Seeing both sides

I must admit that I write this blog with fear and trepidation. This is such a hugely controversial topic that I am pretty much bound to offend someone, no matter how understanding I try to be. I must also admit that I am in no way qualified to address this subject (not that qualification seems to matter at all on the internet). Still, it's a topic that's keeps coming up in my mind, and perhaps this will provoke thoughts in my small readership.

Let's start with a relatively generic scenario. There are two friends. They've probably been friends for some time, but maybe haven't talked or seen each other for a while. They've sort of gone different directions over the years, one of them heading into the conservative Christian camp and the other coming out of the closet. Imagine the conversation that takes place when they finally start to catch up with each other and the inevitable announcement comes out: "I'm gay."

It really probably doesn't take much imagination. Many of you reading this have had such a conversation, or have heard of a friend's experience, or at very least have read the debate between the two sides raging over the internet.

I was pondering this the other day, thinking about the inability of the two sides to communicate, each side incensed by the foolishness, hatred, and/or anger displayed by the other side.

The conservative Christian perspective I can understand pretty well: that's my background and, with a few qualifications, I would still consider myself to be in that camp. In their (our) minds, someone announcing that they're gay is somewhat akin to someone saying that they've decided to become a serial murderer and they took their first victim yesterday. Imagine that conversation:

"What?" the Christian would say. "You just murdered someone? On purpose? In cold blood? Do you realize how wrong that is?"

The murderer would look offended. "What's wrong with that? I just really enjoy murdering people. I can't help it. I was born liking to kill things."

The Christian looks shocked and tries to explain, "I still really care about you, but what you're doing is clearly wrong! Lots of people will be hurt, and there are some terrible consequences you might have to face. I'm going to have to call the police for your own good. I can't just sit by and watch you ruin your life."

The murderer looks even more offended. "I can't believe that you can't accept me for who I am! If you don't like what I do, you can't like me. So I like killing people. What's it to you? I won't stop you from not killing people! How dare you try to stop me or change me!"

The Christian eventually decides that he is dealing with a crazy person who won't listen to logic and gives up…or…if internet debates are any indication, he also become angry and illogical. Alas, things are not always as they should be.

Obviously, the above imaginative conversation is unlikely to ever occur (and I don't mean to equate murder and homosexuality). The point is, from the perspective of many Christians, this is almost identical to the conversation they would have with a homosexual friend. Just as murder is clearly wrong (according to the Bible, as well as current laws), so homosexuality is clearly wrong and condemned by the Bible. (1 Corinthians 6:2, 1 Titus 1:10, and Romans 1:26-27 seems fairly clear in their condemnation, for example.) Thus, to the Christian with this perspective, the response of homosexuals to the condemnation of their lifestyle is baffling. The Christian friend thinks he's trying to help his friend and is understandably hurt and stunned when he is perceived as being intolerant and hateful. Such was not his intention. (It is unfortunately true that not all Christians have good intentions and it must be admitted that some are actually being intolerant and hateful.)

The homosexual perspective is one which I do not understand as intuitively, but I assume that they must also feel that they are being the reasonable ones in the situation, so I began searching for some sort of analogy that would help me better understand.

What if there were a religious group based on an ancient religious document which made occasional remarks on the inherit sinfulness of red-heads. Though these remarks are debated in modern times ("Is it a cultural prohibition? Does it really mean what it says?"), there are still enough people who believe in this archaic document for it to become a point of contention. A movement against red-heads might be formed.

"Dye or die!" could be a slogan.

Maybe some pun about fiery hair and the fires of hell.

It might even happen that a conversation like this would occur:

"Alana, I've really been meaning to confront you on something. Red hair is a sin!" a friend might say to me one day.

"It's not like a chose to have red hair!" I would protest. "I was born with it! It's genetic! What do you want me to do? Dye it brown every few weeks and pretend to be something I'm not? Just to avoid offending you? My hair is part of what makes me who I am. You have no right to ask me to change that!"

The friend would look earnest and concerned. "But I really believe that my religious document teaches that red hair is sinful and will cause you to be eternally punished. You can choose to dye it, or even just cut it all off. I just can't bear to see you make the horrible decision to keep it."

"So you believe in a God who made me have red hair and then punishes me for it? That's hardly fair," I would retort, growing increasingly more offended.

The friend might look confused and embarrassed at this point, unsure how to either agree or disagree without compromising something.

Now back to reality. Again, a rather ridiculous scenario, and yet again, with only a couple small changes, this is roughly the sort of conversation that takes place all the time. For me, though, it helps me understand why both sides find the other ridiculous (though again, homosexuality is quite different from having red hair).

