... good news ...

from the christian coalition ...

well, not exactly from the christian coalition, but from the person who chose NOT to lead them for reasons of his own ... poverty and the environment ... i like what he said about those issues:

The Rev. Joel Hunter, who was scheduled to take over the socially conservative group in January from Roberta Combs, said he had hoped to focus on issues such as poverty and the environment.

"These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about," said Hunter, a senior pastor at Northland Church in Longwood, Fla.

Source Article

so, the christian coalition goes on, trying to find someone to take up their hate and prejudice that they inherited from their founder, mr. pat robertson, so he can continue his work from the 60's when he stood in opposition to dr. king when robertson and other "christian" leaders stood against equality and stood shoulder to shoulder with the KKK asserting that being black was as subhuman as being gay is today.

kudos to you mr. hunter ... for your strength, leadership and courage to stand up for some of the things jesus would be taking on today. ... anyone else waking up yet?

peace & harmony,
elaine
'freedom must be exercised to stay in shape!'

. . . thanksgiving thoughts . . .

when did thanksgiving become the holiday of glutony ... i don't know how many times over this holiday weekend in particular i heard questions or comments about how much an individual overate or 'gorged' themselves on the holiday feast. and then, those lines for the stores, the frenzy to consume even more ... i just wondered as i heard reports or saw the news ... is this reality?

i realize that for many people in america, that is what this holiday and christmas is all about really. what gets me is the participation of the christians in their frenzy for their holiday and their jesus to be celebrated ... and the lengths that they go to do that ... is just, well, honestly, its disgusting. and it sets a horrible example of the christian life and the true meaning of CHRIST-MAS ... or 'more christ'.

christ is commonly related to the person who was jesus christ, but 'christ' is not a person, christ is what dwells in us all. it is a concept of our connection to god. more christ ... less us ... less our pomp and circumstance ... less crystal cathederals and mega churches and more christ (or mas christo ... christ-mas). less our celebrating what we think 'christ' is, and more living it ...

we don't all have to participate in the exercise of the deadly sins to get where christ is the center of our lives ... well, maybe we do ... after all, if we go down the road enough times, the we will conquer the death those sins bring and renew our lives in alignment with the christ that lives in each of us.

i do not ... i had my plate of thanksgiving with my family and some new friends ... has it always been this bad, and i just really notice how bad it is this year? or are we getting worse?

peace & harmony,
elaine
'freedom must be exercised to stay in shape!'

. . . what next . . .

now that the election is over we see a little bit about what we are about, and not in the most obvious of ways.

i see that we are still about discrimination and hatred . . . as evidenced by all those "christian" bans against same sex marriages. its interesting to me that "christians" are spending so much time on something that is not even one of the 10 commandments, yet on the issue of the war, which involves the breech of several of the ten commandments, they are mute or in support of it. very interesting indeed.

the vote means very little when the hearts of men and women are still filled with fear and hatred for their neighbors ... not willing to extend to them the same rights that they may want to exercise just because of their choice of spouses ... it used to be that my husband would have been hung or burned on a cross because he dared to marry a white woman. that wasn't so long ago that the same "christians" who drafted and enlisted the vote of their followers marched and protested against dr. king and those that fought for racial equality ... people like pat robertson, jerry falwell ... those "fore fathers" of the present day "evangelical christian" church in america fought against equality of the races. its not too surprising that the "christian" organizations they founded and the :evangelical christian" "leadership" that has followed in their footsteps are still opposing love and equality that transcends the physical characteristics and traits of human beings.

well, truth is bent toward justice. i no longer believe that we need to have relationships and marriage for the purposes of sustaining the species. relationships of deep intimacy between human beings, regardless of the sexual makeup of those relationships, can bring the unity and oneness that the bible describes that can bring us closer to god. do not be fooled by those who have created the bible to expound a philosophical belief in what is "right" and "wrong" by god's standards in a relationship such as marriage. jesus found no time to discuss the matter, he just told us to love one another. tell me, how can your truly love someone when you stand in judgment of them and deny them what you yourself claim as your "rights"?

i am married, my spouse happens to be a male. but i could have just as easily fallen in love with someone who was a female. so, too, could your daughter. standing on the righteousness of god means standing in solidarity with one another without attaching more import to another's log than your own ... because whatever YOU think, in god's eyes, you are equal. when you can look with equality in terms of standing and rights on the most basic levels of consideration, perhaps then, you can begin to understand how to love one another and god the way humans are intended to live.

peace & harmony,
elaine
'freedom must be exercised to stay in shape!'