calltoaffirmation

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“If same-sex relationships are really sinful, then why do they so often produce good fruit—loving families, open homes, self-sacrifice, commitment, faithfulness, joy? And if conservative Christians are really right in their response to same-sex relationships, then why does that response often produce bad fruit—secrets, shame, depression, loneliness, broken families, and fear?”

— Rachel Held Evans (via gay-there)

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hot take uh

dont get mad at trans ppl for using the “wrong”/out of date terminology to describe their own experiences like

if a trans dude says “back when i was a girl” or “i was born in the wrong body” just. let them. if they feel it describes their experiences the best, then it’s good for them

as long as theyre not using it to describe other people who may not be comfortable with, it’s ok

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@staff how do i pin a post to the top of my tumblr?

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that people are out there really believing that God would create humans in infinite unique ways and STILL be like “but they all have to be straight and cis tho” genuinely baffles me

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image description: a tweet thread by Anthony Peter @LiturgicalQueer on Twitter reading,

I don’t appreciate “Exceptions don’t disprove the rule!” in response to the existence of intersex people.

If you’re saying “God made only male and female”, and intersex people exist, then your rule is literally broken.

These are real human lives that are not accounted in any major Christian anthropology of gender.

“Well intersex people are just broken males or broken females. They’re a result of the Fall”.

How in the world do you draw the conclusion? Because there’s only Adam and Eve in Genesis 1 and 2?

There’s a whole lot of stuff that’s good and beautiful that’s not in the Garden. Racial and ethnic diversity for example?

The Bible doesn’t talk about amphibians either. Just animals in the sea or land, not both.

Why is not being in Genesis evidence of being “fallen”?

Intersex people are erased when we we talk about sexual ethics. If you believe sex must be “of the procreative kind” (I say kind because conservative churches consider infertile heterosexual couples validly married), then how are many kinds of intersex people accounted for?

If marriage is only between male and female, then I think intersex people deserve to hear why or why can’t they be married. Because the way this conversation had been framed has unintentionally erased or diminished their marriages/relationships.

Because currently here are the conclusions that are to be drawn based on the arguments from those who do not acknowledge this group of people:

Male/female marriage only means…

1) intersex people are actually male or female. Just “broken”. Why?? And how is it clear cut to you in every case?

2) intersex people can’t be married. Why? Because of variation in chromosomes and body parts? All supposed to be celibate

3) Intersex people can marry but based on gender identity. Intersex woman could marry man for example. But it doesn’t seem like gender identity is the route conservatives would want to take.

4) not on gender identity but on “procreative kind” of relationship. Problems..

4 continued) problems arise when we talk about intersex people’s bodies are non-procreative. And I don’t mean infertile, I mean those whose bodies have no uterus and XY chromosomes for example but are women.

5) then I guess it could be grounded in some kind of anatomical argument. As long as it is PIV sex. But then we are getting super arbitrary again especially with no grounding in procreation.

This is not to use intersex people as some kind of “gotcha” to conservatives. It’s to acknowledge the underpinnings of the commonly referenced positions fail to address folks outside of the male/female sex binary.

/end id

I retweeted the thread with some commentary of my own to expand the conversation: 

image description: a twitter thread by Queerly Christian reading,

Queerly Christian@Queer_in_Christi agree 100% that not being present in Genesis 1&2 isn’t evidence “resulting from the fall”–but it’s still interesting to explore interpretations of Genesis 1&2 that do include intersex persons! First, 1:27’s statement that God created humanity “male and female”…(1/6)

(2/6) …can be understood as a merism – naming 2 “extremes” to represent a whole thing. Genesis 1 contains several examples – God creating “the seas and dry land” encompasses the shore between them; and God created dawn & dusk, not only “night and day"; etc.

(3/6) The “and” in 1:27’s “male and female” is not a binary “and.” It also encompasses humans whose physical characteristics don’t fit into a sexual binary: intersex people. Which is cool, bc that explicitly confirms that God declares intersex bodies “very good” too (Gen 1:31)!

(4/6) Furthermore, it’s possible to interpret the first human themself as intersex! While most Christians see the first human described in Genesis 2 as a “male,” the Hebrew word used for this first human is not “ish,” meaning “man,” but “adam,” meaning simply “human.”

(5/6) To create the 2nd person, this human is split in two – from 1 person who might have had both “male” and “female” physical characteristics (and thus was intersex), into one person with “female” characteristics and another person with “male” characteristics.

