GLBTQ part 3 – Science

January 27, 2012 GLBTQ No comments

Part 3 -2012 GLBTQ and Science

Before moving to and delving into the depth of the biblical text, we might want to look at what science has to say on the GLBT issue, primarily to clarify the position (starting point) on which the following texts are based.

An entire dissertation could be written on what science has to say about homosexuality to date, and naturally this has already been done. The intent is not, in this brief, to provide a full account of what science has learned about LGBTQ people, but rather to provide an overview of what appears to be the view held by the scientific communities regarding LGBTQ issues. This, of course, barely scratches the surface of the endless amount of research conducted on these issues.

Homosexuality is romantic and/or sexual attraction behavior between persons of the same sex. Homosexuality is one of the three principal categories of sexual orientation one finds on a continuous scale between homosexual and heterosexual orientation (Wikipedia, 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality). Most probably it would be more accurate to talk about homosexuality, bisexuality and heterosexuality to demonstrate that there is a varying measured degree, rather than three homogeneous systems (Wink et al, 1999: 63).

The primary debate has been between the liberal view that homosexuality is something one is born with and the conservative view that it is a chosen lifestyle. And each side has sought to obtain scientific evidence; the conservatives have relied on psychology to demonstrate that gay behavior is conditioned by one’s environment and upbringing, but to this end they have not been able to provide any convincing evidence. Behavior scientists have, however, been able to demonstrate that there are not any indications whatsoever that upbringing and environment affect sexual orientation.

At the other end of the scientific spectrum they have sought to demonstrate (identify) a gay gene that determines one’s sexual orientation. However, here again, no one can provide such evidence and have so far only been able to demonstrate (confirm) that there is no such gene (Marin, 2009: 75F). What science appears to demonstrate so far is that sexual orientation is determined prenatally, i.e., before birth and it’s not a conscious choice one makes.

Obviously this does not preclude/mean that there are people who choose a sexuality opposite what one is born with: there are both homosexuals and heterosexuals inside and outside the church who choose to live opposite their sexual orientation. Whether this is a healthy decision/choice is another issue, and one that will be discussed later in this blog series.

Lt. Patrik Olterman

Malmo, Sweden


Translation: Dr. Sven Ljungholm

GLBTQ part 2 – Hermeneutics

January 26, 2012 Christian life, Church, Faith, Salvation Army No comments

LGBTQ Part – 2

 

“ We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.“
These are the opening words of the Salvation Army’s eleven doctrines. And it is here that one must begin each theological discussion. But perhaps it is not enough to simply have the Bible as a starting point- it may not quite suffice – so perhaps we must first discuss, briefly, our hermeneutics (the study of the principles of interpretation) i.e. how we think and reason: what we believe in the Bible, what we believe about the Bible, how were the Bible’s authors inspired and how do these writings serve as our guide today.
The point is that there is a big difference between claiming that the biblical words were dictated to its authors and is therefore God’s word that bridges cultural and linguistic differences between the original authors and the original recipient, and can without difficulty be read by a contemporary audience with complete comprehension and understanding; it is a whole different thing to claim that God spoke to Moses on Moses’ level and manner of expression, and Isaiah on Isaiah’s level of reasoning and comprehension. Consequently, we must first understand what the Bible passage meant ‘then and there’, before we can apply the words to the ‘here and now’. Hermeneutics
The story of Philip in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter Eight serves as an example. It is a rather banal story about a disciple who follows God’s guidance in order to seek out someone yearning to know God and to help him repent. With a comprehension of the historical context and what a eunuch was (perceived to be) the story moves to a completely different depth and therefore a multitude of different interpretation possibilities surface.

Prior to confronting the GLBT issues from a spiritual, Christian or biblical perspective, one must first clarify a few foundational worldview questions.