Of course, this still leaves us with a dilemma: who's right, and what is wrong? Do we condemn homosexuality, or do we abandon (or edit) the ancient manuscript that speaks against it?

You know me. As crazy at it sounds to most people today, I have to go with the book. This is becoming an increasingly uncommon view, though.


In each culture there seem to be "culturally acceptable sins." We probably notice these sins more when we look at a different culture. For example, in some countries, stealing is as natural as breathing, even among Christians. We look at that and wonder how they can justify such blatant sin. We forget just how easy it is to rationalize sin, especially when it's excused by people around us (or when it is hidden). We have our own culturally accepted sins that other cultures would condemn: we don't honor our elders, we are confrontational to a fault, we are inhospitable, we are selfish and self centered and value our individual welfare above that of the community. All of these things (and more) we have ways of excusing and explaining and justifying, and all of these things would be shocking sins to Christians from other cultures. As always, it's easier to see the speck in your brother's eye than the log in your own, and with our own 'just' standards fairly in place, we tend to build hills to die on and gather stones to throw. We would rather yell at others to fix their flaws than spend a moment looking at our own.

To come to the point, there seem to be what I will call "micro-cultures" within the American church (and I don't mean denominations). In one of those micro-cultures, homosexuality has become culturally accepted and is no longer seen as a sin, in contrast to the view of the opposite micro-culture. Each seeing the faults of the opposite culture more clearly, stones are gathered and fingers are pointed:

"You don't take the Bible seriously! How can you ignore the clear condemnations of homosexuality!"
"You are unloving and bigoted! How dare you condemn people that God loves?"

Perhaps both camps would do well to stop flinging accusations and instead take a moment to consider the accusations that have been flung at them. I would agree that homosexuality is clearly condemned by the Bible, but so is pride and self-righteousness. In the end, if our gospel doesn't offer hope, help, and ultimately salvation to the homosexuals, as well as to the rest of the prideful, angry, selfish, sinful people in our congregations and country, then we are failing in our mission.

Snowflakes

Tonight

I stood outside and let

the snowflakes

fall

on

me.

Tiny pinpricks of cold,

searching for skin

to tickle,

to dance on with their tiny feet.

So small - dissolved,

unmade by a breath

before they can chill the tongue.

I breathed deeply,

the smell of the snow

reminding of

many

winters

past. 

It smells cold and smokey

and ancient. 

It smells of silence and stillness.

It smells of the stars,

now hidden by snow-filled clouds,

but still twinkling

in the frozen expanse of space.  

Photographing Wildlife

Animals, wild and domestic, abound in and around this town nestled in the Rocky Mountains.  As one would expect, then, wildlife photography is a vital pass-time in the area.  Some wildlife are more amenable to having their pictures taken than others.  

It seems, though, that animal sightings are not plentiful enough for the inhabitants.  Or perhaps they just love the animals so much that they can't bear to go one day without seeing them?  Whatever the reasons, the town also abounds with animals that are not now, nor have ever been, alive.  No.  In reality, most of them are more 'mineral' than 'animal.'  

Banks seems to be one of the main perpetrators of this curious trend.  There is the "Elk Bank,"

the "Deer Bank,"

and the "Antelope (pronghorn) Bank."

Subdivisions, especially newly-started-and-now-mostly-abandoned subdivisions, seem to offer a good market for these statues as well.   The bull with cows motif works for both subdivisions below.  The small adjustment in species helps keep the idea fresh.  

One subdivision prefers the use of a mother bear and her cubs, though.  

There do seem to be some species that are more commonly displayed than others.

Joining the bank and subdivision in the Elk's Club (not the one on Babcock) is a sporting goods store with this bugling elk:

(It does seem, oddly, that bull elk are generally more popular to display than cows, and they are always portrayed as they appear during the fall and winter seasons.  I think a successful discrimination suit could probably be filed here.)

The bovine club seems to have a popular following too.  The sighting of elk is rare enough to make the desire to display fake elk slightly more understandable, but I fail to understand the attraction of fake cows.  I suppose they don't smell as funny as real ones, but that's hardly seems to be enough of an attraction to justify their prevalence in the valley.  Nevertheless, they do prevail.  These three appear to be ice skating around a large barn.

This particular cow is eternally visiting the library.  One does have to give his creator kudos for creativity in the use of the varied gears and such.

These two concrete oxen appear to be plowing up someone's front yard with a concrete pioneer woman.

A cow can even be found painted on the side of a building.  