(6/6) For a more in depth explanation of Genesis 1 & 2 and intersexuality see the section of the linked webpage titled “the genderfull first human”

i welcome criticism from intersex folks if i got something wrong in this thread. Basically i wanted to say: despite so many Christians denying & erasing you, you DO have a place in God’s creation and in humanity’s story!! if you want scriptural “evidence” for that, it’s there.

/end id

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time to read yet ANOTHER psalm where david complains about his haters

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Image description: a tweet thread by Rev. Emmy Kegler @emmykegler reading,

Cishet Christians, a gentle reminder: enthusiastically telling me, a stranger who just outed herself as gay and Christian, about your nondenominational "super chill, everyone is welcome" church makes my hair stand on end.

If you follow it up with "my gay friend got saved there just before he randomly died and I'm so grateful," you are running a high chance of me very loudly telling you about the latest LGBTQ+ affirming thing I attended and how crucial it is to debunk violent hermeneutics.

I think most cishet Xians truly don't get how most queer Xians are on edge *all the time* about church. We are not often safe there. Your excitement is often scary for us.

Without explicit statements of affirmation, I spend our conversation playing condemnation Bingo, trying to figure out what you believe about me.

And "all are welcome" doesn't tell me a dang thing, except that you may not have paid any attention to whether LGBTQ+ people are affirmed.

The majority of nondenominational churches are unaffirming. The majority of churches with altar calls and conversion stories are unaffirming.

Your church might be affirming AND believe in salvation prayers and handing out Bibles to new converts! That's great! TELL ME UP FRONT.

"Well... everyone's welcome!" isn't enough. Everyone says "all are welcome" - including churches that would never deign to let me preach. The conservative Lutherans down the street from my church have it on their sign - and I wouldn't be allowed to take communion there.

Does your church have out LGBTQ+ people in leadership?

Are our marriages consecrated?

Are our pronouns respected?

Will you baptize our children?

Will you eliminate "mom and dad" assumptions from Sunday School curriculum?

...Would you let me preach?

"All are welcome" doesn't answer that.

Don't assume your church would welcome me because everyone comes in jeans and there's a drum kit. Read the beliefs and ask questions and TELL ME THE TRUTH about whether your church thinks I am doomed to hell.

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I'm glad coming out went mostly ok!! I hope the psych visit goes well if you decide to tell them!

Thanks anon! I’m nervous but I think it’ll go fine, and this ask actually reminded me that I have to make a phone call to set up the appointment :/

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Never limit your prayers because you think you’re sinful or undeserving. You’re not praying because of who you are - you’re praying because of who He is.

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I hate that forgiveness is presented as the opposite to justice by most Christians. It's so toxic. The mandate to forgive then becomes a mandate to abandon justice. And to hunger and thirst for justice, as we are called to do, becomes an act of disobedience because we're not being forgiving enough.

Forgiveness is not a lack of justice. And justice is not a lack of forgiveness. To say otherwise is to set up a dangerous precedent that will always favour the powerful.

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you know what? you’re so fucking right.

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Told my parents I’m non-binary last night alskdfjoaijfajofkj

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that dress is so cute omg!!

Thanks so much for saying that! I worked really hard on it.

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as much as the concept of Jesus being a fairly normal lad has its charms, im personally very intrigued by the idea of him being just… extremely weird. not even in a mystical sense, just…….staggeringly BIZZARRE. 

you go to the well to get some water, and here’s Miriam’s boy, staring at the sky, completely still. his expression is unreadable. you hazard a hello and ask how he’s doing, and he slowly, unblinkingly, lowers his gaze on you (he’s 8 and is missing his frontal teeth, not that this is making you any less uncomfortable) and says “I cannot speak of the state of my being, Nathan son of Saul, my brother, but rejoice for the water you shall take today will be as pure as the soul of the children of Heaven”

…you start sweating

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Some gay Christians have bad theology- that doesn’t mean every single last gay Christian has bad theology / doesn’t really believe in the same God you do / isn’t really saved. 

So many straight Christians have straight up horrible theology, yet they get a free pass. Because if one straight Christian has bad theology, it certainly doesn’t mean all of them do! 

But it often feels like, when you’re a gay Christian, your theology must be neat and tidy and perfect 100% of the time. Which sucks because it can’t be and the moment you slip up-

“Heretic! See, lgbt Christians are all the same. Watering down God to fit their agenda.”

And it can be quite the downer sometimes.