Not Going to the Back of the Bus

Donna Brazile isn't. This morning, the New Yorker video from "If I Were Running This Campaign," the Saturday morning panel featuring NY'er staff writer/moderator Jeffrey Toobin along with some of his CNN colleagues, including Ed Rollins, Alex Castellanos, and Donna Brazile. As the 80-minute discussion wound down, Toobin raised the specter of race in the campaign, and Brazile, 48, let loose with an impassioned exhortation. It was inspiring and moving. Video here.

History According to the Bible

I spend a fair amount of time in Sunday messages putting scriptures in their historical context. One of my standard explanations regarding the reading of the Bible as history is that you have to judge the writers of scripture within the context of what passed for the writing of history in their day. There was no historical critical method then; it was not unusual for writers to write "lives" in the manner of the gospels that were a mix of theology and history, with theology given priority over history; it was not unheard of for writers to write in the name of others (pseudepigraphy) as some of the writers of the NT epistles did; in the pre-scientific world it was not uncommon to resort to miraculous explanations, etc.

Apparently this is not quite true. Via April DeConick I read this article by NT scholar Gerd Ludemann on the historical accuracy of Luke-Acts,. Luke-Acts is a prime example of the kind of biblical writing that needs explaining because there is a plain-for-all-to-see theological agenda in this two-part history of the early Christian movement. And there are obvious discrepancies between Luke and the other gospels and between what Acts says about Paul and what Paul says about Paul. Luke clearly changes his telling of the early Christian story to fit his theological agenda.

But didn't everyone do this back then? Here is Ludemann:

A number of Greek and Roman historians engaged in an ongoing discourse about historical truth, including the issues of intellectual deception and falsification. Moreover, those of the Greek and Roman intelligentsia, though lacking the sophistication of modern critics, had developed clear criteria by which to uncover fraud.

Plagiarism and pseudepigraphy happened; but they were not considered acceptable by everyone. It was the constant task of librarians, Ludemann points out, to uncover fraud. There were historical writers who tried to pay attention to verifiable facts in a manner akin to the writing of modern history. (And yes, I know, that all history writing has a bias.) There were pre-modern histories that did not take for granted miracles; ancients could be as skeptical as moderns regarding explanations of events that resorted to supernatural intervention. Apparently not everyone was doing it.

But the biblical writers were. I don't know how much difference this makes in the way I approach the teaching of scripture. It still needs to be understood in context and it still needs to be seen as a form of story-telling that takes historical events and weaves them into a story that has a primarily theological and apologetic purpose. But I won't be able to say anymore that everyone else was doing it too.

History Lesson on Nonprofit Tax Exempt Status and Churches

Stanley Fish in the New York Times gives us a history and political philosophy lesson about the IRS tax exempt status as it applies to churches and politics in the U.S.A. It's a good read! Now let's hear your comments...

Acquitted: Rev. Edwards found not guilty for performing gay marriage ceremony

Here's some good news from the Presbyterian Denomination:

Presbyterian court says minister did not violate Scripture or church law by officiating at wedding of two women.
by Evan Silverstein
Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — The Rev. Janet Edwards, a Presbyterian
minister in Pittsburgh, was found not guilty Thursday (Oct.
2) following a trial on charges that she violated Scripture
and the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
when she presided at the marriage of two women.

The nine-member Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) of
Pittsburgh Presbytery unanimously ruled that the
constitutions of the PC(USA) and the state of Pennsylvania
define marriage as an act between a man and a woman.
Therefore, judges said, the ceremony could not have been a
wedding ceremony.

“It can’t be an offense to the constitution to attempt to
do the impossible,” said the decision, read by the Rev.
Stewart Pollock, the PJC’s chairman, according to the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Edwards, a parish associate at the interdenominational
Community of Reconciliation, never denied officiating at
the June 2005 marriage ceremony of Brenda Cole and Nancy
McConn, who reside near Wheeling, WV.

Edwards has steadfastly argued that there is no prohibition
on same-sex wedding ceremonies in the PC(USA) because the
courts have said clergy “should not” conduct them —
language she believes is advisory, not binding.

“I am blessed to serve Christ in the Presbyterian Church of
the Reformed tradition, which welcomes the fact that change
is part of God’s good plan,” Edwards said in a statement.
“I pray that the dialogue sparked by this trial will
provide another step along the path as we seek to reconcile
our church with the fine future for marriage God has in
store for us.”

