Queer Theology

Queer Theology Synchroblog 2013: Queer CreationOn Oct. 1st I’m going to be asking my sister Nat to help me to do a queer theology syncroblog since I am depressingly straight and normal (luckily my theological fascination with fantasy tends to make up for it)

Here are the questions I hope she will be answering…..

If you know someone who can enrich your perspective be sure to have them guest blog or interview them for Queer Theology!

Nat, in the Christian faith we are dedicated the job of “namers” in the world. To me naming has a lot to do with storytelling, naming things/storytelling helps us to real-lize our embodied experience…so I have a couple of questions about stories, being transsexual and embodiment…

What is your favorite series to read? How does it relate to your real life experience? Does it help to inform who you are/want to be?

The story God gives us is that we are both female and male in God’s image. Do you experience yourself as being in God’s image? (I like to think that transsexual’s have a more (w)holistic sense of what God’s image is)

How important was naming yourself as female? How did the naming effect the embodiment? Or how did the embodiment effect the naming? Was there an order to it, or did all come together?

What questions and wonderings do you have about God or the human existence that are informed by your being/experience/embodiment on earth?

Is the Holy Spirit Spiral Shaped?

Holy Spirit, breathe into us your light, your life, stir up hope in us. We confess that we go in circles, trying to find our own way to God, help us to ask for directions, move us on the path towards you Lord, God. Lead us into a spiral, instead of in circles! we pray this in your most Holy Name. Amen

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Good Deeds

Good Deeds

“If you run now, without a moment’s rest, you will still be in time to warn King Lune.”
Shasta’s heart fainted at these words for he felt he had no strength left. And he writhed inside at what seemed the cruelty and unfairness of the demand. He had not yet learned that if you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one. But all he said out loud was:
“Where is the King?”
The Hermit turned and pointed with his staff. “Look,” he said. “There is another gate, right opposite to the one you entered by. Open it and go straight ahead: always straight ahead, over level or steep, over smooth or rough, over dry or wet. I know by my art that you will find King Lune straight ahead. But run, run: always run.”

YAY The Horse and His Boy is my FAVORITE NARNIA BOOK!!!!

Never Forget, is what we say about 9/11

What I will never forget is my friends all going downtown in Cleveland to give blood….us walking around hugging complete strangers during what was a the 2nd week of college 1/3rd of whom came from NY. I remember my friend Alex emailing his parents (which was totally weird way to communicate in an emergency back then) and people offering cell phones (much rarer then) to help Mark and others call home. I remember the school office being open 24hrs for landline calls which were so much more dependable then. I remember Glenn was driving people downtown to give blood, and helping to find places for people to go using his cars. I remember stories via the phone from Chloe seeing the building going down, and Emily and Jessica meeting everyone for meals. I remember Charlie sitting alone in his room, not having met us yet. And I remember the giant sleepover we had that night…and though it turned into people being angry and sad, I’ll remember that our first reaction was “How can we Help?” And it was my first and best experience of college relationships, and served as a pattern for the rest of my experience at Oberlin College….. and that is what I never want to forget about 9/11

Why adults read YA Malinds Lo, @malindalo #whyadultsreadYA

Why adults read YA Malinds Lo, @malindalo #whyadultsreadYA

“the child will come to it with an open mind, whereas many adults come closed to an open book. This is one reason so many writers turn to fantasy (which children claim as their own) when they have something important and difficult to say” Madeline L’engle

“Because teenagers are the human condition on crack” Kenda Dean

“I don’t believe it, but I’m sticking to it. That’s my definition of faith.”

“I don’t believe it, but I’m sticking to it. That’s my definition of faith.”

My Brief Theology of Belief vs. Faith

Belief is individual

Faith is communal

 

Belief is confessional

Faith is God given

 

Belief is about structuring the world

Faith is letting go to God’s plans

 

Beliefs are what we hang onto 

Faith is what hangs onto us

 

Belief is what we are working on

Faith is what the church works on