PASTORAL RESPONSE TO “MASTERPIECE” SCOTUS DECISION

PASTORAL RESPONSE TO TODAY’S SCOTUS DECISION
(Re: Colorado Baker refusing to make same-gender loving wedding cake)

Dear Friends,

Same-gender loving and gender non-conforming people have been bullied on playgrounds, harassed in classrooms, physically attacked in parking lots, preached against in pulpits, abandoned by their families, mocked in entertainment, and had their rights to full citizenship debated, voted on, and fought over in courts. The ongoing demonization and dehumanization of LGBTQ people is demoralizing to us.

And so, today’s SCOTUS ruling in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a gay themed wedding cake for a same-sex couple is troubling to us, but it is too soon to let ourselves be overly discouraged.

The ruling, apparently, was specific to the one case and does not settle the debate about religion giving one the right to deny service to same-gender loving couples. That conversation will continue for a while and will probably be very hurtful at times to those of us who remain a topic of debate.

But here is what I know:

+ALL people have sacred value.

+Religion has too often been weaponized; however, many of us have discovered that a life of faith can offer hope, joy, compassion, courage, and peace and we are committed to offering a counter-narrative to weaponized religion.

+No court ruling at any time will determine (or limit) our dignity.

+We are each a child of God. No matter who uses God’s name in vain to deny that truth, we will always boldly proclaim that we ARE the beloved children of God.

+Sunshine Cathedral remains committed to celebrating, blessing, and affirming the Rainbow community. LGBTQIA+ have always been lifted up at Sunshine Cathedral as God’s miracles and not God mistakes, and that will continue no matter what.

Today’s SCOTUS decision may have been disappointing to many of us, but remember, it was a “narrow” ruling and hasn’t settled other issues. And, as Jesus said, the kin-dom (the non-kingdom, the anti-empire, the commonwealth, the beloved community) that we belong to is not limited to this world’s systems.

The kin-dom of God is an idea that Jesus held, preached, and died for...a vision of a world of justice, peace, generosity, hope, compassion, goodwill, and equality. We continue to hold the vision of the Kin-dom of God, and we will continue to work to make that vision a reality. “Thy kin-dom come!” Amen.

There is more work to do. We are the laborers to do it. And I affirm that God’s blessing is upon us today and always.

Yours in shared service,

Durrell Watkins, MA, MDiv, DMin

Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral

SunshineCathedral.org 

Biblical Traditional Marriage? As if...

I grow weary of preachers defending discrimination against LGBTQ people. One right wing evangelist who enjoys some notoriety (mostly because of a famous relative) posted on social media today that businesses have a right to refuse service to LGBTQ people if they claim their discrimination is based on their belief in “biblical traditional marriage.” That of course spurred literally thousands to chime in to call same-gender love and attraction sinful and to cheer those who refuse to serve gay customers. I, as you will see below, disagreed.

“Biblical traditional marriage? Would that include Abraham selling Sarah to a king’s harem, or him taking Hagar as a lover? Would that include David’s 8 or so wives (and love affair with Jonathan)? Would that include Solomon’s thousand spouses?  Would that include Adam and Eve who never had a wedding ceremony (who would have conducted it?). Would it include Cain and Abel and their wives (where did they come from?). Would it include Lot’s daughters who were engaged when he offered them to a rape gang? Does biblical marriage include Lot who not only offered his daughters to a rape gang but then had incest with them in a cave? And does traditional biblical marriage mean not serving single parents? Does it mean not serving remarried divorcees? Using “biblical” marriage as an excuse to discriminate against gays is mendacious and disingenuous. You’re entitled to your prejudices, but stop blaming them on God.” (dw)

Stop Using “Sodom” Like It’s a Thing

So, SCOTUS is hearing the Colorado Wedding Cake case, where a baker claims to have the right to not bake for gay couples wanting a wedding cake. As long as a baker views someone as naughty or a couple’s love as illegitimate and claims that homophobia is Jesus mandated (which is false, btw), he/she/they should be able to refuse gay people’s cake orders. Obviously, such blatant discrimination is wrong, and hopefully, SCOTUS will make that clear. 

Still, the No Cakes For Homos position has its defenders. Someone on Social Media today in defense of the “Let them eat anything else” view posted, “An entire city was burned to the ground for sexual sin.” I don’t know how cake or religious or civil ceremonies equates to sexual sin, or how not baking a cake will somehow body block to people wanting to do the horizontal mambo. Also, the doomed city wasn’t named in the “sexual sin” post (nor was the date of the supposed occurrence nor the source of the info), but I’m in the religion biz and recognized the Sodom (& Gomorrah) reference from Genesis 19 (a storyin the Jewish and Christian bibles) instantly. When ignorance is employed to defend and promote hate, I often have to offer a counter narrative. It probably does little good, but silence will surely reduce me to drooling in a fetal position somewhere, so for my own sanity, I say something. 

