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Re: Praying on Tape

bethanykj — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:10:48 -0000

I'm pleased that this comment thread has so much attentiveness to the nature of film as a medium. I think the way actions are mediated (including the way they are verbalized or translated even when you are in the same room as someone) makes a difference in how they mean, and I think that's an important piece of this puzzle. And when you think about media and context that way, in light of Rick's quotation from Paul, we can see that this is a difficult issue across the history of the church. Carry on!

Re: ‘Bruno’ and the limits of Christian compassion

bethanykj — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:55:23 -0000

I think perhaps if we were really as aware of all of God's moral laws as some of us pretend to be, we would have no choice but to be compassionate, because we would be so aware of our own moral failings. Jesus is the only one with the right to condem, and though he told the woman caught in adultery to stop sinning, he also did not condemn her. How much more should we have compassion on others, even if their sins are different from our own?

Also, I think we should hesitate to call non-standard gender performance "advertising sin" or something like it. There is a case to be made on both sides about the sinfulness of various types of sex, but relationships of love with those of the same sex are demonstrated as blessed in the Bible. Think of David and Jonathan or Jesus and his disciples. I'm deeply troubled when this issue is portrayed as so black and white.

Re: ‘Bruno’ and the limits of Christian compassion

bethanykj — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:41:26 -0000

I haven't seen the movie and don't plan to. I don't find that type of humor amusing, so I can't comment on exactly what he is so clear on.

However, I think Christians extend their definition of sinful homosexuality to cover anything related to American gay culture, and I think that's a mistake. As I've mentioned before on this blog, I'm not sure homosexuality is a sin at all, but even if it is, loving another person, or dressing a certain way, is not.

Re: ‘Bruno’ and the limits of Christian compassion

bethanykj — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:55:26 -0000

I am merely suggesting that in a rush to condemn certain sex practices, the church dismisses same sex love relationships, something the bible promotes. Let me bring up also Ruth and Naomi, Paul and his many companions, etc. I realize this is far afield from what is portrayed in Bruno, but what is wrong with Bruno is not "homosexuality" so much as vulgarity.

Re: Oldest Known Bible Now Online

bethanykj — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:09:38 -0000

This is the most lovely defense of reading the KJV I have ever read. I think the more I learn about the history of our Bible, the more humility I have about my understanding of it. There is more there than any person can access.

Re: ‘Bruno’ and the limits of Christian compassion

bethanykj — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:13:00 -0000

Warning people about sin is one thing, reacting with disgust, alienating thers, and treating them less than human is some kind of warning.
Start treating coveters and those who mistreat their employees the same way with regard to THEIR sin, and you'll have an argument.

Re: ‘Bruno’ and the limits of Christian compassion

bethanykj — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:24:10 -0000

I did not intend to attack you personally, but I have seen gays and lesbians, as individuals and as a group, treated as less than human by those speaking in the name of God. I have also seen any discussion of this behavior jump immediately to a defense position ("can't we warn people about sin?" "the bible says its' a sin!"). While I was trying to push the discussion toward a more nuanced position, all anyone is willing to do is harp on sin, something that I don't see happen in other genres of sinfulness.

Re: ‘Bruno’ and the limits of Christian compassion

bethanykj — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:05:40 -0000

David: I'm sorry if I was overly harsh to you. I did not intend to attack you personally.

Rick: I was attempting (perhaps too subtly) to suggest that most aspects of gay culture, including loving partnership and performing masculinity and femininity in different ways (ie being "fabulous" or "butch" or whatever) are often inextricably lumped together with sex acts when they are often parts of an identity that are not directly related to sex acts. I am suggesting that we might separate gay identity from gay sex. Bruno, admittedly, is not the best context in which to make that suggestion.

I think that same-sex attraction is a result of sin in the same way that other less than ideal situations result from sin, but we sometimes make surprising choices to make the best of it. Divorce, for example. Or schisms within the church.

Gay marriage, I feel, is a civil and not a religious issue. I am happy to argue about it elsewhere, but this discussion has gotten pretty far from Josh's original post already.

Re: A Christian Creed on Health-Care Reform from Sojourners

bethanykj — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:01:45 -0000

I was considering a post that I'll now leave alone asking a related question: as I am becoming less confident that reform will solve the serious problems with health care access even if it improves the situation, should the church step in and help people who need basic care but can't afford it?
I am still writing my representatives in support of a public option, but even if that passes, there will still be health needs in our communities.

Re: Does God want you to be thin?

bethanykj — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:36:45 -0000

a quick note: the article is actually several years old, but was only recently brought to my attention. The issue, I feel, continues to be current.

Re: Our Way of Death

bethanykj — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:26:40 -0000

I suggest some of the writings of Thomas Lynch on this topic. He's an undertaker and a Christian, so he has put a lot of thought into it.

