{"id":3157,"date":"2017-01-12T00:51:40","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T20:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/kimberlyknight\/?p=3157"},"modified":"2017-10-30T15:53:14","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T11:53:14","slug":"admit-homosexual-demanding-special-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kimberlyknight\/2017\/01\/admit-homosexual-demanding-special-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0I admit it, this homosexual IS demanding special rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Because as it turns out, civil\u00a0rights are in fact special rights because they are rationed and rare.<\/p>\n

First, some of the rights we seek are indeed special because there is nothing ordinary about the right to personal dignity and safety. There is nothing ordinary about exchanging vows with the love of your life. More than special, these things are sacred.<\/p>\n

But because these (and other rights) are not accessible to all, they are special in a way they should not be.<\/p>\n

See, there should be nothing special about using a restroom. There should be nothing exceptional about going to school. There should be nothing unique about getting and keeping a job. There should be nothing rare about visiting a loved one in the hospital. Exchanging vows to respect, honor and cherish your person is not, nor should it be, a treasure hoarded by some and hidden to others.<\/p>\n

But from where I sit, it seems these rights\u00a0are<\/em> special because they are rights enjoyed by some<\/em> folks, and expressly denied to others, thus making them a rare and special commodity indeed.<\/p>\n

The right to marry whom you love, the right to work without fear of being fired for whom you love, the right to learn free from bullying, the right to use a bathroom according to your understood gender, the right to unrestricted access to a hospitalized loved one \u2013 these are very special rights because only some have them.<\/em> These rights held by some are hoarded and jealously guarded so that others may not have them. Since these rights are a scarce commodity, not freely available to every last damn person, yeah, they are in fact special<\/strong> rights<\/strong><\/em>. Only when all unalienable rights are, as President Obama said<\/a>, self executing and not just self-evident, will they NOT be special rights, but just plain old boring equal rights.<\/p>\n

What is most mind boggling to me is that some of my own very own friends and family are convinced that if they share the rights they have, it will somehow diminish their portion. Or maybe they do not even realize they have these \u201cspecial rights\u201d since they\u2019ve just always had them. No, they never whispered through joyous tears, \u201cI can\u2019t believe this is happening in our lifetime!\u201d when they learned they were finally ALLOWED to marry the love of their life.<\/p>\n

Why, God why? Well, because we live in a market-driven society where we have accepted the most egregious lie of all, that resources are scarce. The most outrageous thing to me is Christians honestly believing anything is scarce, most of all justice. How the hell have so many Jesus loving\u2019 folks have been convinced that if they share the flickering flame of their freedom with others, their own light will somehow be dimmed?<\/p>\n

As biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann reminds us in \u201cThe Liturgy of Abundance, the Myth of Scarcity\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe conflict between the narratives of abundance and of scarcity is the defining problem confronting us at the turn of the millennium. The gospel story of abundance asserts that we originated in the magnificent, inexplicable love of a God who loved the world into generous being. The baptismal service declares that each of us has been miraculously loved into existence by God. And the story of abundance says that our lives will end in God, and that this well-being cannot be taken from us.<\/p>\n

What we know in the secret recesses of our hearts is that the story of scarcity is a tale of death. And the people of God counter this tale by witnessing to the manna. There is a more excellent bread than crass materialism. It is the bread of life and you don\u2019t have to bake it. As we walk into the new millennium, we must decide where our trust is placed.<\/p>\n

In feeding the hungry crowd, Jesus reminds us that the wounds of scarcity can be healed only by faith in God\u2019s promise of abundance. \u201c<\/p>\n

So yes, I demand the rights that are special to me, though ordinary to most.<\/p>\n

And what a great and glorious day that will be when all of God\u2019s children can honestly and boldly affirm \u201cwith liberty and justice for ALL.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Because as it turns out, civil\u00a0rights are in fact special rights because they are rationed and rare. First, some of the rights we seek are indeed special because there is nothing ordinary about the right to personal dignity and safety. There is nothing ordinary about exchanging vows with the love of your life. More than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1039,"featured_media":3158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[209],"tags":[14,130,254,44,49,137],"class_list":["post-3157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-justice-2","tag-civil-rights","tag-gay-rights","tag-homosexual-agenda","tag-lgbt","tag-marriage-equality","tag-theology-2"],"yoast_head":"\n\u00a0I admit it, this homosexual IS demanding special rights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Because as it turns out, civil\u00a0rights are in fact special rights because they are rationed and rare. 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