It seems with my posting lately that I should rename this the “Bono Blog” - yet another post about him. Anyway, even though I only saw a part of last night’s Grammys, I was excited to see U2 perform “One” with Mary J. Blige. In case you do not recall, U2 and Blige performed the same song for the Katrina Hurricane Relief Effort. Watching U2 and Blige perform “One” that night moved me to tears - this is what music is all about. U2 preaches a message of coming together, a message that became that much stronger when Blige joined in. Here are some of the lyrics from the song:

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we’re not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other

One…life

One

In the Katrina aftermath where there were charges of racism, Blige and U2 cut through the accusations and held the standard high for us - how we should all aspire to end racism and live together in harmony. I know, a bit sappy this early in the morning, but sometimes I think change can only happen if we have a dialogue that’s uplifting rather than divisive - the blogosphere itself sometimes stirs up more divisiveness than harmony in our dialogue.

I know I’m a big fan of U2, but does last night’s performance (or the Hurricane relief performance) affect you the same way? Below is a clip of last night’s Grammy performance.

[Runtime: 04:06 | Please make sure you have the latest version of Macromedia Flash installed on your computer to watch this video. To download it, please visit: http://www.macromedia.com ]

Tags: [U2, Bono, One, Blige, Mary J. Blige, Katrina, Hurricane, Grammys, Grammy Awards, racism, unity, music, video]

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I cannot believe how Ray Nagin can be mayor of New Orleans. His rhetoric is divisive, he blames the federal government for all of his city’s ills, and he makes irresponsible charges of racism coupled with his own racist comments. Take what he recently said:

“Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it’s destroyed and put stress on this country,” Nagin, who is black, said as he and other city leaders marked Martin Luther King Day.

“Surely he doesn’t approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We’re not taking care of ourselves.”

The A.P. also indicated that “Nagin also promised that New Orleans will be a “chocolate” city again. Many of the city’s black neighborhoods were heavily damaged by Katrina.”

Nagin continues:

“It’s time for us to come together. It’s time for us to rebuild New Orleans — the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans,” the mayor said. “This city will be a majority African American city. It’s the way God wants it to be. You can’t have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn’t be New Orleans.”

There’s been a lot of focus on his “chocolate” comment, but I won’t focus too much on that, except to say that no white mayor could get away with calling his/her city a “white chocolate” city if it were predominantly composed of Caucasians. Instead, I’d like to focus on his God-talk.

So, Mayor Nagin feels that God wants New Orleans to be a majority African American city? As La Shawn Barber quips,

“I challenge all bloggers (and journalists) who criticized Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell for “divine retribution” statements to jump on New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin for making similar statements.”

Let’s take Nagin’s statement above and come up with an identical scenario…

Ray Nagin - “It’s time for us to come together. It’s time for us to rebuild New Orleans — the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans,” the mayor said. “This city will be a majority African American city. It’s the way God wants it to be. You can’t have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn’t be New Orleans.”

Fake White Mayor - “It’s time for us to come together. It’s time for us to rebuild Wichita — the one that should be a white chocolate Wichita,” the mayor said. “This city will be a majority Caucasian city. It’s the way God wants it to be. You can’t have Wichita no other way. It wouldn’t be Wichita.”

Liberals would be outraged if the latter comment were, indeed, uttered and not made up to prove a point. So, is there such thing as reverse racism or do minority races get a free pass? I believe there is such a thing as reverse racism and Nagin’s words and actions since his notoriety in the Katrina aftermath have proven him unfit to be mayor.

Tags: [Ray Nagin, racism, reverse racism, Katrina, New Orleans, La Shawn Barber, LaShawn Barber]

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On October 11, it was National Coming Out Day, a day encouraging GLBT persons to proclaim their sexuality to family, friends, and loved ones.

While I see benefits of sharing such an intimate aspect of oneself to loved ones, I also respect a person’s decision for privacy. For instance, do I need to tell my loved ones if I struggle with heterosexual lust? Should there be a campaign that encourages me to share these thoughts with my loved ones? The point is, I have a right to privacy and I have the right to keep such intimate details of myself to myself.

So although I understand some of the tenants of National Coming Out Day, it appears that the GLBT community contradicts itself by browbeating persons to disclose their sexual identity. Take a recent editorial from the Washington Blade…

The author, Kevin Naff, suggests that it is shameful that celebrities have not come out of the closet and proclaimed their sexuality to - not just their loved ones - but to the world. Kevin attempts to out persons such as Anderson Cooper and Shepard Smith, which may be true or may only be speculation. Kevin, on one hand, the GLBT community argues for sexual equality because each person should have a right to privacy. On the other hand, you appear to browbeat persons to disclose their sexual inclinations for the good of the cause. It seems rather hypocritical to me.

