Torn by Justin Lee
Yay my book!
>God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines
Yay my friend's book!
I like these suggestions. ;)
Austen Hartke's Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians is a great resource for this question.
You might read about Tia Pesando. A few years ago she was in the news as a trans woman starting her novitiate as a Carmelite sister. She has a book called <em>Why God Doesn't Hate You</em>.
The book mentioned in the article is free as an eBook on Amazon. It’s a real solid read, especially for the price of free.
I’d recommend <em>The Inclusive Bible</em>. Also for just a New Testament, I’d recommend David Bentley Hart’s <em>The New Testament: A Translation</em>.
Paul in 1 Cor. says that he’d prefer if everyone remained celibate just like he was, and that the only people who should get married are those burning with passion and would commit sexuality immorality otherwise. This was taken very seriously in the early church. One of the most popular texts was The Acts of Paul and Thecla, where Thecla left her fiancé to follow Paul because of the attractiveness of Christianity’s celebration of virginity, which actually was very empowering to women in that day, because they wouldn’t be forced into a marriage and become beholden to a husband. Quite a few of the church fathers wrote treatises called On Virginity or something similar, and most all lauded virginity and had very negative things to say about marriage. For the first 1800 years of Christianity, celibacy was the ideal and marriage was a second-rate vocation. It wasn’t until the modern era that marriage (based on European bourgeois images of the family, undergirding the capitalist mode of production) curiously became the standard in Christianity. A great source for this is Mark Jordan’s <em>The Ethics of Sex</em>.
For me, this book was very helpful
Reading the Bible Again For the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally: Borg, Marcus J.: 8601406195776: Amazon.com: Books
It's not particularly radical. It's simply a look through the Bible with a deeper attempt at understanding its actual context.
Same here! A really scientific & great (although heady) response is: Finding Darwin’s God
And this books breaks more into scripture and how to interpret Genesis. The Evolution of Adam
I think those will both be helpful for you on your journey. Peace, friend.
Her passing encouraged me as a budding young writer to write something that matters, since I don't know how long I have. That following summer I got an idea, and I started writing. I wanted to capture a version of my story and journey through faith and doubt that made people laugh and think in the same way Rachel made me laugh and think.
​
I wound up publishing that book with an independent press just last month that I dedicated to Rachel Held Evans' life and memory, as a face in the crowd touched by the life she lived.
Google Play link here.
For those who haven't been following this app, it's a Bible app for progressive Christians. It has tons of devotionals for LGBTQ folks, racial minorities and progressive Christians in general. They're launching this weekend at the GCN Conference and Creating Change Conference.
I had used the Beta, and this release is much better. There are still a few bugs, but hopefully that doesn't affect your experience too much.
You might find Polkinghorne's testing scripture worth a read.. it's been a while for me, but it should help answer some of your questions. Polkinghorne is a quantum physicist and I've really appreciated his writings. In this book, he approaches the bible from a scientists perspective and talks through how he interprets and views the bible.
I haven't dug into exactly how "accurate" this is, but you might like to check out:
The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation
by Priests for Equality
https://www.amazon.com/Inclusive-Bible-First-Egalitarian-Translation/dp/1580512135/
I find it interesting to consult when comparing translations during study. Not sure I'd recommend it for devotional reading as I prefer the NRSV for both devotional and main study source.
My recommendation is <em>Being Christian</em> by Rowan Williams.
I’d disagree with the top comments recommending Mere Christianity. Some homophobic stuff in that book.
Not just write your own, but both of you together write stories maybe. Then there's a lot of "what, like this?" and other silly causes to investigate that might be fun.
That said, I'll also say don't rely on just one trick. Try to find others, otherwise you might find that your one trick loses efficacy over time or becomes boring or a chore or something.
Another suggestion: There are various "couples games" out there. You might look for something that builds up over the course of the game like this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eleven.gagesandroid ... see if slowly building into the mood is helpful and works.
As someone who has been to a sex therapist for my (previous) marriage, my biggest suggestion is to keep communicating. Let him know that you're interested and working on it (and follow up, of course, by actually working on things, but it absolutely sounds like you are). Maybe "sex" doesn't have to always involve penetration, but could be you getting him off (if both of you are up for that) from time to time and especially if you don't feel like you want to go through the entire thing (which is valid, even if you're upset about it).
Also, scheduling it helps a lot more than you might think. Sure, it's not impulsive, but it's on the calendar as something to look forward to, and provides a known date for this emotional / physical release. Just keep it fun (for example, by switching up what you do, even if the switching up is scheduled). Sex between married folks can absolutely become a chore from time to time, but it's pretty important to most of us and worth working through that and getting back to the fun of its purpose ... joining a couple together emotionally.
I loved the book Pure by Linda Kay Klein. It helped me see a bit more of how damaging the system was that I was raised in.
I’m so sorry you were lied to like this. I’m glad you’re getting treatment. My SO and I haven’t had vaginal sex for the purpose of birth control, and honestly I’m a little nervous about trying now that I’m on regular people birth control. We have a toy I’ve practiced with, but it hasn’t been too successful so far. I think it’s nerves, but I’m definitely worried about vaginismis (even though i use a menstrual cup). I’m pretty happy with our sex life the way it is, but it’s frustrating that I’m so anxious about opening all avenues.