This week’s trial was the second time Edwards faced church
legal action for performing the ceremony.

Pittsburgh Presbytery officials dismissed a similar
complaint during a trial in November 2006 on a
technicality. The presbytery PJC ruled that an
investigating committee filed charges against Edwards after
its deadline for doing so. Edwards’ accusers then filed new
accusations last year resulting in the latest trial.

Edwards, a direct descendant of legendary Puritan
theologian Jonathan Edwards, could have faced a number of
punishments, including removal from ordained ministry, if
she had been convicted.

According to the Post-Gazette the testimony during the
two-day trial at a hotel on Pittsburgh’s north side was
lopsided on the side of the defense. The prosecution called
one witness, a church official who had told Edwards that
she could bless a gay couple, but not marry them.

The defense presented three biblical scholars and
theologians who testified that her acceptance of same-sex
marriage was within the Presbyterian tradition of
interpreting Scripture in its cultural context, the
newspaper reported. They also called an authority on church
law who said that it did not prohibit same-sex marriage.

The prosecution “offered no evidence that the accused
violated [eight Bible passages it cited] or any other
Scripture passages,” Pollock said, according to the
Post-Gazette.

Pittsburgh Presbytery has 45 days to file an appeal.

Edwards said she was pleased the trial furthered discussion
of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the
church.

“If the conversations it has inspired become part of the
dialogue on how our church can fully embrace its gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender members, I believe this
trial can be a blessing to us all,” she said in the
statement.

McConn and Cole, the couple whose wedding Edwards
performed, were present at the trial.

Even if the court called their marriage impossible, “it was
the happiest day of my life. I’m so grateful that Janet was
courageous and compassionate,” McConn told the
Post-Gazette.

McConn, a longtime Presbyterian and former member of Dallas
Presbyterian Church in Dallas, WV, currently worships at a
Unitarian congregation. Cole was raised Methodist but now
is a practicing Buddhist.

“We know no other word except ‘marriage’ that fully
describes what we share,” Cole told the Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review. “It’s a covenant between us and God.”

The Rev. James C. Yearsley, a Presbyterian minister who is
currently serving in Florida, filed a complaint against
Edwards shortly after the lesbian marriage, only to see the
charges against Edwards dismissed on the technicality in
2006.

Yearsley submitted a new grievance against Edwards in
February 2007. Seven other PC(USA) ministers and six elders
from Texas, North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania and
Washington state signed on to the new complaint, joining
Yearsley as “co-accusers.”

A Pittsburgh native, Yearsley has been pastor of Village
Presbyterian Church in Tampa, FL, since February 2006. When
he filed his original complaint against Edwards he was
serving as pastor at Mt. Hope Community Church, a
Presbyterian congregation in suburban Pittsburgh.

Yearsley attended this week’s trial but flew back to Tampa
before the verdict. Before leaving, he said an acquittal
would signal collapse of church discipline, the
Post-Gazette reported. But he said he would not push for an
appeal or leave the denomination.

“This is the church I was called to serve,” Yearsley told
the newspaper. “I'm a Presbyterian and I'm going to stay
and contend for what I think the church should be.”

Yearsley told the Tribune-Review, “I’m not frustrated; this
decision does not surprise me. This is the direction of our
denomination, and it is accelerating. But it’s the wrong
decision for the wrong reasons. It’s a further attempt to
accommodate culture at the expense of scriptural authority
and belief.”

He described Edwards as “a very gracious, kind soul,” the
Tribune-Review reported.

The Rev. Bob Anderson, interim pastor to Pittsburgh
Presbytery, said he knew some local Presbyterians would be
disappointed in the verdict.

“It’s a very sensitive issue,” he told the Post-Gazette.
“We in the presbytery offices are very sensitive to those
concerns and we will keep this as a matter of prayer as we
go into the future.”

Thursday’s PJC ruling follows a similar church court ruling
earlier this year involving the marriage of same-sex
couples. The Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, a Presbyterian lesbian
activist from San Rafael, CA, was found not-guilty of
misconduct in April after a trial on charges that she
violated the PC(USA)’s constitution by performing weddings
for two lesbian couples.

The Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly
(GAPJC), the PC(USA)’s highest court, found that Spahr did
not violate denominational law when she officiated at the
weddings in 2004 and 2005. Like the Pittsburgh ruling, the
GAPJC found that the ceremonies Spahr performed were not
marriages, so she did not violate the church’s
constitution, the high court ruled.

The six ministers who joined Yearsley in signing his most
recent complaint were: the Rev. David Perry of Coastal
Carolina Presbytery; the Rev. James Coone of Grace
Presbytery; the Rev. Robert Kopp of Blackhawk Presbytery;
the Rev. Jim Tilley of Blackhawk Presbytery; the Rev. Toby
Brown of Mission Presbytery; and the Rev. Mark Hughey of
Blackhawk Presbytery.

One of the co-accusers, the Rev. L. Russ Howard, eventually
withdrew his name from the complaint after the congregation
where he’s a pastor left the PC(USA) for the Evangelical
Presbyterian Church.

The six elders who signed the complaint were: Sarah Beard
of Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Marysville, WA;
Everett Worrell of First Presbyterian Church in Belvidere,
IL; Mark Rouleau of Westminster Presbyterian Church in
Rockford, IL; Robert Gagnon of Eastminster Presbyterian
Church of Pittsburgh; Pamela Easton of Bethany Presbyterian
Church in Loves Park, IL; and Virginia Worrell of First
Presbyterian Church in Belvidere, IL.

Bible Reading Marathon in Rome

"In the beginning" (but in Italian) read the Pope yesterday at the start of a week long Bible reading marathon from the Vatican. You can watch live the continuous stream of multifaith readers in Vatican t.v. Even if you don't understand a word that is being read, Italian sounds like music to the ears anyway. It's almost like a meditation chant.

On the Mountaintop Looking Down

Liberalpastor, just when you thought you were safe, I'm here to announce to your blog audience that today is your 50th birthday--plus one day!

Just be thankful I didn't t.p. your property. (One of my other friends got this public announcement of her 50th birthday from me.) The night before last I determined it wasn't the best approach--plus I was too tired at midnight to go do it. Also, I think t.p.ing someone is no longer "politically correct" when we must all try to not be wasteful of resources.

So consider yourself "got" in cyberspace with this conspicuous announcement of your milestone birthday yesterday.

Readers, if you haven't already wished liberalpastor a Happy Birthday--or even if you have, you can always wish him a Happy 50th Birthday + 1 day--by posting your birthday greeting comment to him here!

The Tan Commandments

At liberalchurch we promote behavior that doesn't hurt but rather supports and encourages the best behavior of others. We don't hold the Ten Commandments over each other like large stone tablets. If liberalpastor ever delivered anything close to a hellfire and brimstone message, we'd likely wonder whether an intervention might be in order because it would be so out of character!

In an effort to support our Wellness Ministry and it's ministry team leader, a woman who identifies as a non-Christian, I thought I'd pass along this website--although it's not made of stone and I'm no Moses--which sets forth the Tan Commandments!

Trial Update from Pittsburgh

The Rev. Janet Edwards is being tried by the Presbyterian judicial system for performing gay wedding. Here is the update of the first day of the trial yesterday from the More Light website...

Trial Update: Marriage Performed By Rev. Edwards Is Within the Bounds of Scripture and Tradition

Wednesday, October 01 2008 @ 03:44 PM
This was the message of the first day of Rev. Janet Edwards' trial here in Pittsburgh. PJC member Joan Henderson said in her opening prayer, "We pray for church leaders with the courage of prophets, the empathy of priests, and the persistence of pilgrims." Apt words for a leader like Janet.

The charges against Rev. Edwards allege that she both violated Scripture and acted in defiance of the Constitution. The charges cite eight Biblical passages that she allegedly violated, although they provide no context.

The proceedings opened with motions by the prosecution to close the proceedings to the public, and to postpone the proceedings until a later time. Both were denied by the PJC. The prosecution also asked to be able to present most of their witnesses tomorrow, and so the day was given over mostly to questioning of the witnesses for Dr. Edwards, with only very minimal cross-examination by the prosecution.