Here was my response:

“Surely you aren’t throwing up the Sodom myth (poor Gomorrah, they never get much mention) as your argument for allowing businesses to discriminate? Sodom’s ‘sin’ wasn’t non-discriminatory bakeries. It was cruelty, inhospitality, and indifference to the marginalized...the Religious Right is more guilty of those sins than most! The attempted gang rape of ‘angels’ (which was foiled by the way, and PS...rape is always bad and is not the same as mutually shared attraction, affection, or even consensual bump and grind) didn’t occur until after Sodom was judged to be unworthy, and it would have been spared if any decent people could be found...it wasn’t destroyed because wedding cakes could be purchased by anyone, but because NO ONE was kind or generous or welcoming (again, starting to get close the Fundies). And, mutual attraction, love, or committed relationships are never mentioned in the story, so ‘gay’ isn’t the issue. Furthermore, the hero of the story is Lot, who at the end of the story sleeps with not one but BOTH of his daughters (after offering them to the rape gang that tried to attack the angels...even Abraham who was willing to kill his own child was a better father!). So, really, no sane person would ever use that terrible story to condemn love or mutual attraction. No, there has never been a city destroyed because of sexual ‘sin’...and even if one had been, that would have NOTHING do with a legal case about commercial discrimination.”

So, you know, stop it. Stop using Sodom likes its a thing. It’s certainly not a moral argument that justifies dehumanizing same-gender loving people. 

Fundamentalists, Please, Just Stop

I can't stand it! Would the hateful fundies of the world just crawl into a hole somewhere, please! First of all, read a book for crap's sake! You don't get to call same-gender love and attraction a "destructive lifestyle"...overeating is a destructive lifestyle, not exercising is a destructive lifestyle, drinking to excess is a destructive lifestyle, but getting weak in the knees at the sight of a sweaty muscle man (or sweaty muscle woman for the lesbians) is just life; and falling in love with anyone, regardless of gender identities, is just damn special - a wonderful blessing! No credible mental health organization would agree that same-gender attraction is disordered. So, mean ol' fundies, you're just making shit up and please quit it.

And secondly, "the word of god" that is supposed to settle the matter in favor of your bigotry also tells us that Noah's family with their limited gene pool repopulated the entire earth (after creating a floating zoo big enough for every species), that a chatty snake fooled a naive couple into eating magic fruit which somehow screwed up the whole world, that a 90 year old woman got knocked up (don't get me started on pregnant virgins), that some dude lived inside a fish for half a week (as so often happens), that angels seduced a bunch of women (and their off-spring were diabolical giants), that Lot had incest with both of his daughters after offering them to a rape gang (and that story is supposed to be one of the "proofs" that god hates gays!), that pork chops and shrimp cocktail are sin-food, that Jesus snatched his pal Lazarus out of heaven just because he missed him...

The point is...NO ONE takes everything in the bible literally (even the most marginal sanity would forbid it), so to pretend that your misreading of half a dozen verses that are 2000-3000 years old "proves" that gay is naughty just makes you look ridiculous. Enough with the biblical gay bashing (and every other kind). Seriously, just freaking enough.

Slow exhale...

Will Right Wing Christians Support "Religious Freedom" Based Discrimination When They Are Its Victims?

This is a response to someone who defended the "religious freedom" bills that are meant to allow discrimination against LBGT people. He insisted that same-gender coupling was "sinful" (I strongly disagree) and said that while we should always be polite to people, we shouldn't be forced to participate in same-sex weddings (as if selling flowers or cakes or tuxes to people was "participating" in their nuptials). He further stated that while Jesus associated with "sinners" he probably didn't pay prostitutes for sex or steal people's donkeys. I responded with one of my more verbose rants. It follows:

Actually, the Palm Sunday story features Jesus having his disciples steal a donkey. But, there were so many Messianic figures in the first century that was a common practice...in case the next Messianic claimant was really the one, if they asked for an animal to ride, one usually just let them have it...though, the stories don't show the disciples asking, just taking, and when they are caught and asked, "what are you doing?" only then do they say, "The Teacher has need of it." But, Jesus wasn't the literalist that many of his later followers pretend to be.

Secondly, Jesus may not have paid for sex (though we can't know), but his ancestor (Tamar's father-in-law) certainly did (with Tamar, who is listed in Jesus' genealogy)...in fact, ALL of the women in his genealogy are associated with Taboo activity (Tamar and Rahab were prostitutes, Ruth was a pagan Moabite, Mary was an unwed mother)...that Matthew makes a point of showing Jesus' less than pristine lineage shows that Jesus comes from earthy stock...of course the men were pretty gritty too...Solomon with 1000 sexual partners, David who was a murderer and a rapist, Boaz who seems pretty gay to me, etc.

Thirdly, these scriptural and theological discussions are IRRELEVANT for civil law. We aren't a theocracy. All citizens should have equal opportunity and equal protection. Religion shouldn't even be part of the discussion. We already have religious freedoms...we can worship anywhere in anyway or not at all. We are at choice. But religion can't be an excuse to discriminate against others in public life (and business and politics are public life). We settled the issue of if diners could refuse service to people because of race long ago...can they now refuse service to Muslims, atheists, gays, single mothers, non-citizens...NO. 