The first bias that the author maintains in this blog series is that the literal reading of the words of the Bible is not just a faulty approach (methodology) in responding to a translation of an ancient document, but also an affront to both writers, readers (ancient and contemporary) and lastly against God, as one chooses (often unconsciously) not to take Scripture seriously, by reducing the text to its simplest literal interpretation.
Each reading of a biblical text is an interpretation of an interpretation, of an interpretation. Simply through the reading of a (Biblical) text we interpret and add meaning and emphasis due our body language, facial expressions, and choice of pericope (extract or selected text from the Bible) and intonation. If one then adds to the complexity of the original documents (are there any?) copying, language and culture shifts there remain a delicate and difficult (interpretation and comprehension) process that cannot be simplified, ignored or dismissed.
Does this mean that ordinary people should stop reading the Bible, that one cannot understand the Bible’s message without a theological higher education? No, of course not. The Bible is God’s inspired word and as such can be understood through the Holy Spirit and through the fellowship’s application and lives lived as instructed by the words of the Bible.
We have to, in our Bible reading, consider and weigh in (in line with John Wesley’s model) our experience, church tradition and to the best of our ability, understand and reason about the text provided (us).

In the Jewish tradition this process is called the Midrash (Wikipedia, 2011: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midrash) an ongoing dialogue between Jewish Rabbis through the centuries in which Scripture is interpreted, reinterpreted and applied to the shifting cultural currents of the community. Midrash is the Jewish tool to manage overwhelming signs (occurrences), event chronology, parallel narratives (parallelism), language difficulties and text anomalies in the Hebrew texts that make a literal interpretation difficult or impossible.

Perhaps it is from this viewpoint (vantage point) one ought to approach and read this blog series: as a theological and philosophical discussion about interpreting difficult biblical problems, i.e., What does the Bible say about homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgender persons, albeit without having knowledge of what was meant (intended) at the time when the biblical texts were written.

Lt. Patrik Olterman
Malmo, Sweden

Translation: Dr. Sven Ljungholm

GLBTQ part 1 – Introduction

January 26, 2012 Bible, Christian life, Church No comments
Part 1 – Introduction From the Swedish – HBTQ: Homosexual. Bisexual, Transgender, Queer movement in Sweden 2012


It was an ordinary day (as if there are ordinary days for those who follow the Spirit’s leading), and the Holy Spirit tells Philip that he must go down to the desert road. There Philip is instructed to stay close to a chariot carrying an Ethiopian eunuch. “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” The eunuch was a believer and read aloud from the book of Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. The eunuch replied humbly that he needs guidance. Philip seizes the opportunity to tell the eunuch about Jesus and the good news. Then comes the question:  ”There is water here. Is there anything to prevent my being baptized?”
One might think that it’s a simple question, a rather innocent question. But for Philip, it must have been an incredibly loaded question. As though it wasn’t enough that the man was a heathen (and Peter had not yet received his vision to preach to the Gentiles), but this man was also a eunuch (i.e. probably neutered in order to work for the Ethiopian queen without having to be mistrusted). Eunuchs were castrated in order to be entrusted with positions of trust, to among other things, serve the harem and queens but not be seduced by them.
According to the Law of Moses eunuchs were unclean and were not to put their foot in the Lord’s sanctuary (Deuteronomy 23.1). The word used is ecclesia in the Septuagint (assembly), so it is quite clear that a eunuch was not welcome, not only in the physical temple, but also not in the Jewish community. A eunuch was a sexual deviant and pagan.
Furthermore, baptism was slowly being transformed from a rather common conversion ceremony to a sacred initiation ceremony (with the baptism traditionally celebrated on Easter Sunday in the early church. And baptism was solely for those who had gone through catechumen, the Christian teaching). When this shift in the significance of baptism occurred is not known, however, it’s assumed that is was largely because of the persecution that begins with the Jewish leaders and Stephen’s martyrdom, and is then continued by several Roman emperors.
It was probably not an easy decision for Philip to baptize this man; what will the brothers in Jerusalem say? What are Peter and James going to say? But presumably it was the instructive voice of God and the Holy Spirit who convinced Philip to baptize this marginalized man. The reason why this story appears in the Acts of the Apostles is enough to give a glimpse of the outrageous inclusion of heathens, and other and marginalized people through all of the early history of the Christian church.