Re: Two Types of Marriage? | Think Christian

bethanykj — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:35:34 -0000

You know, I want to hold myself to the more stringent standard, but I think I would choose the simpler contract. Mostly because I believe it is up to our faith communities to keep us accountable for covenants we make before God, and it's not really the business of the state. The state protects us from treating each other unjustly when it can, a higher standard is only possible with God's help. I don't think we can ask people who aren't christians to act like christians, or keep us accountable as christians.

Re: Prayer in culture | Think Christian

bethanykj — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:43:56 -0000

I was thinking about that Lewis quotation too, but couldn't find a place to fit it in. I'm glad you brought it up. I don't recommend the Peale, I read it for research and not devotional reasons.

Re: Poll Roundup: Church Online | Think Christian

bethanykj — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:10:30 -0000

I think you miss some of the benefits of in-person church if you choose online church instead, which is why I feel strongly about brick and mortar. On the other hand, there are some situations where people cannot get to a physical church, and then online church seems like a real blessing. For example, I once attended the "internet campus" of a megachurch for research and chatted with military service members who were in Iraq and "attending" online. This really changed my attitude about having online church available. It's not a perfect substitute for a community that hugs you and shares the same loaf, but it sure is better than nothing.

Re: Mourning as Christian Living | Think Christian

bethanykj — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:29:04 -0000

I agree. A Thousand Plateaus has a lot of really inspiring ideas about the complexity of relationships and God's creation (and other troubling ones, I'm not sure about their embrace of the monstrous). I found a lot to enhance my belief in Deleuze's _Difference and Repetition_ too. Not least that I think it is only through prayer that I understood any of it.

Re: Christianity’s Cultural Versatility: From Madison Avenue to Wal-Mart | Think Christian

bethanykj — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:38:16 -0000

I remember having similar thoughts when I was reading about the Bible and american slaves. Even though other parts of the bible were being used to oppress and enslave people, God's story of salvation still translated into african american culture, during and after slavery.

Re: Why are we embarrassed by God’s violent justice doing? | Think Christian

bethanykj — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:44:19 -0000

The claim you pulled out from Volf's passage doesn't really resonate with me, but reading it in the context of your link it makes more sense. I wish you would have thought more on Volf's conclusion: that we are called to nonviolence because God's violence is the only just violence. It seems to me that human acts of violence in the name of justice only result in more injustice. I wonder if an Army is ever our best mechanism of justice.

Re: A Week of Watching TBN (Part 1) | Think Christian

bethanykj — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 11:14:34 -0000

I think this has more to do with social class than with race.

Re: Quick Thought: Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad | Think Christian

bethanykj — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:53:27 -0000

I thought it was anti-climactic, but PR brilliance on the part of FotF withholding the ad beforehand to stoke controversy, and then making the ad so vague nobody has anything to complain about.
Though making jokes about tackling a woman who nearly died giving birth to you make be a little uncomfortable.

Re: Hell, H1N1 and the rhetoric of fear

bethanykj — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:44:09 -0000

re: edwards, you guys are right that there is a lot more to that man, that sermon and that context than I mention here. Nonetheless, the vividness of his language leads nicely to a broader discussion of when fear might be an effective strategy, for whom and in what context.

Re: Hello Amy Adair | Think Christian

bethanykj — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:31:35 -0000

Welcome, Amy! I'm so pleased to have another woman's perspective on this blog.

Re: James Dobson | Think Christian

bethanykj — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:43:30 -0000

As I've hinted before, I think Dobson and FotF offer far too narrow visions for who we are as men and women and what constitutes "Family." I'm relieved to see the organization move away from commenting on electoral politics, which I often have found offensive. I did not know that Dobson had such a positive influence on encouraging christians to talk seriously and with compassion about mental health issues, I think that is definitely an important contribution.

Re: When is public worship not private enough? | Think Christian

bethanykj — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:45:48 -0000

this reminds me of a discussion I started a few months ago.
http://www.thinkchristian.n...

Reading your post I'm reminded of what Jesus said about those who pray loudly on street corners. I wonder if the presence of cameras influences us toward worshiping for the benefit of our own reputation as sincere or pious. That to me is reason enough to reconsider their ubiquity.

Re: Does It Matter If Your Country Has A National Day of Prayer? | Think Christian

bethanykj — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:56:57 -0000

Heather, do you have a scripture citation for that idea? I'm not sure what you're referencing and I'd like to see what it says exactly.

Re: http://hotguysreadingbooks.tumblr.com/post/608448303

bethanykj — Mon, 17 May 2010 21:04:46 -0000

I queue up 5 posts spread over the next day every night (at unnecessaryquotes.com). I feel it is the only way to blog and remain sane. Good luck!