"That's so gay!"

Recently came across this good message online:



Video link here.

I suppose that I should say by way of disclaimer that I still fully subscribe to the old-fashioned belief that sex is too great a gift for anything but the context of marriage, and that I still acknowledge the many people, including folk I know, whose own experience has empirically refuted the idea that a homosexual orientation, at least for them, is as immutable as race. (tangential aside: the "T" part indicates that key GLBT activist leaders themselves do not regard even genetic predetermination as sufficient cause for treating one's sexuality as immutable)

But that being said, I see no reason why all of us, regardless of our positions on other specific matters regarded to the emotionally charged issue of homosexuality, cannot work to make our national discourse more civil. I certainly understand that no "side" has any sort of monopoly on mean-spirited and hateful treatment of the Other.

But it is important for those of us opposed to the sorts of far-reaching changes proposed within church and society related to homosexuality to recognize that same-sex attraction is rarely, if ever a chosen "orientation" (though it's also important to morally distinguish this from voluntary actions) , and to recognize that there are many people, preciously loved by God and created within His own image, within the gay and lesbian communities who have suffered much unnecessary hurt from callous and uncaring treatment from others within and without the church, still carrying deep-seated pain around with them, and that nothing is helped by common slurs that dehumanize and insult people. It is not enough to simply refrain from using such language ourselves; we should also have the courage to (diplomatically) speak up when others do so. The fact that it is not always easy to balance our positions on sexual morality and the definition of marriage with opposing anti-gay slurs and homophobia (a term I prefer defining much more narrowly than most everybody who talks about it) is in itself not sufficient excuse for inaction.

Yet another blog post ends with me having rambled on longer than planned. The short version would be: "Just say 'That's so lame!' instead"

UPDATE: An anonymous commenter made a good point about how my last line essentially did the same thing to physically disabled people as the original expression in question does to gay people. I do not see myself as ordinarily a fan of ultra-"political correctness" but I am a fan of respect, and there are clear logical parallels here. So I stand corrected. Perhaps I should just have to stick with "That's so stupid!" or better, yet, "That's so Emma-and-Julia!" or, per an earlier post, "That's so Punxsutawney Phil!"

Signs of the Times: Zombies

Some innovative hackers recently went to some great lengths to warn fellow Texans about a "grave" danger:




For the record, I decry any and all forms of vandalism. However, it's also hard not to appreciate a creative sense of humor.

Hat tip: John (the once and future Methodist).

Methodist Blogroll Weekly Roundup...

... is now up!

Kudos to Allan Bevere for his tireless work in putting this together, week after week.

Calling all Bostoan-area Seminary Students and Alumni!

If anyone reading happens to know of any faculty, current students or "recent" alumni of any of the nine schools constituting the Boston Theological Institute (BTI) - Andover Newton Theological School, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (former Weston Jesuit School of Theology), Boston College Department of Theology, Boston University School of Theology, Episcopal Divinity School, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Harvard Divinity School, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, or St. John's Seminary - who may currently blog or may at least have maintained one within the last few months, please let me know by leaving a comment or else e-mailing jsal2010-at-gmail-dot-com.

As you can see at the left sidebar, I've already started to gather a few.

Anti-Kudos of the Month: Punxsutawney Phil

For February, it goes to Punxsutawney Phil.


The little &*$#^&@$%$&^@ saw his shadow on Monday, and with a vengeance! The weather was looking better and better until then, at which point the temps plummeted. The wind chill was NEGATIVE eight degrees Farenheit when I went to class this morning!

"Coincidence"? How naive can people get??

The sad details and picture can be found here.

The TRUE Nefarious Powers Controlling Both U.S. Political Parties

For years, I've heard various people complain about how American politics is so corrupt and dismal, with both of the major political parties - despite some nuanced, window-dressing differences - being ultimately, fundamentally aligned against justice, decency, and the American people.

After all, depending on the ideological leanings of the complainer, the lament is how the top leadership of both the Democrats and the GOP show that when push comes to shove, they really operate as primarily beholden to the warmongers, socialist-big-government machine, corporate shills, elite-limousine-liberals, oligarchs, plutocrats, theocrats, abortocrats, gun-o-crats, pollutocrats, and/or Harvardcrats whose corrupt access to disproportionate power enables them to trap our entire society in inescapable subservience to the evil agendas and policies of this or that tiny cabal of puppetmasters.

However, all such complaints dramatically fail to see the bigger picture.

In a shocking new expose, the International Business Times reveals how now-President Obama, like Presidents Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, and Ford before him, is a card-carrying member of that elite 10% of Americans who are wrong-handed.

Think about it: only 10% of the population, but two-thirds of the Presidents in the last generation. What's that tell you?

The 2008 election was a sure sign that this increasingly powerful elite has grown to a scary extent in their power to impose their wrong control, policies, and hands on us good, decent, patriotic, hard-working, properly right-handed folk. Senator Obama's major opponent, Senator McCain, was also wrong-handed.

This is eerily reminiscent of that Simpsons episode when the two evil aliens take over the bodies of Clinton and Dole right before the 1996 election. Except that this is frighteningly real.

Even before that 2008 farce of an "election," it was clear that no matter who won, Obama or McCain, the Southpaw Syndicate would win.

And they won.

These may be very dark days for democracy...

Another Theological Profile Quiz

Well, looks like I may have been in the right church/denomination after all.

So I took this quiz - which is online, and therefore scientific and therefore infallible - and it told me:

"You Scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly [sic] by John Wesley and the Methodists.

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

82%

Classical Liberal

61%

Roman Catholic

57%

Reformed Evangelical

57%

Neo orthodox

54%

Emergent/Postmodern

46%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

39%

Fundamentalist

36%

Modern Liberal

7%

Not quite sure why I scored as high as I did for "Classical Liberal" or how exactly that's defined as different from "Modern Liberal."

Some of my score is probably skewed by my really not liking the way some of the questions were worded.

All the same, such quizzes are always fun.

Which raises the $60,000 question: What's in your theological wallet??


(point of clarification: the scope of this quiz is limited to Christian traditions)