Bulletproof Faith
The first book from Whosoever founder and editor Candace Chellew-Hodge is now available for pre-order. Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians, published by Jossey-Bass, will be available in September 2008.
This book is a practical guide to defending your faith against even the most vicious attacks from those who say a person cannot be both gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and Christian.
Visit the official Web site of the book at bulletproofbook.com for a free study guide and more resources.
Early praise for Bulletproof Faith:
"Gay and lesbian Christians are constantly demoralized and told they are not children of God. In Bulletproof Faith, Chellew-Hodge reassures gays and lesbians that God loves them just as they were created and teaches them how to stand strong, with compassion and gentleness, against those who condemn them." -Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
Whosoever September/October 2008
Issue Theme: Anxiety
Featured Articles:
Consider the Lilies
By: Candace Chellew-Hodge
Jesus never said life would be easy – but he did say we didn't have to be anxious about it. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love and a sound mind free from worry.
Consider
By: Neil Ellis Orts
Times get hard and it's easy to succumb to self-pity and despair, especially when all your friends have moved to the cool side of town and you're still riding the bus in the, um, uncool side of town.
Oh We of Little Faith
By: Melissa Capers
Anxiety, it seems to me, interrupts the faith in God that can redound as faith in self. We need to trust ourselves - in our capacity to rise to challenge, in our instinct toward compassion, in our discernment, in our vision of the infinite and the divine.
Us, Them, We:
Walking the Fine Line of Unity and Diversity
By: David R. Gillespie
I must constantly remind myself that those folks who may not share my theistic worldview are no less human than I, that they are deserving of the same respect that I long to have from them. Hey, humanists are people, too!
Who's Responsible for What they Say?
By: Bob Minor
Are we surprised that what the right-wing dubbed culture "wars" might become warlike? Surprised that bigoted hate speech that's thoroughly acceptable on right-wing radio would be quoted by shooters to justify violence?
Read all the latest articles
Next Issue
Create in Me a Clean Heart
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
-Psalm 51:10-12
The season of Advent is one of preparation and expectation as we look forward to the coming of the Christ. As we wait we prepare ourselves to welcome the divine by praying for a clean heart - a new and right spirit - that can be permeated by the coming Christ.
What does it mean to have a clean heart - a new and right spirit? So, often we are caught up in the spirit of the world - a spirit that tells us the one with the most toys win. The spirit of the world tells us we must conform to gender or sexual orientation expectations. The spirit of the world tell us that might makes right and violence brings peace. A clean heart - a new and a right spirit - is oriented toward God. How do we prepare ourselves for God to create in us a clean heart, open to receiving the divine?
We'll explore these questions and more in the November/December 2008 issue of Whosoever. If you would like to write on this topic, or any other topic, please send an email to the editor.
Deadline: October 24, 2008