It’s one thing to encourage persons to be proud of their sexuality, still another to browbeat disclosure, even to the point of outing persons to the world, only to advance your cause.

Tags: [GLBT, gay, homosexual, National Coming Out Day, HRC, Washington Blade]

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A recent Washington Post article highlighted the influence of Christian chapel services in Major League Baseball clubhouses. The article discussed chapel services offered by volunteer ministers, coordinated by Baseball Chapel.

Unfortunately, there’s been some recent news surrounding a simple head nod and a player remark in a chapel service held for Washington Nationals players and personnel. Here’s the gist:

As a result of the original Washington Post article, the politically-correct police has swooped down because of the following portion of the article:

The players not only pray, but they also discuss personal matters — marital tension, addiction issues, family illnesses, financial stress — drawing sometimes surprising lessons. [Washington National player Ryan] Church was concerned because his former girlfriend was Jewish. He turned to [Chaplain Jon] Moeller, “I said, like, Jewish people, they don’t believe in Jesus. Does that mean they’re doomed? Jon nodded, like, that’s what it meant. My ex-girlfriend! I was like, man, if they only knew. Other religions don’t know any better. It’s up to us to spread the word.”

Now, here’s the controversy. Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, leader of Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah (The National Synagogue, the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Washington, DC.), is upset at Ryan Church’s comments and Chaplain Moeller’s agreement and says that “the Nationals did a good job about bringing hate into the locker room.”

Rabbi Shmuel, can you please indicate where the “hate” is? Are you angry that this Christian belief slights persons of other faiths because it is not all-inclusive?

What about some of the things you have to say to your congregation? After looking at the “social issues” section of your Internet site, I noticed that this is what you had to say about intermarriage (Intermarriage Part II - 2/18/2005):

“I once took a summer class on religion in City College. I was the only Jewish person. I was also the only white person in the class. When I shared with the class, that I would not even consider dating a non-Jew, they thought my approach was racist and elitist. It did not resonate with them at all. How can we justify the prohibition of intermarriage to a world that worships multiculturalism and diversity?“

So, your Jewish heritage and belief indicates that you should not intermarry. Could this too be considered hate? The Washington Post article quoted other religious people who felt that other religions should have equal time in their ministering to players and personnel of Major League Baseball teams. I’m sure that other ministries are always welcome, just as “Baseball Chapel” has been welcomed - however, I’m sure there is a supply and demand component to this. And for you folks who throw out the “separation of church and state” fallacy, remember that Major League Baseball teams are privately held.

My point to Rabbi Shmuel is that we must be careful when we throw out the word “hate.” It becomes attributed to anyone who does not drink the kool aid of moral relativism which is often masked under the guise of “tolerance.”

Tags: [Washington Nationals, Rabbi Shmuel, baseball, hate, tolerance, moral relativism, Christianity, Judaism, Baseball Chapel]

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Genres, genres everywhere. I thought it was bad enough when I felt the need to classify Christian music to a level of specificity that matches mainstream music…

Music>>Rock>>(Christian) Rock>>(Christian) Alternative Rock

Now we see the following…

Movies>>Horror>>Slasher>>(Gay) Slasher

Movies>>Western>>(Gay) Western

It seems that the homosexual agenda is trying to get its claws in absolutely everything, even when sexuality has no bearing on a genre. What does sexuality have to do with a slasher movie? I can understand a homosexual love story, which Brokeback Mountain appears to portray. However, it seems very difficult for me to buy a homosexual love story that takes place in the 1960s in Wyoming, of all places! Sure, it’s possible, but this is nothing more than the homosexual agenda trying to normalize the lifestyle to the extreme.

Tags: [Hellbent, Brokeback Mountain, homosexual, gay, homosexual agenda, genre, film, movies]

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I recently commented on Kanye West’s antics, and W.C. Varones pointed out another gem when West took part in the Live 8 festivities in Philadelphia. Here’s what he said to MTV:

“[t]he concept of AIDS alone—what my parents always told me, who are activists—is that it was a man-made disease in the first place that was placed in Africa just like how crack was placed in the black community to break up the Black Panther Party.”

I do not deny that racism exists in America. However, I have a hard time accepting some of the recent claims. What concerns me most is that it seems that these claims only fuel the fire of racism - they are destructive (not constructive) criticisms. I do know of friends who believe that the reaction to Katrina was racist, but I just cannot get to the heart of this belief.

In contrast to Kanye West, U2 is such a class act. Despite criticism from more ignorants like Mos Def, U2 performed a phenomenal rendition of “One” with none other than Mary J. Blige for the Hurricane Relief Benefit: Shelter From The Storm. So, instead of introducing divisive dialogue, U2 preaches a message of coming together, a message that became that much stronger when Blige joined in. Here’s some of the lyrics from the song:

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we’re not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other

One…life

One

Here’s the kicker. Despite Kanye West’s criticism of white leadership and Mos Def’s criticism of Bono for “turning his back” on the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, Kanye West will be opening for U2 on the December leg of their North American tour!

