When Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott Met Harvey Milk
... the story of how two Christian feminist leaders, my friends Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, co-authors of Is the Homosexual My Neighbor: Another Christian View, met and shook hands with Harvey Milk..
You’ve Got to Stand Up and Speak Up
"I could not understand the hypocrisy of having lesbian and gay members in our organization and not being willing to support them in the organization and in the country."
Moonchild of God
Slim and shy, she whispered fables, and I pictured myself nestled in the crescent with my legs dangling among the stars. Gibbous, she promised peace, all plump and in progress.
The Christian Narcissist and the Misunderstanding of Belief
"How this must devastate the God of truth, such abuse being carried out by the cruel hands of those who claim to love, honor, worship, and represent an all-loving Supreme Being..."
We Can’t Just “Move Beyond” the Struggle for Gender Equity
"The people who want to “move beyond” debates over questions of equality and inclusion are, most often, the people who already hold power. They do not see a significant problem with the status quo because the status quo is not holding them back from pursuing their goals..."
A ViewPoint on Abortion
"One in four American women will access abortion in her lifetime. And my own abortion story is why I am ardently pro-abortion. I believe, as humans created in God’s image, one of our greatest gifts is agency. That includes agency over our bodies."
How Gender Roles Contribute to the Abuse of Women
"It wasn’t until I was older that I realized what an extraordinary thing it is for survivors to speak up, especially if they grew up in a system that valued their silence and submission above all else."
All the Good
"TThe simple act of dropping my envelope in the mail was an act of love. They may not have thought about it like that, but I do."
Thanksgiving Day For Christians, Jews, and Muslims
"The time for enmity is over... few non-Muslims know that Islam considers reconciling with people to be better than many acts of worship. "
How Are You Feeling?
"These are challenging times. Have you seen the “We are all in this together” commercials? We aren’t. People are out of work. People are losing their homes. Landlords are evicting people because they can’t pay their rent."
When I Hear “Traditional Family Values” . . .
"Although my path is now much more ecumenically embracing of all faith traditions that promote connection to the Divine and the common good, I have never turned my back on Christ. I can say, however, that my relationship with Christ is now in a much healthier and inclusive place."
Can Hagar’s Name for God, El Ro’ee, Help Bring Christians, Jews, and Muslims Together?
"Everyone knows how important fasting is during Ramadan and daily worship and prayer in Islam; but few know that Islam considers reconciling with people to be better than many acts of worship."
Wave after Wave: A Dialogue on Feminist Thought
"... by acknowledging the vastly different ways oppression occurs and affects people, we are getting closer than we’ve ever been to dismantling these oppressive powers."
What Do You Call It?: A Response to Dr. Alena Ruggerio’s “The Gracespeak Lexicon”...
"Another measure of change: for decades our goal was to be inclusive, but now intersectional better expresses our understanding of how oppression works and how we can work for change."
Pondering Prayer
"I envy people who experience various activities, like folding laundry or baking bread, as forms of prayer. I now believe that, for me, above and beyond prayers of petition, intercession, etc., as crucial as they are, prayer is essentially for my connection to God."
Saint Ursula and the Holy Bones: Divinity and the Body
"Have you ever seen a grown woman cry with movement over the skull of one of the 11,000 maids of Saint Ursula? I have. She was wearing a sweater with a Labrador retriever on it, and she talked a lot about Satan. "
Reframing the Coronavirus Outbreak: The Spiritual Practice of Social Distancing and Quarantine
"This time is unprecedented in our lifetime. It is a beginning and an ending, the beginning of a shift and the end of an old way of living in the way we once knew. We can use this time to unlearn, let go, and reset our thoughts, behaviors, and patterns."
Blessed are You
"Blessed are you when you are treated unfairly on the basis of race or gender or sexuality or any other thing that makes you, you. Blessed are you when you make less and get less, and have to fight all that much harder to thrive."
Respecting Rachel—At Last
"I need to make amends to Rachel for being so contemptuous of her books without even having read them and not considering them worth my time when I first heard about them. Now my attitude is altogether different. I respect her as a feminist, a journalist, a good writer, and an evangelist for biblical feminism."
Saying No in the Community
"Churches rely heavily on volunteering women to take on childcare responsibilities, cooking, fund raising, and administrative duties, usually without pay. In fact, women who are already conditioned to take on nurturing tasks may find it more difficult to say no, and perpetrators of abuse take advantage of that."
