My spiritual journey lately has mostly taken place within the pages of books and class lectures. I've been reading the Qur'an, reading a book on Muslim feminists, listening to lectures on Judaism, and learning about the psychology of religious coping.I haven't really bothered to go to any churches or religious services. This is partly because my car is on the fritz, and partly because I almost never leave church happy.Except at University Church.Abe and I discovered this little church in … [Read more...]
Weekend Links!
February 26, 2012 by 1 Comment
As I struggled to catch up on my school reading this week, my blog reading suffered. So, I don't have many links for you this time, but I had to share one thing.The series "Male and Female God Made (Most Of) Them" by Laura Ziesel is, I believe, extremely important. I've never heard Christians talk about intersex people in a healthy, positive, and affirming way. But now, Laura is starting that conversation. I hope that she can inspire the church to move beyond this binary, black and white view … [Read more...]
In which I ruin the sanctity of marriage.
February 23, 2012 by 17 Comments
If it were 1958, I would be ruining the sanctity of marriage.See, I am white. Abe, on the other hand, is half-Chinese. And just 54 years ago, 96% percent (NINETY SIX PERCENT) of Americans would have thought that Abe and I wanted to literally crush them with our interracial steamroller.Much of this was based on religious beliefs. In fact, in 1959, when Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, were arrested and charged with a felony, a judge ruled: Almighty God created the races w … [Read more...]
Veiled Muslim women and revolutionary modesty
February 22, 2012 by 16 Comments
I saw this floating around Facebook:Could it be, I wonder, that for a Muslim woman, wearing a veil is not a symbol of oppression or male dominance, but a sign of religious commitment?Could we perhaps even call it revolutionary modesty?Now, all y'all who read my blog on a regular basis know that I am no fan of the way the church handles discussions of women's clothing. So, don't worry. I'm not about to tell you all what to wear or what not to wear.But I want us to take some second … [Read more...]
I’m giving up hate-reading for Lent!
February 20, 2012 by 8 Comments
I used to be a self-injurer. Once or twice a week for six years, I had a date with a razor-blade. Then, last October, I started taking medicine to treat my depression and eventually my self-injuring tendencies went away......sorta.I don't hurt myself physically anymore. In fact, it's rarely even a temptation now-a-days, which is a great accomplishment for me.But, sometimes I wonder if I have simply replaced my razor blade with a thing I've heard called hate-reading.A couple times a week … [Read more...]
Weekend Links!
February 19, 2012 by 1 Comment
These are a few of my favorite things from the internets the past two weeks! Enjoy!Never Forget. Never Again by George Takei- George Takei (Mr. Sulu from Star Trek and world's funniest activist) shares his story of the years he spent in an American prison camp as a child, just because he "looked like the people who attacked Pearl Harbor." Solemn and sobering.You Didn't Thank Me For Punching You in the Face by Queen of the Couch- My little brother pointed out that this post seemed to put the b … [Read more...]
Women matter.
February 17, 2012 by 11 Comments
I was at a rock concert last week and a stranger felt me up. I froze for several seconds--couldn't breathe, couldn't move as those hands moved up and down my waist. Finally, I found the courage to elbow the person in the stomach. Then, I went to the bathroom and cried and ended up missing half of The Darkness singing "Love on the Rocks with No Ice."But a week later, I can still feel those hands. Every time I sit down to write. Every time I look in the mirror. Every time I have a positive … [Read more...]
Last Valentine’s Day…
February 14, 2012 by 1 Comment
Last Valentine's Day was hard.I had had plans, of course. I was going to continue the tradition that my boyfriend and I had started two years earlier where we give each other President's Day cards instead of Valentine's Day cards. The card was still sitting in my desk drawer. It said, "You baRACK! You're da oBAMa!"But now the plans were cancelled because there was no one to give the stupid card to anymore and the student union was rubbing it in my face with all the hearts on the walls that … [Read more...]
Silence is not the answer
February 11, 2012 by 10 Comments
There's a quote going around on Facebook of Morgan Freeman saying that the best way to end racism is to stop talking about racism. I think I understand what Morgan Freeman is trying to say, but the conversations happening on Facebook, and the common discourse that gets thrown around (usually among my fellow white people) every February makes me uncomfortable."Why are we celebrating black history month? Isn't calling attention to black history just going to make the problem worse?""When do we … [Read more...]
Sometimes you find God somewhere else.
February 5, 2012 by 10 Comments
Sometimes you don't find God in church.Sometimes you go to church, and as others around you experience the Almighty, you experience only discomfort.Or the pain of old wounds.Or bitterness.Sometimes you enter that building and something triggers a memory and your heart goes into defense mode and something tells you not to let yourself be vulnerable.Not this time.Not right now.Maybe next time, but right now. Today. You must keep your heart safe.And you wonder if God is there, but … [Read more...]
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