New life, New blog.

This is a habit I have.

I am now located here.

Cheers.

Something like my take on feminism.

But You Are a Girl

“Veronica, you are running from your calling. You are running because where God has placed you, it is easier to run than it is to be who God has called you to be.”

This bomb was dropped on me in a coffee with my home church pastor the summer after my junior year. The context was this: we were talking about my semester, especially what had been life giving for me. That previous spring I had gotten the opportunity to speak at a youth retreat and that had been the obvious pinnacle of my semester. In fact, when I think about that weekend, it stands out not only as the highlight of that semester, but as the best days of my life thus far. I surely do not need to tell most students reading this that there is something indescribably satisfying about listening to God and doing exactly what He tells you, no holds barred, without looking back.

But Joey was right; I was holding back.

What did I do, confronted with this obvious truth? Well, I cried. But then, I began to pray. I began to wrestle with my identity that I had allowed to become squelched by some of the naysayers I had encountered in the last 3 years.

Because the real truth is this: my heart is the heart of a preacher. I feel most alive when I am teaching. The Spirit has always communicated to me in words—especially words for other people. I cannot help it. I know that this is what I was born to do.

Unfortunately I think the working version of Romans 12:6-8 which a large portion of the church has adopted probably says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith… if it is teaching, then teach… if it is to lead, do it diligently (unless, of course, you are a woman).”

Now, I understand that in this article I refer mostly to my own experience, an act which is exceedingly Wesleyan for a Baptist campus. And I am not asking you to rewrite your entire theology to accommodate the presence of women in ministry. (Well, I would like that, but this is not the proper forum.) But I am asking you to consider this: why, in a place where I am theoretically surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ, had it become easier for me to be disobedient than obedient? Why was I running from my calling?

Of course, I am the only one to blame for my own fear and for my part I have solemnly pledged to follow God into whatever he asks, wherever it may be, unapologetic for how he has made me, all the days of my life—luckily, surrounded by grace for the times I will inevitably fall.

This is what I am asking: please remember that every theoretical discussion will ultimately involve real people, real lives, and real ministries. Perhaps we can all lay off our need to be right all the time in order to encourage those around us to live out their call as God has revealed it to them. Are we not all the children of God? After all, I am convinced that “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

With that said, I want to challenge you, my fellow Bison. Is it more important to prove that your theology is correct or to encourage those around you? There is a time and a place for every conversation, but conversations about how someone might be wrong about their calling should happen only in relationship. We speak against things, pretending that we are trying to love. But if we are honest with ourselves, I think we would see that most often we are protecting our own pride.

So I say, let us first consider how we might spur one another on toward love and good deeds. This, I believe, is our great calling as the body of Christ.

Feminism?

I'm just not even sure what to do with this.

SB oleven, baby.

My spring break was better than yours. I'll prove it. Quick highlights:

1. Two new states.
2. In-n-out burger
3. Sunrise at Grand Canyon
4. Canal Swimming
5. Mission Beach
6. Lajolla Cove
7. Salvation Mountain
8. Eight bffs.

New Mexico

Arizona

Salvation Mountain

Canyon

Mission Beach

Lajolla Cove

Sea Lions!

My loves.

Best senior trip a girl could ask for. Find the rest of the pics on the FB.

Peace.

There Will Never be a Savior on Capital Hill

This week's Bison article:

I saw an interesting post on facebook last week. (Ok, busted. I get all of my news from facebook and twitter.) A student posted a concern about Christianity being tied to one political party. What struck me as interesting, however, was the first response. After a pretty generic statement that neither political party has a monopoly on biblical principles, the very first response was something to the effect of, “Well, I am pro-life.”

Of course, it has long frustrated me that this is oftentimes the only issue which many evangelical Christians consider when voting. But it reminded me of other things I have heard recently—namely, the idea that a certain U.S. Representative was something to the effect of, “God’s representative.”

Now, the representative in question is definitely a Christian and a man I respect. But when it comes down to how he votes, he votes much more like a republican than anything else. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that. Especially considering the district which he represents, it is both unsurprising and appropriate that he would vote nearly always with the majority of the Republican Party.