The Collective Response of Males
"A collective response is different from a set response. A set response is when the teacher asks for questions from us, so we raise our hand, the microphone goes around, and one person at a time has the floor. The collective response is the teacher asking the entire class a question."
Is God “Father” on Father’s Day?
"I usually feel closer to God when I visualize her as a mother, another gentle man introduced me to Abba in a way that broke through my resistance to Father God."
Beyond Black and White: One Pastor’s Response to the Abortion War
"Women are image-bearers of God, granted free will. At some point, an unborn child also becomes an image-bearer. But a crucial expanse of gray time passes between the black-and-white poles of conception and birth."
Catholic Women in the Midst of It All
“First, injustice is injustice, and it is made all the more egregious by having to do, in this case, with issues that are deeply formative, spiritually rooted, and that affect people in profound ways. Put bluntly, I will not allow another generation of girls to be fed the lies previous generations received. We know better, and we will implement better theology.”
Confession Time: I Pray the Rosary
The way I see it, beauty and spirit are all around us, and the rites and rituals of the faith I choose help me facilitate that connection in a way that is moving and meaningful.
Confessions of a Recovering “Pro-Lifer”
Ask yourself why a fetus is worth fighting for and not a child separated viciously from their immigrant parent who happens to be undocumented. Consider that in my clinical office every week for the past fifteen years, I’ve seen the tragic results of attitudes and actions by religious people who have refused to see the wider meaning of “thou shalt not kill.”
Global Leadership Summit (GLS) 2018 — “Do you see this woman?”
I’m afraid that too many Willow Creek protégés have neglected to use their platforms as Jesus used his. Instead of finding ways to ask their congregants, “Do you see these women?”—which really means, do you feel this woman’s pain?—they worked overtime to keep control of their shiny system. Sackcloth and ashes are too dirty for these clean places.
Gender Equality: Walking Away from Division and Anger into a Place of Compassion and...
Thanks to the tireless work of Tarana Burke and #MeToo, the conversation in our society has finally mutated from cowed acceptance of patriarchal systems to a demand for civility and equality for all persons. As the stories of abuse and sexual harassment are finally told, there is not a single profession left untouched.
My Journey from Fundamentalist to Feminist
"As I released the old religious rules and began really listening and learning about God for myself, I began to feel an outpouring of love within me. It was as if God was giving me a great, big hug and slowly healing all my wounds."
Hey, Bill Hybels — Where There’s Smoke…
I hope you will consider the different ways in which you interact with women and men. And, Bill, I hope you will remember your own meme-worthy words: “Your culture will only ever be as healthy as the senior leader wants it to be,” and always remember our senior leader is Jesus.
Changing Denominations — Never-Changing God
A strong connection to a specific church or denomination can give us a feeling of comfort, heritage, and belonging, but in a culture that demands we categorize everything, defining oneself by a denomination can also get in the way of centering our identity first and foremost in Christ...
A Christmas Prayer
God of sun and God of snow,
we thank you for the grandeur of creation,
for the variety that surrounds us,
for your limitless creativity.
Godde Sets the Stage for Each of Us During Christmas
What Gabriel asks of Mary is what Godde asks of each of us—just in different ways. It lies within our power of choosing, to conceive—in our hearts—the Godde who chooses us. We all stand with Mary today, summoned to an adventure filled with peril and misunderstanding and mystery and unspeakable grief . . . and joy that can turn the whole world upside down!
Some Thoughts on Modesty
We need to stop allowing Augustine and the flawed theology of other early Church Fathers into our hearts, minds, and society, because they have nothing good for women except slut-shaming and blaming women for all men’s lust and sin.
Celebrating LGBTQIA+ People: CFT Responds to the Nashville Statement
We believe those who name themselves as “Christian” represent a diverse group of denominations, cultures, gender identities, and sexual expressions. We affirm that our LGBTQIA+ siblings are formed in the Imago Dei and are joint-heirs in Christ with all of us.
The Great Impasse and a Tiny Change of Heart
There’s just one obstacle in our way: we’re likely to find it’s nearly impossible to make the leap from “I know I’m right” to “I could be wrong.” We have too much invested. The cognitive dissonance can overwhelm us.
Til Death Do Us Part: Looking Back on a Long-Lived Love
I couldn’t imagine how I could survive—or want to—the loss of John. We walked with Godde and knew that Divine Love and Grace would save us from despair when that day came.
Report from the 2017 UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61)
It was empowering to connect with women and men from around the world who are doing vital work for women’s economic empowerment inextricably linked to our overall empowerment.