The churches i grew up in definitely failed in sex education in every way. In college, i had to explain to multiple women that pulling out doesn’t work, they could still get pregnant in their periods, and even how to use a tampon. I went to a conservative baptist college, and they put immense pressure on people to get married ASAP. You can’t go off campus together unless you’re married. You can’t go anywhere in private without being married. You weren’t allowed to touch each other in any way. Men couldn’t get ordained in the pastoral major unless they were married. You can imagine the numbers of students getting married during their undergrad or immediately after.
I know so many who ended up accidentally pregnant or had very upsetting experiences with sex when they got married so early in college.
The idea that sex magically works in marriage after remaining celibate (especially with the huge pressure to refrain from masturbation) is so unhealthy. The idea that sex is JUST missionary penetration is also so hurtful. It’s so very obvious that conservative christianity is inundated with powerful men and has a severe lack of female representation.
Good luck, fren.
I/Still-Courage94601 is right on the money. Gentle/respectful parenting is the way to go. The only Christian resource I've seen that advocates for this position is <em>Jesus the Gentle Parent</em>. You might find that useful for countering the ways that the fundamentalists use scripture to justify their positions.
Personally, I rely heavily on Janet Lansbury and Sarah Ockwell-Smith for parenting resources. Janet Lansbury has a great podcast and advice blog.
As for guidance on introducing religion in productive way, I'm still exploring that. My spouse has ordered this book but we haven't read it yet so I'm not sure if I can recommend it yet. We attend a more liberal Mennonite congregation so I know that environment will ultimately be conducive to having broader conversations about faith and religion in the long term.
My kiddo isn't quite 2 yet, so we've got some time to figure things out. We're mostly screening out gifts from religious family that feature "white Jesus" or particularly rigid theological positions.
You sound like a awesome, smart, wise, mature kid who's unfortunately more mature than your parents. I'm so sorry your parents are treating you this way. Please keep in contact with positive people you trust (grandma, coach, counselor, etc). This is completely your parents fault, not yours!
You might also find supportive folks in r/justnofamily and/or r/raisedbynarcissists. Not everything may apply to you, and their advice can be blunt - but I think you need to be careful with your parents and set some healthy boundaries. I also recommend the book Boundaries. It's written from a Christian perspective and is a great resource.
If Jesus Came to My House. It’s old but good.
https://www.amazon.com/If-Jesus-Came-My-House/dp/1626542023/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=if+jesus+came+to+my+house+book&qid=1623379704&sprefix=if+jesus+&sr=8-1 I think it focuses more on being Christ-like than Christian.
https://www.amazon.com/Weve-Got-Whole-World-Hands/dp/1338177362 And, this one. I like the focus on putting humans responsible for what they do.
“Did God Kill Jesus?” by Tony Jones is an excellent introduction to the variety of atonement theologies.
https://www.amazon.com/Did-God-Kill-Jesus-Searching-ebook/dp/B00JTYN7QW
As well you could look up “Non-violent Atonement” and “Richard Rohr” on YouTube and find some good discussions on the topic.
Dr Sailhammer: Genesis Unbound (https://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Unbound-Provocative-Creation-Account/dp/0880708689) has been ringing a similar bell for 25+ years.
Sailhammer is an Old Testament scholar and includes a ton of reasons why Genesis may be an allegory of God creating the promised land of Israel for the Jews to live in as opposed to creating the whole earth.
I hear you.
You may find the book Where the Conflict Really Lies by Plantinga pretty interesting. It's written at more of a college level (rather than the popular level) and it's an incredible book by one of the top Philosophers out there. It's a fantastic book.
>Also atheism is a lack of belief. Like I am not a believer in his non-existence, I just generally don't believe
I think a better term, then, is agnostic. Atheism tends to imply the belief that there is no God, whereas agnostic is more of a "not sure" position.
A couple more comments...
>If he will judge me, then he'll judge me for my actions, not whether or not I found the reasons for his existence convincing to me, therefore I try my best to do good regardless.
Sure, but recognize you're operating under the assumption of a works-based salvation. If God uses different metrics to judge you (i.e. doesn't really care about people doing good), then he won't judge you on your actions. Most people tend to think the Christian God doesn't necessarily care about good deeds. So, you're using a somewhat different definition / idea of what God does than me.
>because if I was sinning, I'd stay a sinner anyways
Just like literally everyone else on the planet ;P. Being a Christian doesn't mean you'd stop sinning.
>I am not immoral, because I am atheist, that is simply non-sense
I never suggested atheists are immoral. In fact, I know many atheists that display more compassion, empathy, and respect (moral virtues) than many Christians.
Hmmm. I think I understand. A great place to start is “For the Bible Tells Me So” by Pete Enns. There’s a whole superstructure that modern Evangelicalism is built on that assumes “it’s always been this way!” in regards to Christian practice and how we read and use the Bible.
The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0062272039/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_a5auFbPGT297R
>Briefly, what is your evidence and reasoning for believing in a god?
Let me turn that around for a second. What is your evidence and reasoning for disbelief in God or a higher power?
Many philosophers would call belief or disbelief in God as properly basic beliefs. That is, they're like mathematical axioms that do not require evidence to support the belief (a belief that requires evidence is considered a dependent or contingent belief).
The ideas of needing evidence to "prove" a theory usually comes from a scientific perspective, but science can only disprove things and so is unsuited for this sort of study. (In fact, some philosophers of science think that post-positivism (that science disproves things) also has a lot of problems.)
