Literary Discussions

This is NOT a joke (though perhaps some of you are aware of it) - There are some gay men in Reform Judaism who are very literalist/fundamentalist in their interpretation of the Torah where is says "you shall not LIE with a male as with a female" so they reason that if all their sexual activity is done while standing they are in observance of the commandment.  Now, I neither condemn nor commend those who interpret such a verse literally. What those men seek is peace of mind, I assume, that they may participate in some spiritual practice of their choosing and also have a conjugal relationship of their choosing and feel accepted by all and by their personal inner voice of conscience.

This is a good thread because it has engaged my thoughts during the past day and it is good when we think and when we challenge others to think. My solution to all these disputes is what I have come to call "DeKalb Avenue Theology."  There is an avenue which runs the length of Brooklyn from North to South and one may travel that avenue on the B38 bus. As you ride for an hour or so and gaze out the window you will quite literally see from one to THREE store front churches on almost every block. I am tempted to take my camera and make that ride and create a FLICKR album of all those churches.  One church had a huge billboard advertising that "Bishop Sally" presides over the church.  Now I dare say many of these churches are founded by individuals with no particular depth of theological training other than the ability to read the Bible and no particular denominational affiliation. They simply decided that they understand what Christianity means and what a church should be and they opened their store front church and found some people who are pleased to join their congregation.  Now what is wrong with that?  Why dont they seek to engage all the other store front churches on DeKalb in ecumenical dialogues to perhaps unite them all into one great Church of Dekalb, perhaps under Archbishop Sally.