Volume 6, Issue 5

The Empty Tomb: What Does the Resurrection Mean?

Cover Stories

The Reality of Resurrection
By Candace Chellew
Resurrection is not about Jesus opening his eyes in the tomb, removing the Shroud of Turin, stretching out the kinks of crucifixion, frightening the women, and taking a stroll with the disciples. Resurrection means that God is with us — “permanently present … in all places and times” in our world.

Are You a Crucifixion Person or a Resurrection Person?
By Callan Williams
Are you a crucifixion person or a resurrection person? Do you believe we are born to suffer and die, with our ultimate reward coming in some other place, some other time, or are you a resurrection person, immersed in leaving behind suffering and building a new life, immersed in being reborn here and now?

The Idea of the Resurrection
By Daniel Miess
Jesus calls himself the resurrection and the life. Ultimately, in order to bring about the personal resurrection in my life, he had to put to death the old order of things. Instead of seeing the old law, which the gospels are a revolt against, I have now come to see the freedom in life, the rebirth that Jesus talks about in John 3.

Not Yet
By Neil Ellis Orts
The taste I have had makes me ache for the feast to come. The times say, “Not yet.” I strain at my little box and I know, not yet. But the day is surely coming.

Faith in What Cannot Be Seen
By John H. Campbell
I do not need to “see” the skies open, or see proof that Christ’s body rose after three days to know that the Spirit of Jesus is very much alive in the hearts of believers and that God is a reality. And to go a step further, one need to look no further than the wisdom God has blessed us with through science, psychology and biology to see that LGBT people are not “abominations” or those who engage in “unnatural acts,” but rather a part of the diversity that God created.

The Empty Tomb: What Does the Resurrection Mean?
By Pastor P. Kenyetta Day
The resurrection of Jesus Christ validates three crucial points for the believer. First, it authenticates the Scriptures. Second, the resurrection validates our redemption through faith in Christ. Third, the resurrection speaks directly to our own spiritual victories.

What Easter Is All About: A Review of John Shelby Spong’s “Resurrection: Myth or Reality?”
By Derek Miller
It wasn’t until I read “Resurrection: Myth or Reality” that I began to realize what Easter is all about. Spong took me on a thrilling journey through history and beyond Scripture as I arrived at an understanding of why the resurrection stories were written, why certain symbols were used, and most importantly, what this all means to Christians today.

Emerging From Our Tombs
By Jennifer Felix
We as GLBT persons understand what a tomb is, as we have all come from one of closet proportions. And often we resent it. We want to bust through and out to be a light and a witness and, well, just be.

Homospirituality

The Slow Miracle of Transformation
By Mary Lou Wallner
I thought my daughter’s tragedy would destroy my life. Instead, it gave me a different life.

Jesus for Dummies
By Rembert Truluck
The reason that we are dummies about Jesus is because we have been dummied by religious manipulations and misinformation. The same abusive sick religion that has made GLBT people hate themselves and try to destroy themselves and each other is the source of our confusion and misinformation about Jesus.

Features

Shaping the Face of a New Christianity: An Interview with John Shelby Spong
By Candace Chellew
In order to save its soul, it is Spong’s belief that Christianity must shed this obsession with a theistic God. That is, of course, a tall order. Christianity is so rife with theism that the very thought of separating it from the other elements of the faith is unbearable for many people.

Legal Defense of Gay Marriage
By Sean Carter
In truth, I am continually amazed by the arrogance of heterosexuals on this issue. Let’s face it, we have had marriage all to ourselves for thousands of years and we have made a mess of it. According to some statistics, half of all marriages fail and the other half end in divorce before they’ve had a chance to fail.

Letters to the Editor

Transpirituality

Reconciling Sunday
By Rachel Miller
Having a church open its arms to welcome us is a true blessing because they become a beacon of God’s love by accepting us as we are. The entire service was emotionally charged and many in the congregation were fighting a losing battle to hold back tears.

Are We Family?
By Angela Rose
How sad that the Family of God cannot grow in love because its members cannot simply support and love each other as we should, loving all because we are family members first and foremost. How easy is it for us, as a GLBT community, for us to scorn and hate others because of their intolerance and non-acceptance of us?

From The Pulpit

Uncovering Art
By Rev. Paul Tellstrom
We are all artworks of God waiting for the moment to be uncovered. It may not happen when we want it to. For some it happens early, for some like myself, later, and for others, including many churches, not at all.

Bible Study and Inspiration

“What’s in It for Us?” A Study of the Gospel of Matthew
By Tom Yeshua
Gay and lesbian people have a duty to take back the scriptures from destructive closed minds. In doing so we will find a message of welcome intended for all of God’s children. Like the wise men, our search for Jesus Christ will be blessed by his loving gaze and comforting touch.

A Thousand Generations: A Bible Study
By Stacy Reynolds
When I first heard about generational curses I scoffed because the blood of Jesus covered me so no curse could have a hold of me. However, I didn’t take into account the persistence of the enemy of God’s people.

Holy Humor

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Academic Phrases and Meanings