Bears are also quite common and, again, not just found at failed subdivisions.  Here two cubs appear to be successful in their quest for honey.

Metal bears, while not uncommon, are no match for the wooden bears that can be found all over the state.  This one ensures the success of the restaurant he advertises.  After all, who wouldn't want to buy food and ice cream from such an adorable bear?  While it must be admitted that wooden bears are not nearly as good at actually living as real bears, they are far more successful in the advertisement business.  

The local airport also sports a bear...

...along with various geese trying to show the airplanes the proper way to fly, a large cat of some sort leaping from a fake rock ledge, another large cat guarding the baggage claim...

...and a T-Rex skull.  

Nor is this the only place where such long-extinct animals find a second life.  Another monster of ancient times presides at the Museum of the Rockies...where he occasionally makes an attempt to eat the flag.  

The museum also has a horse, which is also a fairly common animal to form out of bronze and display.

Here a horse and his rider plod through the snow in a local park.  

Some horses (made of unknown materials) are also quite successful in the advertisement business, acting as mascots for stores in the area.

Though elk, cows, bears, and horses are among the most popular animals to display, they are by no means the only ones.  Some of the other sculptures fit into the general motif of Montanan animals like this moose in someones yard

 and these fish at the library.

Some even include humans engaged in Montanan activities like fly-fishing.

(I think he's probably after the library fish, or possibly their cousins.)

Others wander into the bizarre and eclectic like this primate on a motorized bike

or this Einstein dancing with a crane.  

There are even a few sculptures that imitate members of the plant kingdom:

Of course, the wonder of all these sculptures doesn't take anything away from the joy of actually seeing living, breathing animals.  Unbothered by their imitations, they still wander the area, making us hold our breath and walk quietly in wonder and awe whenever we see them.

Highlighting the Decade

As the New Year also brought one decade to an end and started another, a number of blogs have taken a look at trends and important events of the past decade.  In a similar but less useful and more personal vein, I thought it might be fun to look over highlights in my life from 2001-2010.

2001:
I started the second semester of my second year at college in January.
It was our last winter in our old house.

The new one was being built.

It was our last full year with my childhood pet, cleverly named by myself when I was only in 1st grade: Ralph the cat.

I enjoyed my second summer as a counselor at Clydehurst - we built a snowman in June and did a skit of David and Bathsheba.  Yeah.

 In the fall we moved into our new house...Joel chose the color for his room.

With a large new house and family as next-door neighbors, we were able to have an exceptionally large Thanksgiving celebration with all of my Dad's siblings and their families attending.  Cousins were present in explosive amounts.

 2002:
Lots of hiking this year.
Joel and I tried to hike to Hyalite Lake in June...only to run into 8 feet of snow at the higher elevations.

We hiked to Steeple Rock with Dad during camp season.

We hiked up past Kirk Hill with my sister around Christmas time.

At camp it was a summer of pool problems....

...resulting in the unique solution of the Duck Slide.

It was also the summer of the deck.

Right after camp I headed to Portland with some friends to look into the work of Wycliff for a week.  We also visited some friends living there and took a beach day.

Then I started my last year of college.
I also received my first digital camera as a Christmas gift, actually changing my life quite a bit.

2003:
As usual, a snowman was an important part of the year.

We celebrated Easter with our annual egg-dying party.  I should note that this really is an annual tradition.  I have egg dying pictures from most years over the past decade.

We went to Wibaux for Spring Break.

I graduated with a Bachelors in Comp. E. in May and celebrated by playing Ultimate Frisbee.

A large part of the winter and spring was spent preparing for Bolivia.  Our team spent lots of time at work projects, fund raisers, and prayer meetings.

 Shortly after school ended in May, we went to Bolivia for three weeks.

The rest of the summer was, again, spent at camp.

At the end of the summer we stopped by the Grand Canyon as we took my brother to college.

In the fall I took some Bible College classes and got a part time job teaching math.  

 Left to our own devices in fetching a Christmas Tree, my Dad and sister and I had a horrendous time dragging a rather large tree through the snow back to the truck. 

At least it was beautiful.

2004:
The New Year found us rather snowy from being dragged behind a tractor on a sled.  Fond memories.

As in previous years, I found myself often at Clydehurst during retreat season.   

 The Flag Ceremony was especially touching.

 We spent some time with Grandma - one of our last times at her old house.

 One of the College Bible Studies me at our house, usually ending with warm drinks, snacks, and intense games of foosball.  Yeah.  Don't mess with me.

