UU Affirmation

I believe in my right to search for the good, to choose it for myself, and hold it in my heart.

I affirm this right in you as well.

Together we share in the joy of community, the power of reverence, and the responsibilities of freedom.

This is the promise of my heart extended to you, as we walk on separate paths, together.

–Aaron Sawyer

Taking hummus and havarti sandwiches and carrots for lunch doesn’t make me a Unitarian Universalist. Pledging to my church doesn’t make me UU, nor does the monthly gift to the UUSC. What makes me a Chalice Inked Unitarian is my quest for my truth and my desire to support you as you seek what’s true for you. Totally radical thinking, but that’s really what it’s all about. If I find my truth getting tattooed and sweating mirepoix, I’ll go for it. If reading the Bible is how you find your truth, let me light a lamp. The atheists have a lot more proof on their side than I’ve got on mine.

Are any of us right? Nope. The funny thing is, none of us are wrong either. We’re following the Paths that are right for us. Now, assuredly those paths coincide in places. We meet there and become allies and friends — maybe even lovers. Your godlessness is no better than my gods. My gods aren’t better than your god. Sacred space is where you make it. We’re not damned, so we don’t need to be saved. We’re not broken, so don’t try to fix us. And at the end of the day, we’re all just doing the best that we can.

So yes I’m still fairly hedonistic. But put extra sprouts on my H&H, give me veggie juice, and maybe I’ll go meatless a couple of meals a week. After all, we do just have this one planet, and it might actually contain intelligent life.

Blood on the Chalice

 

I’m one of those people who honestly despises money. I’ve said before that I’m a proponent of: from each according to her abilities to each according to his needs. Eliminating poverty, I honestly believe, would get rid of many of our -isms – sexism, racism, ethnocentrism just to name a few. But as always, I’m brought back to the sharp reality that my notions are probably more romantic idealism than economic reality.

I’ve been blessed with enough discretionary funds to enjoy myself and donate to charities. From public broadcast, to arts, to relief, to my church, I’m happy to fork over some treasure. One thing that peeves me though is how much asking each and every organization does. I think it would cut down on costs to ask less. There’s not a week that goes by that I’m not hit up in at least two mailings. But the most irritating is my church. Every year they pull out all the stops to put on an elaborate dinner that starts a campaign season of getting your pledge. From that night on, every service has it’s Stewardship Moment. Entire services are planned around the Greenback. Of course it’s all designed to guilt us into giving.

Giving guilt to UUs is, at best, an odd thing. There are those, like me, who long ago killed their conscious. Then there are the ones who have so much guilt that if their beliefs ran to the Christian might just hang themselves from the cross. Of course you’d have to search high and low to find one of those in our church, but I digress – again. It’s not that I mind giving. I’m always happy to pay my way. I think many others feel the same as I do. What I don’t like is an entire quarter being set aside to pressure people. Yes, you need to know how much money you’ll take in. Give out pledge cards. Take them up. Tally the figures. It’s quite simple really. I’ve worked on numerous budgets in my time with non-profits. Don’t drag me into church on a Saturday night in March, feed me like some prized heifer, then go after my wallet.

And above all, do what the other places I contribute to do. Cash the checks I send.

More Body Art

I’ve made the appointment for the new body art. By this time tomorrow evening, I’ll have a ring in my right nipple. I’m somewhat nervous about getting it, but I’m also really excited. Tattoos take a few minutes, but a piercing should go fairly quickly — shouldn’t it? Too bad there’s no body modification on the Service Auction list.

Folstom Street

I’m the Silver Star Sodomite who makes no secret of his preference for leather not lace, and I’m open that the only way I like vanilla is with lots of bourbon sauce. Sounding, candle wax, and creative uses for my silk ties aren’t for everyone. I’m down with that. Frankly, I agree with Bernard Shaw that we shouldn’t do unto our neighbors and we would have them do unto us as their tastes may not be the same. I think this mix makes it a much more interesting world, and I’m happy to give everyone the space and respect that I expect.

