First season concludes with an episode giving some quick responses to some of the more common questions offered up to me regarding the Bible and human sexuality throughout this year.
It barely scratches the surface. Still, if you add it with the other episodes and the book, I think we've done a decent job of hitting the main thoughts one has to work through to move from a position of categorically excluding certain people to one of solidarity.
Which is the move Jesus made.
I wonder when Jesus made that move - like when he refused to stone the woman "caught" in adultery - if the religious powers called him liberal and accused him of caving into culture? Ha, I imagine so.
This is the move the religious powers always wind up making. They have to keep their system working. Keeping a religious system working always entails shoring up the more fundamentalist rules. And that's not a swipe at my former denomination. I happen to know there are a lot of really good people within its denominational borders. And the people I interacted with over this specific matter, the ones who ultimately deemed me out of alignment, treated me with grace and dignity. I'm thankful for that. Anyhow, it's not really a swipe at anything, it's more taking the opportunity to define reality.
BTW, speaking of religious systems, I have little systems at the church where I serve! It's possible, though we're small in numbers, that the "system" we're devising has hurt some people. I hope not. But it's certainly possible. So, we're all hopelessly caught up in the mess. I cannot point any fingers without recognizing my own culpability.
Meanwhile, Jesus just continues being the best hope we all have. May all of us focus on His Way.
I get correspondence frequently about all of this. If you're keeping score at home, about half of the correspondence is really positive, and the other half is really un-positive! I get it (most of the time). It's a volatile subject. Ha, sex? God? Healthy ways to read the Bible? Our Bodies? Hell? Culture? Yeah, the subject matter engenders passion.
Feel free to continue to reach out here or on my website. Though I understand some of you need to stay off the grid. It's cool. Email or DM me through twitter or facebook. Keep asking questions and working. Grace will never let you down. I might, but grace won't. It's working for you and with you. And all the tension you feel over this subject matter? Well, it's there for a reason. It's life's way of getting your attention so you can go to new places.