If Christian Business Owner doesn't agree with abortion, then she shouldn't have one, is free to pray for unwed mothers, donate money to anti-abortion "counseling" services, but is not free to say "I won't sell you my product because i heard you had an abortion." When you open a business, the social contract is that you will serve the public without discrimination. You don't have to agree with Hindus, but you can't deny them service. You don't have to understand that sexual orientation is innate and not chosen, but your ignorance of sexual diversity isn't a reason to refuse service to LBGT people. You can think atheists are on a fast train to hell, but you can't humiliate them by denying them service in this life. If I sell you flowers or cake or a veil that you will use at your wedding that i don't understand or like, that doesn't imply that I agree with you, only that I don't use my personal prejudice as an excuse to humiliate or dehumanize you. You have a business, gays want to support your business (but if they know how you feel about them, I wonder why they would), and that's that. YOu aren't allowed to use your business to force your religious values on others (or to punish them for now sharing your beliefs).

You can even let the Bully Some Homos for Christ Club put posters advertising their next meeting in your window, but you can't refuse to do business with someone just because they are the target of the BSHFCC.

These onerous and odious "freedom" bills are a petty backlash against marriage equality. In the end, they will be ruled unconstitutional (and are already proving to be vastly unpopular) and those who wish to marginalize same-gender loving people will have to find new and more novel approaches to do so. 

One final point: Sauce for the Christian goose is sauce for the non-Christian gander. Will the Christians who assume these new bills give them a blank check to dehumanize same-gender loving people, be as supportive of the laws when Muslim business owners refuse to do business with "Christian infidels", when Wiccan shop-keeps refuse service to anyone driving an Earth harming SUV, when Christian Science teachers won't send your injured child to the school nurse, when Gay Christians won't serve homophobes...If religion is the legal excuse to deny service, then any religion can be used to deny service to anyone...will Right Wing Christians support the law when it is used against them?

Religion & Gays...Better, Not Perfect

One can no longer assume that Religion is the enemy of same-gender loving and gender non-conforming people. The Quakers and the Unitarian Universalists and the Swedenborgians, the UCC (United Church of Christ...though I have encountered parishes that didn't share their denomination's inclusive rhetoric), Rev Dr Carter Heward and Bishop John Spong and Bishop Barbara Harris and Bishop Gene Robinson (and finally the Episcopal Church overall, more or less), Centers for Spiritual Living, various "Old Catholic" (not Roman) communities, many Buddhist groups, Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, and finally Conservative Judaism, Alliance of Baptists, Disciples of Christ, and now ELCA Lutherans and PCUSA Presbyterians, and since day 1 MCC (Metropolitan Community Churches) have all stepped up to be friends, allies, and advocates of LBGT people. What great progress! But marriage equality isn't universal yet, and even where it is legal, there are other efforts to enshrine discrimination against LBGT folk (married or not). And fundamentalist rhetoric is as hateful and soul-destroying as ever. So please don't allow homophobia to convince you that there isn't more work to do, that lives don't still hang in the balance, that Justice has finally had Her way. Moderate to Liberal religious folk are more welcoming and more vocal about it, but that isn't a cue for any of us to retreat into the comfort of closets. The world still needs our voice, our witness, our work.

Coming Out Day 2014

It's National Coming Out Day! There are those who still want to demonize and dehumanize same-gender loving and gender non-conforming people. But every time someone says "I'm Queer" or "I'm gay" or "I'm lesbian" or "I'm bisexual" or "I reject labels but am open to love and attraction however they manifest" or "I do not fit neatly into false gender binaries" AND "I love myself as I am", the power of heterosexism and homophobia and transphobia is diminished and the world becomes a better place. Be happy and be proud on this Coming Out Day!

Homophobia Isn't Over

HOMOPHOBIA IS NOT OVER by Durrell Watkins, D.Min.

"You homos have it good enough. There are ‘real’ issues to deal with.” That is a message that never ceases to amaze and infuriate me.

People who say that are telling us to stop complaining about churches telling us that we are damned, about parents beating and abandoning their gay and trans kids, about bullies tormenting non-binary youth, about LGBT kids winding up homeless, addicted, or attempting suicide, about governors putting our rights to a vote or declaring our lives and families to be unmentionable, and to stop complaining when politicians use transphobic rhetoric or when homophobic preachers export their hate to nations where people can be imprisoned and killed for being gay, and in some cases can be punished for simply helping or defending LGBT people. Those who want to silence LGBTQ+ people want to be free to be callous and cruel without being bothered by our objections. 

Caring about LBGTQQIAA rights does not mean that we should not and do not also care about economic justice, racism, misogyny, peace, the environment, immigration, gun safety, universal health care and other important issues. We each do what we can for what we have the most passion about because it’s all important...but if you tell me my Queer life is not as important as other lives because in your estimation my life is good enough (or even better than you believe it has a right to be), then you will have lost me as a conversation partner.

Climate change is a real issue and it must be addressed. Economic justice must be pursued. Racism is a sickness that plagues this country at every level. The on-going colonization of women’s bodies is vile and vicious. Wars, addiction, reproductive freedom, affordable higher education, food insecurity…these are all important issues and we can work and pray and vote with each of these issues in mind. And while we do so, we can still care about LGBTQ rights and safety. There is enough love in our hearts to want justice, happiness, and prosperity for all people. 

