With Liberty and Justice for All

I have not identified as a Nazarene for many years;
however, it's almost as tough being a former Nazarene
as it was being a current one, way back in the day,
when you could barely be straight, let alone gay.

So, yes . . .

Previous Posts of Spiritual Introspection
&
Photography by Thomas Oord

40: "Nazarenes often cite a line attributed to Phineas F. Bresee: 'In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.'"

~ worth repeating ~
60: "Far better to follow the advice of Phineas Bresee and many others: 'On essentials, we seek unity. On nonessentials we allow freedom. In all things we seek to love.'"

66: "What won't happen is that every single member of the Church of the Nazarene awakes one morning and simultaneously says, 'we should change the statement on human sexuality and marriage today.' Instead, change takes time."

74: "As we look at the scripture we find numerous examples of those who questioned the Status Quo, including Jesus. Both then and now we find that the 97% are not always on the right side of history or of the God who loves and justifies . . . and promote[s] relationships over rules."

88: "Both institutions [Wesley Biblical Seminary, Mississippi; and Kentucky Mountain Bible College] claim the original documents of the Bible are inerrant. That's not what we find in the Church of the Nazarene's Manual. The idea that the original biblical autographs are inerrant is not only unverifiable. It's the kind of claim you'll find in Calvinist-oriented institutions like Wheaton."

above quotations found in
My Defense: Responding to the Charges
that I Fully Affirm LGBTQ+ People

Yet another topic of inequity . . .

"Finally, defeatism is corruption's best friend.
If you believe everything I'm saying here,
and your only obstacle is fear of corruption . . .
then why not just get out there and fight
for the world you want to see?
Nothing good ever came without a struggle."
~ Lars A. Doucet ~

Is There A World You Long To See?

To be continued . . .