First, witness John Matta, former stated clerk of Pittsburgh Presbytery, gave some background about a conversation he had with Rev. Edwards about a hypothetical same-sex wedding ceremony. Witnesses Dr. Deborah Krause (Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament and Dead, Eden Theological Seminary) and Heather Reichgott (doctoral student, Graduate Theological Union) discussed how such a ceremony would not violate Scripture and in fact falls well within the scope of Reformed interpretation of Scripture. Witness Rev. Dr. Christopher Elwood (Professor of Historical Theology, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary) discussed how such a ceremony would be well within Reformed church tradition, although Reformed church tradition also includes many who might disagree. Witness Judge Justin Johnson took issue with the incomplete nature of the charges and the lack of evidence presented by the prosecution thus far. Johnson, a veteran of PJCs and secular courts, emphasized that in order to convict Rev. Edwards, the prosecution must demonstrate both what she did, and the mandatory provision that she violated. (W-4.9001 is a definition, not a mandatory provision). Johnson also provided some background information about the 1991 authoritative interpretation of W-4.9001, the Bush decision, the Benton decision, and the Spahr decision.

A room full of supporters seated at round tables watched the proceedings peacefully and in good humor, a fitting background for Rev. Edwards' gentle attitude toward the trial.

(Note: Any errors in the summary above are entirely our own and are unintentional, but this is the precis of today's events as we understand them so far. The PA system at the Priory wasn't working very well for the first portion of the proceedings, and it was very difficult to hear. Stay tuned for further updates!)

Rev. Booth to the IRS, "Bring 'em on!"

Well, I hope the I.R.S. gives Rev. Gus Booth from Warrod, MN the challenge he has asked for! (I also hope his congregants have their pens and checkbooks in their hands and are ready to fund the church's legal defense of their tax-exempt status.)

Not Tomorrow Night John, I've got a Headache

Well, I guess it wouldn't be all bad if John McCain was too preoccupied to face Barak Obama the American Public tomorrow night. I'm not really in the mood for him either! But from the sounds of how things went today at the White House, I guess I better take pop some extra strength pain reliever and emotionally prepare myself for a hard night.

I just love this response to Sen. McCain's request to postpone the debate with Sen. Obama tomorrow night from a PhD candidate as re-posted on the Facebook page of my Carleton college professor cousin, Adriana Estill.

The Dangerous Quaker Lobby

Over at the New Republic blog James Kirchick is angry that the "Quaker lobby" is meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad and isn't inviting the press. When Kirchick called the high-powered Quaker lobbyist, Mark Graham, and asked him if he was going to be pressing Ahamdinejad on Iran's nuclear intentions, Graham responded that the purpose of the meeting is to promote dialogue and understanding.

I thought this comment on the TNR blog was spot on:

It really should be a rule for anyone who runs a magazine: If one of your writers uses the phrase "the Quaker lobby" with a straight face, he must be fired. Immediately.

Of course, the Quakers have a long history of appeasement, going right back to the 1600s when they insisted on "dialogue" and "mutual coexistence" with the native Indians instead of just slaughtering them like civilized people. So you just can't trust those Quakers to deal with existential threats.

Free Ranging in Burnsville

Liberalchurch had a church picnic at Prairie Oaks Farm, a community co-op farm, yesterday afternoon. We enjoyed spending an afternoon on the farm where there are free range chickens (both broilers and layers) and turkeys. At least one person commented on the benefit of having chickens free ranging in the yard. On Keller Lake, we have have free ranging Canadian geese. Same effect.

So it was with a renewed interest that I read this report about an 11 year old boy making his plea to the Burnsville City Council to keep his small flock of free range chickens in their yard.

Going Off Message with Franklin Graham

Via GetReligion I saw this interview with Franklin Graham, the son of Billy who has taken over the reigns of the Graham evangelistic empire. Here are two questions and answers from the interview:

Q: While we're on the subject of comparisons ... What about your approach to Christian outreach, service and evangelism is different from your father's? What do YOU want people to focus on?

A: My style is different from that of my father, but the message is exactly the same. It's the gospel — the Good News that God loves sinners and that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and that he rose again from the dead. He is alive, and he is coming back someday; many people believe it will be soon. To come to God, we have to confess our sins, repent — turn from our sins — and by faith receive Christ into our hearts. If we are willing to do that, God will forgive us and cleanse us, and we can have a new beginning and the assurance of being with him in heaven one day.

Q: These days, evangelical Christians are becoming increasingly concerned about social issues other than so-called "wedge issues" (such as abortion and gay marriage). For example, many evangelicals are beginning to advocate good stewardship of the Earth and faith-based programs that address poverty and economic inequities. What is your view on the changing list of priorities?