For more reading on this, I'd highly recommend Nicholas Wolterstorff's Reason within the bounds of Religion or Plantinga's Where the conflict really lies: science, religion, and naturalism Both authors are renowned philosophers / theologians and have held professorships at ivy league schools. The books likely require an intro philosophy course background to get through, but they're well worth the read.
I don't know if this counts, but you can run folding@home on your computer if you would like to contribute some of your computing resources to help scientists tackling COVID-19 (and also other diseases).
Note that your electric bill will be higher, so that is a big factor you have to consider.
A cursory look at the issues from a biblical and theological perspective can be found on my blog...godoftheodd.wordpress.com...https://wordpress.com/post/godoftheodd.wordpress.com/965 and https://wordpress.com/post/godoftheodd.wordpress.com/1022
I recommend:
The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism by Katherine Stewart
Faith and Oil: How the Alaska Pipeline Shaped America's Religious Right by KL Marshall
Mark Noll is a prominent author of evangelical church history. He has written several books, any of them could be recommended.
Not about evolution per se, but I recommend:
Quarks, Chaos & Christianity: Questions to Science And Religion
by John Polkinghorne
https://www.amazon.com/Quarks-Chaos-Christianity-Questions-Religion/dp/0824524063/
Polkinghorne is a physicist and Anglican theologian. I especially appreciate Polkinghorne's proposition that humans are co-creators with God.
Look at what we did with wolves/dogs, other domestic animals and plants like corn and the weed that we turned into broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, cauliflower...
Polkinghorne also said, "Things that are just on the surface, easy to believe, are not the whole story. There's a deeper, stranger, and more satisfying story to be found, both in science and in religion."
I think this will give you lots of good things to think about.
You might want to read Jonathan Haidt's "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion".https://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion-ebook/dp/B0052FF7YM/
He explains that humans are fundamentally irrational creatures driven by intuition first then look for rationalization second.
People have an intuition about how the world should be. Religious people look for rationalization for that intuition in scripture and their faith tradition.
In conservative christianity, you're not going to convince anyone that being gay is NOT a sin unless and until they're willing to consider the possibility. They have to be willing to listen to the stories LGBTQ+ people tell about their experience. They have to meet and come to love LGBTQ+ people as individuals.
Their intuition about how the world should be has to change first.
I totally understand. Trust me. This will clear things up. Such an easy read too.
Hearing God: Eliminate Myths. Encounter Meaning. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735291713/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_DVVVX0NQ80JJ7X8JVDAH
Have you heard of the Red Letter Christians? They have various kinds of communities that you might find interesting. Some live on farms where they grow their own food and trade and barter skills such as sewing or carpentry for what's needed. Others live lives like you and me, but stay connected through various means.
The book that introduced me to them was The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne.
Hey! Glad you’re asking and glad you’re taking the topic seriously. I think it was the seriousness of the topics and taking seriously those we were leading that led a lot of us to the outcomes in which we landed.
I’m a pastor as well! I work in the PCUSA. I work in an open/affirming church! In fact our worship minister left to be a drag queen 😂😂😂. They said they could make more money that way. Which...may be a damning indictment on how much we get paid lol.
A book that was crucial for me in this conversation was sex and the single savior by Dale Martin. It works through interpretation and rhetoric we use when talking about the Bible. Maybe it’ll be helpful for you as well!
I am so glad you found something that speaks to you! Process theology can get pretty dense pretty quickly, so I’d recommend this book on prayer from a process point of view. The author does an excellent job getting at the heart of this theological framework. Process theology and prayer
A lot of Christians, including those who read the Bible in evangelical ways, reject the notion of eternal torment, along with the related idea of the immortal soul. Instead, they say, the Bible describes death as a "sleep"—an unconscious state from which the saved will be resurrected at the Second Coming and from which the unsaved will be resurrected to receive their final punishment, which is not eternal torment, but destruction by fire and eternal oblivion.
Or, to put it simply: ". . . whoever believes in [Jesus] shall not perish, but have eternal life" (Yeah, that's the classic, John 3:16). "Perish" obviously doesn't mean eternal suffering in hell.
Check out this article on the topic that appeared in our magazine recently.
And, if you're serious about an exhaustive scholarly study on the topic, check out "The Fire That Consumes" by Edward Fudge.
The funny thing about the verse against women teaching is that the book it appears in (1 Timothy) is almost certainly written by someone other than Paul, claiming to be Paul.
For Paul's views on sexuality, I highly recommend everyone read Dale Martin's Sex and the Single Savior. He's a brilliant Bible scholar who is also an out gay man and a Christian, and does a thorough yet readable job of exploring the basically alien ancient context in which Paul was writing.
I highly recommend reading Through the Eyes of a Lion by Levi Lusko. The audiobook is good too. His daughter died at a very young age and his perspective was incredibly helpful for me when I had this exact question. Here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/Through-Eyes-Lion-Impossible-Incredible/dp/0718032144/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?adgrpid=61776840691&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4uCcBhDdARIsAH5jyUm6Mtb_1yYNZNbmkDiZ0t_XHkW0jtldV95EVFY1INHShKuv9YIJwXAaAv1tEALw_wcB&hvadid=617073374626&hvde...
