Depth.

The mind may lead to a higher plain.

Sex may bring us down to earth.

But only the heart gives us depth.


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Your House.

A person is like a house:

It is cold in the attic.

It is dark in the cellar.

But it is warm by the fire in the hearth.


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Murasaki.

In the 11th century Japanese novel The Tale of Genji the author Lady Murasaki (which means purple) discusses with the ladies of the court their affairs with the princes and courtiers.

One of the characters says that she thinks it is cruel for the ladies to hold out against their suitors.  She says that she takes pity on them and allows them to make love to her.

It seems to me that this is a more enlightened approach than western ideas of moral purity.

Rather than denying sex out of some misplaced sense of spiritual superiority we should manifest compassion like the Lady Murasaki.

Sex is not going away.
It is universal and urgent.

Better to overcome our fear and have pity.

And develop a healthy attitude toward sex.


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Righteousness.

"He leads me in right paths
   for his name's sake."  Psalm 23:3b (NRSV)

Because of your hypocrisy and the hardness of your hearts He has done this.

God's preference is for compassion.

But you are for judgement and punishment.


[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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Ask.

Ask not what your God can do for you.

Ask what you can do for your God.


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Science and Faith.

Between science and faith

            there is no contradiction.


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Fear x 2.

As if the fear of sex and homosexuality was not bad enough already, the child sex abuse scandals that have rocked the Churches has multiplied that fear times two.

Instead of addressing the fear that causes repression of our natural impulses the child abuse scandals have increased the fear of any kind of sex within the Churches.

This resulted in the queer scapegoating statements made by Pope Benedict XVI.
He tried to ban sex altogether out of fear.

The clergy (and their congregations) are now so terrified that someone, let alone a priest or minister, should commit a sexual crime within the Church that any attempt to reform the Churches' sex-phobia seems further away than ever.

This is a great tragedy.

Because what the Churches need is a healthier attitude toward sex.

Not more fear.


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