Blogaround

Image source.

1. The Parents (posted January 5) "We cannot condemn parents for not supporting their LGBT children without first asking them why they feel like they can’t, without first hearing the story of the father who told me, 'I felt like Abraham. I believed I was being tested to see if I was willing to sacrifice my son in obedience to God.'"

2. Jesus on the water board: a Christian responds to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report (posted December 12) "If you don’t see Jesus on the water boarding table; if you don’t get that it’s Jesus standing for hours in a dark room on a broken leg; if you don’t realize that it’s Jesus dying of hypothermia on a cold, urine-soaked floor, and if you don’t understand the ultimate target of the anal probe, you don’t grasp what happened on Good Friday and, just as significantly, you haven’t reckoned with our complicity in the extra judicial crucifixions outlined in the Senate Committee’s report."

3. Leelah Alcorn and Evangelical Storytelling (posted January 4) "Many evangelicals aware of Leelah’s suicide will likely believe that it was telling Leelah Alcorn that being transgender was natural and okay that was the problem—and that what Leelah needed was Jesus, Christian counseling, and fellowship with believers."

And a follow-up post: Putting the Chicken before the Egg: Evangelical Perspectives on LGBTQ Suicide (posted January 6) "These evangelicals place the blame for higher suicide rates and other negative outcomes on being gay (or transgender) rather than on bullying, discrimination, or lack of societal acceptance. And as a result, they also place blame on LGBTQ activists and support groups, as they 'promote' and 'encourage' that 'lifestyle.'"

4. Leelah Alcorn and What It Means to be Pro-Life (posted January 1) "The isolation, disregard, or flat-out rejection of LGBTQ people by Christians is in direct opposition to Jesus’ commandment to love one another, full stop."

5. Being a cop showed me just how racist and violent the police are. There’s only one fix. (posted December 6) "Cops routinely called anyone of color a 'thug,' whether they were the victim or just a bystander."

6. The new rules for black people in America (posted December 3) "Black people are supposed to fight to make it so that if we are strangled to death or our 12-year-olds are shot while unarmed in front of millions of viewers, it should be considered a violation of the law."

7. As families grieve, China manages public emotions (posted January 6) "She said many relatives believe their phones are being monitored and that they have come under pressure to cooperate with authorities."

8. 3 {other} things to say when the “R-word” comes to mind (posted January 6)

9. Please forgive me for the actions of extremists I have never met who commit acts of violence that I have never advocated (posted January 7) "My failure to promptly condemn Patrick Gray Sharp for specific actions I have previously condemned more generally cannot be excused just because the lawn needed mowing."

10. FBI looking for man regarding explosion near Colorado Springs NAACP office (posted January 7)

11. The plight of the bitter nerd: Why so many awkward, shy guys end up hating feminism (posted January 10) "Scott’s story is about things that happened inside his brain. Amy’s story is about actual things that were done to her by other people against her will, without her control."

12. It's not about the danger or difficulty of police work, it's about Respecting My Authority (posted January 3) "People don't talk about 'garbage collectors, risking their lives for us every day' -- even though it's true."

13. Stop asking Muslims to condemn terrorism. It's bigoted and Islamophobic. (posted January 8) "The implication is that every Muslim is under suspicion of being sympathetic to terrorism unless he or she explicitly says otherwise."