Know what worked for me? Read Heaven and Hell by Bart Ehrman. He's a top Bible scholar, and lately he's been writing a ton of trade books relating the very dense body of knowledge of the academic Bible criticism world to the average person. Exploring the very gradual development of the western concept of Hell from the beliefs of people around Jesus' time (which did not include our modern concept of Hell) is really neat, and makes fear of it start to feel more nonsensical.
Evil and the Justice of God by NT Wright;
I agree with the concerns others have shared about rewriting the bible ideologically for a new translation.
That said, the Poverty and Justice Bible is a standard CEV that has highlight over the 2000+ verses that concern poverty and injustice.
https://www.amazon.com.au/CEV-Poverty-Justice-Bible-American/dp/1585169730
I know that recommending a book is a bit much, but I'm going to highly recommend The Bible Tells Me So, by Peter Enns. Basically, its thesis is that the Bible isn't "true facts about God", it's "stories people have told in order to communicate about God". And so there being a story about how God commanded them to kill the neighboring tribe doesn't automatically mean that God did command that.
<em>The Deconstructionist’s Playbook</em> is a physical devotional from the folks at the progressive Our Bible app.
I’ve also heard good things about <em>On Love and Mercy: A Social Justice Devotional</em>.
Yep! And thanks for the link. I'm an atheist, but I went from fundamentalist Christianity to like a year of fundamentalist atheism to now just loving Christian history and the science and psychology of religion. The part they just can't wrap their heads around, in opposition to pretty much any scientist who studies the stuff, is that religion took over the world because religions are stable structures that make us nicer to each other, more cooperative, more likely to set aside personal needs for the needs of the community (and, ahem, better in war. There is that). My favorite book on it is Big Gods by Ara Norenzayan.
There are plenty of Reformed progressive folks. Technically, TEC and PCA are Reformed and generally progressive. One author off the top of my head is Fleming Rutledge, who wrote <em>The Crucifixion</em>. My Twitter has plenty of YDS and VTS “inclusive orthodox” folks who are Reformed and generally progressive too.
There are certain Reformed doctrines that should fit well with progressive commitments. In queer theology, which I’m interested in, plenty has been written about the parallels between the negative turn in queer theory and certain articulations of original sin/total depravity.
I had a similar path, but got very interested in the science of religion along the way, and one thing that stood out:
According the cognitive psychologist Ara Norenzayan, religions are best understood as "culture packages." Cultures include things like values, mores, rituals, language, beliefs, etc., and a culture package is an artifact that fixes together a bunch of cultural elements. Well, western Christian culture holds values like:
- there is only one truth
- the world is doomed by those that do not accept the one truth
- by accepting the one truth, the world can be saved
- it is the duty of the individual to spread the truth and dispel the untruths
So, it's not surprising that a person raised in this culture -- which probably extends to secular western culture more than we consider, but is certainly fiercest in fundamentalist Christianity -- would swap out "Jesus" for "logic and reason," yet keep the rest of the system in place. Furthermore, hardline atheist communities operate under the same group dynamics that govern any human groups -- including religions -- meaning that if enough members of an atheist community strongly value those 4 bullet points above, public shows of support for those values will become "credibility enhancing displays" (CrEDs): actions through which in-group loyalty is demonstrated. If you have 10 ex-fundies who strongly agree with those 4 bullet points, and 50 "nones" who just came for the memes, it's likely that the nones will quickly learn that showing support for those 4 bullet points improves their status within the group, and will start behaving more like ex-fundamentalists.
Science! (Source is Big Gods by Ara Norenzayan)
The silly thing is I'm still an atheist, I just really like Christianity, and want a world where people of all religions, creeds, genders, and sexualities can thrive. The answer isn't less religion, it's less fundamentalism.
This book is all about that!
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again
"If the Bible isn't a science book or an instruction manual, then what is it? What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired? When Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she began a quest to better understand what the Bible is and how it is meant to be read. What she discovered changed her and it will change you too.Drawing on the best in recent scholarship and using her well honed literary expertise, Evans examines some of our favorite Bible stories and possible interpretations, retelling them through memoir, original poetry, short stories, soliloquies, and even a short screenplay. Undaunted by the Bible's most difficult passages, Evans wrestles through the process of doubting, imagining, and debating Scripture's mysteries. The Bible, she discovers, is not a static work but is a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that is able to equip us to join God's loving and redemptive work in the world."
Oh wow, no, I have no idea why that's happening! I've never noticed an issue like that, although I don't use the standard Reddit app, I use <strong>Joey for Reddit</strong>.
If you're up for reading a book, I highly recommend Take Back the Word. It's a series of essays re-interpreting biblical verses and stories through an LGBTQ lens. Personally, there's an essay about the book of Ruth that hit hard for me as a formerly Southern Baptist bi woman and I go back to it every once in a while. They address every letter of LQBTQ in both Christian and Hebrew scripture. It's good stuff.
And if you want a video instead (or in addition too), my husband saw me typing this and reminded me of this interview of a gay son and his dad. The son did months of theological research before coming out to his fundamental Christian dad, and they discuss the journey their family went on when he did. I love it because they still operate within the fundamental views of sex is for marriage and similar things, but dad found room there for his son and other LGBTQ people to exist and be loved and supported within his beliefs.
I have. She’s not gonna accept it easily, or maybe ever. I’ve had years to deprogram myself. There is this, targeting Christians but the Catholic church is transphobic. Official doctrine says not to use a person’s pronouns and real name.