A: The gospel is our priority. As a Christian, I am concerned about the Earth that God gave us. I want to do all I can to preserve and protect the resources that belong to each of us and to be good stewards of the things God has given. However, the No. 1 message is always the gospel. I believe Christians are making a great mistake by getting pulled off message. Should we be concerned about the environment, energy and other social issues? Absolutely, but the gospel is our No. 1 message because the gospel has the power to save. The Apostle Paul said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). Moral issues, such as gay marriage and abortion, are outlined very clearly in the Scriptures. These areas are not even for debate. However, I preach against all sin — not just some — and that Christ died for sinners and rose again so that we can have new life through him.

There is nothing surprising here about Graham's answers. Jesus came to save us so we can be with him and God in heaven. Everything else may be interesting, but if the primary focus of Christians is on anything else they are getting pulled "off message."

I think the primary focus of Christianity is or ought to be transformation, personal and social. Being involved in a Christian community ought to mean that you are attending a place where you are being transformed over time by the experience of being there. You are learning; you are being challenged to grow and re-orient your priorities; you are given opportunities to develop and share your gifts and in so doing to serve others. You are becoming a better person.

How would you know this is happening? If after being part of that community you feel compelled to care more for the environment, work more for peace and justice in the world (at home and/or in the world), be more welcoming of those who are different because they have a different religion or sexual orientation, then you would know that something good and powerful is happening. (Alternatively, for some who are activists by nature, the transformation might involve finding balance and learning to let go and find some personal peace.)

But the point is transformation that makes a difference here and now. That isn't "off message." That is the message. By your fruits you shall know them.

Republican Convention-goer in the Spotlight

Here is Gabriel Schwartz of Denver being interviewed at the Republican National Convention. He was also interviewed by AP. Quite the celebrity. His advice for the next President: "bomb the hell" out of Iran.



The St. Paul Pioneer Press picks up the rest of the story:

He met her in the bar of the swank hotel and invited her to his room. Once there, the woman fixed the drinks and told him to get undressed.

And that, the delegate to the Republican National Convention told police, was the last thing he remembered.

When he awoke, the woman was gone, as was more than $120,000 in money, jewelry and other belongings.

The thief's take stunned cops.

"It's very, very, very rare," Minneapolis Police Sgt. William Palmer said. "I can think of a couple of burglaries where we had that much stolen, but it's the first time I've heard of this kind of deal."

In a statement released today, Gabriel Nathan Schwartz, 29, of Denver, put the figure at much less.

"It's embarrassing to admit that I was a target of a crime. I was drugged and had about $50,000 of personal items stolen, not the inflated number that the media is reporting from an inaccurate police report," he said.

"As a single man, I was flattered by the attention of a beautiful woman who introduced herself to me. I used poor judgment."

Contacted by the Denver Post Monday, Schwartz declined to speak on the record. In the statement released today, Schwartz said he would decline further interview requests.

The haul included a $30,000 watch, a $20,000 ring, a necklace valued at $5,000, earrings priced at $4,000 and a Prada belt valued at $1,000, police said.

Schwartz is a single attorney and a fixture in Colorado Republican politics. He was one of the state's delegates to the convention this month in St. Paul.

Reached by phone at his law office Monday, Schwartz said that because the case still was under investigation, "I think at this point, I don't want to make a comment on it."

Our Socialist Government

How bad is the financial meltdown on Wall Street? It's so bad that that bastion of free-market capitalism, the Wall Street Journal, takes a pass on commenting on the US government takeover of the insurance giant American International Group, Inc. (AIG) This follows the government takeover a little more than a week ago of the two largest mortgage lenders in the country, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The federal government has essentially taken control of the housing industry in the country and taken a big chunk of control of the insurance industry. This was done by a Republican administration, largely applauded by Wall Street, and there is silence from the WSJ. Things must be bad.

But there is a lesson here too. For all the conservative bashing of government, these conservatives go to sleep at night knowing that if there really is a financial meltdown, there is only one institution with the size and resources to bail them out - the very government they so loathe. They count on it.

It is for this very reason that we the tax-payers who support with our taxes this lender of last resort have every right to demand regulation and accountability from these financial institutions. Because if they do fail we are on the hook.

