In Steve Duin’s excellent commentary, Duin says “I am not … optimistic about Alexander Sample’s church,” (“A crisis of conscience for Oregon Catholics: Steve Duin column,” July 1). Fortunately, it is not Archbishop Sample’s church, but the church of all of its members! Please see The Madeleine parish’s response to Archbishop Sample’s guidelines.
Duin suggests that we need to read the Bible in different ways according to the times. Here are some new ways to think about biblical passages in light of gender identity theory: Genesis 1:26 says “Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness…” Yes, the pronouns God uses are plural! If God uses plural, non-gendered pronouns, and humans are made in God’s likeness, why shouldn’t humans?
In many places in the Bible, gender non-conforming people are accepted, including in Jesus’ teachings. We can recall the passage about Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42) in which Jesus commends Mary for choosing the better part (learning), rather than serving, as women were expected to do. Jesus asked the disciples to arrange to eat the Passover meal by following a man carrying a jar of water, which was a women’s task (Luke 22:7-13). The early Christian community carried on this tradition of welcome, readily baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39).
Those advocating for full acceptance of all gender identities are in good company!
Frodo Okulam, Portland
Okulam is Adjunct Professor of Feminist Spirituality at Portland State University and a member of The Madeleine Parish
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