July 2009
21 posts
Does God Command Us to Hate? →
Biblical Hebrew lacks the necessary language to exactly define the comparative sense, i.e., ‘more than’ or ‘less than’. Instead it tends to express two things which may be comparatively of different degree like ‘first’ and ‘second’ as extremes such as ‘first’ and ‘last’. In this way love and hate whilst appearing as...
1 tag
Spreading the Word in a Different World
This article by Ann Arbor News staff reporter Lisa Klionsky hit the newsstands Saturday, March 8, 2003. That was when I was attending Concordia University and had many more piercings than I currently do, although I can still fit a ten gauge ring in my septum. (It was at a four gauge when I removed the jewelry.) I may “clean up nicely” but my heart is just as goth as it ever was.
...
June 2009
26 posts
Bless Her Heart Syndrome →
If you have to explain why something you’re about to say is not hateful, you’re about to say something hateful.
Christian passive-aggressiveness at its finest. Or how to gossip without gossiping.
(via @queerprayer)
“Already the new men are dotted here and there all over the earth. Some, as I...”
– C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
I'm the Older Brother →
Tony Campolo confesses to being the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son:
Jesus tells how this older brother is filled with resentment, and complains that he had worked hard on his father’s farm for many years, and now, the money that he had helped earn for his father was being spent on this younger brother who had wasted the family’s wealth.
Grace is annoying...
Control
Control is hate wearing a mask.
That is the statement I made on a couple social networking sites. It generated more discussion than I expected.
I tried responding to the comments on Facebook, but apparently they do not allow comments in excess of one thousand characters. Oops.
One of my friends wrote that perhaps it would be better to say that control is fear rather than hate. I agree but do...
Lament for a Bioethics Council →
My uncle, Gilbert Meilaender, was on the recently disbanded President’s Council on Bioethics. He has written about the ethics of medical and biological research for years including recently editing (together with William Werpehowski) The Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics.
Whereas the previous councils wrestled with such questions as “What is the nature of human dignity?” the new one...
My Gay Deli →
While I was in school, I worked as a short-order cook in a local deli. A gay deli. Every day I would go to work and a handsome, funny, gay man would say, “You’re gonna make a fabulous minister!”
We all need a place where our hopes and dreams are affirmed. I hope Metamorphosis can be your gay deli.
The 46 Stages of Twitter →
Some of my favorites:
Post tweet that is a variant of: “Trying out this Twitter thing.”
Log into Facebook because that site at least makes sense.
Tell friends you “tried that Twitter thing, but didn’t get it and it’s stupid anyway.”
(via @RogueReverend on — what else? — Twitter)
Metamorphosis Donations
For all of you who have been dying to donate to Metamorphosis, there is now a link to allow this on our Web site.
Your donations allow us to purchase supplies such as Bibles and other resources.
Your donations allow us to financially support those in our midst who need assistance.
Everyone who has been blessed by our ministry thanks you for your continued support. Your contributions assist...
Explaining Bible Translations →
Wayne Leman on why a clear Bible translation written in everyday English is best:
[T]here are plenty of matters in the Bible which are difficult to understand. Those concepts, such as the nature of the atonement, cessation or continuation of charismatic gifts, the role of Torah in the life of Christ-followers, God’s sovereignty vs. people’s free will, will be difficult to understand no matter...
The Reformation Project →
The definitive statement on the Reformation.
From the Catholic church.
Ecumenism at its best?
At least it will be filmed with fancy cameras.
95 Theses Rap →
For all the Lutherans, Lutheran sympathizers, and recovering Lutherans.
From Reagan Republican to Obama Democrat →
We didn’t like Bill Clinton. We listened to Rush Limbaugh, who told us not to think, that he would think for us, and so we bitterly groused against large government and our supposedly growing welfare state. He was a pro-choice candidate with a feminist wife who belittled women who only wanted to “stay home and make cookies.” Those were our women, we thought. And they made very...
Don't Take Your iPod to Church →
Is this a joke? Why is it so hard to tell satire from genuine sentiment in some Christian spheres? Maybe it’s because some say things that are completely off-the-wall and don’t deserve to be taken seriously.
McLuhan is undoubtedly best-known for his catchy little phrase, “the medium is the message.” It sometimes helps to emphasize that little word is as if to stress that the the...
“[Y]ou may not be content to call things by their common names; you may be...”
– Joseph Devlin , How to Speak and Write Correctly
I’m an Atheist, and I Go to Revolution →
Please read the post from our friends at Revolution. (In case the link in the previous post wasn’t enough to motivate you.)
Letter from an Agnostic
Not to be outdone by Revolution, here is a letter I received from my friend and Metamorphosis attendee, Kenny, a few years ago. He is still one of the most regular guests of — and quite vocal participant in — Metamorphosis.
To me, the Bible seems like such a fairy tale. This is because a lot of the stories seem to be like Aesop’s fables: universal tales that are meant to impart...
Crisis
My friend, Jeff, sent me a link to a sermon Byron Porisch preached this past week. I have known Byron for about a decade. I first met him when I was a high school student in the youth ministry at Faith Lutheran Church in Troy, Michigan. He has shown me a lot about grace, and I love him dearly. I had the privilege to work with him (and Jeff) at St. Luke Lutheran Church here in Ann Arbor.
Byron...
Faith and Doubt →
We’ve all been there. Some of us are currently there. If we’re not now, we will be soon. Questioning…
…the credibility of God, of the Bible, of the Church, of Christians. [Things] worth pondering, not for their profundity so much as for their ubiquity. There are many people who quietly think these things. Some of them occupy pews and pulpits. Ask yourself, “How...
“I was a fundamentalist Christian once. It
lasted a summer. I was in that same...”
– Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz, p. 79
Grace Is All We Have
People can find fellowship in a bowling league. They don’t need a church coffee hour for that.
People can get a good meal at countless restaurants in town. They don’t need a church potluck for that.
People can hear good music at any number of local venues. They don’t need a church worship band for that.
People can join civic groups if they want to get involved in politics....
How Looking Poor Became the New Status Symbol →
“If people find the culture loathsome, they solve the problem by just buying different stuff. Even in the sixties, products were sold as a way of dealing with the anomie of consumer society—things like Volkswagens that were seen as nonconformist,” says Thomas Frank, who’s written about alternative marketing in The Conquest of Cool and about modern conservatism in The...
“Every night after dinner, Mom sat us down to read the Bible and pray. I loved...”
– Susan E. Isaacs, “Angry Conversations with God”