Please vote in every election. The church can’t make contributions to campaigns or as a church endorse candidates, but as a spiritual and community leader, I can encourage you to vote and to vote in ways that you believe will preserve the rights and welfare of all people. 

            LGBTQ+ folk have been around forever and we will be around forever more. And we have a right to do what we can to protect and celebrate our community, and that in no way keeps us from noticing and caring about others who have also suffered simply because of who they are. Let us wish for “liberty and justice for ALL” and then pray and work and vote for that very outcome.

Young Vic's Streetcar...A Real Gem

Young Vic's Streetcar Named Desire...TRIUMPH. Smart, edgy, some new and bold choices. The standard lines that are normally delivered as oration rather than as contribution to real dialogue were almost underplayed, still important, but unlike many productions this show wasn't just an excuse to deliver the few famous one liners ("I shall die of eating an unwashed grape", "Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers", "Poor thing, the quinine did her no good", "I don't want realism; I want magic!", "Stella! Stella for star!", "The Tarantula Arms is where I took my victims", "Hydrotherapy they call it", "STELLAAAAAAAA!!!!!!", etc.).

The minimalist, modern staging (without changing dated lines referring to Western Union or a phone number that begins with "Magnolia") was interesting and not usually distracting, and the loud, disturbing scene change music enhanced the experience of Blanche's fragile mental state.

Gillian Anderson (Blanche) and Vanessa Kirby (Stella) gave the traditional, over the top Southern Belle accents, but as old southern aristrocrats from Mississippi, it kind of works. Ben Foster (Stanley) gave no contrived accent and Corey Johnson (a native of New Orleans) didn't over do the all too often cartoonish portrayal of a Southern dialect (without respect for specific regional particularities).

Ben Foster sometimes seemed not menacing enough (almost soft a time or two, despite his threatening rhetoric and physical bulk), but I appreciated that he relied on something other than raw and unrelenting rage to communicate his fearsomeness. His was a much more nuanced Stanley than is often presented.

But the most amazing performance was given by Gillian Anderson. No hint of Scully, no wink to the X-Files, and no repeat of other Blanches. Her Blanche was a real person who had experienced real pain and disappointment and who carried real regret and faint hope. Her descent into madness wasn't cartoonish, her alcoholism was believable, and her particular affectations and mannerisms were unique to this actor's performance of this character for this production. She was, in short, the best Blanche I've ever seen!

Blanche falls desperately in love with and marries a man who she learns is gay (and involved with an older lover), and that pain is exponentially increased when he discovers that she knows his secret and his response is to commit suicide (not an uncommon response to the life ruining experience of being outed in a time when same-sex love and attraction were not only taboo, but criminal). Beyond that, Blanche is the caregiver for a series of relatives who die leaving her no money, and she has to mortgage the family estate to care for her ill relations (and then bury them). When on a teacher's salary she can't pay her debts, she loses her family home and lives in a seedy hotel where she medicates her loneliness and supplements her income as an evening companion for men. Eventually, she seduces a high school student (a cry for help? a self-destructive symptom of depression? desperate loneliness? an attempt to recapture lost youth?) the consequence of which is the end of her teaching career. She then spends the summer with her sister who has married a brute. She stays with her only living realtive (1) to have a play to live and (2) to create a new narrative for her life in an attempt to sanitize her past. Still, her secrets are exposed and while she is crumbling under the weight of shame and fear, her plight is worsened when she is raped by her brother-in-law. Her sister can't let herself believe that her husband is a rapist, so she has her Blanche committed. And the show ends with Blanche, who for all her difficulties is "never deliberately cruel", finally receiving care and kindness, but not from a friend, lover, neighbor, or relative but from a psychiatrist (presumably from a state hospital).

Gillian Anderson played this complex character powerfully. Anderson's Blanche had a soul, an inner light, painful memories beautiful fantasies, a glimmer of hope, and fading resilience. She was, simply, marvelous!

Tennessee Williams' shows tend to deal with homosexuality by means of a tragic heroine (or anti-heroine), Southern families, mental illness, and nobility that has been tarnished or hidden by disappointment and heartbreak. His spirit was very much alive and powerfully present in this production.

When Broadway and London share their gems nationally/internationally on cinema screens, it is a great gift, and tonight's showing of Streetcar was particularly amazing. 

The Need For Queer Activism Remains: We Have More Work to Do!

There is a myth floating around that LBGT people are mostly accepted, have been fully integrated into larger society, and the need for special efforts to affirm Queer folk is at an end.
FALSE.

Things are better, and they are better because our activism, outreach and education have been unrelenting. But there is so much more to do.

About half of all same-gender loving people live in the US live in states that offer marriage equality now. That progress has been faster than most of us ever imagined. But let us not forget that half of all same-gender loving Americans do NOT live in places where they can be married and that means there is more work to do.

Even though the best science and social science has told us that homosexuality is not in and of itself disordered (sex, regardless of the genders involved, can be healthy and joyous or abusive and harmful, but love and attraction are themselves good, or at very least morally neutral), many continue to teach that homosexuality is a sin or a sickness. Yes, these homophobes have chosen their ignorance; they have said that the best science and scholarship cannot persuade them that it is their bigotry that is a problem and not the genders that make up a relationship, but these homophobes are legion still. Many of them have pulpits and positions of political influence. Many of them have children whom they are teaching to hate gays, and who are teaching their gay children to hate themselves. That means we have more work to do.