Women’s History Month: Honoring the Sacred Feminine
For all who came before and all who follow in our footsteps, we will honor the feminine, eternal, life-giving force of this Universe. And then, women will join together, once again, in the sacred circle dance that is our power and our divine source.
McKenzie Brown’s Reflection on Protest— How We Prevail
I don’t want to be in a position where I must exercise my civic responsibility to stand and defend other human beings from a political leadership who would oppress them [but] it is a responsibility I cannot choose to ignore right now.
Ending the Silence about Sexual Assault
Today, as in the biblical narratives, instead of focusing on the details of the rape and the sufferings of the women who were victimized, we focus on the accomplishments of the powerful men who caused their suffering. We may even support them without thinking about it.
Free Speech—Using it for Healing, Not for Hurting
Each one of us can begin to cool the heated debate and polarization in this country. We can begin by a rigorous moral inventory of our own bigotry, biases, and fear... We can develop the courage and the willingness to listen to those with whom we disagree.
A Dumb Blonde, a Woman Driver, and a Preacher Walk into a Bar
Research from Western Carolina University shows that dumb blonde and women driving jokes are more than innocent fun and games. Psychologists have proven exposure to sexist humor like that “gentle tease” about women drivers leads to tolerance of hostile behavior toward and acceptance of discrimination of women.
What We Can Learn from Christianity Today’s Interview with Saeed Abedini
Allowing Saeed a public forum in which to further denigrate Naghmeh, Christianity Today also denigrates every woman who has heard an overuse of the word 'I' as they were being beaten, and shames every victim who takes the blame on themselves when it’s not theirs to take. The consequences of this piece reach further than one victim.
Toward an Inclusive Incarnation: Easter and Male Divinity
Don’t question what it means that a man saved us from sin; don’t question what it means that it was a man who died for humanity; and don’t question why it is a man who promises to raise us all in the same way.
Disconnected Generations: #NotHereForTheBoys
Clinton, Steinem, and Albright have devoted their lives to public causes and progress for women, and the thought that none of them may live to see—or in Clinton’s instance, be—the first female president when we are so close to the dream must be a hard pill to swallow.
Want to Reduce Abortion? Fund Planned Parenthood
This issue is too important for vitriol. Planned Parenthood does perform abortions. But it also provides birth control and counseling to a population at high risk for unwanted pregnancy. If we really care about reduction of abortion, we should be encouraging Planned Parenthood to increase its efforts to reach groups of women at high risk for unintended pregnancy. And we must fund the birth control effort.
CBE and EEWC: Sisters after All
Though the biblical basis for women’s equality has been accepted in many churches in the US, there are still denominations that teach gender hierarchy and oppose women pastors, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and the Roman Catholic Church.
The “Dirty F-Word” and Its Consequences in My Life
That empowerment of choice allowed me to let go of the resentment I had towards what are traditionally considered domestic tasks or “women’s work,” to support women’s engagement in them when it was their choice, not a role imposed on them, and to seek to learn to love those who did not act in love towards me—even those who refused to accept the “dirty f- word.”
Transformative Anger
Therefore I urge us to remember that if we are willing to expand our notion of anger, if we allow ourselves (and others) to truly and deeply grieve anger, then we see potential for a transformation from fury to passion. We will see an urge for bringing about change that never runs tired. We will see hope for a hurting people.
Shades of Gray: Toward Real-Life Christian Sexual Ethics
From a Christian perspective, sexual ethics can be extremely difficult to discuss in any kind of nuanced manner, particularly in the Catholic setting with which I am most familiar, because the Church’s sexual teachings are so rigid and narrow. They offer no shades of gray to accommodate the many and varied situations that real life presents. Church teachings are seen as obsolete, irrelevant to the 21st century, and seldom factor in to sexual decision-making by people of any age. Thus movies and other media messages readily fill the void.
Domestic Violence Allegations in the Faith-Based Community: How Shall We Respond?
Thus, I too suggest we commit ourselves to hearing all voices, even if it makes our hearts ache. Let’s not protect the ones in power simply because they are our friends and we cannot imagine such things. Let’s be willing to believe people who claim they were violated. Let’s listen to their stories.
How Marcus Borg Taught Me to Read the Bible
I no longer need to avoid looking at its flaws as I do with my image in the mirrors in my home. The Bible’s pages reveal whispers of the Spirit, glimpses of vistas where justice reigns, and winding valleys where our ancestors never seemed to find their way out of the muck.
