Dear Reader,

You read the title right! I am getting surgery on March 17th! I am both relieved and nervous. I have so many emotions happening right now. I am ready to never have to bind again, but I'm also nervous about going under. I want it all to work out. I know God will get me through, but I can't help but have anxiety about it all.

Recently I have had several people donate to my fundraiser so that I don't have to worry about expenses as much post-op. I can't think you all enough! You have no idea how much this means to me. I hope that one day I am in a position to help people get surgery. If QCFV takes off, I'd love to start a surgery fund. I want to help as many people as we can.

I finally called pre-registration with the hospital that I'll be having my procedure at. The first time I called I just googled the number for the hospital and was transferred twice. Then I got in touch with a billing person who said they don't set up any payment plans since this is a plastic surgery appointment. I told the lady that Chris, my husband, had his surgery there through the same doctor and they set one up. She says well your doctor should know we don't do that. Rude. So I look at the email that my surgeon sent over and it had a different number to call. I spoke with a nice guy who took my information to get me into the system. He didn't ask for money but said a financial adviser would call later on and set up a payment arrangement. That, ladies and gents and non-binaries, is why reading all the instructions is important! I feel a bit relieved after I spoke to someone, and it's getting super real. I still need to call metLife, who will be covering my time off from work. I am a huge procrastinator. Ugh!

If you or anyone you know would like to talk about their surgery experience or just has questions, then comment below or shoot an email over to QueerChristianFamilyValues@Gmail.com and I'll get back to you ASAP.

I guess I should go get some work done. See ya in the next one!
​
-Alexander M. BUrchnell
Edited by Christopher J. Burchnell

The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the core of the New Testament, which is the foundation of Christianity. We Christians believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament based on the covenant that God sent his son to spread the word, or "good news", and the promise of eternal life. Out of the four gospels, most claim Matthew is the oldest; however, that spot goes to Mark. It has been dated anywhere from the 70's to the mid 80's of the first century. The way Mark arranges the story of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection is the main reason I count it as my favorite. But who wrote Mark? 

CrossExamined.org had a similar question in mind when they wrote a piece reviewing various theories, of which can be found here. The traditional view is that the gospel was written by John Mark who transcribed the teachings of Simon Peter. John Mark is said to be the son of a window named Mary, as seen in Acts 12:12-17). The Bible doesn't give much away as to the author's identity, but there are several traits to the gospel of Mark one could decipher from. Mark is fast paced, focuses on the humanity of Christ, writes with a Latin audience in mind, references Rome, focuses on Peter quite a bit, emphasizes the Messianic Secret, and tells of an unknown man. The unknown man mentioned in Mark 14:51-52 was a strange incident depicting the Garden of Gethsemane. The man is caught when Jesus was arrested and escaped Roman guards but lost his clothing in the scuffle. Many believe this man is the author of Mark!

Now, something I enjoyed about our sourced article mentioned above is that they also looked at the external evidence. They mentioned a quote from the early church who was unanimous in their belief that John Mark was the author stating, 

Papias was a Greek Apostolic Father and Bishop of Hierapolis (modern Pamukkale, Turkey) as noted from GotQuestions.org. He authored the Expostion of the Sayings of the Lord in five books. This piece's purpose was to present an accurate record of the teaching and works of the apostles as reported to him by "John the Elder" aka the Apostle John. Irenaeus (A.D. 130-200) also confers with Papias stating,

Irenaeus was a Greek Bishop who is best known for his role in guiding and expanding the Christian communities into the south of France, especially the theology. 

If we are to take from Irenaeus' statement, "after their departure", to mean Peter's execution, then Mark was written in the mid to late 60's A.D, but possibly as early as 50 A.D. But what is clear, the gospel was written while the author was still in Rome, which was the audience of the time period. The sourced article by CrossExamined.org conclusion is something I agree with:

I truly enjoyed researching this topic and would like to do something similar in the future. If you have any suggestions on my next subject, then let us know in the comments or send us an email at QueerChristianFamilyValues@Gmail.com.