If she ever comes out DO NOT get her any books by trans femmes until she’s certain in her identity. She strictly needs focus on trans masculine experiences as believing femininity is best causes trans masculine folks to not pursue transition/detransition.
Maybe you can convince her that Christ had a feminine side/that if god is a man and can be feminine she could do it too. Someone once described the death of Jesus Christ as pregnancy labor and after he died and came back the Church was born. I got nothing, honestly. You can’t crack someone’s egg for them.
Yeah I’ve read all of those as part of the <em>Apostolic Father’s</em> collection by Michael W. Holmes.
They’re pretty interesting reads. Some of them I definitely agree with more than others. The Shepherd in particular is a really interesting read to say the least. It’s like the canonical book of Revelation but, in my opinion, on some more important topics.
I’ve also read a lot of the gnostic literature. The website earlychristianwritings.com has a vast collection of non-canonical early Christian works, spanning form the Apostolic fathers to brief fragments of gnostic texts. If your interested in non-canonical works I highly recommend it!
I used to be agnostic to this question. I started leaning in the pro-choice position after someone recommended to me Judith Jarvis Thomson’s essay, “A Defense of Abortion,” wherein she makes an argument from bodily autonomy.
When the draft was leaked, I immediately learned the harmful ramifications of the pro-life position. I also read Margaret Kamitsuka’s <em>Abortion and the Christian Tradition: A Pro-Choice Theological Ethic</em>. It helped me develop a more cohesive pro-choice position.
Ultimately (maybe this shows my human selfishness, but it’s the truth), my support was solidified once I related it to my own struggle as a queer person: Queer liberation means freedom from the government telling you what you can and can’t do with your own reproductive organs. I therefore have a vested interest in any policy that abrogates that.
My top recommendation is the very short <em>Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives</em> by Phyllis Trible.
Since we are commanded to love God with all our minds, thinking through doubt is an essential part of the Christian life.
As to your specific doubts, I can only offer my two cents. The problem of evil is never going to be something easy to put away from our minds. What works for me is to recognize that, even in my infirmities, God's awesome presence makes them appear as nothing. I've dealt with addiction, mental illness, and now multiple sclerosis, but Christ's balm on my soul has been so great that it infinitely outweighs these ailments.
On the existence of God, I recommend the book <em>Two Dozen (or so) Arguments for God: The Plantinga Project</em>. Lots of smart philosophers presenting a slew of basic arguments. It at least should get the brain going.
My usual copypasta:
What's often lacking in these conversations is a consistent ethical model that lets us identify what sin is. The Church in my experience is shockingly bad at teaching this. I argue that Christian ethics are not rule-based, but are instead virtue-based; our goal is not to check the boxes, but to build a Christ-like character. We build that character by virtuous acts. So the question "is this action sinful" could be rephrased as "does this action tear down or build up Christian virtues in me?"
What are the Christian virtues? There are a number of lists, in the Bible and outside of it. But the ones in the Bible are impressively consistent. These are the virtues I can identify from scripture.
- Humility before God: Serve God, and see that his ways are higher than your ways
- Drive for righteousness and restorative justice: Make your life and the world more in line with God's will; mourn sin and repent
- Embrace of knowledge, wisdom, and truth: Learn true things, reject false things, and spread that learning
- Love and respect: Place others before yourself
- Joy, satisfaction, contentment, gratitude: Recognize the good God has given you
- Forgive and build peace, covenant, and relationship: Give up revenge, and encourage reconciliation
- Patience and hope: Remember that God will act, and that He rules all things
- Kindness, mercy, and generosity: Do good for people, especially those in need
- Integrity and self-control: Be one thing, all the time; subdue bodily impulses
- Faithfulness and endurance: Keep your covenants, carry on in the face of all adversity
My usual copypasta:
What's often lacking in these conversations is a consistent ethical model that lets us identify what sin is. The Church in my experience is shockingly bad at teaching this. I argue that Christian ethics are not rule-based, but are instead virtue-based; our goal is not to check the boxes, but to build a Christ-like character. We build that character by virtuous acts. So the question "is this action sinful" could be rephrased as "does this action tear down or build up Christian virtues in me?"
What are the Christian virtues? There are a number of lists, in the Bible and outside of it. But the ones in the Bible are impressively consistent. These are the virtues I can identify from scripture.
- Humility before God: Serve God, and see that his ways are higher than your ways
- Drive for righteousness and restorative justice: Make your life and the world more in line with God's will; mourn sin and repent
- Embrace of knowledge, wisdom, and truth: Learn true things, reject false things, and spread that learning
- Love and respect: Place others before yourself
- Joy, satisfaction, contentment, gratitude: Recognize the good God has given you
- Forgive and build peace, covenant, and relationship: Give up revenge, and encourage reconciliation
- Patience and hope: Remember that God will act, and that He rules all things
- Kindness, mercy, and generosity: Do good for people, especially those in need
- Integrity and self-control: Be one thing, all the time; subdue bodily impulses
- Faithfulness and endurance: Keep your covenants, carry on in the face of all adversity
My usual copypasta:
What's often lacking in these conversations is a consistent ethical model that lets us identify what sin is. The Church in my experience is shockingly bad at teaching this. I argue that Christian ethics are not rule-based, but are instead virtue-based; our goal is not to check the boxes, but to build a Christ-like character. We build that character by virtuous acts. So the question "is this action sinful" could be rephrased as "does this action tear down or build up Christian virtues in me?"