Translation: Dr. Sven Ljungholm

GLBTQ – Prelogos

January 26, 2012 Bible, Christian life, Church, GLBTQ, Homosexuality, Salvation Army, theology No comments

I have written an extensive blog series (12 posts) on my Swedish blog about GLBTQ issues within the church in general and the Salvation Army in Sweden in particular. I was undecided whether or not I should post it in english as well, but when Sven Jungholm asked last week if he could translate and post it over on his blog for former officers I agreed. Then I thought I might as well post it over here to for reference and to direct some of my english speaking friends when they ask about the subject.

So without further ado here is the series…

Death by halfling

January 17, 2012 Church, Knightstale, Schola St. George, Warcry No comments

SSG Malmö is now running both adult classes and an extensive junior program.

Last night we kicked of this seasons first Abrazare training with a little Spada on top. We did lots of flow drills and ended up with some ground work and sparring with the long sword.

Today we opened up SSG “Mobbsäker” with two full groups first week. As it was the first session of the season the kids where a bit unruly and discipline somewhat lax. But it was fun.

Now I sit here in the sofa and I cannot move, my body aches everywhere. The funny thing is, the training with people my size was easy it was fighting two 45 minute session with halflings (4-7 and 7-13 year olds) that broke me.

 

NaNoWriMo Update.

November 29, 2011 Books, NaNoWriMo, s-tech, writing No comments
Last night I passed the mythical 50.000 word mark on my novel S-tech – Soul Filter. The novel is not yet finished although it is definitely on the last stretch. The few who have read the first part of the book are asking for more so I guess I need to decide whether I should release the whole thing on the internet or if I should go through the whole editing and publishing process. It feels strange to have actually gotten this far and in such a short time but I am convinced that without the pressure of the contest, I would not have found the time to do it.
So, I am hoping to finish up first draft before the new year then it’s proofing, editing tomproduce a final draft. And then finally some form of publishing whether that means sending the draft to publishers or releasing an ebook for download either on amazon or here.
If you been down this road I’d appreciate tips or just a cheerful pat on the back.

Birthday week appeal

November 23, 2011 Patrik No comments

It is that time of the year again. Time to realise I have gotten older and ask myself what I did with the last year. As it turns out I have done quite a lot and think I may have much in the last year to be thankful for.  
I am in the middle of a church plant and I think we have come to a point in the planting process where we have found our direction and we are ready to head out into those uncharted waters. I have read more than 70 books since my last birthday, some fantastic adventures and escapes from reality but also some really good theology helping me get a better grip on reality (and in some cases to realise how little I know about reality, thanks Peter Rollins). I have preached many sermons, and think that this year, I may have taken a step forward not only in how to communicate but also in the content (much to be blamed by my incessant reading). Just as I thought I was ready to throw systematic theology out the window, I discovered that I am a process theologian, and that my entire post-it theology fits nicely within the confines of process thought. This has in turn challenged much of my thinking in areas I had yet not processed since William Booth College. In the world of Martial Arts I have been a joyful participant in the birth of the SSG Abrazare system which is a modern interpretation of a medieval martial art. In my quest for Knighthood, I have grown some in prowess but mostly been blessed with the joy of teaching martial arts and chivalry to children. And finally, I have started writing one book and nearly finished another (thanks to NaNoWriMo). All in all, it’s been a good year. 
 
 
The last week some of my friends have asked me what do you wish for for your birthday, and so if you have missed the not so subtle hints on Facebook I shall also post it here. As I was answering that question I had a glance towards my Amazon wish list and realised to my horror that the last year I have put over 200 books on my “I must read this later” list, either by recommendations or by reading about the book in question on a blog.  
 