Even today, well into the 21st century, not only do an alarming number of people believe in an after-life hell (a notion that is ridiculous but no less terrifying for those who have been threatened with it) but they believe that same-sex love and attraction could be what would cause souls to suffer never ending torment. They honestly believe, as foolish as it sounds, that Divine Love would reject human souls because of human bodies sharing affection if those bodies also shared a gender! That oppressive theology would be comical if it hadn't destroyed so many lives and families. We have more work to do.

Younger people are generally more tolerant and accepting than previous generations, and that is a good thing; but gay bashing has not completely disappeared and gay teens are still more likely than others to suffer abuse, rejection, and bullying. We have more work to do.

If today, this very day, 90% of all homophobia were to be stricken from the laws and the attitudes of the American population, the homophobia the West has exported to Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean would still be killing people and ruining lives. In our global community, we must care about our neighbors and we must realize that the whole world is our neighbor. We must also realize that a lot of the homohatred in the world came from American politicians and preachers. So, we must help our global neighbors who will continue to suffer from the hatred we exported. We have more work to do.

And FINALLY, Transgender/Gender Non-conforming people are getting more positive recognition and advocacy; but there remains a lot of ignorance around the reality of gender fluidity. We have more work to do.

I am so glad that in many ways things are better; but let us never be tempted to believe that they are good enough. Lives still hang in the balance and as long as that is true, we have more work to do!

Rev Dr Durrell Watkins

Senior Minister

Sunshine Cathedral

The Bible, As It Turns Out, Isn't Really Hostile to Gays

Some Bible Bits (by Rev Dr Durrell Watkins)

for Sunshine Cathedral's The Bible & Homosexuality Discussion on June 25th, 2014

Scriptures to discuss/ponder:

Genesis 2-3 - a myth of origins, no wedding, no instruction of what romance must look like

Adam and Eve actually mean “soil and life”

They are metaphors, not historic persons, and certainly not an argument against same-gender love and attraction!

Genesis 19 – a myth of origins for the Moabites and Ammonites (an ethnic slur…the story is racist, not homophobic!). Love or attraction is never even mentioned in the tale of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Judges 19 – almost identical to Gen 19 with its violence and disregard for women

Leviticus 18.22 and 20.13 discourage male to male copulation, but it is in the context of prohibitions to keep the Jewish community from mimicking or being assimilated by Egyptian and Canaanite cultures. Are the two and only two (and only related to men) prohibitions against same-sex activity actually calling on people to not rape those they defeat in battle, or not use slaves as sex objects, or not have any kind of sex that couldn’t help in nation building (that is, producing future farmers, caregivers, parents, and warriors)?

There are many possibilities but what is clear is that they aren’t being told to not be gay, they are being told to not engage in practices common to larger geographic neighbors. The prohibitions fall among many other prohibitions that people who invoke Leviticus to justify homophobia routinely ignore, e.g.:

18.19 – Don’t sleep with a menstruating woman

19.19 – Don’t cross breed animals (which would make mules sinful!)

19.20 – Don’t have sex with another man’s slave (not a rejection of slavery, but don’t “trespass” on another man’s “property”…this fits nowhere in our 21^st century western ethics!)

19.26 – Do not eat rare meat (sorry red, cool center steak lovers)

19.27 – Do not trim your beard (and presumably, that certainly includes don’t shave it completely off…sorry smooth skinned fellows)

19.28 – Do not get tattoos (body art enthusiasts that’s bad news for you)

19.31 – Do not consult fortune tellers (Long Island Medium? Newspaper Horoscope? Prophets of Doom predicting the end of the world?)

19.33 – Do not be unkind or unwelcoming to foreigners (Almost no one quotes Leviticus to combat xenophobia)

20.9 – Do not curse your parents (under penalty of DEATH!)

Before these prohibitions there are others (often ignored by those quoting Leviticus to feel good about their homophobia):

You may eat beef (11.3), but you may not eat

Camel (11.4), Badger (11.5), Rabbit (11.6), PORK (11.6)…not only are you forbidden from having rabbit stew or a ham sandwich, but you can’t even touch these animals once they are dead.

Also, you may eat fish with scales and fins (11.9), but you may not eat

Seafood that lacks scales or fin (no crab, no lobster, no shrimp, etc., 11.12).

Long John Silvers may be okay, but Red  Lobster poses a real problem!

And, just in case you are wondering, crows, sea gulls, vultures, eagles, falcons, ostriches, hawks, owls, storks, and bats are also on the forbidden menu (small sacrifice for most of us).

BUT…what you may eat if you are hankering for a snack includes locusts and grasshoppers (yum, 11.22).

Beyond diet and grooming and body art and animal breeding, there is also behavioral rules about women who have recently had children. If a woman gives birth to a boy, she can’t show up for worship for 33 days, and if she gives birth to a girl she can’t show up for worship for 66 days. Anyone coming to church less than two months after having a baby girl is not Leviticus compliant! (12.2-5).

