Cascadian Bloggers on "Religious Freedom" / "Gay Discrimination" Laws

Two Cascadian bloggers have weighed in on recent legislation in Kansas and Arizona (et al.) that would allow businesses to deny services to gays and lesbians on religious grounds. Both Marci Glass and Bryan Dormaier impugn this legislation. Glass, a Presbyterian pastor in Boise, opposes the bills but thinks that people should be free not to attend gay weddings. Dormaier, a Portland pastor, points out the problem of hypocrisy and argues that--whatever the law allows--Jesus would not refuse service to gays and lesbians.

Conversation Partners

The blogs listed on the right side of this blog (scroll down a bit) are the sites of conversation partners. It's an ecumenical group--Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, and more. Yet these writers all have at least two things in common: they are all theologians, whether pastors, professors, or others; and they all share a common location. In his book Doing Local Theology, Clemens Sedmak writes, "Theology is done 'from somewhere,' from a particular perspective, out of a particular context" (15). These theologians all write from the context of Cascadia (the Pacific Northwest). Boise, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver (BC) are among the even more particular contexts represented.

Portland--Trendy or Trend-Setting?

Portland pastor A. J. Swoboda has a new article posted at Christ & Cascadia that discusses the Northwest's trendiness. Swoboda writes, "The great Northwest urban environment is inebriated with a deep-seated thirst for attaining its piece of what's happening, what's new, and what's trending in the world." I wonder about the accuracy of this statement. Take Portland, for example. Is Portland trendy, or is Portland trend-setting? One is copycat, the other is cool.

If Portland is truly trendy, then its copycat habits may be deserving of prophetic criticism. If Portland is trend-setting, then poetic affirmation may be more in order--after all, setting trends requires creativity, and Christians believe in the creator God. One of the greatest challenges of cultural engagement for Christians and churches is knowing when to be a prophet and when to be a poet. Many trends are passing fads (although some trends turn out to be lasting directions). But Christians and churches would do well to learn from an innovative culture.

Local Culture Snapshot