I feel nauseous.

Thank you! It was actually really nice to articulate my thoughts on this to you. I, too, have been very frustrated with the conservative Christian thought in this country, and parts of my family can be said to belong to that camp as well. I know many people don't think another definition of Christianity exists, so I'm…

This space that your referring to has been called, through most of Western history, the public sphere. We have been denied that space over and over again. If you want to go hang out with your guy friends, that's something that can be organized through your social sphere and enacted without charges of exclusion. If it…

typos are bad on that last one, forgive me.

And, anticipating the popular counter argument, "that why not just distill the message and get rid of the other crap", -this is common humanistic path. There could be a lot of answers to this question, depending on the individual and what they chose to take from religion or not on a day-to-day basis. For me, I would…

No apologies necessary! By virtue of carrying around that small person, you don't have to. Also, I might not be making the point as clearly as possible because it's hard to use language that has been interpreted in so many ways, some destructive and some not. I'll try again.

and furthermore, I think theres a fallacy in thinking that a religion is only credible when you're following everything it says. Cherry-picking for your own bigoted self-interest is silly an disingenuous, but if you follow the fundamental truths of loving your neighbor and serving others, I hardly call it cherry…

Yes, but this is something that your family, whether they acknowledge it or not, is also actively doing. I began Catholic seminary last fall, and the one thing that has been drilled into my head since I began is that everything is open for new interpretation, and that it must be or it dies. If a symbol ceases to have…

for the win

If anyone is actually interested in exploring and educating themselves on the nuanced thought in Catholicism today, I'd love to point you in some great directions. Unfortunately this thought remains somewhat stuck in the academy, but there are people dedicated to integrating this in the practicing world and working…

There is no monolithic evil institution. There is power, and evil people wielding that power in destructive, violent, and controlling ways. There are also millions of people building on the religion tradition that that institution claims to represent whose identities are built off living with each other in equality,…

That's totally fair. And I absolutely agree. I go to a very progressive Catholic seminary, which to be fair is a minority in the realm of Catholic thought, but I think it would surprise a lot of people the kind of work that is being done here. I study feminist theology and social justice, for instance. That exists. At…

I 100% agree with you. I am not a fan of the Vatican, or the hierarchal patriarchal institution. My comment is more trying to get people to think in less monolithic terms about a particular institution when it's really made of up people, some bad and some good, and that for the good it is an inherent part of their…

Maybe it's more helpful to think deeper about it. I'm sure you love your family,but it seems you think of them as duped by religion. That's a really simple conclusion to make- that somehow you're above their thought because you can't wrap your head around cognitive dissonance. Most of the Two-Thirds world is…

To be fair, I guess it is a thoroughly anachronistic way of thinking on my part.

Two Jez articles referenced Baum this week. One where he was in solidarity with suffragists and an avid feminist, and one where he's a white supremacist and flaming racist. I know the two positions aren't mutually exclusive, but they do leave me a bit confused about his character.

yeah this is bullshit