The Bible from my perspective

I receive a lot of emails from people who are pro and anti-gay asking my interpretation of the Bible. Some of the questions I get are... Do you take the Bible literally? Do you believe the Bible is the infallible word of God? Do you believe God made us gay? If so, does that mean we have no free will? Do you believe in hell?

The list of questions I receive go on. Sadly, I hardly respond to those type of emails because they are not lite questions. They are the kind of emails which require great thought and time. With that said, I usually don't have the patience to respond. However, I don't want to ignore these questions because I know they plague many who are and are not lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT). I feel that it would be easier for me and you if I knocked out all your questions in a weekly series of blog post.

Over the next few weeks I will attempt to tackle these questions, the scriptures which speak of homosexuality in the Bible, and more. Please know, I am in no way a expert on philosophy or theology. I can only tell you what I believe in this moment of my journey. It won't be perfect and it won't be comfortable, but I hope you will listen, and maybe we can all learn from sharing.

I will begin this series, "The Bible from my perspective" this coming week.

Spread love,
Azariah Southworth

Ironic? I think not.

So, I just tried going to the infamous National Organization for Marriage (NOM) website. I wanted to see if they have issued a statement on today's happening with Prop 8. When I typed in www.nationalorganizationformarriage.com it immediately directed me to this website for the KKK bousting, "Bringing a message of hope and deliverance to white Christian America! A message of love NOT hate!" Wow. Really?!!

I can't help but think how ironic it is that it led me to that site.

Christian Professor Ask LGBT People for Forgiveness

I want to direct you towards an article I just read in The Christian Century magazine. It was written by David P. Gushee who teaches philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. He gives his review of Mitchell Gold's fantastic book, CRISIS. David not only gave the book a good review but states, "Moreover, after reading these stories, I feel that Christians have something they need to request from God and from gays and lesbians, and that is forgiveness."

I believe God wants to bring healing between the LGBT community and the church. But not only healing, God is calling us to grant forgiveness to one another. I hope those who read David's review, especially those in ministry, will "get it" and run with it.

I pray all of us (including myself), will forgive and be open to the healing, which I believe God desires to do in us all.

Here is the link to the article.

Good song...

Reason # 1,314,816 why I love ELLEN

Anita Bryant of our day?

Then & Now

Your sons and daughters will prophesy...

A Denver third-grader will be front and center at the Colorado State Capitol Saturday pushing for same sex marriage in the state. Ethan McNamee arranged the rally as an independent class project. He was concerned about the issue after hearing about anti-gay remarks on the playground and then learning about a same sex couple in his neighborhood that couldn't get married. "Everybody is different in a good way," he said. Ethan believes that if two people love each other that is the only issue to be considered. Ethan took it upon himself to arrange the rally and line up the guest speakers. He admitted it was more work then he thought it would be, but adds it was fun. Administrators at Montclair Elementary have been sensitive to the controversial issue. Parents were notified about Ethan's project and only students who wanted to get involved participated. A handful of kids helped Ethan make signs on Friday afternoon.

Ethan has already lined up speakers from The GLBT Community Center of Colorado, PFLAG and other organizations, and can rattle them off when asked. He's contacted Mayor John Hickenlooper -- he can't be there -- and Senator Michael Bennet, who Ethan thinks is trying to give him the runaround. "I e-mailed him tons of times. I called him a couple times. I confronted him personally," Ethan says, sounding exasperated. "He never gave me a straight answer."

I'm coming to Louisville!

It is official, I am coming to Kentucky! June 20th - Kentuckiana Pride. I have the great honor of opening the ceremonies. If you are in the area, please come see me. I want to thank the Inter Faith Circle for allowing me this opportunity.

Click HERE for more information on this event!

Feed the homeless

FEED THE HOMELESS, for free.

this week Kentucky Fried Chicken is giving away free meals with the coupon you can find here:

www.unthinkfc.com

you can help feed the homeless in your community by printing this free coupon out (good for a whole meal!)and distributing it to anyone you see that looks like they need a free meal. be a blessing to those less fortunate.

AND giving away a free meal opens up a door to some great conversations and starting friendships!