And, amid the prohibitions, there are also commands, like the one outlining the Scape Goat ritual that the community is meant to observe! (Seen a goat in church lately?)

With so much of Leviticus being ignored, it is disingenuous to pretend that Lev. 18.22 and 20.13 are authoritative for 21^st century dwellers!

1 & 2 Samuel show a warrior love story between Jonathan and David

Isaiah 56 advocates for people who are sexually different
Jeremiah 38 has a sexually ambiguous person as an unlikely hero

Jesus never condemns same-gender love or attraction

Romans 1 – has God making people gay for committing idolatry (what?!)…what a strange understanding of how sexuality works (Paul had issues).  But love and caring relationships are not condemned (in fact, Paul in the same passage argues against judging people). And Paul talks about the sex acts as going against their natures…with that logic, it is unhealthy for gay people to go against their natures to try to be heterosexual!

I Corinthians 6.9 and 1 Timothy 1.10 (Paul didn’t actually write the letters to Timothy) forbid exploitation, not love or mutual attraction.

Luke 7 and Matthew 8 show Jesus affirming a same-sex couple (without condemning slavery, that’s one that Jesus and Paul both dropped the ball on!).

Matthew 19 has Jesus saying that some people are born different and that’s OK.

Mark 14 shows Jesus alone with a naked man after dark (and earlier in Mark, Jesus looks on a young man and “loves” him)

Paul prays for a “thorn” to be removed from his “flesh” but it never is (some believe he is referring to same-sex attraction)

Acts 8 shows a sexually different person asking what should keep him from being baptized, and the answer is NOTHING.

Jesus’ overwhelming love for Lazarus suggests a special, possibly romantic bond.

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus could well have been a “family of choice” or “alternative family”…a gay man and a lesbian couple choosing to live together as a family for safety.

Paul visited Lesbos! (Acts 20) and was friends with a woman who led a women’s community (Acts 16)

So, not only can the few verses that have been used to terrorize LesBiGay people be deconstructed and  understood in positive ways, but there are more than a few hints that same-gender love was known and in some instances even embraced in biblical communities of faith.

And we know what no one in the bible did anyway…Since the 40s we’ve known scientists have been saying that same-gender love and attraction are normative for a significant minority of people in every culture and society. Since the 70s homosexuality has been removed from mental illness diagnoses. The word “homosexual” was coined in Europe in the 19^th century (it was never used in bible days). And, as the bible does say very clearly, “God is love and WHOEVER lives in love lives in God and God lives in them.” Love, not body parts, is what makes life holy. This is the good news!

Texas Republican anti-gay platform is just insane

The Texas Republican platform apparently has called same-gender love and attraction a "chosen lifestyle" and has endorsed reparative therapy. Among their offensive arguments is that the bible is homophobic so everyone should be. Really? 

1. "Chosen" wouldn't be reason for discrimation...people choose to join the navy, choose to go to college, choose to join churchs (or not), choose to join gymns, choose to watch television, choose to marry (or not)...adults making life choices is not problematic. Now, of course human sexuality is discovered and not chosen, but never mind reason and science, even if we chose our sexuality, it would be a valid choice and discrimination based on the choice would be unjust. 

2. It is offensive to invoke the bible (or Qur'an or Gita or Heart Sutra or Harry Potter) as a political argument for oppressing a minority. If your reasons for an action are so weak, so invalid, so ridiculous that you must suggest that the primary reason for your actions is a magical text (never mind that scholarly understandings of the text would NOT support your views), then you've already lost the argument. Texas (and AR and OK and MS and TN and SC and MO and KS, etc.) doesn't have a strong record on being on the sane side of history on many issues, but even with that unfortunate history, nothing as stupid as this document will be able to endure. It may take a bit more time and even some federal intervention, but in the fullness of time, stupidity just can't survive.

Response to Dalai Lama's awkward acceptance of marriage equality

The Dalai Lama’s endorsement of consensual, adult relationships is encouraging.

However, he still seems to equate same-gender love and attraction with the act of sex itself (rather than recognizing sexual orientation as a matter of ontology), and he seems to accept that governments and religions have a right to promote oppressive ideologies that would continue to marginalize same-gender loving people.

He has made a step in the right direction and I applaud his attempt at openness; and in general I am a big fan of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but I continue to stand in opposition to all homophobic theologies and I hope for the day when the majority of religious leaders will do the same.

Rev Dr Durrell Watkins

Senior Minister
Sunshine Cathedral

A Progressive Metropolitan Community Church

Find Sunshine Cathedral Mcc on Facebook & Twitter

http://southfloridagaynews.com/World/dalai-lama-says-no-problem-with-gay-marriage.html

Dalai Lama sort of OKs marriage equality...

Hot Damn & Hallelujah!

The governor of Arizona vetoed the hateful anti-gay bill that the AZ legislature passed and predictions are currently that there won't be the votes needed to overide it. A victory for justice to be sure. Let's hope for marriage equality in AZ (and in FL and in AR and in TN and in MS and in ID and...you get it), but at least for now, one can't be denied service in AZ for being gay. Moving forward...