This weekend is the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. For those who don’t know Folsom, as it’s often called, is the culmination of the of San Francisco’s Leather Pride Week. This year’s poster draws some inspiration from Leonardo di Vinci’s Last Supper. http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1448963784&size=o

Matt Barber, Policy Director for Cultural Issues with Concerned Women for America has made the following statement:

“‘Gay’ activists disingenuously call Christians ‘haters’ and ‘homophobes’ for honoring the Bible, but then lash out in this hateful manner toward the very people they accuse. In their version of The Last Supper, Christ, Who gave His life for our sins, is despicably replaced by sin itself as the object of worship.”

I don’t know maybe it’s my Pagan sensibilities, my twenty years in visual art administration, my own BDSM preferences, or the genuine concept of peace, love, and understanding I get from my membership in a UU church, but the poster doesn’t disgust, disturb, or dishearten me. It’s art pure and simple.

If memory serves, di Vinci was illegitimate, counted Machiavelli (whose Il Principe found its way to Index Librorum Prohibitorum) among his friends, and is generally considered to be homosexual (with speculations that the Mona Lisa is actually di Vinci), so it’s not likely that the original Renaissance Man is counted among the Church Triumphant.

I can only hope that none of the Christian Right come across Passio from Dark Alley Media in their browsing to keep the Internet clean.

I also want to give a special shout out to Ravenstone for bringing this to my attention via the OUUCH list serve.

Gay Segregation

I got an e-mail from a friend. He tells about a funeral that couldn’t be held at a particular church because the deceased had a same sex partner. I just don’t understand that rationale. Admittedly my Bible knowledge is sketchy at best, but didn’t Jesus have a non-discrimination clause? And I wonder if all of the good fundamentalists at the church eat shell fish, mar their beards, and keep away from their women whilst they are unclean.

Are these god fearing people out feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, working for peace? Have they taught young people how not to have an unwanted pregnancy or are they shouting at them in front of the abortion clinics? How are they so wrapped up in the idea of God’s Love yet determined to espouse hate? What I find totally ironic is that the people I know who best exemplify the spirit of Christ’s teachings are Atheists.

With enough push, we (the gays, the lesbians, and also the bis, the bois who’re girls, and the women now guys) just might be able to get hatred outlawed, but I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to turn the hearts of people who are bigoted, shallow, and small minded. Honestly, I just don’t give the human race much credit for being an intelligent species. Jesus wept.

And I’m thankful that at my Spritual Homebase, there’s no need for forgiveness, because, there’s no sin.

Princes

It’s odd how many times I use prince to identify a guy who is a possible partner, and there really does need to be serious potential before I do. Sometimes he’s someone quite corporal and near (the Halfling Prince), but at others it’s a guy who has yet to manifest the Lily Prince. Now I had a lot of this sorted out, my list written, and Musclecakes sends me a CD with a song on it that changes my perspective on so many things and on as many levels. I’m not holding out for the hero. I want to be the hero. I don’t want a muscle bear to inspire me to the gym, I want to be the inspiring muscle bear. I don’t want a guy with ink for me to admire. I’ve got the tattoos. I don’t want a guy who can help me get my skittles together. I’ve got most of them set up. I think finally, I’ve put the bonbons between my own candelabra. Just perhaps, I am becoming the man I want to date.

Conjuring Summer In

It was bound to happen. They probably saw it coming when I made my way up to the Third Floor or when I started spending my Wednesday’s in the Kitchen. I’m sure some realized what happened when I got that ink back in the Winter. Today, I decided to become a real Unitarian Universalist. I’m not going to come to church this Summer. I told Holmes that I’d help her if she needed it, but other than that, I’m taking TDMT’s husband’s advice and steering clear after June 24^th. I’ll come back some where in the neighborhood of Ingathering. Yes, I’ll miss the First Harvest luncheon and probably many other things as well – some good, some not. There’s also a possibility that I’ll take my repast from Committees two years early, but I need to sleep on before I make a decision of that magnitude.

As I was opening a couple of Irises this morning it dawned on me that I really don’t want to waste time on another Future Mr. Used-to-Be. I’m holding out for the earthly Lily Prince. There’s just no need to settle.