See ya in the next one!

Written by Alexander M. Burchnell
Edited by Christopher J. Burchnell

Aira opened her eyes and groaned. The night had grown cold, and the ground was hard-packed. Was that a rock sticking into her side? She stuck her hand behind her and pulled out the sharpest, biggest rock that could have possibly found its way underneath her. What had she done, rolled around the whole camp in her sleep just to land on the worst rock possible? Aira shook her head and stretched. She had woken Tal up three hours after he had gone to sleep. He had grumbled at her sleepily, chastising her for not waking him sooner, but had sat up promptly, his sword held lightly in his hands.

That had been a slight surprise. Not, perhaps, that Tal had a sword, but that she hadn’t noticed it before. Where had he hidden it? Had he hidden it? Or was she being overly suspicious again? Ugh! She thought. Why can’t I trust him? Well, a quieter voice seemed to say, you did just meet him.

There was that. Speaking of… Where was the dragon? She looked around their campsite, craning her neck around the fire pit. There were their ashes, her cloak (she had used it as a pillow and, of course, had woken up five hundred feet away), and her water skin. No Tal. So he left her after all. Only to be expected. Well, she better pack up and figure out what she was going to do now. Can’t rely on--

“Good morning!” the sing-song voice floated over the trees toward her. Tal, a string full of rabbits held in one hand, his cloak thrown over his shoulder in the other, came striding out of the trees. “I thought we might need a good breakfast. I didn’t smell any food in your cloak, and I, frankly, was supposed to arrive with the werewolves last night, so I didn’t pack any food either. This should serve nicely. Why don’t you get the fire started, and I’ll skin these critters?”

And Tal, very matter of factly, sat down on a nearby rock (much bigger than the one that had jabbed Aira in her sleep) and began skinning the rabbits.

She blinked. What a strange Creature. Shaking her head, she began piling sticks and logs for fuel in the center of the stones she had found the night before. Then, she sat back on her heels and extended her hands toward the pile of wood. Closing her eyes, she reached inside for the flicker of Nightforce she had and sent it streaming through her fingers at the sticks, concentrating on fire. A dark green glow surrounded her hands, and suddenly fire sprang to life around the wood. Triumphant, she looked up at Tal, who had finished skewering two rabbits on a long, sharpened stick.

“Very good,” he said gently, “I usually use flint myself. Dark Power--uh, you Newlings call it Nightforce, now, I believe--takes too much out of me when I use it to justify lighting a fire with it.”

She frowned, “But it’s not that tiring for me.”

“You are a full werewolf, correct? You should have access to more Nightforce than I do. I prefer to use other tools,” he smiled, and suddenly the stick with the rabbits rose in the air and hovered above the fire, seemingly on their own. Aira didn’t see a glow of Night or Dayforce around Tal’s hands.

“How are you doing that?”

“I’m a dragon, remember? Telekinesis. Much easier for me than Nightforce!” Tal laughed at her expression and stretched his legs out. “Won’t be too much longer until the rabbits are ready. Then we better be on our way. I dare say it will take slightly more than a day to reach these werewolves on foot.”

“On foot!” Aira froze as she bent to pick up her cloak and gather her belongings, “Why aren’t we flying?”

“I haven’t had a rider for years. Very uncomfortable. No. We are walking.”

Aira protested loudly as she gathered her things and grudgingly took a rabbit on a smaller stick that Tal handed her. She complained as he kicked dirt over their fire and strode away, munching on his roasted rabbit. She protested as they walked until, finally, she merely grumbled under her breath, kicking up dirt as she trudged behind him.

The day wore on, and they headed deeper into the trees that had surrounded her clearing. The sun rose to its peak, and just as Aira began to feel hungry, Tal produced strips of dried fruit. They were tasty and rather tart. He said he had made it while she was complaining, citing some principal of water extraction she did not follow. Finally, she quieted and began thinking about her escape, and that led to worry. She had been very loud all morning. If they had been followed, someone could have heard her. Aira stole a glance over her shoulder and hurried closer to Tal, her heart beating. The shadows grew longer in the forest, and she imagined she could see soldiers with bows and swords sneaking along behind her and Tal. Had they been followed?

