Sunday, July 24, 2011

Footprints of Jesus - Gay Marriage in New York



On this official first day of New York State’s Equal Rights Marriage Law for same sex couples, I ran into this document, perhaps guided by the great spirit.


Apparently, long before the Christian Right Haters got together with their manufactured  “Christian” Public Relations Sharia document of the Manhattan Declaration, there were some divinely inspired souls out west, ahead of the humanity curve, who came together and write The Phoenix Declaration.


No Longer Silent: Clergy for Justice



The Phoenix Declaration


“We stand in solidarity as those who are committed to work and pray for full acceptance and inclusion of GLBT persons in our churches and in our world. GLBT persons are condemned and excluded by individuals and institutions, political and religious, who claim to be speaking the truth of Christian teaching. This leads directly and indirectly to intolerance, discrimination, suffering, and even death. Political and religious rhetoric has monopolized the public perception of the stance of Christian persons on this issue. This stance continues to cripple the spirit of innocent people. The Christian faith compels us to be part of the healing for the souls wounded by this tragic, violent, and destructive hatred. Therefore:

We stand with the countless Christian ministers, scholars, and laity who, from prayerful study of the scriptures and Christian tradition, find no rational biblical or theological basis to condemn or deny the rights of any person based on sexual orientation. The essence of Christian life is not focused on sexual orientation, but how one lives in relationship with God with compassion toward humanity….”

Long before there were words on any paper, there was Jesus in the flesh, preaching and practicing his special humanity. 

You cannot fit Jesus’ heart onto any piece of paper or into any book(s). It is just too big.

(Sadly, the American culture war, or war on humanity, continues.)