“With his Stripes”— The Messiah Resonates in 2014
Whipping, pulling out hair, and spitting brought to mind the “enhanced” techniques authorized by Attorney General John Ashcroft on July 24, 2002, and the waterboarding he approved two days later. (What was I doing that summer? For sure, I was not keeping track of my government’s use of torture.)
Pray For Those Who Murder You
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” he says. When he himself was the target, he added, “Forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23: 34).
Who heard these radical words and copied them down? Who later collected and preserved them?
By the grace of God, we can find testimony today for this minority position against revenge in the words and acts of Jesus, Terence, Gandhi, Daryl Davis, and others.
By binding our hearts to Jesus and his words, we can counter our intuitive responses and lift up even our enemies to the Creator’s loving care.
El Dia de los Muertos
In Mexico the Day of the Dead is widely celebrated, but this year it is overshadowed by the disappearance on Sept. 26 of 43 students in Iguala, Guerrero, 120 miles south of Mexico City, and by the deaths of many others who have been bystanders in Mexico’s war on drugs.
In Search of Life-Giving Christian Symbols
For many years I have also believed that a symbol other than the cross should be at the center of Christianity. The emphasis on the cross leads to the glorification of violence and death rather than the love and abundant life that Jesus taught.
Girl Scout Barbie? Are you KIDDING me?
Our culture's obsession with beauty, sexiness and youth doesn't need reinforcement by the Girl Scouts. If anything, scouts should be standard bearers of a counter-culture. That it's great to try to be healthy, study hard, play hard and give back to your community.
It’s Time for Transnational Feminism
Today there’s a term: transnational feminism. As Alena Amato Ruggerio reminded us in her keynote speech at the 2012 EEWC-CFT gathering, once you have a word for a feeling or a problem, you have means to tackle it. The issue becomes widely recognized.
Becoming Feminist: Conceiving and Creating
My joy for the little butterfly was also the joy of breaking out of my own chrysalis. In the ashes of my loss, I found a crown of beauty, my own voice, which had enormous value all by itself. My body hadn’t birthed a baby this time, but it had conceived something else: the belief that I am valuable and that my voice should be heard, loud and clear.
World Vision: Treating Gay Christians with “Dignity and Respect”?
On the first day, a “Christian” organization whose goal is to help others said I was good enough to serve alongside their other employees. On the second day, millions of other Christians felt it necessary to forcefully proclaim, yet again, that they consider me "less than" and unworthy. On the third day, World Vision buckled under pressure...
On Christian Femininity and Bragging Rights
But if our greatest treasure is our spiritual gifts, then men and women together should lift up the riches offered by the women of the church. We should open wide the doors to this storehouse of wealth. It means being a little less quick to slap down a compliment with, “Oh, isn’t God great? God did it. I didn’t do it. It wasn’t me.”
The Little Sisters of the Poor And The Health Care Mandate
I have no problem with devout Catholics following the teachings of the Church. But when I am required to live by those teachings, even if I do not agree with them, I am annoyed. The choice of an individual to use contraception (or not) is an intensely personal choice. To be denied that right because of the religious beliefs of the owner is unfair.
Why Doesn’t Church Work Anymore?
I do not reject the digital church. In digital church I see healing happening. I see a flattening of hierarchies that were made up in the first place and have been profoundly destructive. I see people telling the truth. And I see other people listening.
Reflections from South Africa Upon Nelson Mandela’s Death
Archbishop Tutu put it well, calling Mandela “a terrorist turned into an icon of reconciliation.” Mandela turned to weapons at a time when there seemed to be no other recourse, but he also spent his years in prison learning Afrikaans, the language of the oppressor, as a tool for peace-making.
Are Women Broads? The Power of Words
"I believe and have taught my daughters that language matters. How we talk about ourselves, as well as how we describe others is important. The words and adjectives we use can carry a different message, depending on what we choose. Words can motivate or destroy.
More Than One Way to Do Money God’s Way?
I don’t disagree with Evans: I’m well aware that my picture of financial peace does indeed come straight out of middle class American privilege. Nor am I interrogating here the systemic injustices that condemn people living in at the bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum to generations of poverty.
Sex-Positive Marital Fidelity and the Feminine Face of God
Where the problem is objectification of the female, restoration comes in knowing the divinity of the female. Where the problem is profanity and commodification of our sexual selves, restoration comes in knowing sex as a sacred union: a mystical union between two expressions of God's presence in the world.
An Epiphany
The Ruler’s life has been irrevocably changed as a result of absorbing Christ’s world view, and his epiphany results as he sees for the first time his position in his own world. The pathology of that position is now clear to him: he sees the poor and their condition, and he sees in their watchfulness that they are Christ’s emissaries to him.