We had a little fire trouble when we tried to burn some grass.  Fortunately, no major harm was done.  Still, it was rather surprising to see a fire truck come rumbling down your driveway. 

The summer was a little odd.
I moved into a trailer for a few months.  It was really classy.  We called it "The Palace."

I spent a few weeks at camp, subbing as they had need.

I took a trip to Idaho for some teacher training as I had agreed to teach full-time in the fall.

 I went to Colorado with a friend to visit her family and to go to another friend's wedding.

 And, of course, I had to climb a mountain with my brother.  We finally made it up to Hyalite Peak!

2005:
The year was off to a good start with a run of spectacular sunsets.

 Science classes also continued at a good pace with an impressive demonstration of glowing pickles.  

 I attempted to go hiking on a nice day in February and decided that my car probably wouldn't make it through this puddle.  So I walked to the trail head and then back to my car.  

 My math students participated in the Math Contest - especially fun for me since it was the same contest I had participated in when I was their age.  

A field trip to Museum of the Rockies added to the fun.  (Really, sometimes I think that teaching is just way too much fun to be considered a real job.)

 We had our first annual Renaissance Faire.  

For Spring Break my sister and I went to visit my brother and meet the infamous Rachel. :)

 That summer I was back at camp where I never fail to enjoy our staff trip to the Big T Rodeo!

 In the fall school started up again with some very important experiments regarding things like gravity and Newton's Laws of motion.  

 For the holidays I was blessed to spend time with family. 

2006: 

School continued.  We had a ski day.  

Another math contest (with celebration afterwards at McDonald's). 

 As part of the Renaissance Faire we had each house build a trebuchet.  

 In the spring, a crazed robin paid homage at my house by repeatedly throwing himself into various windows.  

 Biology class was a time for celebration with the dissection of fetal pigs!

 Ultimate Frisbee games at lunch continued.

 The summer found me back at camp, this time as the head cook.  

 I took a break from cooking to go to my brother's wedding.

There may have been an incident of midnight zip-lining.

2007:
My Physical Science class took a field trip to the college and visited the labs I lived in when I was a student.

Occasionally snow dances are necessary.   

 This Renaissance Faire required windmills.

 Protocol was a hit.

 We performed a play about Tom Thumb the Great.

 We celebrated our first graduation in years!

 At camp that summer the crewboys were a crazy bunch.

 And we had our annual trip to Blue Lake - more hiking!

2008:
Early on in the year we got things rolling with the wedding of a former roommate and a particularly vibrant shade of red.

 I worked on making a T-shirt quilt with some old shirts.  

 We performed "The Rivals" to resounding applause.  Well, maybe not, but it was fun.

 I bid a fond farewell to my students at the end of the year, knowing I wouldn't be back in the fall.

 Then back to camp where crewboys are strange and I made lots of food.

 Mom and cousins enjoyed playing on the 4-wheeler.

Then off to Jerusalem where I watched a random guy (who eventually became a random friend) ride a trash trailer through the streets of the Old City.  Well, I did other things too.  Like started work on my Master's degree!

 I visited Petra (in Jordan).

And the Pyramids (in Egypt).  And, for the record, the geography portrayed in Transformers II is totally messed up.  Petra is not right next to the pyramids.

And though I got sick in Egypt, I still managed to make it home for Christmas, where I celebrated with family and a home-made Christmas headdress.  

2009:
Back to Jerusalem for another semester.  (If you want to know more, see blog posts from the last few years!)

Over the course of the semester I managed to get back to both Jordan and Egypt.  I visited Dahab in Egypt for sort of a "Spring Break."

At the end of the semester we went to Jordan again, where we watched sheep be slaughtered and learned about culture in Biblical times.

 Then I went back to the states, and back to camp, where we celebrated Christmas in July...with the tree our bus knocked over.

August saw me back in Israel, moving into a new apartment.

I spent Christmas in Jerusalem (and Bethlehem) that year, celebrating with friends.

2010:
Read the blog post just before this one.  This one is quite long enough without repeating that all again.

Conclusions:
After spending some time looking over pictures and considering the last decade, I have come to a realization. Or several.
1. I have a lot of pictures.
2. I've spent a lot of time at camp.
3. I've made a lot of snowmen.
4. I've dyed a lot of easter eggs.
5. I've played a lot of Ultimate Frisbee.
6. I've gone on a lot of hikes.
7. I've spent a lot of time with students and crew children.
8. I'm blessed with a great family...though I don't get to see them often enough.
9. I'm just pretty well blessed in general.  It's been a good decade.
10. We'll see what the next 10 years hold...