 
So I now appeal to you, help me empty my wish list. If you have in any way benefitted from my ministry and want to keep doing so, please invest in my further studies. If you would like to shape those further studies, you pick the books on that vast wish list you want me to read, or if youd like me to expand my reading, pick something not on the list. If you want to contribute to me staying sane pick one of the fictional books. My only caveat is, keep it to ebooks as I want to conserve the environment, my shelf space, my marriage and my ability to pack for my various travels. 
 
 
If you want to aid me in clearing my wish list/aid in my further studies you can do so with an amazon gift card or go to my wishlist.  

NaNoWriMo – Feedback needed

November 10, 2011 Books, NaNoWriMo, Patrik No comments

So here we are week one of NaNoWriMo over, so far so good, I logged 18.000 words in the first week which si the longest piece of writing I have ever written. I feel a bit like Sam Gamgee when he stops and says: “This is it, if I take one more step, it’ll be the farthest away from home I’ve ever been”. It is a good feeling, but a scary feeling.

The worst part is that I have no idea if what I am writing is any good at all, I have nothing like objectivity when it comes to my own fictional writing, couple that with no experience of this process and it’s all disaster. So here goes, I have set up a tumblr where I have posted part one of the book (somewhere around the first 10.000 words. It is all first draft and subject to heavy revision, and it has not even been spellchecked but it’s there. If you want to help me out, drop me an email (find the contact me button here) and I’ll provide you with the Password to: S-tech – Soul Filter part 1, First draft.

NaNoWriMo

October 31, 2011 NaNoWriMo No comments

As every other wannabe writer, I have a whole drawer full of ideas for books, both novels and theological fiction.It has always been my aspiration to put these ideas into action and publish some of them. As every other wannabe writer I have been putting this of for years.

So I have decided this year to take part in NaNoWriMo, an international writing project that is much like a marathon in fiction writing. This means that for the next month (the month of November 2011) I will try to write my first novel. to find the time for this I will not be blogging, I will not be checking Facebook, I will not go on tumblr and I will not keep up with any personal correspondence. It is a bit like going down in a sub for a month or locking yourself in the basement.

I am hoping to hit 1000 words in 2 hours of  writing per day and finish half a novel (approx 30.000 words, a short novel is 60-90.000 words) in this first attempt at NaNoWriMo (The official target is to hit 50.000 words but I think that would cost me my job, my sanity and my family so I will start carefully).

Please cheer me on but don’t be alarmed if it seems as if I have fallen of he face of the earth. I will try to post daily word count updates, on my blogs but I won’t promise I can keep that up as I’ll need every single free second to succeed at this.

Christian Pirates

October 5, 2011 Uncategorized No comments

From Wikipedia:


Piracy is a war-like act committed by non-state actors (private parties not affiliated with any government) against other parties at sea. The term applies especially to acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea. People who engage in these acts are called pirates.

What could this possibly have to do with Christianity?

Christianity today has in many ways been coopted by the institution of the church and therefore needs to be renewed, the renewal will come from within, from independent actors who disentangle themselves from the institution and rebel against it, in doing so they may be committing acts, or affirming thoughts, ideas or doctrines that by the institution consider criminal or rather heretical

Peter Rollins write in his book Insurrection that one can live “an alternate reality in the midst of a present one and yet not be defined by it” as the creation of a “Pirate Island”. In the same way we need to create these pirate islands and commit to the fight against systems that control or oppress this fight must be done by christian violence, wich is, in the words of Peter Rollins:

Christian violence is the public expression of love; it is that work which ruptures systems of abuse, robbing them of their power and efficiency. It is manifest in the formation of insurrectionary groups that live out a radically different mode of social relation, one that challenges the system by offereing an alternative vision of the world.

It is as Paul says not a battle against flesh and blood but an ideological battle of worldview.

A christian pirate assaults the status quo of this world, of the institutional church with subversive acts of love, stories of a different world, poetry that pries open the dark chambers of the heart, music that crack open the secrets of the universe only to reveal an unknowable mystery.

You can sign on now and follow the Captain.

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