BISHOP ALAN SPEAKS OUT FOR GAY MARRIAGE

Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, one of my heroes, says in the video:

“It all comes down to how we see gay people and how we see God. We don’t actually believe gay people are sick or stunted or criminal. We don’t believe God is an angry old man out to get us.

“Let’s stop behaving as though we did. Recognising gay people are equal means they won’t dilute or spoil marriage but potentially enrich it.”

Condemnation of the statement comes quickly.

Duncan Boyd, chairman of Keep Marriage Special, said: “The bishop’s statement is a disgraceful and disingenuous distortion of biblical teaching by someone who ought to know better.

“Scripture, the Church of England’s doctrinal foundation, makes clear that homosexual desire and practice are sinful.” He called it “a gross distortion of biblical teaching” to suggest such behaviour could be practised freely, adding: “The Government should not change the law and the bishop should teach what the Bible says or resign.”

"Keep Marriage Special" sounds like a club for teenage girls organized by a clueless adult.  I pray Alan does not entertain the thought of resigning for one second.  What nonsense.  Thank God for a bishop in the Church of England with the courage to speak out.

Then comes the voice of negativity from the church:   

 A Church of England spokesman contradicted Dr Wilson. “Our Church is committed to marriage as being between a man and woman,” he said.

The people of the country are far ahead of the church, which needs to catch up or the institution will be left further behind than it is already.

UPDATE: Bishop Nick Holtham of Salisbury has also spoken out in favor of gay marriage.

PUNS FOR THOSE WITH A HIGHER IQ (???)

A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.  

Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.  

Practice safe eating - always use condiments.  

Shotgun wedding - A case of wife or death.  

A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.  

Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.  

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?  

Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.  

When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.  

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.  

In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes.  

She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.  

You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.  

Local Area Network in Australia - the LAN down under.  

Every calendar's days are numbered.  

A lot of money is tainted - Taint yours and taint mine.  

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.  

He had a photographic memory that was never developed.  

A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.  

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.  

  
Thank or blame Ann.  I culled those I thought were repeats, but I make no guarantees.

CHAPEL OF ST JOHN - TOWER OF LONDON

 From the Guardian:

This room of pure clean beauty is hidden inside a forbidding fortress. In 1078, the victorious William the Conqueror started to build the White Tower, the square keep at the heart of today’s Tower of London. In it, he included this scintillating example of the style of building known as Romanesque. The arches, columns and rounded vault of this ethereal chapel are dazzling in their confidence and humble in their piety. It is a place that creates a mood, still and sensitive and spiritual. This ravishing masterpiece of the Middle Ages proves the Normans had soul as well as strength.

The chapel is plain, simple, and beautiful and one of my favorite structures in all London.  The proportions of the chapel are perfect.  Click on the picture for a closer look at the lovely simplicity of the carvings on the capitals of the columns.The chapel is a haven of peace in the midst of the Tower with its history of violence and blood.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

     Picture from Wikipedia.

WAXING CRESCENT MOON

Amber crescent moon
Hangs in west-southwestern sky
Pure delight for me

JB

Yes, I am moonstruck.

Picture from Earth/Sky.

Reposted from May 2012.

I SHALL BE TOO LATE!

"Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!"

This is my life.  I seem always to be rushing, always under pressure to be somewhere at a certain time, to finish a task quickly.  My blog time is way off, and I'm sad, because I enjoy blogging.  Offline life rules!  Which is, I suppose, the way things ought to be. 

Illustration from The Victorian Web.

THE BAPTIST PREACHER & THE TEXAS COWBOY

A Baptist preacher was seated next to a cowboy on a flight to Texas. After the plane took off, the cowboy asked for a whiskey and soda, which was brought and placed before him.

The flight attendant then asked the preacher if he would like a drink.

Appalled, the preacher replied, "I'd rather be tied up and taken advantage of by women of ill-repute, than let liquor touch my lips."

The cowboy then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, "Me too, I didn't know we had a choice."

Don't blame me.  Blame Doug.

STORY OF THE DAY - GARAGE SALE

After she had that last big garage sale she floated off 

into the sky & I heard her say there was nothing 

keeping her here anymore & I was much more 

cautious about the stuff I got rid of after that.

From StoryPeople.

BOTH WAYS

SMBC Comics.

Thanks to Paul (A.)

REASONING BACKWARD

The right wing of the Republican Party (increasingly all that exists of the Republican Party) has a general problem of starting with its platform and reasoning back from it to a premise from which it would follow, no matter how absurd and fantastical the premise.

So, the GOP knows it supports Big Oil. Since burning petroleum puts carbon dioxide in the air, which causes global climate change and potentially great harm, Republicans should rethink their partisanship for oil, coal and natural gas. Instead, they deny that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes a greenhouse effect and climate change.

Likewise, Akin started from a premise that a fertilized egg is a legal person, and that abortion is always forbidden. Presented with the conundrum of whether a woman should be made to bear the child of her rapist, he tried to deny that women can get pregnant from rape. Actually, on the order of 32,000 American women get pregnant that way every year. Akin’s position, and his reasoning, are common among Republican representatives and senators today.
 ....

Many politicized evangelicals in the United States have led a bizarre charge against Muslim law (sharia) being recognized by the courts here.

They are shameless, however, in wanting to impose on all Americans the Christian version of sharia. If they don’t believe in abortion, why don’t they just not have one? Why are they busybodies, wanting to make laws for the rest of us?

Excellent commentary from Juan Cole at Informed Sources.   The Republicans come together to decide on a desired conclusion and then offer twisted truth and outright lies as evidence for arriving at their conclusion.

Akin is not alone.

Rep. Steve King, one of the most staunchly conservative members of the House, was one of the few Republicans who did not strongly condemn Rep. Todd Akin Monday for his remarks regarding pregnancy and rape. King also signaled why — he might agree with parts of Akin’s assertion.

King told an Iowa reporter he’s never heard of a child getting pregnant from statutory rape or incest.

“Well I just haven’t heard of that being a circumstance that’s been brought to me in any personal way,” King told KMEG- TV Monday, “and I’d be open to discussion about that subject matter.”

Someone needs to tell King the story which remains tattooed in my brain - that of the nine year old Brazilian girl who conceived twins as a result of being raped by her step-father.   Because of her size, her own life was at risk, and she could not have carried the twins to viability.  What would King recommend in such a situation?

Oh, and the girl's mother and the medical staff who performed the abortion were excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church.  The step-father was not, because repeatedly raping a nine year old girl is not an excommunicable offense. 

A LETTER FOR YOU, REP TODD AKIN

Dear Rep. Akin,

My name is Shauna Prewitt. You do not know me, but you should. I am one of the approximately 25,000 women who every year become pregnant as a result of rape, and I would like to help you better “empathize” with my story.

During my final year of college, I experienced an event that was so absolute in its effects that, since it occurred, it has figured as the point of reference from which all understandings and meanings of my life now stem: I was raped.

I do not know if, in your terms, it was “legitimate rape.” Yes, I cried hysterically. Yes, I fought until my body ached. And, yes, I changed afterward in ways I could not ever imagine.

As I read Shauna's letter, my anger at Akin and his ilk grew and grew with each word, each paragraph.  I have to wonder if those men (and probably a few women out there, too) believe that women who are raped are real human beings.  Rep Todd Akin, how dare you?  How can you speak, how can you think so heartlessly, so soullessly?  Have you no shame?  I suppose not.  You should resign...NOW.

UPDATE: One of my Facebook friends thought it might be best if Akin hangs in as a Representative and as a candidate for the Senate, and he may just be right.  Drip, drip, drip...