Salvation through Bibliography

He ate and drank the precious words,
His spirit grew robust:
He knew no more that he was poor,
Nor that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book. What liberty
A loosened spirit brings!
–Emily Dickinson

Hi, I’m Jack, and I a biblioholic. I love books. I love to own, read, study, discuss, and even write in them on occasion. I love books of all types: holy books, coffee table books, books of poetry, anthologies, biography, history, books of fiction, ethnography, self-help. I could go on. First, a little background…I don’t believe in damnation, so the idea of salvation is a little foreign to me. I do believe in what most people would call kismet or karma, and I believe that there is knowable truth–little t. But I don’t believe that there is one perversive Truth that’s right for every person. We have to find for ourselves what is right or wrong–for us. And along the way we find things that we’re totally indifferent about.So where is this truth? I believe it’s been written. Like works of art, books hold a value all their own. And they house a truth–or many truths–but never do they fail to hold any truth. Maybe between the pages is a profound truth that brings about change in a person, family, city, or even state, but typically it’s far more mundane. And the same book can hold different truths for different people. I may find a truth far different than yours, for our truths don’t have to be the same, and in fact they really shouldn’t be. And that truth may change from one time to another, for truth is malleable and changing like the landscape.

I’m a firm believer in being able to look through any window and see light. The Bible, Koran, Book of Mormon, Lotus Sutra are all fine books worth reading. Not too long ago I found myself reading passages from Book of Leviticus and the Gospel of Matthew trying to balance the teaching of absolute love in one against the teaching of dire punishment in the other. I know many people have no problem with the dichotomy of truth presented, but I’m not one of them. And while it is a great read, I don’t think anyone died for my sins. I alone am responsible for my actions. Besides, the idea of a loving parent killing his kid to make me a better person is just a little more than I can buy into.

At the same time, I’ve found a lot of truth in the profane (or mundane if you’d prefer). The Harry Potter series does speak to me far more adroitly than many other books. The Dharma Bums gave me an interesting perspective on my own life. I can’t imagine a person reading Toni Morrison’s Beloved without feeling a sense of both great sadness and full catharsis. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is credited with inspiring and fueling the abolitionist movement and eventually the civil war. That’s a lot of power for a few words. Bringing it back to a personal level, the novels John Preston wrote literally helped push me out of the closet. A side note…Once upon a time (somewhere between Stonewall and AIDS), to be seen reading the works of Mary Renault was to announce to those “in the know” that one was homosexuality.

And that brings to mind something else I don’t believe in. I don’t believe in a separation in the profane and the divine. They are the same. It’s merely a line of demarcation that is pretty meaningless. Who decided that this is sacred and that isn’t? To me all is simultaneously sacred and profane.

In looking around my apartment while writing this, I got the idea of using the tomes I’ve collected as part of my funeral pyre, but I’m against doing a Fahrenheit 451 on any book or censoring the written word. Of course there are things written with which I do not agree. Racist works are abhorrent to me as are works that preach subjugation of anyone. But those writings have a right to exist as surely as the ones with which I agree. And I don’t believe we should cut off access either. Libraries, schools, and universities are places where a person should be able to explore all ideas and choose what is worthy or unworthy. Moments ago, I spoke some very un-Christian thoughts, but I don’t condemn Christians or their beliefs. It’s only when their sacred treads on mine that I cry foul. And honestly, I fully expect the reciprocation when I do it. Ideas shouldn’t be dictated to me or by me.

That leads to something else. I honestly don’t believe that rational people have the right to question anything. We have an obligation to question everything. To me, books aren’t merely something to take up space–although they do. And they aren’t something that needs to cost a lot of money. The library does have them for use and loan. Books are a preservation of us as a civilization, a culture, and a species. Probably the greatest invention in the last 1500 years was the Gutenberg Press. It allowed the manufacture of books on the large scale after all. Books are a means not just to answers but to questions. They are a place to find truth (whatever that is).

So for me, the armchair travels, the times of introspection, the comfort found, and ideas tempered are only part of the reason that I read with a passion put to use with my lost saints and my childhood’s faith. There’s a knowable truth in those pages, and I’m going to find it. May you find yours.