Whosoever January/February 2010
Issue Theme: Testifying to the Light
Below are just some of the great articles in the latest issue.
Go to the Table of Contents for more!
Featured Articles:
Lighten Up!
By: Candace Chellew-Hodge
Even if we can't perceive it, or we're told that we're mistaken to think it - we each carry light within us. Our job is the same as John the Baptist's - to testify to that light.
Escaping the Darkness of Shame
By: David Gillespie
We GLBTQ Christians stand in a unique place wherefrom we can shine the light of a positive attitude toward sex into a world of darkness and need.
Confessions of a Christian "Broad"
By: Lori Heine
Showing forth the great, grand, generous broadness of God testifies to the Light. We do that by transcending our other-ness and sharing the burdens even of those with whom our own, narrow experience has not taught us to relate.
Marriage: Where Are We Now?
By: Bob Minor
If we use marriage as the measure of what's happening for LGBT people in the country, we've chosen the wrong measure. It's a sensational issue, for sure. On both sides, national organizations have bet donation asks on it. But expect more disappointments ahead.
Homophobia Stems from the Unconscious
By: Dr. Jerry S. Maneker
In the case of homophobia, it is eminently clear that ignorance and/or hate are the root causes of those prejudices, and that hateful animus that propels and compels one to consistently seek to demean the other, and deny equal rights to Gay people, is coming from the unconscious of that person, those tempestuous forces of which he/she is largely, if not solely, unaware.
Read all the latest articles
Next Issue
Original Blessing
"God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good." -Genesis 1:31
For centuries the church has taught us that we all carry some "original sin" passed from Adam that has marked us and put us in need of redemption. Such theology has been a source of much pain and suffering for so many, especially those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community who are told that they are somehow especially sinful because of who they are and who they love.
Instead of seeing ourselves as originally stained with sin, an older, more generous theology assures us that we are originally blessed, made in God's image, and called good. As Matthew Fox writes: "Since 'blessing' is the theological word for 'goodness,' original blessing is about original goodness. The forces of fear and pessimism so prevalent in society and religion need to be countered by an increased awareness of awe and goodness. This goodness is inherent in the beauty, wisdom and wonder of creation. Goodness and creation go together as do goodness and God."
We'll explore this topic and more in the March/April 2010 issue of Whosoever. If you would like to write on this topic, or any other topic, please send an email to the editor.
Deadline: February 26, 2010
Whosoever Podcast
It's not everyday that a book comes along that literally saves your life, but Dr. Jack Rogers says he's heard that comment more than once about his book Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality, Revised and Expanded Edition: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church. A new expanded and revised version of the book has been released and we'll check in with Dr. Rogers on what's new in this extraordinary book.
Also, back in August, I got married. My partner and I went to Canada to tie the knot legally. I'll give you my thoughts on the spiritual experience I had standing in line at city hall.
Whosoever News Blog
Keep up with the latest news happening in between issues of Whosoever with the new Whosoever News Blog. A team of bloggers is keeping up with news on marriage equality, movements within the church toward acceptance of LGBT people, and anything else that affects our lives as LGBT Christians. Check it out - and be sure to join the conversation in the comment sections!
