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From ThinkChristian and the Atlantic

• The draw of shalom is powerful, even shalom as we imagine it. Our failure to achieve shalom has to be dealt with. There is no escaping loss in the age of decay, even if you call your shadowlands “Holland”.

Quotes From the Atlantic piece. The author’s view of shalom bleeds through:

A major reason for this change is the growing perception that gay men and women are not so different after all: they want a loving and stable partnership with another person, they want to settle down and raise a family, just as heterosexuals do. As we close the gap, and de-emphasize difference, we remove the source of shame.

One of my clients, Nicole, came from a family background with psychosis on both sides. As a teenager, her sister attempted suicide. Her deeply troubled brother lived at the fringe of society, doing menial jobs, sleeping in his van. When she came to me at the age of 18, Nicole was deeply depressed, with occasional manic flights into grandiosity. She suffered from mild auditory and visual hallucinations; she cut herself with razor blades. She often felt persecuted by songs that would get stuck in her head, endlessly repeating and making sleep almost impossible for days on end. To anyone who met her, she seemed frankly disturbed.

After many, many years of intensive psychotherapy (and without the aid of psychiatric medication), Nicole has grown dramatically. She eventually managed to put herself through college, build a career, marry another professional, and have children. If you met her today, she might strike you as a bit eccentric but not disturbed. By most people’s standards, she’s an accomplished and successful woman. As long as she respects her limits, Nicole functions at a fairly high level.

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For or Against Changing Standards

Churches in the west are embroiled in discussions about acceptance of long term same-sex relationships. Andy Crouch wrote a nice piece in CT that shouldn’t be missed.  At the same time the CRC is currently having its own tempest in a teacup over co-habitation and expectations about sexual activity.  Some are calling for the Banner editor to be fired for this and an article about evolution. The CRC hasn’t had a nice Banner donnybrook for a generation so it’s partly a sign of life for the old girl.

The back and forth isn’t uncommon. Church standards and expectations are called into question. Some thing they should be changed, others say they shouldn’t. Who is being faithful to the Bible? Who is being loving towards the outsider? Who gets to say what’s right?

It might be helpful to take a step back and reflect a bit on what standards and sanctions are and why we have them. Continue reading →

I’m currently reading Taylor’s book so this article was quite timely.

CT

Can we hold this position and love our LGBTQIA neighbors? Yes. For we find ourselves on utterly familiar ground with our LGBTQIA neighbors, and they with us, when we turn from matters of the body to matters of the heart. All of us know, in the depths of our heart, that we are queer. Our yearnings, especially those bound up with our sexuality, are hardly ever fully satisfied by the biblical model of one man and one woman yoked together for life. Every one of us is a member of the coalition of human beings who feel out of place in our bodies east of Eden. And every one of us has fallen far short of honoring God and other human beings with our bodies.

And a thoughtful response on First Things: “How Do Bodies Matter” and here

NYT

“Americans of European descent are already a minority among 5-year-olds.”

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/29/the-gospel-according-to-me

Those would be born between the early 80s and early 00s.

http://danschawbel.com/blog/74-of-the-most-interesting-facts-about-the-millennial-generation/

“Saturday Book Review: James D. Bratt” http://feedly.com/k/13ebxAS