I think this is a beautiful song.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tune In!
On Air With Tony Sweet, a Gay Faith-based Radio show, will be interviewing the wonderful Rev. Dr. Mel White, Author, Gay Activist, and Co-Founder of the Non-Profit organization SoulForce. Friday June 5, 2009 at 6 to 8pm PST. Tony Sweet and Ann Walker aka LaVonda of the Sordid Lives Series will be hosting. We will play some of the best Gay and Gay friendly music from artists all around the country.www.LATalkRadio.com
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Bible from my perspective Part I
In this first part of my blog series, "The Bible from my perspective" I would like to let you know how I interpret/view the Bible. I believe by laying this as the foundation, it will help you understand how I have come to some conclusions on things.
A question I am always asked is, "Do you believe the Bible to be the infallible word of God?" Yes, I believe the message of the Bible is trustworthy and unfailing in effectiveness. We have seen how effective it has been in our world since its first been shared. We have seen how the hope and love it has to offer has changed countless lives and healed wounded hearts and minds. However, I know the Bible has been in the hands of fallible men for too long and with that comes errors, misinterpretations, and untruths shared from it. That is why we see the unfailing effectiveness of the Bible has also been used for great evil (i.e. Christopher Columbus led a genocide through the Bahamas in the name of Christ, used to oppress women, used to oppress and enslave people of color, now used to oppress gay men and women).
I view the Bible for what it is; a 2,000+ year old book. It is ancient, it is a historic document but it is also alive. When you watch a movie such as, "Pride & Prejudice" you quickly learn the way they communicated a mere 100+ years ago was entirely different from today. I remember as a kid my cousin Freddy who lived in East Sussex, England told me that when you refer to "the boot" in England it meant the trunk of a car. I thought that was the oddest thing because in my small town Orland, Indiana a boot meant exactly that "a boot" something that goes on your feet.
That leads me to the next question I receive often, "Do you interpret the Bible literally?" No, I do not interpret the Bible literally. I interpret the Bible from a historic critical view. If we all practiced how we literally interpret the Bible we would be a bigger mess than we are now. Most of us would be walking around missing one eye and toothless. Most gay men would have been killed a long time ago because they're gay (Leviticus 20:13). Many gay men are killed today in the Middle East because they are gay. When we read the Bible it is important for us to understand the culture, the language, and the way they communicated was completely different from our culture, our language, and the way we communicate today. Just as "a boot" meant the trunk of a car to my cousin Freddy from England, "abomination" has several different meanings, and there are different ways to say it.
Even when we converse with people today we can't take everything they say literally. If we did, we'd take all the sarcastic things people say to heart and walk around offended and hurt all the time. I'm going to take a chance and say that applies to historical documents like the Bible also. We can't take everything in it literally.
This concludes Part I of "The Bible from my perspective." In Part II we will discuss the verses in the Bible which speak of homosexuality. Feel free to leave comments and express your thoughts and beliefs. This is not a space to debate but rather share. So please feel free to share, this is how we learn.
Spread love,
Azariah Southworth
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