Blogaround

Image source.

1. Embracing the Gentiles (posted October 17) "Is it time for us, not to “accept [LGBTQ people] into the body,” as though we were making some momentous decision ourselves, but to recognize that God has already accepted them–and we simply need to acknowledge what God has done?" Amen.

2. Sin Problems and Skin Problems (posted October 18) "By even suggesting that racism isn't a "skin problem" immediately makes racism abstract. It erases the violent effects racism has on a specific population- people of color. If there is no racial skin problem, then there also aren't people with skin whose lives are deeply effected by racism."

3. Don't let time shield sex predators (posted October 19) "How many predators are roaming our neighborhoods, unknown to us because their victims have been denied the right to hold their abusers accountable?"

4. Hateful anti-abortion activists force creator of #ShoutYourAbortion into hiding (posted October 2) "Many women want to live in a world where you can say, ‘I’ve had an abortion, and I’m perfectly fine with that,’ and not have people saying they want to kill you."

5. What Do "Certificates of Purity" Communicate to Sexual Assault Survivors? (posted October 20) Oh my god this is disgusting.

6. David Was a Rapist, Abraham Was a Sex Trafficker (posted October 22) [trigger warning: rape] I really love how this article points out explicitly what nobody at church wants to say about, for example, David and Bathsheba. And at Christianity Today, too! But I feel kind of uneasy about some parts of it, like hinting at some form of 'oh isn't it great that God forgave David, God's forgiveness is all that matters, not the victim's'... but at the same time it also has stuff about how victim-blaming is a huge problem and that's not okay, and how there needs to be justice for victims, and if there's sex abuse in your church you go report it to the police RIGHT NOW. A lot of really good stuff that I'm glad Christianity Today is publishing, but... ehhh just using some of the language about "God's forgiveness" that Christians who victim-blame and cover up abuse use too.

7. 3 Ways to Keep Yourself Safe When You’re Not Ready to Leave Your Abusive Partner (posted April 28) "When I was being abused, the only advice I found was about how to leave an abusive partner, or how to heal after you’ve left."

8. 'Zeno effect' verified—atoms won't move while you watch (posted October 23) "One of the oddest predictions of quantum theory – that a system can't change while you're watching it – has been confirmed in an experiment by Cornell physicists." Cool!

9. Ads for Period Underwear Might Be Too Lewd for the NYC Subway (posted October 21) "Most of the many ads that have plastered women in various states of undress on subway walls have been designed from the perspective of how others (read: heterosexual men) see women. The THINX ads address how women see and take care of themselves. “You don’t want to talk about how women’s bodies actually work, but you want to doctor the way a woman feels about her body?” asked Agrawal, comparing THINX’s designs to the breast-augmentation ads."