I just received an e-mail from the American Humanist Association apprising me of the fact that President Obama had signed H.R. 1150, the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, into law. Intended to foster and strengthen religious freedom abroad, it is also the first US law which includes protections specifically for "non-theists, humanists, and atheists."
I am anything but a Biblical scholar...but I have read the book. When one is an avid reader as a child, one reads whatever she can get her hands on. It was one of the texts in our small home library.
I have absolutely no knowledge of the languages in which the book was originally written. so I'm afraid I'm going to take Rabbi Mark Sameth's word for what what is contained in his essay which appeared in the New York Times on Thursday: Is God Transgender? Rabbi Sameth is writing a history of the Tetragrammaton.
Words from a pope mean something to some people. Personally, I was raised Lutheran, so I grew up already excommunicated by the Vatican...as Lutherans had been for centuries.
But I have to admit I had expected better from Francis.
This isn’t about Hillary or Bernie. This isn’t even about whether the DNC violated its own rules with regards to neutrality this primary season. This is about standing up for core Democratic, progressive and American values by saying it should never be acceptable for a Democratic party official to suggest attacking a fellow Democrat—or anyone else—for their religious beliefs or lack thereof.
To be fair, the former Secretary of State had a pretty nice speech in Cleveland, though I take issue with some of it. More on that in a bit.
There are two types of people. Those who believe there are two types of people and those who don't.
What about this FAITH thing, anyway?
"But though, speaking for myself, I thus admit the possibility of revelation. I totally disbelieve that the almighty ever did communicate any thing to man by any mode of speech in any language . . . .
The first problem a rational thinker faces is that lots of people actually believe this stuff. Hard to believe, but true. It is even harder to accept when you consider the incredible gains in all sciences over the last few centuries, despite Christianity’s strong opposition. Even today, their concerted efforts threaten to prevent any science from going forward.
This will be a several part essay, which will hope to explain just how we got ourselves into the mess we now face.
Faith. Everyone seems to recognize it, but what is it really? What is truly meant by the word Faith? And what role has it played in politics, especially in the race for the presidency.
I've said before, on numerous occasions, that I am not particularly religious. But I belong to a community which does not experience wide-ranging acceptance. We are excluded more often than not.
So it should not be a surprise when I highlight any call for us to be welcomed into any community.
Bishop Gene Robinson, who is now a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, has written and published Transgender Welcome: A Bishop Makes the Case for Affirmation. According to the CAP reuse policy, I may publish Bishop Robinson's document in its entirety if I follow a few rules.
Thisdocument was published by the Center for American Progress
This document is a love letter to the transgender community, both a “thank you” and a “welcome” to transgender people. It comes out of my experience of learning so much—about sexuality, gender, and myself—from transgender people. It springs from my belief that God is enriching the lives of us all by bringing transgender people and their insights into our experience and understandings. This resource is an attempt to recognize transgender people as the gift they are to our understanding of God and God’s love.
God is up to something, as God often is! And this time, it’s personal.