What are the Christian virtues? There are a number of lists, in the Bible and outside of it. But the ones in the Bible are impressively consistent. These are the virtues I can identify from scripture.
- Humility before God: Serve God, and see that his ways are higher than your ways
- Drive for righteousness and restorative justice: Make your life and the world more in line with God's will; mourn sin and repent
- Embrace of knowledge, wisdom, and truth: Learn true things, reject false things, and spread that learning
- Love and respect: Place others before yourself
- Joy, satisfaction, contentment, gratitude: Recognize the good God has given you
- Forgive and build peace, covenant, and relationship: Give up revenge, and encourage reconciliation
- Patience and hope: Remember that God will act, and that He rules all things
- Kindness, mercy, and generosity: Do good for people, especially those in need
- Integrity and self-control: Be one thing, all the time; subdue bodily impulses
- Faithfulness and endurance: Keep your covenants, carry on in the face of all adversity
Beloved Arise is an organization for queer youth of faith. Their website has a lot of resources on it.
There’s also a new book called <em>Queerfully and Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens</em>.
My family got me a colouring Bible (like this onea few years ago. I like to pick a random passage or page and meditate on the words as I colour
The best place to start is to find an Orthodox church near you and come to Divine Liturgy! Afterward, you can speak with the priest a bit for questions.
I also recommend The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware.
I hope it's obvious that I'm oversimplifying here... but the root of my point remains.
The only thorough resource i really have for this level of specificity is a VERY academic book, but it's quite the resource:
https://www.amazon.com/Christianity-Social-Tolerance-Homosexuality-Fourteenth/dp/022634522X/
Prayers for you and for the hope of growing love in your parish where it has not grown before!
This might be useful to you, and to them:
https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Bible-Homosexuality-Revised-Expanded/dp/066423397X/
So I’m no longer a Christian but I still lurk here. I spend time with a lot of Christians though, including a dean of a theology school and some other people who are pretty serious about their theology. I have heard several of them recommended The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views. I’ve not read it, but I have seen it be very helpful for people looking to better understand the atonement. It presents 4 perspectives, each grounded in scripture and church tradition, and each perspective is presented by a theologian who holds that view. It may be helpful to you to explore these other perspectives presented in a way that isn’t “watered down”.
Hiya, I'm a PhD student in Theology doing my doctoral thesis on atonement. I grew up going to a conservative Pentecostal church and inherited some confusing ideas about what the cross means. Long story short: throughout Christian history there have been many ways to understand what "atonement" means. I'm currently working on a thesis that sees atonement as God's action through Christ, taking the weight of the pain we're subjected to by being part of a creation given over to greed and violence, and offering us healing and new life. For deconstructing how American evangelicalism got its current understanding of atonement and other possibilities, I highly recommend Recovering the Scandal of the Cross. Feel free to message me as well. :)
Understanding Atonement: Maybe It’s Time to Rethink Atonement without Giving Up Jesus https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1532688334/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1DRCFFF3ZE31GTR1CN7G
easy read in layperson’s vocabulary!
Not sure what the downvotes are for (so have an upvote from me), because you bring up a concern any thinking person with a heart should have.
I really struggle with this issue too. There are a lot of issues we as Christians need to sort through in many OT passages. I don't have any answers, other than that theologians like NT Wright and Pete Enns along with some great black American theologians like Xavier Pickett.
Pete Enns did a book review of Derek Flood's book Disarming Scripture which seems to address a lot of this. I'm planning on reading it soon.
What I do know is that the entire Bible as a whole, and especially culminating in Jesus, points us to loving other people. And loving other people precludes slavery, which is horrific, oppressive, dehumanizing, and spits in the face of what God tells us, that people are created in his image.
So I just read this this morning, I'm not solid on it, but Origen, the ancient Christian heretic/father, depending on your othodoxical(?) standpoint suggests this is similar to how a parent giving the child everything spoils them, the parents actions affect the child's heart.
My verily possibly poor understanding is that by making Pharoah the dude I charge, Origen possits that this hardened his heart. I'm pretty sure Augustine then smashed this idea to pieces.
Found in this book Sin: The Early History of an Idea https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/0691160902/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_RGX2J9V9B6DC779ZTPP4
I like these Get Wisdom Bible studies. I've done this one personally and it was pretty good!
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B081BD14TD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This book helped me understand how “purity culture” had given me a twisted sense of gods view of modesty and purity. And gave me the words to put to the confusion I had felt for so long.
I would be happy to Venmo you the money to buy yourself a copy. PM me if that’s not too weird.
The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You've Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540900827/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_a_HKFWV2HSS455FEB23690
As a fellow ADHDer, I feel your pain.
1) Church
I don't have any good suggestions for how to get through church. I really enjoyed the Episcopal Church I was going to, but unfortunately my night job has made it impossible to attend. Even so, it was really hard to keep up with the readings sometimes.
2) Reading
I've been listening to the Bible as an audiobook recently. There is a KJV that is narrated by James Earl Jones, which I am really enjoying right now.
