Christianity

Freedom of expression can be a dangerous thing.

I often get in trouble myself, I tend to be critical of everything. I like pulling apart ideas, and while many people often gleefully do this, when it comes to what the other guy(girlgal:) believes, it’s often less appreciated when you’re on the receiving end. See, the thing is, when people are personally(emotionally) invested in something, they tend to see any criticism as an attack. So they defend, rather than discuss. I do this too of course, its a very human thing.

I got invited to join a demonstration promoting Gay-Straight high-school groups, it’s happening in Toronto this weekend. And I support this, largely because although I’m not gay and not in high-school, having spent a few years in a public, and fairly secular, high-school, I know that even when religion is not on the table, ‘gay’ is a pretty powerful word. It’s the kind of word young men get into physical confrontations over.

And when I say it is powerful, I mean, in two distinct ways. When I was in school, ‘gay’ was the worst thing they could call you. It was a hate-filled word and in many contexts,(online gaming comes to mind) it still very much is, powerful in that sense. Homosexuals have also embraced the word, much like I’m happy to accept labels like atheist, accommodationalist, and postmodernist, in open defiance of the negative ways these words get used.

I’m not saying they are equivalent… More >

This is a video by a gay christian called Mathew Vines. He argues, based on scripture that the Bible does not consider loving gay relationships to be evil. It’s quite compelling.

Ok, first, I’m not really the guy to say what feminism is, or who is feminist or not. But I’m thinking, with Mitt Romney in the running for being next President of our Big Brother to the south, getting a bit more familiar with the people who like to bug us when we are eating dinner, is probably not a bad idea.

Amusingly, with the exception of a few chats with some door-knockers, my greatest exposure to Mormonism is Battlestar Galactica. And yes, it was based on the Mormon religion. I’m pretty sure this is why so many of my atheist friends hated the ending of that particular show. I liked it, but theology fascinates me.

Back to Mormon feminism.

Like many feminists in faith communities, Mormon feminists are sensitive to any suggestion from their secular counterparts that they’re brainwashed or that they should just leave the Church. They see plenty of room for women within their religious doctrines, if not in current institutional practice. “Some of the quirky aspects, like our ‘weird underwear’ and ‘becoming gods,’ are thrown out in the press,” says Emily Clyde Curtis, co-editor with Hickman of Exponent II. “But there are very feminist aspects of our theology that other Christian denominations don’t have … the very powerful history of Mormon women that showed that this is a group that has not been submissive is lost. Utah was one of the first states to grant women suffrage. That’s from the Mormons.”

Ok, that’s weird, but interesting. After the recent mess over Mitt’s wife, ‘not working a day in her life’ as a stay at home mom, its good to see a more diverse role for Mormon women, one that doesn’t reduce to stereotype.