Talking Dog

This website is offered as a resource for congregations and individuals who want a Christian understanding of gay and lesbian people and their involvement with the church.  Many, many denominations have studied the scripture and come up with an interpretation that keeps all of their theology intact, but which accepts and affirms gay and lesbian people as full members of the church.  I offer you a place to look up those sources.  Many other websites do this and do it better.  So I link to those.  I’m just acting as a doorway to get from where you are, to where you want to be.  We are all asked by God to be responsible for the knowledge that we have, for the Bible that we read, and for the message we pass on to others in God’s name.  Many people have been convicted that the message we send gay and lesbian people–that they are involved in sinful lifestyles– is in error.   These people, both scholars and lay people, have searched the scriptures, prayed for God’s guidance and written their results in books, websites, letters, and made DVDs and other resources.

We can build on each others’ knowledge by sharing it, and by testing it–as we’re asked to do in scripture–and then if it is right, by bringing it to our church for consideration by other members.  I hope you find this information helpful.

Why  ‘Talking Dog’

This page has a peculiar pedigree. I wrote a story for Anti-Homophobia week in a contest. The story is short, only 500 words, and follows a man into the woods on a cold Yukon evening, where he hopes to quietly kill himself. He brings his black lab with him, and through strange and divine circumstances, the dog talks and convinces him to come home.  I didn’t mean for it to be published widely, but there it was, in the local paper.  Here’s the entire story. Sometimes we make accidental stands; and they lead to more purposeful ones.

My point in the story, though, was to say that the only way as an author I could save this man’s life was if I made the dog talk.  Which was heavy-handed, and not very realistic.  In real life, I wished that we would all become the talking dogs that would save people’s lives.  We have to actively reach out and reverse the church’s long poisoning of gay people.  This poisoning leads to suicide, but it more often leads gay people into forced heterosexual marriages–and not very good ones at that, that lead to divorce; it also leads to people leaving the church, and God; it leads to hopelessness and despair.  These are not the goals of the Good News.

I created Talking Dog as a portal towards resources–a way to bring back the Good News.  With resources we can seek out the right answers to these questions, and help many people who are hurting– gay people, their families and the rest of the Christian community.