3) Praying
Have you heard of Anglican Prayer beads? Basically its a practice that is inspired by the Catholic Rosary and Eastern Orthodox knotted prayer ropes. This is pretty much the main way I pray. Basically I am using the prayer beads to harness my hyperfocus to work in my favor. Your post here inspired me to finally publish all the prayer cycles I have made so far - feel free to use or modify them if they are inspiring.
True to my ADHD ways, this has also inspired me to start a new hobby in beading. I've currently made three prayer bead strings for myself, 3 Catholic rosaries for my mother's girlfriend to have and give as gifts, a Buddhist string for my mom (108 beads!) and a pagan prayer string for my wiccan friend.
Here's a link to a google doc where I wrote up where I stand: Link
A teen from my church asked me how I interpreted it, and ... I knew it was going to be too long to just say it, so I wrote it for her instead.
The bible isn’t a science book and shouldn’t be used as. It also should be placed in context of culture and time. The video you linked before is just absurd and taken out of context of what was said. Why not show the complete interview, but only take the parts which can be interpreted otherwise if left the important pieces out.
Maybe this is interesting for you:
https://www.amazon.nl/False-Doctrine-Flat-Earth-perspective-ebook/dp/B07WWJ919Z/ref=nodl_
It teaches why the flat earth is a false doctrine and places the ‘flat-earth’ verses in the bible in the context where they should be.
I found this Christmas book for my child last year. It's the only thing that I've found that has a non-white holy family. It's just the Silent Night song but the illustration is beautiful.
https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Night-Lara-Hawthorne/dp/1786030667
I like I Wonder: Exploring God’s Grand Story by Glenys Nellis. It’s story book style and my 10 year old loves it. Amazon has a good sample of the illustrations. https://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Exploring-Grand-Story-Illustrated-ebook/dp/B08NHW9S6S/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1643689890&sr=8-5
I have no answer besides what I personally believe.
Quakers are Christian mystics and largely unconcerned with the nature of the afterlife but I do have a theory that I think I believe and brings me peace.
I believe that after death, our little node of consciousness returns to God, the consciousness underlying all creation. I think our individual lives are kinda like if you filled a little water globe up and pulled the globe above the surface of a lake, while leaving the stem in the water so it is still connected.
( The water globe that I imagine: Miles Kimball Set of 6 Small Multicolored Glass Plant Watering Globes - Each Measures 6" L x 2.5" D https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XT5TGDS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_4R2F0YBSYNFZ6S62EK91?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1)
I believe sin is kind of a manifestation of our own ego that clogs our stem connecting us to God, and the forgiveness we have through Christ clears our stem when we accept it. And when we die the water that is us just returns to the lake. So I don’t think my individuality will exist, but I will still exist - in a perfect beautiful unity with God for eternity. And that idea takes some of the pressure off of trying to work out what I will do for all of eternity to not go crazy.
As for hell, I do not think any “eternal suffering” version of hell exists. I believe that anyone disconnected from God is suffering already, no torture needed. But I believe that the ability to accept your own forgiveness does not end in our physical death here on earth. Perhaps they have a harder time clearing their “stem” but I believe all of creation will eventually find its way back to unity.
Anyways - excuse my lengthy metaphor. Probably not at all what you were expecting but hey - there are a lot of different types of Christians so we have to pop up sometimes ◡̈
Jack Jenkins wrote a book about the religious left:
https://www.amazon.com/American-Prophets-Religious-Progressive-Politics/dp/1094118362
There is one but it’s more diverse and often resists the label. Plus, since it’s led by non-white people it doesn’t get the same publicity as the Religious Right.
https://youtube.com/c/bibleproject
The first is an archeology Bible. There’s different kinds out there, but this is a good place to start.
The second is a YouTube channel that explains the Bible in an easy to understand way.
I hope these help!
I suggest Borg, Evolution of the Word which is the New Testament in his best guess of when the books were written. He begins each with an introduction to the culture of the time. Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0070XFBI6/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_D77ZVH4W8EH4K7YS2MD8
I also suggest you first do some reading about what Judaism was like at the time and what the Greco-Roman world was like at that time.
The Episcopal church (Im not Episcopalian) has a course which takes you through the basics over 4 years and encourages questions (at least my class did). Basically it is 1 seminary class per year. The name is Education for Ministry but I dont think that is a good name. There arent any expectations of becoming a minister, just of learning your path and understanding. The years are Old Test., New, church history, theology.
OH hey! I got a question. Someone recommended me "The Hebrew Bible" translation with commentary by Robert Alter. I don't remember if this was you or not, I've had so many comments the past few days. Is this something you would recommend buying? I got the free sample and love it so far but I've only read chapter 1 of Genesis. Here's a link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BN5HWWX/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?\_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Isaiah 6:5a - "And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips"
If your hope rested in the idea of being a pure and righteous person, unscathed by contact with sinners, this would be a huge problem.
But, of course, your hope shouldn't rest in that in the first place. We are not individuals, we are part of a society and of a species; part of all the beautiful and horrible things humankind does, and we need to strive to pull our species toward shalom, not just ourselves; recognizing that there is no clean line between ourselves and others.
This episode of Exploring My Strange Bible has some good thoughts on these lines.
I don't know that I've ever seen a Christian horror film, but a bunch of progressive clergy are recording a horror podcast called Clerical Errorss: The RPG Podcast.
I agree with what others have said here, but if you're determined, look at The Bible Challenge. It's generally about 3 OT chapters, 1 Psalm, and 1 NT chapters a day which is a pretty good pace and has some commentary/questions in the book.