Rachel Held Evans and The Nines
Strong female leaders of faith are making great, great strides. At this point, we need more male leaders to act in concert with our efforts. Perhaps after so few women accepted Rhoades’ invitation, he should have done as some have suggested—cancelled this year’s event and said, “we can’t go forward without a stronger, more representative line up.”
To Revere the Image of God in Every Person
It is my prayer that all of us will eventually learn to recognize and revere the image of God in every person of every conceivable gender identity, along with the many other diversities of appearance, belief systems, preferences, and whatsoever differences may occur to us.
Rapists’ Parental Rights
The vast majority of Christians will experience a lifetime of preaching and religious education without once hearing that rape is a grave sin to be avoided or repented--or that God weeps with survivors, fights for their protection and healing rather than shaming them into justice-free forgiveness, and calls all Christians to as well.
Submission, Subjection, and Subversion in Household Codes
"... the overarching message of Jesus throughout the New Testament is a call for those in power to give it up or lay it aside for the sake of the powerless or for the greater good of the community. The theme of “little ones” being greatest in God’s kin-dom saturates the Synoptic Gospels. Jesus flees popularity, risks his life to defy rigid structures that oppress “little ones,” and finally endures the shame of crucifixion as a rebel against Roman domination."
Mutual Submission in This Time and in This Place
But something changed a few decades later that made the early church start to rein in the mutual submission and egalitarianism of its Savior and the teachings of its foremost apostle. What was it? The simple answer is that Jesus did not return.
Child-Free Again. Sort of.
Hello Church. I’m looking at you. Let’s stop assuming that all women want to help with children’s programs. Invite men AND women to participate. I have helped out here and there over the years, but I chose support roles that did not require my spending time with small children when I was home with my own all week.
God Places the Solitary in Families: Childfree Doesn’t Mean Childless
For me family is a much broader and expansive concept than the nuclear family. Jesus said that anyone who obeyed God was his mother, brothers, and sisters. I see no reason to limit my family to those I am biologically related to, and I think part of our responsibilities as Christians is to cast a much larger definition of what a family is.
Is There a Litmus Test for Christian Feminists? Should There Be?
Else we come to a place where feminism demands autonomy in all things, so that when I want to blow cigarette smoke in a random child’s face, that’s my choice; and when I want to make poor dietary choices, thereby making myself sick and putting extra burdens on the health care system, that's my choice...
What Does Family Therapy Have to Do with the XL Pipeline, Climate Change, and...
The question facing all of us is whether the unbridled dependence on oil and gas that marks our North American economies and lifestyles, or the creation-care vision articulated by environmental and Aboriginal groups, will determine our future.
God is Not a Guy, and Neither Am I!
"Just when I thought we’d about eliminated the so-called 'generic' use of 'man' because it really is exclusive, up pops 'you guys' almost everywhere. Women and girls seem to use 'you guys' as much as men and boys do. So why do females think they’re included in 'you guys'?"
Personal Tragedy Meets National Tragedy: The Boston Explosions
"Will we respond with anger, casting about for someone to blame, someone to hurt with our words or actions? Or will we make the difficult decision to respond only with love, searching for ways to connect with each other as a people and support those affected, perhaps even directing our attention to creating a world of peace and equality where violence is never considered necessary to achieve an end?"
Why We Need Immigration Reform: A Christian Feminist Perspective
"Perhaps that’s the worst part of being a modern-day Samaritan in southern Arizona: you may never know if the persons you have hugged and tried to help are living or dead. Laws prevent you from taking a shivering immigrant to shelter: actions like those of the kind traveler in Jesus’ story are currently illegal in the US. You can provide food, water, blankets, jackets, shoes—but for transportation you could be punished with 15 years in prison."
A Christian Feminist Speaks Out on the Drone War in Pakistan
"The notorious instability of many Middle Eastern countries means a seemingly innocuous walk to a market, across the street, through a park might be disrupted by a suicide bombing. A decade-long U.S. military presence has done little to provide safety for women and children in Afghanistan, Iraq, or elsewhere. "
Forgiveness and Boundaries
by Le Isaac Weaver
"If I can learn to forgive— if I can learn to say, “I will no longer carry this suffering in my hands. Today I will set it down”— I will then free myself from anger and pain and make the space to move into understanding and compassion. Likewise, when I make and enforce effective and appropriate boundaries, I am making it more likely that peace and love will flow freely in and through my life, and thus out into the world."
