Marc Adams to speak in Galloway Township at Unitarian Service

Press of Atlantic City has an article about this weekend’s plans for Marc Adams, the founder of HeartStrong to speak at a Unitarian service in Galloway Township in New Jersey. The article explains that HeartStrong:

help[s] the students to accept themselves for what they are, and to understand that while their faith is a choice, their sexual orientation is not, Adams said.

To learn more about Marc Adams, HeartStrong, and his speaking engagement this weekend, see the article in Press of Atlantic City. If any one attends the event, please email us at queerfaithnews@gmail.com with your thoughts.

Shirtless Angels greet the Pope

Angel protesters that greeted Pope Benedict XVI in England.

Towleroad and The Advocate are proselytizing in a way we here at QfN have never seen before… just kidding!

However, The Advocate and Towleroad both features postings about the angels that greeted Pope Benedict XVI in Twickenham, England at St. Mary’s University. The Advocate shared the following about the angel protest:

According to London’sTelegraph, guests coming to see the pope were met by three men wearing gold wings, Speedos, and nothing more. The men told the crowd they were pushing for the church to be more accepting of gay people.

Read more on Towleroad or The Advocate about the angels.

Should the government get OUT of the marriage business?

Andrew March presents a powerful challenge for the U.S. government — get out of the marriage business. March begins his argument in favor of the implementation of civil unions for all by stating:

Even the pious will come to appreciate that they are not harmed in any real way by homosexuality — gay sex (and marriage) is not sex done unto them. (Cue the Ted Haggard jokes.) Poll after poll shows that the arc of history is bending towards increased acceptance of homosexuality and thus of same-sex marriage.

This couldn’t be more true. We know that people across the country are realizing that gay marriage is the civil rights struggle of our era.

I agree with March that when the day comes that our nation recognizes the validity of a union between two people of the same-sex, it must be equal to whatever title is afforded to heterosexual couples. With that in mind, I concur with Andrew March when he presents the question of whether it would be in the interests of society to remove marriage from government-control and instead implement civil unions for all. This would allow individual religions to determine their “guidelines” regarding marriage, but would ensure that in the eyes of civil law, all are equal.

What are your thoughts?

Christianity and Sexuality: Christians reach out to transgender community

Religion Dispatch features an interesting essay regarding the Christian community reaching out to the transgender community. The essay begins by questioning how “inclusive” the struggle for equality has been of the transgender community. The essay’s author, Becky Garrison, then explores how a gay-friendly church in San Francisco “struggled with how to welcome a very attractive transgender woman who walked through their doors in the mid 1980s.” Fast-forwarding to the new millennium, Garrison explains that “By the time distinguished evolutionary biologist and transwoman Joan Roughgarden came to St. Gregory’s around 2002, the community had learned enough that she could call this church her home.” The essay offers a great deal of hope that the worldwide church will continue to open its hearts to the love and peace sought by transgender people. Garrison shares that:

When the Rev. Stephanie Spellers, Priest and Lead Organizer for The Crossing in Boston tries to engage the church on this issue, she finds that the liberal churches tend to be silent on transgender issues, while the more conservative churches shout that transgender people are living “a lifestyle choice” that is patently “wrong,” “evil” and “an abomination.” She says the balance needs to shift.

Garrison allows includes a powerful comment from Candace Chellew-Hodge:

“there is no sides when it comes to say civil rights and the KKK, there is but one side on this issue. Do we recognize people as having an inherent dignity as being part of our shared humanity?”

The Benedict affront: Pope criticizes non-discrimination law

With all of the news coming out of the United Kingdom over the past week in preparation for the Pope’s visit, QfN has been combing through articles and releases looking for the most interesting and pertinent material. In today’s Guardian, Polly Toynbee has an intriguing editorial that poses serious questions regarding the Supreme Pontiff’s visit to the United Kingdom.

