Take A Deep Breath

"Take a deep breath, folks. It’s going to be alright. You say you believe that God is in control, right? Do you really believe that? Or are you worried that you have to somehow make that mean anything at all through your own actions? If his power over the world is entirely dependent upon yours, maybe you need to find a bigger God. Or better yet….well, you know, maybe reconsider if you really believe what you say you believe."

- Neil Carter

Read more: To My Evangelical Friends Upon the Legalization of Gay Marriage

To My Evangelical Friends Upon the Legalization of Gay Marriage - See more at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2015/06/26/upon-the-legalization-of-gay-marriage/#sthash.8pmt9JIR.dpuf

Before You Self-Immolate . . .

“… the extension of legal marriage rights to same-sex couples does not change religious definitions of marriage. Your definition of marriage is based on your faith and is, rightfully so, separate from the state’s definition of marriage. So long as the Church’s definition of marriage doesn’t involve children, multiple partners, or animals, we are free to base our marriages on whatever the Bible says. This also means you are free to not consider gay marriages as “Christian” marriages. And while some Churches are going along with the shifting societal definition of marriage, yours does not have to.

Based on the arguments before the Supreme Court, it is clear that you will always be able to refuse to marry a couple of the same sex. I know everyone points to the ministers in Idaho who were sued for not performing a gay marriage, but they were operating a wedding chapel as a business, not a church ministry. So you won’t have to perform gay marriages nor will you have to change your religious definition of marriage. So why set yourself on fire?”

- Benjamin Dixon

Read more: Dear Pastors: Just Before You Self-Immolate over Gay Marriage, You Should Know…

If you think God is going to smite us...

"If you think God is going to smite us, I’d encourage you to ask why he hasn’t already.”

- Benjamin L. Corey


Read more: Gay Marriage is the Law of the Land- And God Isn’t Going to Freak Out About It

Grocery Store

The Mirror

"There’s only one interesting thing about Phelps: He was the mirror that respectable evangelicals hated to look into." - Frank Schaeffer

Read more, here.

What if Jesus Meant All That Stuff?

Quote by Shane Claiborne, from this article.


"The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination." 

- Shane Claiborne

Spine

On Gays: 

"Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?" 

On Finding God in Everyone: 
"God is in everyone's life. Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything else, God is in this person's life." 

On Faith and Doubt: 
"If one has the answers to all the questions that is the proof that God is not with him. It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself. The great leaders of the people of God, like Moses, have always left room for doubt. You must leave room for the Lord, not for our certainties; we must be humble." 

- Pope Francis

::

Now this is an example of someone, who has a spine.

Everyone’s a Biblical Literalist Until You Bring Up Gluttony - by Rachel Held Evans

"In short, we like to gang up. We like to fashion weapons out of the verses that affect us the least and then “clobber” the minority with them. Or better yet, conjure up some saccharine language about speaking the truth in love before breaking out our spec-removing tweezers to help get our minds off of these uncomfortable logs in our own eyes."

Read the rest of the article here, by Rachel Held Evans.

Since when did the Gospel assume the role of Law Enforcement?

The Gospel is not about enforcing the Mosaic Law, which was given specifically to the Jews.

If it is, whom do we approach first - the homosexual or the Christian at a Red Lobster?


Related post: The Cosmic Turtle 

Let's Think Before Expressing Our Views

Some people are boycotting a restaurant because its management is anti-homosexual. But by that same argument, one should be even more driven to boycott gas stations as well (unless the gasoline is coming from non-OPEC nations), because the penalty for homosexuality in the member countries of the OPEC that operate under the Shariya Law, is death. We absolutely have the freedom to express our positions however way we want, but this is just a thought to keep in mind before we blindly grab the pitchforks.

That being said, I don't plan to take part in the so-called 'Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day', because:

1. Given an option, I don't prefer junk food.

2. I am slowly but firmly perfecting the art of taking a huge step back when something is super-sensationalized by either camps. The ensuing bliss cannot be explained in words.

3. I prefer to stay away from anything that promotes more hatred. Not everything that is done in the name of God is from God. Sure, not all liberals are "tolerant", just like not all the conservatives are angels, but that still does not give one the license to engage in an eye-for-an-eye match. That is so OT.