Tags: [Kanye West, U2, Mos Def, Mary J Blige, Katrina, Hurricane Katrina, racism]

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I’ve been reading Sean Penn’s San Fransico Chronicle diary of his June journey to Iran. He gives us a glimpse of his antisocial personality when he says in his day 3 post

“I am a reasonably social person, but that isn’t to say that I have been in a group or a party of more than four or five people without the support of alcohol in as long as I can remember.”

Tags: [Sean Penn, Iran, diary, Islam, Muslim]

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Queer and Christian: A Response

The third and final installment of my three part series on being Radical Christians deals with evangelical Christians and our failure to be a light in the GLBT community. I recently stumbled upon a blog (technorati search on “Christianity” revealed the post) that appears to deal with GLBT issues. More interestingly, I stumbled upon a specific post from one of the authors entitled, “Queer and Christian?” Here’s a portion of what the Ona Marae had to say:

“I am one of those people that finds it easier to be Queer in a sometimes hostile Christian environment than being Christian in most Queer environments. This is not due to a wishy-washy faith or embarassment about my beliefs, but rather the fact that Christianity has been used to do massive spiritual violence against my community.

If you look carefully, it’s not the agnostics or athiests in this country doing the Queer-bashing, it is, for the vast majority of the time, Christians. While there are other world religions who find homosexuality (etc) incompatible with thier teachings, American Christianity has it down to a nasty and political science.”

Ona goes on to say:

“To be as brief as possible, Liberation theology comes out of Latin America and basically states that God is on the side of the Oppressed. If you look through all the texts Christians call their Bible, you will see that God stands in alignment with the marginalized, the oppressed, the widow and orphan, the refugee, women, Samaritans, Lepers and anyone else who is ostracized by their society. I find it interesting that Jesus’ words of accusation were for the religious leadership of his day, not for the people they called “sinner”. I wonder who he would call a serpent today….”

Hmm…God is on the side of the oppressed? I’m not quite sure I can follow this line of reasoning. Once again, I will try to offer my “radical right wing religious” perspective as civilly as possible. I do not want to put GID and other sexual issues discussed here on the same level as what I’m about to say, so please do not misunderstand me.

At what point would you draw the line on this “oppressed” line of thought? Would God be “on the side” of the oppressed folks who have sexual inclinations (whether nature or nurture) towards incest or bestiality or necrophilia? The point I want to make is that these groups (bestiality, alcoholics, incest, necrophilia) too can be considered oppressed because society would frown on persons who have these sexual inclinations or persons who embrace alcoholism. The Bible instructs persons to not get imbibed on too much alcohol and it also instructs persons not to have sexual relationships with family members, animals, the dead, or persons of the same sex. That’s my perspective which I feel is clearly laid out in the Bible. Others more knowledgeable than I can provide better arguments on the subject.

This isn’t about taking sides…but if God did take sides, He would take the side of humanity - because we are ALL sinners. I sympathize with anyone who does not “choose” to be the way there are, but resulting behaviors are not necessarily in line with what God would consider “blameless.” And, as Christians, aren’t we instructed to be imitators of Christ, to strive to be pure and blameless? Now, while I may disagree with the “taking sides” argument, I do believe that Jesus Christ died for EVERYONE, regardless of inclinations based on nature or nurture. It is His forgiveness of our sins that allows us to be seen as blameless, but we must be repentant.

Christians Have Failed to Love GLBT “Others”

Nonetheless, I agree with Ona that the evangelical Christian community has done an abominable job reaching out to these oppressed persons, but I would argue that the failings of evangelical Christians is primarily due to apathy or selfish concerns (e.g., preserving traditional values, etc.), not hate. Certainly the GLBT agenda threatens evangelical Christians because, unlike the other “opressed” groups I mentioned, society is beginning to accept the GLBT agenda - that these behaviors are perfectly normal and acceptable. Radical groups like God Hates Fags paint Christians in a hateful angry light, but the challenge is for Christians to make their voice heard too in a thoughtful way. Groups like James Dobson’s (Focus on the Family) PAC try to, but perhaps they too cross the line at times. “Mainstream” evangelical Christians might instead be apathetic because they feel that it might be a lost cause to reach out to people who seem unwilling to interpret the Bible as a God-breathed literal text instead of a “dynamic” text that changes with society’s norms?

“Less Judgment, More Love” (By Words and Actions)

As I mentioned in an earlier post of this series, I feel that Christians need to walk a fine line between judgment and compassion. It is much easier to be aloof and judgmental rather than participatory and compassionate. I believe evangelical Christians must make their thoughts known, but in a loving way. Take what Leviticus 19:7 has to say:

“Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.”