Though the Pope’s visit is centered around the beatification of Cardinal Newman, many people including Toynbee are asking whether this is merely an affront for the Pope to criticize the progressive advancements that have been made by British lawmakers. Polly Toynbee writes with a voice of truth and charity in her editorial where she writes:

Repression of sex, banning contraception, gay rights, abortion, stem-cell research and IVF treatment cause untold misery. Not to the “liberal” Catholics who proclaim for reform and use contraception themselves – as Cherie Blair so distastefully revealed – yet support a church whose denial of it damages and kills poor mothers with no choice. As Ben Goldacre pointed out in this paper on Saturday, while this pope claims condoms “aggravate the problem” of HIV/Aids, two million die a year. Ann Widdecombe’s riposte that the Catholic church runs more Aids clinics than any single nation was like suggesting the Spanish Inquisition ran the best rehab clinics for torture victims.

Reading Toynbee’s editorial reminded me how truly out of touch the Vatican is with the real-world. Although the Roman Catholic Church is an ancient institution, it does evolve at a very slow pace. One need only reference the Second Vatican Council which although it took place nearly 50 years ago, has still not be fully implemented.

Rome’s teachings regarding homosexuality and contraception are detrimental to the lives of people in developing and industrialized countries. Whether we consider the treatment of gays and lesbians in Eastern Europe or those on the African continent, the Magisterium’s teachings have dramatic effects on how local cultures perceive homosexuality. In many societies, this has led to discriminatory laws and in some cases to the persecution of gay people. It is time for the Magisterium and the Church as a global body to reflect on the impact of “doctrine” on the lives of the innocent. The Roman Catholic Church must own and take responsibility for the impact of its teachings.

As the Pope prepares to arrive in the United Kingdom, statements criticizing non-discrimination laws such as those protecting gays and lesbians, draws into question the intent of the Pontiff’s visit. These comments are not solely limited to Rome itself, but rather extend to the Church’s leadership in the United Kingdom. Toynbee writes that:

The director of pastoral affairs in the Westminster diocese, Edmund Adamus, says Britain has become a “selfish hedonistic wasteland” of sex and secularism.

Let us hope that the Pope’s visit to the United Kingdom will help him to realize that Britain is not a “selfish hedonistic wasteland” nor does it “violate natural law” but rather it exposes the humanity of all people by providing protections for marginalized populations.

Censuring faith: NPR reports religious search engines yield tailored results

NPR featured an interesting article today on how religious search engines tailor their results to push a particular viewpoint on certain issues. These newly emerging “religious search engines” include a Christian search tool, SeekFind; a Muslim search engine, l’mHalal; and a Jewish search tool, Jewogle.

Although these newsearch engines might sound “cute,” they each admit to tailoring their search results. For example, with the Christian

search engine SeekFind:

If you search “gay marriage,” you would get results that argue against gay marriage. And if you type in “Democratic Party,” your first search result is a site on Marxism.

Similarly, with the Muslim search engine:

A search for “sexuality” returned no results on I’mHalal.

So what does all of this mean for the future of the internet? It appears that these new search engines could be both to the benefit and detriment of society. I agree with l’mHalal’s creator who said, “People were avoiding th

e Internet because they were afraid they or their children would bump into explicit content. It’s a shame;” however, I fear that eliminating a balanced result for search terms such as “gay marriage” or “Democratic Party” threatens to undermine public awareness.

Time will only tell whether SeekFind, Jewogle, and l’mHalal will survive amidst the search engine leaders such as Google and Yahoo; however, at the very least, they offer an interesting opportunity to see how “religious search engines” censure the opposition.

Pope speaks against gay marriage; is anyone listening?

Well, we must admit that we here at Queer Faith News (QfN) are always listening to what comes out of Rome.

As many of you know, the Pope is preparing for the first state visit to the United Kingdom since the 16th Century! Wow! This story is worth following based on the historical significance alone. With that in mind, no story involving the Vatican or the Pope would be complete without some type of public statement on homosexuality.

Bloomberg featured an article this morning about the Pope’s comments as he prepares for his trip to the United Kingdom on gay marriage and biotechnology. In speaking to the press, the Pope said that the Roman Catholic Church “cannot approve of legal initiatives that imply a re-evaluation of the life of the couple and the family.”

In referencing gay marriage directly, the Supreme Pontiff said that legalized same-sex marriages “contribute to the weakening of the principles of natural law” and to “confusion about society’s values.” I’m not sure if Rome is qualified to comment on the “confusion about society’s values” in light of recent controversies in the Church, but that is only my opinion (not the opinion of QfN). I think we need only reconsider the Vatican’s stance on viewing the ordination of women and pedophilia as equal in their offense against God. That confuses me and I’m sure many members of the worldwide Church.

