When Jesus was walking around on earth, in between turning water into wine and chillin’ with sex workers and other folks that society didn’t look on too fondly, he talked a lot about forgiveness. And when Jesus talked about forgiveness, it was always radical. It always gave power to the people in society that had none. It always humbled those who were in positions of power while asserting the humanity of those who had been affected by the abuse of... Read more
Trigger warnings for rape and for a slightly gory picture I was raped. Sometimes I just need to say those words. They hurt. Every time I say them they hurt. But they’re true, and someday I’m hoping that truth will set me free. I haven’t always been able to admit that I was raped. At one time it was actually safer to think that it had been my fault. It was easier to blame myself than it was to... Read more
I once read a manifesto by the anti-feminist True Women Movement that stated as one of its points: Selfish insistence on personal rights is contrary to the spirit of Christ who humbled Himself, took on the form of a servant, and laid down His life for us. Though I cringe when I read this now, I once thought the same thing about humility. To be humble, I mustn’t assert my right to anything. Humility meant viewing myself as I was taught... Read more
A week and a half after the infamous Chick-fil-A Day, this quote by Rick Warren is still making it’s rounds on the internets. Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate. It’s been a couple... Read more
I was raised to believe that salvation was a shadow of things to come. An image of an otherworldly kingdom that could never be realized (even in part) on earth. Jesus’ death on the cross was an ethereal magic trick… …that somehow, in some way washed away our sins. But our sins were still here. We still sinned. That didn’t matter. They were washed away in the realm of the almighty. Covered somehow by a metaphorical river of blood. This... Read more
I woke up on Wednesday to several of my Facebook friends vocally celebrating “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” and it made me furious. So, I decided I was going to be as vocal about my condemnation of the actions of these Christians as these Christians seemed to be about the actions (and beings) of LGBT people. I don’t really want to spend any more time talking about why I don’t like Chick-fil-A Day. If you want to know my opinion, just check... Read more
I’m still reading through Sexism and God-Talk by Rosemary Radford Ruether, and seriously, y’all, this book is breathing new life into my dying faith. There’s another quote I’d like to share with you all today because it feels particularly relevant to my life. Ruether is continuing her discussion of images of God–whether they reinforce existing hierarchies that oppress the weak and thus become idolatrous, or whether they empower the oppressed of society to find freedom by asserting that God is their only... Read more
I’ve been reading feminist theology lately and learning to view Christianity from angles that I never even imagined. Take, for example, this quote from Rosemary Radford Ruether’s Sexism and God-Talk: Israel is to make no…graven image of God; no pictorial or verbal representation of God can be taken literally. By contrast, Christian sculpture and painting represents God as a powerful old man with a white beard, even crowned and robed in the insignia of human kings or the triple tiara of... Read more
So, blog readers, sorry I didn’t finish my series on colonialism. Stuff came up and I just haven’t been able to write lately. As I’m sure you can tell, my writing’s been scattered for awhile now. I’ve been emotionally and physically worn out the past 6 months or so after a pretty tough battle with depression, some new medication, and some confusing life changes, and publishing my words can get pretty draining on this extreme introvert. I’ve been taking it... Read more
[trigger warning for rape, racism, colonization, sexual violence] Penetrates Conquers Colonizes Plants These are words that Douglas Wilson (supported by Jared Wilson) uses to describe the “role” a man plays in sexual relationships with women. Women, on the other hand, should “receive, surrender, accept.” I talked about the first of these words, “penetrates,” on my blog last night. I was going to discuss the other three words individually, but I’ve changed my mind. Most of the people who defended Wilson... Read more
Sarah Over the Moon
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