Smarting from the disappointment of not having an anti-LGBTQ law passed by the Ugandan government last year reversed by the country’s Constitutional Court, members of the LGBTQ community in Uganda are rallying to further challenge the controversial act. Nicholas Opiyo, a…
A new book on the Bible and LGBTQ folks by a straight, white man is not what we need
A conservative biblical scholar has changed his mind about LGBTQ folks. I supposed I should be excited, but I find myself quite appreciative of Anna Sieges’ insightful and appropriately critical comments about Richard B. Hays’ (along with his son Christopher) book…
The healing ‘heresy’ of Richard Hays
As an LGBTQ Christian, one of the realities that has perplexed me from the very beginning of my journey to reconcile my faith and my sexuality was the insistence of Christians, particularly Catholics and evangelicals, that our theologies of sexuality…
Appeals court today hears case of employee who was fired for objecting to use of rainbow during Pride Month
A federal appeals court will hear a case today that epitomizes the worst fears of evangelical Christians about diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the workplace. Snyder v. Arconic involves the claim of Daniel Snyder of Davenport, Iowa, against his…
Family Policy Alliance battles ‘Satan’ with plan to end abortion and IVF, outlaw porn, stop transgender identity and take over public schools
The Family Policy Alliance is perhaps the most influential conservative Christian pro-family organization most Americans have never heard of. Founded four decades ago by Focus on the Family, the nonprofit serves as Focus’ public policy partner, promoting its political agenda…
God’s divine plan for eclipses and ellipses
A few years ago, my teenage son beat me at chess. Because I’m a horrible chess player, I took the defeat with aplomb. Later the same day, though, he beat me at Scrabble. Now, that just plain hurt. I rarely…
Portents in the heavens and signs of the times: An eclipse, Harry Potter and a scholar changing his mind all in the same week
As if it were not enough to have Anne Graham Lotz and Marjorie Taylor Greene warning of God’s judgment on America through a solar eclipse, some in the Religious Right lost their minds over the weekend in two other social…
An oft-quoted biblical scholar changes his mind on LGBTQ inclusion in the church
Hang up your tweed jackets and lower your spectacles, people, something big just rattled all us scholarly types. Richard B. Hays has changed his mind on LGBTQ inclusion, and there are layers to this conversation. In 1996, Hays released Moral…
Searching for Grace: Bend or break?
This is the final in a five-part fictional story set in the early 1990s about Rev. Paul Graham and his congregation, Grace United Church of Christ. In previous episodes Tommy Branson, a gay man and a lifelong member of Paul’s…