Like many Americans, I become emotional and especially religious around Easter. I can’t help but reflect on my complicated beliefs as a Christian feminist. Inspired by my new blogging friend Betsy, these are my beliefs.
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| The Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse |
I believe in a Greater Being, an Ultimate Creator, who I call God, and for whom I use feminine pronouns.
I believe this Greater Being is so great as to surpassgender—a human and thus limiting concept—and as a Greater Being beyond gender, both masculine and feminine pronouns are appropriate.
I believe we’re all worshipping the same God, just with different names.
I believe that God created* men and women to be equals, to be partners. I believe that patriarchy is a result of sin.
I believe Jesus is the Son of God. I believe Jesus was a man because no one would have listened to a woman proclaiming she was the Daughter of God.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe in His resurrection.
I believe that accepting Christ and His sacrifice on the cross is the best path to eternal life, but not necessarily the only one.
I believe in a God of love. I believe in loving my neighbor** as myself.
I believe the Bible is divinely inspired, but humanly flawed. I only accept biblical interpretations that promote love and equality, not hate or subjugation.
Today is Easter, and many of us are updating our facebook statuses and tweeting, “He is risen!”
Today we celebrate the resurrection.
Today I played a video of Collin Raye’s song, “What if Jesus Comes Back Like That?” for my atheist boyfriend. I know we’re incapable of godly love, but we can do a lot better with our humanly love.
Today I challenge you not only to celebrate God’s love for you, but to celebrate God’s love for all of us. Jesus didn’t die on the cross for only the good, or the wealthy, or the beautiful, or the smart people.
Jesus died for all of us, because we are all sinners.
All of us.
Thus we should spend less time judging, less time condemning, and more time forgiving, more time accepting.
If we all focused on loving our neighbors, and truly treating others as we want to be treated, just think of how beautiful our world would be.
*So God created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 NSRV.
** “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:36-39 NSRV.
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