‘God trusted them — women on the margins’

“These are dark stories, but powerful ones.”

“God trusted them – women on the margins of social and sexual acceptability. They made decisions and engineered their lives, all in less than ideal situations.”

“Maybe the church should trade its picket signs in front of the abortion clinic for a blanket and a ride home at the back door.”

“It is within the power of human love to build up dignity and self-respect in each other or to tear each other down. We are better at the later than the former.”

“They don’t desire to break from their faith, but rather to engage more actively through sources of power, such as the priesthood and youth leadership programs, currently barred to women.”

“Thinking of women as likable in a misogynist culture is truly a radical act.”

“Next time you come in contact with anti-abortion literature or images, take a moment to ask yourself where the woman is in the picture. Ninety-five times out of a hundred, she isn’t.”

“‘His attitude toward me and other women was rude, belittling, and at times, angry,’ she wrote in the complaint.”

“We’re witnessing the chronic and systemic failure of law enforcement to properly investigate crimes of sexual violence.”

“Shut up, you’re trying to kill me.”

“No one asked about my theology outside of ideas about homosexuality — except for the church that hired me.”

“Silvio Berlusconi announced to Italian reporters that he and Pope Benedict XVI stood side by side in their defense of family values.”

“It’s just wrong to spook voters about gay rights by arguing that gay people are coming for their churches. It’s not gonna happen. Not just as a tactical matter, but also as a legal one.”

“There are many more LGBT and same-sex attracted Christians than there are out LGBT and SSA Christians, but the way many churches often fail to accommodate sexual minorities (and, really, social minorities) and idolize the traditional nuclear family narrative sometimes makes me feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t fit.”