Some Good News in Religious Higher Ed

July 24, 2015 By Caryn Riswold

Over at Religion News Service, Eliel Cruz highlights three Christian colleges who have recently taken steps to be more inclusive of LGBT employees: “Goshen College, Eastern Mennonite University, and Hope College have amended their policies to include employees in committed, monogamous, same-sex relationships. … These changes affect the schools’ nondiscrimination hiring policies, which now lists sexual orientation and, in the case of Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite University, gender identity, race, color, ethnicity, sex, disability, age, and other legally protected categories.” Earlier this summer, Christianity... Read more

With Christian Privilege, You Already Have Religious Freedom

July 16, 2015 By Caryn Riswold

Deny other people rights to (your concept of) the afterlife all you want. But you can’t deny legally decided rights in this life and get away with it. Now that marriage laws protect everyone in the U.S., regardless of gender, the opposition has shifted the force of its energy to what they call protecting religious liberty. It is very important to note that what these folks want to protect is their freedom to discriminate, deny services, and impose ideology on... Read more

Who Are You Reading? Paying Attention to Race & Gender

July 9, 2015 By Caryn Riswold

To some fanfare, Mark Zuckerberg announced in January that in 2015 he was going to read 26 books. I admit that this news elicited some snark in our house, because we read a lot. And, it didn’t seem to me that 26 books was a lot to read in twelve months. But, I actually don’t know how many books I do read in a year, so my husband and I decided to keep a list of every book we read... Read more

Marriage Musings from SCOTUS to ‘Honey, I’m Good’

July 6, 2015 By Caryn Riswold

The last paragraph of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges received a fair bit of attention amidst all the rainbow-flag waving in recent weeks: “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death.... Read more

“Blessing Every Love Relation”:: A Pride Month Hymn

June 29, 2015 By Caryn Riswold

As a conclusion to a remarkable Pride Month, I’m delighted to share “Praise the Source of All Creation,” a hymn written by Rev. Jann Aldredge-Clanton “in celebration of marriage equality and with the hope that justice and love will keep moving from the courts to the hearts of all people everywhere.” The hymn was written in 2012 for the Religious Institute’s first hymn contest, and is more than fitting in these days of celebration and organization for the work ahead.... Read more

#Charleston :: Round-Up of Lutheran Voices & Resources

June 24, 2015 By Caryn Riswold

On June 18, 2015, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton wrote: “It has been a long season of disquiet in our country. From Ferguson to Baltimore, simmering racial tensions have boiled over into violence. But this … the fatal shooting of nine African Americans in a church is a stark, raw manifestation of the sin that is racism. The church was desecrated. The people of that congregation were desecrated. The aspiration voiced in the Pledge of Allegiance that we are “one... Read more

“Holy Impatience” : LGBT Pride Month Litany

June 19, 2015 By Caryn Riswold

The Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER) regularly publishes rituals written by Diann Neu to honor seasons and events, and this month shares her litany of gratitude in honor of LGBT Pride Month. I encourage you to use it at events, share with friends, pass on to faithful friends and allies. Here are some excerpts from the ritual … for more, head on over to the WATER website. An Invitation to Gratitude Gracious and Loving God of Many Names,... Read more

On Tim Hunt, the Doktorvater & #distractinglysexy Women

June 15, 2015 By Caryn Riswold

Nobel prize winning biochemist Tim Hunt recently made headlines with his comments at the World Conference of Science Journalists: “Let me tell you about my trouble with girls … three things happen when they are in the lab … You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you and when you criticise them, they cry.” 1st #distractinglysexy sign I’ve seen @ibers_aber. Welsh-speaking scientists need more PPE to mitigate extra hazard. pic.twitter.com/iZD25QYBg6 — Arwyn Edwards (@arwynedwards) June 12, 2015 There are... Read more

The Printing Press is Dead. So Buy My Luther Book on Kindle!

June 8, 2015 By Caryn Riswold

I’ve written here before about events leading up to Lutherans’ commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther posting the Ninety-Five Theses for debate and discussion in Wittenberg, Germany. In a recent conversation about this anniversary, a colleague pointed out that among the many things we ought to be reflecting on that have (and have not) changed in Christianity and the world since 1517 is the state of the printing press. Many historians have noted that Johannes Gutenberg’s newly invented... Read more

Jesus is Not a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card: Christian Privilege & the Duggars

June 3, 2015 By Caryn Riswold

In her interview with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, Megyn Kelly encouraged the idea that their Christian beliefs were part of the reason that they were being targeted and persecuted. [Megyn Kelly: ]”Do you think that the backlash against the Duggars has been greater because people object to who you are and what you stand for?” [Michelle:] “I think some out there do.” [Jim Bob:] “Yes.” [Kelly:] “Do you think in particular your Christian beliefs are at issue here?” Jim... Read more