Arizona, Uganda...What a Mess (pastoral letter eblast sent Feb 26, 2014)

"Love and Truth will meet; Justice and Peace will kiss." Psalm 85

What a mess. Arizona has passed an anti-gay bill that would allow businesses to deny service to people they perceive to be gay as long as they claim they are doing so as an act of religious faith. I hope, as do justice-seekers everywhere, that the governor of that state will veto the legislation. Other states have tried to pass similar measures. One wonders how justice, equality, fairness, and non-discrimination can have a religious exemption! I recall Archbishop Desmond Tutu once saying, "If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn't worship that God." How I wish more religious leaders shared (and voiced) that sentiment! While we watch with equal parts hope and horror to what is happening in Arizona, we also watch with devastating despair (but also with outrageous optimism that the situation can be redeemed) the dehumanizing law in Uganda making homosexuality a crime. If as a matter of ontology one is gay or lesbian, that person can be arrested and incarcerated. To add to the suffering, a tabloid has published the names and photos of 200 people it has identified as being gay (and I know at least two of them). Gay and lesbian persons have been told they have no right to exist and they will be denied human dignity and compassion in their own land. It rends the heart.  A British newspaper recently reported that 2.5% of the world's gays and lesbians live in countries where they can be executed simply for being who they are, 40% live in countries where they are targeted (and can be in some way punished) for the "crime" of being lesbian or gay, and 44% of the planet's gay inhabitants (187 million people) live in countries where they are not criminalized per se, but where they are also not afforded equal protections under the law (and that includes the Queer folk who live in the United States where marriage equality is not yet nationwide). Almost 87% of the world's same-gender loving people live where they are not treated as if they are full citizens of their native lands, and almost 43% of the world's gay people live where they are not treated as if they are fully human. Colonization (of lands by imperial governments and of souls by missionaries from the same imperialist nations) has left a devastating legacy all over the world, and Victorian era homophobia is part of that shameful legacy. Religion at its best brings people together to explore spirituality and celebrate human potential; at its worst it is used as a weapon to dominate, control, and wound people. Religion was very much a partner in the atrocities of colonization. Again, I call on the wisdom of Desmond Tutu who has shared this story, "When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the bible and we had the land. They said, 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes and when we opened them, we had the bible and they had the land."  The seeds of intolerance were planted among people whose resources were robbed by colonizing forces; when the colonized nations regained their autonomy, many of them were left without their natural wealth and were burdened with values that were not indigenous to them. The harvest of those seeds too well sown is now painfully abundant. So, while we work for justice in Arizona and other areas of the U.S. still hostile to the LBGT community, we must also be mindful of the pain caused beyond our borders in places that are duplicating the prejudices that Europe and North America exported to them, prejudices which even now are stirred by American evangelists who teach "zero tolerance" for homosexuality but then want to appear shocked when laws are passed to imprison or kill gay people. Yes, we must speak out against the soul crushing actions recently taken in Uganda. Quoting Archbishop Tutu one final time, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."  But let us not be xenophobic or allow ourselves to feel in anyway superior as we express our concerns. What has happened in Arizona is happening in other parts of the world, perhaps "amped up" quite a bit, but we are all part of the human family and we all must share this one world, and in some very real ways, "our" society at various times has contributed to the injustices that we now see in other places; let's do hold that in our thoughts as we work and pray for healing in and among all nations.  It's complicated. It's a mess. But what matters most now is saving lives and reducing the burden of oppression. This is my prayer: May the Good in and around us, which is known by countless names, lead us in the ways of healing, peace, and justice. May religion ill used be redeemed; and may those who use religion as a weapon have a change of heart. As we think of those who live in fear or danger because religion has dehumanized and demonized them, let us pause in this moment to affirm their sacred value and to wish them safety and well-being. And may those of us who continue to march under the banner of religion never again use it as a tool of oppression. Amen.   With hope, always,   Rev Dr Durrell Watkins Senior Minister  Sunshine Cathedral  Less than an hour after this eblast went out, the governor of AZ vetoed that state's anti-gay bill. Let's now hope the veto isn't over-ridden and let's continue to focus our efforts on bringing hope and healing to Uganda.

Our Hearts Go Out to Same-gender Loving Ugandans (pastoral letter eblast from Feb 25, 2014)

"The weapons of our warfare are not physical but they are mighty to the pulling down of oppressive strongholds!" The Apostle Paul

