On Sunday while driving I glimpsed a church sign for some evangelical congregation and it caused a discombobulating moment. My emotions sighed happily, like, "Oh, isn't that nice?" like I would have done as an evangelical Christian. This despite the fact that I've rejected all religion for about 20 years, particularly the kinds that proselytize. ( Read more... )

If you love Canada because it is a gentler, more tolerant neighbour to the United States, a new book released this week should raise alarm bells. The Armageddon Factor by Marci McDonald investigates the rise of right-wing Christian nationalism in this country, and its growing influence in Stephen Harper's Conservative government. I haven't read the ( Read more... )

With free time this week, and finally back into a routine, I have been working with a passion on characterization for Pilgrim's Cross. Research has carried me into topics like fundamentalist churches, and the experiences of Native Canadian women.

I was pleased to discover Out On The Shelf has several books on the latter topic, including an erotic ( Read more... )

The past two weeks were rough going. Every time I was alone I got depressed. Solitude, which I usually need for rest and regeneration, has been intractable.

Also unusual, I've been having nightmares.

One involved a clone of myself whom I had accidentally killed. I used black magic to resurrect him, which brought a stressed, electric whining sound I ( Read more... )

Several days ago The Friendly Atheist posted A Gay Christian Woman Struggles With Her Identity. The person in question launched a new blog, Becoming Israel, while her questioning Christian friend at FlowerDust mused, Why is being gay a sin?

I usually avoid wading into argumentative waters, but hate to see anyone wander down this treacherous path ( Read more... )

As a child I was the archetypal dreamer. Whenever possible I would sit alone on the school bus, gazing out the window. I never caused trouble in school, except for failing to pay attention.

The imaginary playmates of early childhood persisted into my teens, taking the form of chivalrous adventurers. The worlds of C.S. Lewis and Ursula K. LeGuin ( Read more... )

I was taking a pee break when it hit me: in order to write Pilgrim's Cross I ought to read the Bible again. Especially since Jesus is a conceptual character in the novel. And not only the Bible, but also as much ex-gay literature as I can lay hands on. I realized this reading would be necessary when I wrote the first draft two years ago, but ( Read more... )

It is a breezy evening. I sit in my car with the window rolled down, waiting for a friend to leave on an excursion to Hamilton. I'm reading I Touch the Earth, the Earth Touches Me, by Hugh Prather. He talks about "a spiritual way of seeing." Spirituality has been a sensitive topic lately. I doubt there's a spirit, or that it's distinct from the ( Read more... )

...and still somehow,
It's life's illusions I recall...

I'm finally getting to know Joni Mitchell, thanks to LJ friends. As a teenager I hardly listened to popular music, but liked Judy Collins and owned Judith along with Classical records. "Both sides now" has always been a favourite. I didn't realize Mitchell had written it until her new ( Read more... )

A scientific expedition to the jungle of Indonesia's Papua province has discovered dozens of new species of frogs, butterflies and palms, and documented mammals extirpated elsewhere. The team flew by helicopter to a boggy lakebed surrounded by forests in the Foja Mountains ( Read more... )