I believe that this powerful yet simple verse explains it all. As Christians, we must acknowledge that we too are the worst of sinners, but we should compassionately point out the sin of others, yet love them, not hate them or ostracise them.

In my call for us to be Radical Christians, how might we reach out to the GLBT community for Christ? Perhaps in following the South Beach Diet credo of “less (bad) carbs, more (good) protein,” Radical Christians should follow a credo of “less judgment, more love.” If we acknowledge that we are just as sinful and struggle with temptations equally, then perhaps we can view others more as Jesus does. GLBT persons will not change their behavior just because a Radical Christian calls them sick sinners. Similarly, I might not change my behavior if I did not respect the opinion of the person who challenged me. Evangelical Christians do not win converts or transform a person, only God does. Therefore, let’s give room for God to work - state your position, but then through words and actions, love as Christ loves.

Thus concludes this series, “A Call to be Radical Christians.” I believe that Christians must

• stand up for what we believe;
• equally show love and compassion to others;
• remember that Jesus spent much of His ministry preaching love;
• remember that God (not humankind) changes hearts; and
• prove the old addage “actions speak louder than words” true by following Christ’s command in John 13:34:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Tags: [GLBT, Christianity, morals, values, sexuality, homosexuality, diversity]

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The Christian Church and Racial Diversity - We Need “Jack FM” Churches

In part I of A Call to Be Radical Christians, I argued that Christians should learn how to be empathic towards others. I concluded the post by quoting I Peter 3:8 which says:

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.”

Of the five traits identified in this passage, the term “harmony” jumped out at me. Let’s examine this word from a music perspective. Harmony refers to the chordal structure of music, meaning that different notes played simultaneously can produce beautiful music together.

Today I would like to discuss racial diversity and the Christian church. I do not think God calls us to to be identical. In fact, the Tower of Babel reference reminds us that God wants there to be diversity. However, this diversity does not mean that evangelical Christians should have a predominantly Caucasian church right next door to a a predominantly African-American church. Part of my argument for a more diverse church draws on the recent trend in the radio business to change more traditional homogeneous formats to heterogeneous formats. This new format is commonly referred to as “Jack FM.”

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Empathic Understanding of Others - Let’s Listen to Carl Rogers

I’ve made no bones about it - I would like to understand both the right and the left, the conservative and the liberal, the white and the black, the homosexual and the heterosexual, the Christian and the Muslim. I guess this fascination to really understand the perspective of others (particularly those with polar opposite perspectives) originated during my psychotherapy training in marriage and family therapy (I do not practice now). As a therapist-in-training, I had to accumulate many hours of supervised direct therapy with individuals, couples, and families. I already had three strikes against me. I was:

• a caucasian heterosexual male;
• a conservative Christian; and
• a young unmarried virgin.

Those three attributes set me up for being anything but empathic with persons who were different than me. What would I need to do to really understand the struggles of a single African-American mother of two? How could I work with a widowed African-American man who served as a Tuskegee Airman in WWII? Learning to be empathic was part of my vocational training. Similarly, as Christians I believe it should be “part of our training” for us to understand the perspectives of others who differ from us in order for us to better display compassion. I think all too often evangelical Christians tend to mimic the example of the Pharisees and Sadducees rather than the example set forth by Jesus. I believe that because the Pharisees adhered to a strict interpretation and observance of the Mosaic law, they favored judgment of others over a love for others. On the other hand, Jesus personified the fruits of the Spirit, including exhibiting traits such as love for others and kindness towards others instead of judgment towards those who were considered sinful or oppressed.

As a result of this conviction, I realize that as a Christian I should not necessarily stay within the comfortable confines of only spending time with people who are like me, thereby solidifying my own beliefs and values. Instead, I must be “uncomfortable” and understand (not necessarily agree with) perspectives different than my own. Exhibiting empathy does not equal condoning a belief or behavior exhibited by others. If you remember, Jesus spent more time with the undesireables, the sinners, rather than with the Pharisees or teachers of the law. The famous oft quoted Scripture in John 8:3-11 portrays Jesus admonishing those who were judging an adulteress. Scripture reads:

3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11″No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Notice that although Jesus did not judge this woman, he did tell her to sin no more. I believe this is the very example we as evangelical Christians must follow. However, it is a difficult line to take a stand against a person’s sin without judging the sinner. Are there times when Christians can judge? Sure, but I believe Christians only have the right to judge other Christians whose sin has specifically affected them. Matthew 18:15-17 states:

15″If your brother sins against you,[a] go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[b] 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Consequently, I recently stumbled upon two topics that appear to either be ignored or treated as leprosy among contemporary evangelical Christians. The first topic involves Christian congregations and racial diversity and the second involves Christianity and sexual diversity. I will discuss these two topics in parts 2 and 3, but first I want to challenge Christians to do the unthinkable and follow the teachings of a psychoanalyst…

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