"Seek justice; encourage the oppressed." Isaiah 1.17 Dear laborers in the vineyard of justice, Sadly, Uganda's President Museveni signed today the anti-gay bill that can result in draconian cruelty against same-gender loving Ugandans. The out of control homophobia/homohatred was actually fueled by US fundamentalist Christians. The dehumanizing rhetoric used to deny gays and lesbians both dignity and liberty is further fueled by the universally rejected quack science that fundamentalists often embrace. The US government gives millions of dollars in aid to Uganda. So, not only did American religious zealots and even some American politicians take the "zero tolerance" anti-gay message to Uganda, but American tax dollars help sustain the economy of a country that is violating the most basic civil rights of its homosexual citizens. This latest outrage against human dignity is, regrettably, not an isolated incident. Jamaican gays continue to live in fear for their lives. Nigeria remains an unsafe place for many gay people. Homophobia is now rampant in Russia. And even in the US, while 17 states offer marriage equality, other states continue their attempts to legislate discrimination against LBGT people. Of course, irresponsible anti-gay preaching has fueled much of this soul-killing hatred. So, Sunshine Cathedral will continue to share a progressive and inclusive message affirming the sacred value of all people. Our alternative message is needed now as much as it has ever been; in fact, lives may depend on it. Here are some things you can do to help energize our efforts to offer hope and healing to LBGT people and their allies all over the world: ~ Call (1.202.647.4000) or email (http://contact-us.state.gov/app/ask/) the US Secretary of State asking for diplomatic action in response to the anti-gay legislation in Uganda. ~ Continue your support of Sunshine Cathedral as we speak out against these atrocities. Sunshine Cathedral is part of the Metropolitan Community Churches movement which affirms social justice as a key element of the Gospel. ~ Contact the office of the Ugandan president (http://www.officeofthepresident.go.ug/index.php/contact-us) and respectfully (but clearly) ask him to take measures within the Ugandan legal system to reverse this great injustice. ~Pray daily for all the LBGT people everywhere who face rejection, vilification, incarceration, and even death simply for being who they are. We know that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"; therefore, it is right that we expression concern and compassion as LBGT people continue to be targeted all over the world. But never give up hope! We also know that "the moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." Faithfully,   Rev Dr Durrell Watkins Senior Minister Sunshine Cathedral

A Prayer in Response to Recent Waves of Religion Inspired Homophobia

Homophobia is running rampant (again)~Arizona, Tennessee, Nigeria, Uganda...a lot of crazy in the world right now, and religion at its most dysfunctional is the root of almost all of it. Some have given up on religion (and honestly, who could blame them?).

Others of us have found myths and rituals and community to be healing and life-giving and we just refuse to give them up even if far too many have used religion as a weapon to oppress, vilify, marginalize, and torment first one group and then another.

As one who still believes in the potential of healthy religion, or at least in shared spirituality which religion at its best faciliates, today I pray:

May the divine Power, the indomitable hope, the mystery of life, the power of love, the vastness of the universe, the invisible ties that unite all living beings, the wisdom of ages, the indefatigable creativity of the human spirit known as gods and angels and guides and ancestors and magic lead us in the ways of healing, peace, and justice. May religion ill used be redeemed; and may those who use religion as a weapon have a change of heart. As I think of those who live in fear or danger because religion has dehumanized and demonized them, I pause in this moment to affirm their sacred value and to wish them safety and well-being; in the name of all I call holy. Amen.

-- Durrell Watkins (2014)

Plain Talk

Plain Talk

A progessive sermon (focusing on social justice)

The truth about marriage equality

Same-gender marriage has always existed. Two people loving each other, caring for each other, treasuring each other, building a life together is as old as humanity. Sometimes they were pressured into having other kinds of relationships as well, sometimes they were shunned or punished or killed for being different, but same-gender attraction and love and commitments are as old as time. What is new is that some denominations, a few religions, a handful of countries, some indigenous tribes, DC and 17 US states all recognize this truth and wish to afford equal benefits to loving couples whose relationships are equal in the site of Justice. More states, more churches, more countries will catch on...but they are not creating or allowing same-gender marriage; they are simply and finally acknowledging and blessing marital relationships that have been formed and anointed by Love Itself. 

Prayer for Today

~PRAYER FOR TODAY~

Today, let us be thankful that same-gender loving people no longer must serve in silence but can live and love openly while defending their country in the various branches of the military.

Today, let us honor all who have served and who currently serve in uniform.

Today, let us honor all military service men and women by hoping and praying for peace.

Today, let us be mindful of non-military service that is also meant to keep us safe and make our world better…the work of first responders, the work of diplomats, and the work of activists speaking out for women, minorities, same-gender loving people, children, immigrants, the poor, and all who have had to work harder to experience the good that they deserve.

Today, let us rejoice that some in positions of authority or influence use the resources available to them to promote “liberty and justice for all” – in particular let us be grateful for Zambia’s First Lady, Dr Christine Kasebs-Sata, who is an advocate for LBTG people in Africa.

Today, let us be grateful for the US Senate’s passing of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and let us hope that the US House of Representatives will do likewise.

Today, let us give thanks for the 15 US states that now offer marriage equality, that a 16^th state is very close, and that the District of Columbia, several counties and tribal communities, and an increasing number of nations recognize and celebrate equality as well.

Today, let us be reminded that there are still many places where one can be discriminated against, vilified, rejected, harmed, or even killed simply for being gay or lesbian, for being suspected of being gay or lesbian, or for being transgender or gender non-conforming; and let us recommit to working toward the elimination of homophobia and transphobia among us.

Today, let us remember that HIV has not yet been cured and let us wish and pray for a cure to soon be found.

And today, let us hold the people of the Philippines in our hearts as they continue to assess the damage and losses of Hurricane Haiyan.

There are many kinds of battles and many kinds of warriors…may all who have been willing to struggle to make our world safer, more just, and more compassionate be abundantly blessed.

God of our hearts, we offer these prayers in the name of all that is good and holy. Amen.