The upside of this emergency takeover in the financial markets is that come January a new President, possibly a progressive President, is going to have "extraordinary leverage" over the national economy. It won't take legislation to make it happen because the government is already running these industries. Some socially responsible, positive change could come out of this. Assuming we aren't in a depression by then.

A Catholic Supports Obama, Denied Communion

Doug Kmiec is a conservative Reagan administration official and leading pro-life legal scholar. Despite his strong anti-abortion views, he recently endorsed Barack Obama on the grounds that Obama cared more about the full range of "life" issues - including poverty and human rights - and because Kmiec believes that Obama's "abortion reduction" agenda will have more impact on abortion in the short run than the traditional battles against Roe v. Wade. Kmiec has a new book out Can a Catholic Support Him? Beliefnet (the Kmiec bio comes from there) has an excerpt in which he talks about the day he attended church and discovered that he was to be the subject of the day's homily. Despite his great shock he went up afterwards for communion:

It was time for Communion. Notwithstanding the indictment of the homily, I did not think of myself as unworthy of receipt of the sacrament--at least no more so then pre-Obama endorsement. Communion in the Catholic tradition is indeed sacred. We believe the bread and the wind is transformed--transubstantiated--into the body and blood of Christ. I have often watched my parish priest focus his gaze with reverence upon the bread and the wine during the offertory to gain some appreciation for the significance of the divine person whose presence on can scarcely grasp....

But I was not to receive the Eucharist that evening. The couples who stood in line before my wife and myself received the body of Christ in their hands or on their tongues and returned to their seats. My wife received. My hand outstretched, the priest shook his head from side to side. Was that a no? It was Judgment Day, and I hadn't made it. LSAT Insufficient. Inadequate GPA. Do not pass GO...go directly to Hell...

From the back of the Communion line someone shouted out, "Are you judging this man, Father?" I was grateful for the intervention. Will the Last Day be like this? One friend making an appeal for another? The response was cold: "He has judged himself and been found unworthy."

With no further appeal possible and with my wife exiting in confusion, tears, and offended embarrassment, I returned to my place along. My place? Did I have a place any longer? Was I expected to leave? The double significance of losing the body of Christ--of not having ingested and no longer standing among "the body"--was suddenly all I could think of. Condemned for announcing to the world that I intended to vote for a man who I thought lived the Beatitudes. A black man; a caring man; a talented man. A man different from conservative self and yet calling me to find the best of that self. A man who, in so many ways, asks to care for the least advantaged as he seeks the public responsibility to carry with him, as if it was his own burden the plight of the marginalized and unemployed worker, the uninsured, the widowed mother grieving over a son lost in Iraq. Their hurts, far worse than mine. It was wrong to be damned; to be excluded from the grace of the sacrament of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all I could think was the old Tolstoy folk wisdom "God knows the truth, but waits."

The priest was later officially admonished for this action and sent Boltz a letter of apology.

Christian Musician Comes Out

Ray Boltz is a Christian musician who has come out at 55 as a gay man. I know nothing about him and nothing about Christian popular music. But today I have learned that Boltz had a 20 year career as a Christian artist and sold 4.5 million LPs, cassettes and CDs. The Christianity Today blog reports on it here. In the Washington Blade he tells some of his story:

Ray Boltz was tired of living a lie.

He’d gotten to a point nearly three years before where he couldn’t continue down the road his life had gone.

His 33-year marriage to ex-wife Carol was, he says, largely a happy one. It produced four children — three daughters and a son who are now between 22 and 32 — but family life and going through the motions of being straight had grown so wearying to Boltz, he was in a serious depression, had been in therapy for years, was on Prozac and other anti-depressants and had been, for a time, suicidal.

“I thought I hid it really well,” he says. “I didn’t know people could see what I was going through, the darkness and the struggle. After I came out to my family, one of my daughters said she was afraid to walk in my bedroom because she was afraid she’d find me — that I’d done something to myself. And I didn’t even know they’d picked it up.”

The Boltz family remembers Dec. 26, 2004 for two reasons: the tsunami in the Indian Ocean but also the tsunami that their husband and father unleashed when he told them what had been bothering him for so many years.

He hadn’t planned a major announcement — but sitting around the kitchen table at his daughter’s house, Boltz’s son, Philip, asked him what was wrong.

