Nothing to see here...

MOVE ALONG

While I have nothing particular to say today, I have come across some posts on other blogs that might be of interest to you.

On her Progressively Lutheran blog, Kelly picked up on something I said and has written a thoughtful post about the way in which Scriptural Authority is invoked to end conversation. Let the following paragraph serve as an appetizer:

It’s easy to label things when you claim Scriptural Authority: Churched vs. Unchurched. Biblical vs. Unbibical. You get the picture. There is no room for debate. Ever. It’s a cheap and dirty way to claim the high ground. It’s like playing Rock, Paper, Scissors (with or without Dyanmite, Lizards or Spock) and someone hauling out NUCLEAR BOMB! I mean, how do you counter that? You can’t. It’s a cheap way to declare, without actually saying, “I’m right and everyone who disagrees with me is wrong, and I don’t even want to listen to what you have to say.”

Read the rest of Kelly's post here.


(By the way, Kelly, if you are reading this, I think the word you wanted was "smut" and I like cheese, too).




Not particularly Lutheran, but still of interest is an article at Religion Dispatches concerning some high profile Gospel singers who have come out as gay. The following quote shows how some heteronormative Christians make false assumptions about same-sex attraction:

“It never occurred to me that I was in something that should be labeled as a ‘struggle,’” [Jennifer] Knapp said. “The struggle I’ve had has been with the church acknowledging me as a human being.”

Knapp’s response echoed that of another gay Christian singer, the black gospel performer Tonéx, who came out in a television interview last fall. “Have you struggled with homosexuality?” the interviewer asks Tonéx. “Not ‘struggled,’” Tonéx replies. “It wasn’t a struggle.”

The rest of this article can be found here.

Finally at the MetroLutheran website, the estimable David Preus, who was president of the American Lutheran Church at the time of the merger that formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, explains why he disagrees with the ChurchWide Assembly decisions regarding ordination of same-sex partnered clergy and why he chooses to remain a part of the ELCA. A teaser from his article:

I do not believe this matter is of sufficient confessional import to require division among disagreeing brethren. There are faithful, Bible-believing, confessional Lutherans on both sides of this issue. The debate will continue.

Read the rest of Pastor Preus's article here.