Posts by pwsbuilder
I Was Expelled When I Married My Wife
Recently, I was expelled from Southwestern Christian University for marrying my wife, who happens to be of the same sex. When I began my student career at SCU, I signed what Southwestern calls their “Lifestyle Covenant.” In it, “homosexual behavior” is prohibited. Yet because I have a strong love for God and basketball, with an added desire…
Read MoreBecoming Who God Created Me To Be
As I walked across the stage at graduation, it still did not feel like I was done with my education, and as I have transitioned into post-graduate life, I have slowly realized how correct this statement is. Life for me is like one large school; we are constantly learning and growing and changing. I think…
Read MoreStill, In One Peace
I believe we can be strong, hopeful, and secure, while discovering how to live each moment, confront every struggle, and handle any adversity. In doing this, we are able to find ourselves living Still, In One Peace. Many of you will know the painful struggles and adversities through which we hope to find ourselves still…
Read MoreI Am A Gay Christian Who Was Fired Because Of My “Lifestyle Choices”
My name is Casey Stegall, and I am a 22-year-old full time college student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The work I poured my heart and soul into over the past fourteen months was ripped away from me in a flash. I am currently in college to be a Child Life Specialist, and…
Read MoreA Gay Christian Athlete’s Letter To David Tyree
This week, David Tyree, who has publicly opposed same-sex marriage and promoted conversion therapy, was hired by the New York Giants as the director of player development. Dear Mr. Tyree, I remember that defining moment in Super bowl XLII. Your helmet catch was one of the most incredible NFL plays I’ve experienced in my 31…
Read MoreWishful Thinking
Surprisingly, Yale Law School professor Dan Kahan has found in a recent study that beliefs about such things as evolution and global warming are not necessarily based on ignorance, but often on a knowledge of the scientific facts that are wilfully resisted because of a person’s political or religious identity and affiliation. In other words,…
Read MoreThe Catholic Case Against Religious Exemptions
In post-Hobby Lobby America, the question of whether religious exemptions should be included in laws prohibiting employment discrimination against LGBT people has increased in complexity. It used to be that religious leaders and lawmakers could strike a comfortable balance of protecting faith groups’ rights to self-determination and LGBT people’s rights to equal opportunity. But the Supreme…
Read MoreGay Games 2014: Sponsored By Cleveland’s United Church Of Christ
A generation of young Americans is rejecting Christianity because they widely perceive it to be anti-gay and, as such, “shallow,” “anti-intellectual,” “insincere,” and even “hypocritical.” That wasn’t the finding of some ultraliberal gay group, but rather the conclusion reached by conservative Christian pollsters, the Barna Group, who conducted a groundbreaking study in the mid-2000s and found…
Read MoreOperating Like Jesus: Discrimination Is Not A Christian Value
It’s no wonder that my LGBT friends have often questioned my sanity when I have talked about my Christian faith. They were even more surprised when I eventually decided to go to seminary. Why would I want to be part of a religion that has caused LGBT people so much pain, and that has contributed…
Read MoreQueering Iconography: Why I Wrote And Painted Holy Women Icons
As a scholar of Art and Religion, I have long known the power of images to evoke spiritual meaning, providing believers with a visual entry point into faith. As an ordained queer woman, I have also long known that much of iconography excludes anyone who looks and loves like me. Though there are surely some…
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