A bird fluttered out of the branches of a tree nearby, and Aira squeaked, latching onto Tal’s arm, then releasing it quickly, muttering an apology.

“It’s okay, Aira. You can hold my arm if it makes you feel safe from birds,” he said with a smile.

“I think we are being followed,” she whispered, hugging her arms close to her chest.

“I haven’t sensed another consciousness as we have been walking, but if you’re worried, I’ll keep a sharp lookout. Who would want to mess with a dragon and a dangerous werewolf, anyway?”

Aira smiled weakly, but still tried to watch every corner. Something felt off. Maybe it was her imagination, but she really didn’t think so. It had to be real. The sun drooped lower, the trees blocking out all but the smallest streaks of light. She heard footsteps echo behind her. Were those theirs? Or the soldiers? Crying out, she whirled around, summoning her Nightforce to her hands and sending it straight through the trees.

To be continued...

Written by Christine Fritzine
Edited by Christopher J. Burchnell

​Author Matthew Vines combines a pastor’s heart and a scholar’s brain in his book God and the Gay Christian. He welds together his personal story of a budding gay sexuality with the Biblical understanding of the Christian God in two acts. In the first act, he weaves stories of his coming out with conversations between himself and well-meaning, yet unsupportive church family members. Matthew reveals a pastor’s heart as he recounts these conversations, loving yet useless. His church paints a picture of a sinful act and a judgmental God. Instead of hastily reacting, Matthew responds with great thought.

He senses a need to abandon the traditional Biblical interpretations and strike out on his own. He and his father sojourn through Biblical concordances, para-documents, the ancient Greek language and much more to discover that God’s grace was and is fully available to all gay and lesbian seekers. For Matthew, the key is an updated understanding of the Biblical text.

This understanding makes for the bones of the second act. In chapter two, Matthew tackles the complexity of Biblical interpretation by telling the story of the first telescope. The historical clash between Galileo and The Reverend Caccini set the stage. This conflict teaches the reader that the Bible has been misinterpreted throughout the ages and we are still in process.

To avoid the mistake of Caccini, we must immerse ourselves in the world of the text, the Biblical world, the language, history of the culture of Bible times. By placing the passages in their time (as opposed to our time) Matthew creates a path for the reader to explore what the passage originally meant to the premiere audience. From this diving board of Biblical language, history and culture, Matthew jumps and the reader with him. The result is a pool of logical possibilities that make room for the gay/lesbian Christian.

An example of Matthew’s jump can be found in male/female cultural expectations of the Bible times. Repeating throughout Matthew’s Biblical journey is the ongoing rub of overt and abusive sexism. The anti-gay argument is rooted in this Biblical cultural norm. Matthew teaches us to lay that aside by explaining the difference between culture and God’s coming kingdom. (Long story, short: even Bible people got it wrong!) With that obstacle removed, the reader is introduced to God’s coming kingdom and the love God has for the rainbow community.

Matthew addresses celibacy, the real sin of Sodom, the abominations of Leviticus, the unnatural acts of Romans 1, who inherits the kingdom, gay marriage and the image of God found in male/female creation story of Genesis. The reader leaves each chapter with a firm grasp on the passages as understood through multifarious disciplines.

This book is great for an introductory read into specific Biblical passages that have traditionally be understood as anti-gay. God and the Gay Christian is 10 chapters, 181 pages with Chapter notes that name other sources. It sells for approximately 12$ in a softcover, hardcover and kindle options.

Written by Amy Holmes
Edited by Christopher J. Burchnell

​The Reverend Amy Holmes is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and currently holds a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological. She & her husband (Chaplain Kevin Holmes) reside in Johnson City TN and jointly oversee the busy social life of a 13 year old daughter (cue eye roll).