Read the entire article on Bloomberg.

Gay Marriage Today: Three articles worth reading

There are three interesting headlines related to gay marriage that I thought QfN readers might enjoy. Spanning a discussion of Tony Perkins (Family Research Council) to an article exploring Judeo-Christian understandings of the struggle for humanity, these three articles are worth a read!

The Judeo-Christian Idea and the Struggle for Humanity by Ed Lasky in American Thinker

Adam and Steve after all: Same-sex Marriage by Javier Avitia in The Johns-Hopkins News-Letter

Tony Perkins: Gay Marriage Will Lead to the Complete End of Freedom of Religion by Joe. My. God.

In response to Tony Perkins, I wonder if Mr. Perkins and the Family Research Council realize that our Constitution enshrines a guarantee of freedom of and from religion?

God to anti-gay hatemongers: “Do I know you? For you, do not know me”

Today, I read an article on in the Salt Lake City Tribune titled “Anti-gay hatemongers aren’t doing God’s work.” The article is largely a discussion regarding the Westboro Baptist Church led by the Rev. Fred Phelps. The article’s author, Corey Hodges, explains:

There is no biblical defense for Westboro’s hateful message and insensitive demonstrations. The group’s philosophy and approach are riddled with contradictions. Westboro cannot truly believe in the Bible, which speaks of God’s love, mercy and grace. Jesus vehemently opposed earthly agents of condemnation. He said, in Matthew, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged. … Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye.” Westboro’s hate is a huge plank.

Hodges, a Baptist pastor himself, explains that although the Westboro Baptist Church and its leader have a First Amendment right to the freedom of speech (and to and from religion – I would add), he reminds us:

While Westboro’s actions may be not be illegal, they are immoral and unethical. People of faith must remember that the law cannot be the sole decider of behavior.

In reading the editorial by Rev. Hodges, I feel forced to ask: “What is hate?” and “How is hate manifested in our society?” We need only consider how the United States has responded to Muslims in America and to GLBT Americans to understand how hated is manifested. Hate is a powerful word and as such, is often masked behind other words:

• Some may argue that they speak out against Islam because they feel it is “of the devil.” This is hate.
• Some may argue that gay relationships are abominable in the eyes of God and that they love gay people, but they do not love “the sin.” In fact, the mantra goes “Hate the sin, love the sinner.” This is hate.
• Some may argue that it is “us” against “them.” This is hate.

As a society, we have to stop blanketing hate; we have to stop accepting synonyms for hate, because by such we exercise a silence that allows hate to continue to raise its ugly head in the halls of Congress, behind the guise of a pulpit, and in the words of men of our age who claim to be speaking for God. We must stand and speak in one voice in declaring an end to hate.

When President Obama gave his speech last week declaring an end to military operations in Iraq, I couldn’t help but pray for the day that we may have a similar cry for justice, a similar declaration for the end of hate. We are all called to be prophets of our time by living a life that seeks to be void of hate. We must respond to hate with love, a love that does not judge.

I can only imagine what God might say to those who spew hate: “Do I know you? For you, do not know me.”

Asking the BIG question: 9 Years After 9/11, Has Religious Tolerance Changed in America?

Tonight’s NewsHour had an interesting segment that I thought was worth sharing… http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/july-dec10/911_09-10.html. I highly recommend viewing the segment in its entirety.

Here is an excerpt from the introduction:

Nine years later, and very suddenly and very loudly, a new national conversation has grown around questions of tolerance, trust, and religious and cultural values.

We get four voices on these matters now. The Reverend Janet Vincent is rector of Saint Columba’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. Nine years ago, she ministered to rescuers, workers, and families of those killed at the site of the World Trade Center.Bishop Harry Jackson is pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland. His books include “Personal Faith, Public Policy,” and “The Truth in Black and White.”

Reza Aslan is author of “No god But God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam.” He’s also a contributing editor to the Web site The Daily Beast. And Nick Gillespie is editor in chief of Reason.com and previously served as editor of “Reason” magazine.

Welcome to all of you. I will start with you, Reverend Vincent. We heard the president refer to the country being anxious. He said, fears can surface, suspicions, divisions. How much of this to you goes back to 9/11?