An email this morning from Pastor Roger Ray at The Emerging Church. I have posted some the stuff from that church on this blog. Not surprising - because I (Brigid, The Editor) am a bit of a fan of the Emergent ones and their sense of social justice. As I write just after 11 am from Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, the temperature is 18 degrees of balmy weather. A little cloudy. A bit of moisture about - and I hope it does my tomatoes some good. For those who don't know where the Ozarks are, try this link.
Here is Pastor Roger's letter.
We are suffering through a winter ice storm here in the Ozarks. Four musicians, a liturgist, and I presented a service this morning to just six other people who had risked their lives to make it to our church.
My message this morning was one I was eager to deliver and one that I hope you will help me to expose to a larger audience. Male centered language, especially within religious indoctrination, both teaches and defends patriarchy, making domestic abuse more likely and more easily defended. This is something that I really wish that conservative and traditional Christians would consider. Of course, I don't have much contact with conservatives of any stripe and I think that any traditional Christians I may have known no longer pay any attention to me. So, if you would help me to get this sermon out to a broader audience, I will appreciate your help and your friends who might need a nudge to wake up to these issues…. well, they won't likely thank you but still, you are doing the right thing. Thanks for your help.
Though adherents of virtually all religions will claim that love is central to their belief system, the unfortunate fact is that religious indoctrination usually comes with a healthy dose of patriarchy, misogyny, as well as homophobia and nationalism. This lays the foundation for a culture that often encourages, defends, protects, and lies about domestic violence. Our words shape our thinking. Our thinking shapes our culture. Our culture tolerates a horrifying rate of domestic violence that is begging for us to change.
These progressive sermons are available as podcasts at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/
Roger L. Ray, D.Min.
pastor, The Emerging Church
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