In some not so exciting logistical news, I’m beginning the process of moving from Wordpress.com to Wordpress.org. Which entails things like hosting and domains and FTP and other stuff I can’t even pretend to have the most basic knowledge of. Luckily, there’s a book out there that does. I love books. So I’ll be able to change the look of my blog. I might try ads out.
In some logistical news that is a little bit exciting I’m jumping up and down over, the lease on my one bedroom apartment is up on April 1 and I’ll be moving in with JS. This is not a decision I have taken lightly, especially since it’s a first step for me. 5 years ago, fresh from my college brainwashing days I would have thought this was a horrible, sinful idea. But a lot has happened in 5 years, and I like to think that I have a better grasp on this concept of God’s Love.
I’ve been doing some “research” (just for my own benefit), of the New Testament lately. And what’s been impressed on me is that Jesus is not about rules and religion (to which many of you roll your eyes and mutter “duh”). He’s about love. Forgiveness. Justice. Peace. Kindness. Things that seem to get lost in the intellectualization of it all (it’s a word NOW, ok?). I found 1 vague reference to “sex and marriage”, 2 to “homosexuality,” and even these verses weren’t “homosexuality is a deathly sin.” (OK, now, I used quote marks around research. I did not perform, by any stretch of the imagination, a conclusive study. I just did a cursory sort of glance.)
Conversely, I found 450 references to love. 73 about forgiveness. 65 about taking care of the poor.
(A related aside: Jim Wallis was on A Daily Show the other night, and he was brilliant. He spoke not about religion, but about morality as Americans desire it today. He said that, sure, the Religious Right movement is ending, but it doesn’t mean America wants a Religious Left. We just want someone who stands for good. For peace. For equality. And it’s not just Christians who want this. What faith doesn’t stress these ideals? And it also doesn’t mean that America wants a “Christian Leader.” Lord help us if James Dobson becomes a presidential advisor.)
Where was I going with this? Oh, yeah. Jesus loves love, man. All these rules that Christianity holds to so tightly, they don’t hold up any more. Even Jesus said that he is the new law, the new covenant. We don’t have to follow a strict and exclusive rule book. Jesus didn’t. Jesus broke bread with hookers and thieves. In so many churches today the same act (communion) is limited to only those who are baptized. What’s up with that?
And to bring it all full circle (ok, so not a very neat or symmetrical circle, but c’mon, it’s early, OK?), when I started asking myself about this idea of moving in with JS, I had a lot of reactions. Most of them were outdated knee-jerk reactions from the Religious Rule Book I grew up with and had pounded into my brain at college. The more I dug, though, the more I realized that it’s not a religious or faith based question. It’s a question of: do I love JS? Are we ready to take a step towards a long term relationship? Towards permanence? And the answer, obviously, is yes. To all of the above.
So I’m very much at peace with this decision. I’m very excited about it (so is Tonks. You thought I could go a whole post without taking about my dog, didn’t you? You thought wa-rong). I am nervous about sharing this decision with my family, because I know they won’t agree. And I’ll understand their reasons. Hell, I used to agree with their reasons. But I have to have faith that they’ll be able to see past their rules to what it’s really all about. And if that fails, I’ll have to have faith that they can’t afford plane tickets to fly out here and ground me.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, Relationships, Moving In, Love