That being said, the OT can get super boring even at 3 chapters a day and I also had some issues with stuff in the OT. Assuming you're set on doing it in a year, I'd highly suggest reading whatever it is for the day and then searching the internet for explanations/interpretations, good or bad, on what you read.
Also, there's a whole series by the same group of writers after this that's not stretched to a year on certain parts of the (generally) NT. One for each gospel, one for Acts, one that's focused on social justice, etc.
The folks at QueerTheology.com published “Queers the Word: A 40 Day Devotional for LGBTQ+ Christians.”
Also, the folks at the progressive Our Bible app published “The Deconstructionists Playbook,” which is explicitly queer affirming.
To your first point: Do you ask the same questions with Norse or Greco-Roman mythologies? The OT is exactly that, just with Canaanite culture and mythology.
As per your second point about Revelation: that perspective is called preterism, or the belief that prophecies in the Bible such as Daniel or Revelation have been historically fulfilled within the author(s)’s lifetime. My Oxford study bible is notated this way 😇
Happened to catch your comment and was shocked to see that you're correct!
Seems like Shambala got their mitts on the rights to the work: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1645470784/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_4V7HGYB7K3JP2SNHK3T9
Hopefully the new version will be worth the wait and will also have a Kindle version, but taking down the previous version before releasing the new one smells of "cash grab" to me.
Hey! Earlier this year, I bought <em>The Deconstructionist’s Playbook</em>, which is a devotional produced by the folks at the progressive Our Bible app. I definitely recommend it. I was also recently introduced to <em>On Love & Mercy: A Social Justice Devotional</em>. I haven’t bought it yet, but I looks good!
I second this. I live in Texas and would consider myself pretty centrist on both economic and social politics, but here if you don't worship the great orange god, you're an outsider and stupid people with guns can get violent quick. I carry for self defense only if needed, and only as a last resort.
On your point about preventing violence for you neighbor, I haven't read much yet but saw <em>This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible</em> recommended that seems to hit that point pretty well if anyone would like to check it out.
I would also like to plug /r/liberalgunowners here on reddit for people who are on the fence on gun ownership. There are always bad actors, but LGO seems to be much more logical and less "ammosexual"/"God, Guns, & Trump" than any other gun forums I see.
Also, thank you for your service.
The resource sticky has a phenomenal list of books!
That said, my suggestion is Jesus and John Wayne - it is like THE book study book of the last few months, and is just exceedingly relevant right now. I think it's just right for what you're looking for - very much about Christianity, relatable to modern life, and not overly academic.
Highly recommend the book Jesus and John Wayne it helped me understand my upbringing in a conservative evangelical context, the book talks about how the same trends effected Catholics too. In short there’s not theological or ethical basis for the particular variant of conservatism we have the US being tied to Christianity. Instead it’s a mixture of anxiety over changing views on race and gender along with a concerted effort by fiscal conservatives that tied Christianity to the Republican Party in America.
May I recommend:
1) The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060088303/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_305411F9WED7231E96VR
2) Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060675187/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MC7ZJ366P62J69EMZQR3
Also, the Bible has not always been taught as literal history, or a science text. I view it as a collection of writers and seekers of God sharing their best understandings at the time of writing. It is an illogical and false dichotomy to say “the Bible is either all true or a lie.” Read the Bible with an open heart and mind and seek the truth with those you trust to be both honest with you and respectful of your mind.
We can't really know for sure. Some like Richard Rohr would argue in his book The Universal Christ that God did probably reveal himself to other tribes and peoples, although the normative orthodox view is that only Israel revealed the special revelation of God, and all other deities were either false deities or fallen divine beings subordinate to Yahweh (as in the Divine Council view espoused by Mark Smith and Michael Heiser, among others).
A lot of good books mentioned. One I'll add is The Bible's Yes to Same Sex Marriage
Mark who wrote it was fairly conservative and used to be a touring speaker at churches on the arguments against same sex relationships. Then he had a change of heart which caused him to reexamine his position. This may be helpful for that conservative against position.
Another one may be Struggling with Scripture it's a short book written by three excellent scholars that talk about some of the issues around interpreting scripture. They use sexuality as sort of the test case when talking about issues of interpretation, so it may be a less subtle way of starting the conversation that some of the other books.
I personally like audio for getting through prayer, particularly the rosary. I realize that the length of the rosary can be kind of daunting if focus is an issue. Sound -- having someone else reciting the words on a youtube video or such -- helps me a bit with maintaining focus. It's also kind of comforting, because it's like having someone right there next to me. (I will add that I do get tripped up in moments when the words differ from what I might be familiar with, though.)
​
You can also use ambient audio to help block out distracting noises if you need to. MyNoise.net has some lovely audio backgrounds -- they even made one based on a church, which I use sometimes. =)
Love is an Orientation is my go to. I have a couple copies just so I can loan them out to people who are struggling with this question.
Perhaps using something like Forest, or some other app-time-keeper app?
You can choose to whitelist or blacklist apps (unfortunately as a paid option for Forest, but others may have free options), and then set either a period of 'focus' (for Forest), or maximum daily allowance for time-wasting apps (for other apps).
There is a good book about how the evangelical movement in the USA began, havent read it myself but a yt channel fundie fridays quotes it a lot