Rachel Ford is a programmer, and since 8:00 to 5:00 doesn't provide enough opportunity to bask in screen glare, she writes in her spare time. She was raised a very fundamentalist Christian, but eventually "saw the light." Rachel's personal blog is Rachel's Hobbit Hole, where she discusses everything from Tolkien to state politics.
The ever-disturbing BiblicalGenderRoles.com posted a letter this week from a woman seeking advice from the anonymous Christian behind the site. She laid out a disturbing picture of abuse and rape by her husband and detailed her struggle to reconcile her notion of a Christian woman’s duty to provide sex to her husband with the impact it actually had on her. She wondered: Is her husband raping her? Read more
Some people really seem to struggle with the concept that not everyone shares their viewpoints. People like Newport Beach City (California) Councilman Scott Peotter. You see, in his view, it’s “ironic” that gay rights activists would use the rainbow flag as a symbol for their cause. And, more than that, it’s actually a corruption of the rainbow. Why? The Bible, of course! The Daily Pilot reports that Peotter sent an email message (that included an image of the city seal) to constituents, in which he faulted the SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality and the White House’s rainbow light display: Read more
Nothing says “functional relationship” quite like punishing your stay-at-home spouse for perceived wrongs by cutting off all access to the family’s finances. I’m sorry, did I say functional? I meant abusive. This, however, is precisely the sort of relationship championed in a recent post by the anonymous advocate for Biblical family values at BiblicalGenderRoles.com. (You may remember his marital rape apologetics from last month.) Read more
Conservative columnist Cal Thomas discussed same-sex marriage this past Sunday on Fox News, and the interview is worth watching if for no other reason than to observe the spin. Thomas believes the rights of gay and lesbian couples matter less than the imagined impact they will have on, well, people like him. It’s an absurd idea, unless you consider discriminating against other people a “right” you have. But as Thomas tells it, the United States will soon start imprisoning pastors for speaking out against same-sex marriage. Read more
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, in partnership with the notoriously anti-gay Alliance Defending Freedom, have helpfully put together a publication to help religious people avoid the scourge of equality. The result, Protecting Your Ministry, is available in PDF format for free online. And there’s plenty of interesting tidbits nestled among the 44 pages of persecution narrative and recommended legal manipulations. Read more
