LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY gleef)

Here is a pair of articles by Real Live Preacher that I thought people here might enjoy and be able to use. Real Live Preacher is the blog of Gordon Atkinson, the ordained minister of Covenant Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. In these articles, Rev. Atkinson takes the religious right to task for their treatment of homosexuality and homosexuals.

    I Have No Title For This
    A Look at the Bible and Homosexuality

Some excerpts I especially enjoyed:

"Do you smell the reek of this injustice? It is a stink in the nostrils of the very living God. We are dressed in beautiful clothes and we wear pretty smiles, but we stink of this blasphemous hypocrisy.

"Every church in America - mine not excepted - has a cellar like this. We must shovel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, because every chapter and book we ignore must be burned to warm our comfy pews.

"We should all agree that none of us are able or willing to follow all the teachings of scripture. Let the one who is obeying God's word ask for detailed scriptural explanations from others.

"In my book, that settles the argument, and there is no reason to go further. However, if you are determined to hold homosexuals to a higher standard, demanding detailed explanations for why they do not obey minor parts of the Bible while all of Christendom tramples on the very heart of scripture, move on to part two:

Read the articles, there's plenty more where that came from, including direct refutation of common biblical arguments against homosexuality from a Christian biblical scholar..

(Snagged from chris_king_2005 on gsa_lj)

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wyldraven)

Jewish Group Endorses Principles Supporting Pluralistic Democracy

On Monday evening, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) at its 2006 Plenum adopted a resolution on "Protecting Pluralistic Democracy In America".
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It is the rights of individuals to adopt religious or scientific explanations for the origins of life, but religious theories should never be taught as science or an alternative to science in public schools.
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I am looking forward to reading the entire resolution.

Posted by Howard M. Friedman on Religion Clause

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY kiji_kat)

The Toms River, NJ, school board took a stand against bigotry by refusing to fire a transgendered teacher at the request of a fundamentalist parent.

You can thank the board for their efforts and decision here: trboe@trschools.com

x-posted to kiji_kat