tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5859942738506247433.post7246031255199273885..comments2023-06-13T10:36:03.712-05:00Comments on Bilgrimage: Only One Table: An Ethical Analysis of the Churches' Treatment of Gay and Lesbian PersonsWilliam D. Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07246026074693891965noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5859942738506247433.post-38001617085232148612008-04-09T11:53:00.000-05:002008-04-09T11:53:00.000-05:00Colleen, thanks for reading (and responding to) a ...Colleen, thanks for reading (and responding to) a lengthy posting, which may strike some readers as too long and involved.<BR/><BR/>And yet this is a point that I think the churches really need to hear, even if some of us keep making it over and over and over. It's impossible for the churches to be credible when they preach justice to society while practicing injustice in their inner life and their own institutions.<BR/><BR/>I may try to write an executive summary of some sort for this posting, since I hope it gets circulated to those who make decisions in the churches.<BR/><BR/>I like very much your point that you get what you pay for--with grace, as with everything else. You put the point eloquently: cheap grace leads to "a shallow unnuanced spirituality leading to a shallow unnuanced life."<BR/><BR/>You've also zeroed in on an important point that I wanted to make about the interconnections between homophobia, machismo, and corporate cultures: glorifying the macho man is not just part of our whole cultural set of values, but it also sells.<BR/><BR/>And the churches are enmeshed in the same economic system that sells machismo. It's in their own economic (but not necessarily spiritual) best interest to cozy up to the macho corporate cultures. It's not in their own economic best interest to challenge those cultures, though it is clearly in their spiritual best interest to do so.<BR/><BR/>What makes this hard to say and keep saying is that there is an almost irresistible force of rhetoric on a daily basis spewing out of the noise machines that glorify unrestrained male power. Raise questions about that noise, and we're likely to be drowned out by it, or to have it try to quench our voices altogether.William D. Lindseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07246026074693891965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5859942738506247433.post-43136549158334005392008-04-09T09:43:00.000-05:002008-04-09T09:43:00.000-05:00Another great post Bill. The problem with cheap g...Another great post Bill. The problem with cheap grace is you get what you pay for, and in this case it's a shallow unnuanced spirituality leading to a shallow unnuanced life. NASCAR drivers become as important as presidents, or following the Yankees is as important as following the Gospel. No wonder football is the real religion in your neck of the woods. Macho Jesus in pads and cleats, or Macho Jesus making left turns at 220 miles an hour. Where's the gospel in any of that? Maybe this is exactly what the big money boys are buying with all their influence.colkochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03432916690101599393noreply@blogger.com