In my lowest moments, when I genuinely longed for death, I knew that Jesus would walk with me through that valley as well.

Doing justice, loving mercy, seeking truth...these are the issues [the Bible] is clear on.

If I want to read S.J. Perelman's Chicken Inspector No. 23 for the third time instead of some anguished, politically correct saga of a girl growing up in a trailer park in Kingman, Arizona, with an alcoholic mother who makes her straighten her naturally curly hair and won't let her date a Navajo boy or pursue her goal of becoming (naturally) a writer, I will. And I will laugh like a lunatic while doing it.

The Bible is not a book of magic. It's a book of mystery. You can't just quote verses that support your prejudices or guarantee your health, wealth, and happiness and demand that God 'follow through' as promised. God is not limited to the words of Scripture. God is still speaking.

Because of their excessive commitment to a literal Bible, fundamentalist Christians have fallen into the trap of biblioltry.

Like the people of Israel who created a golden calf to represent God while Moses was away, fundamentalist Christians have built their own idols to represent God until Jesus returns. The religion of fundamentalism is idolatry.

I am gay. I am proud. And God loves me without reservation.