“I thought, ‘Well, I can just do what I always do and hide the truth or I can take a risk and be honest,’” Boltz says. “That day, with the tsunami, has become very symbolic in our family.”

Nobody was sure, at the time, what the ramifications of the revelation would be, least of all Ray.

“It’s hard to say I came out because I didn’t have all the answers. I just admitted what I was struggling with and what I was feeling. It’s hard to go, ‘This is the point where I accepted my sexuality and who I was,’ but I came out to them and shared with them what I’d been going through.”

Continuing to pretend, Boltz says, was no longer an option.

“I’d denied it ever since I was a kid. I became a Christian, I thought that was the way to deal with this and I prayed hard and tried for 30-some years and then at the end, I was just going, ‘I’m still gay. I know I am.’ And I just got to the place where I couldn’t take it anymore … when I was going through all this darkness, I thought, ‘Just end this.’”

His family’s reaction took time.

“I don’t want to downplay it like it was just, ‘Oh, well that’s OK.’ It was a very tough time for them too, but the bottom line was they loved me and they still love me … it’s been an amazing journey of acceptance on their part … I was offered support and love from each member of my family, including my wife.”

I also came upon this amusing blog post that suggested that Bolz's "falling away" is confirmation that premillenialist theology is unfolding before our very eyes. On the contrary, Ray Boltz has finally listened to the gentle nudging of God to be true to who he really is and he is now on the path towards spiritual healing.

New Word for Webster's Dictionary

A friend of mine from India, Jiraij, who I met online last year because we are alumni of the same small liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio wrote to me this morning that he has created a new word for the English language. I thought I would share it with you so that you too can start incorporating it into your daily language.

palistic adj. Rising above one's station in life on a premise of extremist mediocrity without vision or aspiration to a greater good.

Honoring Yourself

I've not done a very good job of nurturing myself over the past decade or so. Recently I've tried to make a portion of my life more "about me". I guess this is not a bad thing after having grown up as an only child. We are often labeled selfish and I've definitely gone overboard in proving that this is an untrue generalization.

Here's some affirmation and advice from Beliefnet.com which I will share and try to follow myself.

Clear Contrasts

I've not posted for quite awhile. Not sure why. I feel a bout of ambivalence and malaise setting in. Perhaps it's just the fall weather and I'm headed into hibernation season...anyway my apologies to readers that we have been silent at liberalpastor in burnsville blog.

As you know we live in Minnesota which we can now affectionately refer to as "the police state". A number of us from Liberalchurch in Burnsville went to Harriet Island in St. Paul on Thursday for the Peace Island Picnic. Harriet Island is across the Mississippi River from where the Republican National Convention was being held. It was a music-filled and friend-filled protest-without-a-march-event that was organized by a former U.S Senate candidate from MN and others. I will post separately a photo of the giant peace sign that was formed by those attending in the late afternoon along with a photo of some of us at Liberalchurch who had a table with information from the COB peace task force and the Mennonite Committee on war and conscience objection.

Well, the U.S. Presidential campaigns are now set in character and tone. The characters couldn't be more diverse and polarized from my prospective. In tone, both parties seem to be using the same message -- "change".

Yes, we need a change. Now, if only the U.S. voters will look past the rhetoric and get into what kinds of POLICIES these candidates are proposing to create change from our status quo.

I think perhaps the most disheartening moment for me this past week was when my 4th grader told me that several girls were asking her who her parents were going to vote for for President this year. When she gave her reply one little girl said to her, "Well if he's elected then the war will end and terrorists will return to the United States and we will have lock downs at our school all the time. "Just when you think that there is hope for the next generation you realize that by age 10 they have already been indoctrinated by their parents.

When I was 10 it was 1968. H.H.H. was running against R.M.N. There were 3 of us girls who were "gradeschool dems". One of us took the nickname Hubert, another Horatio, and I was Humphrey. We spent the last month of the election referring to each other by our nicknames.

As a parent, I try to do my best to impart my moral and ethical values to my children without taking away their own decision-making powers. However, upon hearing this story from my 9 year old (who turns 10 next month) I told her that she needs to find 2 other "gradeschool dems" in her 4th grade class and one of them can be nicknamed Barak, she should proudly take the middle name Hussein, and another little girl can be Obama. I know that there might be several girls who would be ready for this--not sure my daughter is however!