A girl who became accidentally pregnant might be forced to stand up before the congregation on a Sunday morning and beg forgiveness for her sins, while the equally sexually curious boy who helped get her pregnant sat, with his brothers and sisters in Christ, in judgment of her.

It was not lost on me, an African American man from Birmingham, Alabama, descended from slaves, that new legislation aimed at telling women what they might and might not do with their own physical bodies looked a whole lot like men owning women’s bodies.

I see no reason why a woman should feel herself deserving of a separation from God because of a decision she has to make. The Jesus I love has a nonconformist understanding of his faith. He realizes that the petty rules and laws laid down by the fathers and authorities are meaningless, and that to believe in a loving God is to refuse to stand in judgment of any fellow mortal.

I can live with the awareness that someone might harm me. I am not so sure that I am brave enough to live with the awareness that I was too afraid to do what I knew to be right. Though.

Now I see the Bible as it was written: the inspired word of God, but also a historical document preserving the ancient hegemony of men; starting with Eve, women are always thrown under the bus when it suits the men in power to do so.

Our lives,” he said, “no longer belong to us alone. They belong to those who need us desperately.” The.

A lot of my family and friends called, ... I probably had 28 text messages and 30 voicemails. I (didn't) know half the people but I checked them and listened to them.

A lot of my family and friends called. I probably had 28 text messages and 30 voicemails. I (didn't) know half the people but I checked them and listened to them.

You could say that. Some guys don't take the road I took. They don't have to. Some guys have been headed this way for a long time.

I don't pay any attention to that stuff. But I don't mind being the underdog. I kind of like being the underdog. I've been an underdog all my life.