Kudos to the Quakers!

quaker-flagGenerally when we discuss constructive theological issues, its important to establish the authorities recognized by the participants, be it Revelation, Tradition, Scripture, Reason, or Shared Experience.

In many discussions, both scripture and traditional interpretation of scripture head up the list.  Once those authorities are recognized, theological arguments often fall victim to cherry picking of select verses to back up a point.
 
Recently while looking over a Quaker response to the Lima text (aka Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, a publication of the World Council of Churches) from the London Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, I found a great paragraph in their discussion of that sort of biblical proof-texting:

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Thinking about Friendship

friends

Like many seminarians coming to the end of their studies, I’ve been reevaluating a lot of areas of my life.  What will I study next?  Where will I live?  Should I move from my current apartment or stay for a year as I prepare to apply for doctoral programs?  Is there a current call on my life?  But among the complex issues that have been coming up again and again as of late, the topic of friendship has been at the fore.

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APA says conversion therapy just doesn’t work

Last week the APA released a new report regarding sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE), more commonly known by some of its more common forms such as conversion therapy, reparative therapy or ex-gay ministries.

The Report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation looks at a variety of published research findings from the 60’s through 2007 in an effort to evaluate the effectiveness and/or potential harm caused by the programs in question.

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