11.17.2005
Christians we like
Sometimes I feel like I’m a little too critical of Christians. I don’t mean to paint all Christians with the same brush, and lead anyone to believe that I think them all ignorant and bigoted. It’s the "Christians" that I can’t stand; fundamentalists who ignore Christ’s teachings about social justice in favor of focusing on a few punitive passages about homosexuality or who spend so much time absorbing Paul’s misogyny that they forget that one of Christ’s most trusted friends was a woman.
There are quite a few Christians in my immediate family, both Catholics and Lutherans, and I don’t think any of them are evil or stupid or hateful. I think they are wonderful people who simply believe differently that I do. And I can accept that, and accept them, despite our differences. I hope they do the same for me.
Every once in a while, I come across a Christian that I really like. Rich and I have decided that if more "Christians" were like Johnny Cash and Jimmy Carter, the world would be a much better place. Unfortunately, there are those who disagree, but rather than focus on them today, I’d rather talk about this guy:
To protest Virginia's laws banning same-sex marriage, [Pastor David] Ensign and the church's governing council decided recently that Clarendon Presbyterian will no longer have any weddings, and Ensign will renounce his state authority to marry couples.
[…]
"What we're saying is that in the commonwealth of Virginia, the laws that govern marriage are unjust and unequal," said Ensign, 45, who has served as the church's pastor since 2003. He said that the matter had been bothering him for months and that he suggested the policy to the congregation's leaders because his conscience would not allow him to continue performing legal marriages on the state's behalf.
The small church’s congregation (fewer than 100 members) have mostly supported Ensign’s decision. Couples wishing to be married at the church are given special "celebration ceremonies," and then told to see a local judge or justice of the peace in order to be officially wed. The Church's official statement can be found here.
So, I say, good on you Pastor Ensign! You show those fundies what a real Christian looks like!
Labels: Men We Love
annamaria at 10:35 AM
3 Comments
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at Wednesday, November 23, 2005 9:49:00 AM
Reuben Najera said... When I first read your blog about 62 days and counting, at first I was like, "She is right on it.." Especially about the you SHOULD be picky part... But I think the concept of the Father group wanting children raised in homes with involved fathers is not a slam against women as you seem to think. I probably very much fall in the class you referred to as "A bunch of white, middle-class Christian men from the South..." but do not feel the slightest insult intended by the statement. We do not at all esteem our wives or women for that matter as lesser than ourselves. In fact, I wouldn't be what I am (not that it amounts to much) w/o my wife beside me. And yes (in case you are asking in the back of your head) my wife is a stay at home mother. She says she has never been so fulfilled in her life. The focus isn't on degrading women, as much as it is a 'Come on men.. be men. Be fathers. Be husbands. Take responsability for your family and quit expecting Society to raise your kids." So, try not to see the "far right christian men" through the lens of "cave man ooga ooga me hit on woman" but rather the true intent of loving fathers and husbands.
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at Wednesday, November 23, 2005 9:50:00 AM
Reuben Najera said...
2penniesworth.blogspot.com
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at Wednesday, November 23, 2005 11:13:00 AM
annamaria said...
I don't doubt for a second that an involved, loving father is a good thing for a child. The problem I have is with people who assume that a.)simply having a father in the home is enough and b.) children that grow up in single-parent (read: single mother) homes are going to automatically turn out bad. I think this does a huge disservice to hard working mothers who don't have the luxury of marrying the father of their children. And who certainly don't need to be encouraged by the government to run out and find themselves a man.
But don't kid yourself into thinking that NFI really cares about kids. They actively worked to defund Head Start, a program that runs on little funding as is, but with huge returns for child welfare. Their ties to racist and misogynistic right wing organizations belies their true intent. Again, this is not meant to smear all organizations that work toward increased parental involvement, just NFI.
And, I didn't mean "white, middle-class Christian men from the South" as an insult, but merely to point out that the demographics of study skewed toward people who tend to view so-called "traditional marriage" as an ideal. I should have made that a little clearer in the midst of my snarkiness!