But, “God’s representative?” That’s a weighty statement to make. And I’ve been thinking, what exactly would God’s representative look like?

Let’s start with the obvious: God would be pro-life. But I think that God’s version of pro-life would be more complicated than focusing only on abortion. After all, God cares about the life of unborn children, but also their impoverished mothers. I’m sure that God would really care about the quality of life for poor people throughout the nation—after all in Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount the poor who are blessed are not the poor in spirit but simply “the poor.”

Another group which sticks out as being close to the heart of God is resident aliens. God really loves and sympathizes with people who are outside their homeland. That is what he called Abraham to be and that is what he has called all Christians to be. So he would probably be really excited about fixing our broken immigration policy. I’m sure that he’d be more welcoming than most. God’s greatest complaint against Israel was that they disregarded the “widows, orphans, and resident aliens.”

Speaking of orphans, God would probably really want to reform adoption and foster care laws. Suffering innocents are a people whose cries he always hears—think Hagar and Ishmael. Not only would this be on his platform, but it would probably be top priority. I don’t know that I’ve EVER heard ANYONE campaign on this issue, but to me it seems incredibly important.

This is just the beginning. I could talk about God’s command that we care for the environment and how his representative would probably not want us raping the earth for oil—wherever we may please. I could mention that God’s representative would probably not be too friendly towards big business, since, it is generally the rich who are the exploiters (James 2). But I think that I’ve made my point.

The common denominator is that God is the voice for the voiceless. As Christians, we should be the first to defend the rights of the minority. We worship the father of the fatherless—the one with a heart for those who cannot care for themselves. Anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus should not steal power from those whom the world casts aside.

But instead we have formed the “moral majority” and decided that we have the numbers to prove we are always right and everyone else can just deal with it.

This is a sad state indeed. Our attitude looks much more like the world than anything reflective of the kingdom of God. THIS, we do in Jesus' name.

It is no wonder that in Amos, God said he didn't even want to hear our worship any more. Our behavior is a mockery of his heart for the oppressed.

But, really, is this a platform on which anyone could be elected? Probably not. The wisdom of God is foolishness to the world. Where does that leave us? It leaves us dreaming inspired kingdom dreams and personally working to empower the powerless. I think of people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Theresa who dedicated their lives to the people for whom God’s heart cries out.

And while I dream and pray for the Spirit to infuse my dreams with Kingdom realities, I do not expect to find a savior on capital hill.

Honor Everyone, Love the Brotherhood.

This week's bison article:

The title for this article comes from the words in 1 Peter that I couldn’t help but think after hearing about the latest fight between Rob Bell and an assortment of other Christian leaders.

For those of you who don’t know what’s going on, the basic story is this: Rob Bell is coming out with a new book at the end of this month called Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. The book doesn’t come out until March 29, but already a publisher’s blip and a video in which Bell discusses the content have got people going crazy.

For those of you who don’t tweet, (I honestly don’t know why I end up writing about twitter so much these days.) twitter will always display ten “trending topics” which are the things that the most people are talking about at that moment. You can see them for your country or for the world. Well, on Saturday night, Rob Bell was a trending topic worldwide.

WORLDWIDE.

To say the least, that’s impressive.

But if you look at the content of those tweets, it is terribly frustrating. John Piper said simply, “Farewell Rob Bell.” and linked a blog post which discussed Bell’s new “universalism.”

I watched the video that everyone is upset about. Does Bell ask some very hard relevant questions? Yes. Does he ask them in a manner that might point that he’s leading a direction that might push against the limits of orthodoxy? Yes. But ultimately, he doesn’t say anything. He asks some questions and says, “These are important questions, so I wrote about them in my next book.”

So maybe in his book Rob Bell is going to be a universalist. But if he isn’t, there are a lot of prominent Christian leaders that owe him a fat apology.

Ultimately, I think that this is Bell just being himself. He likes to push people’s buttons and make them think. Honestly, I can’t believe everyone is so surprised. And really, this is one of the best marketing strategies I’ve seen in a long time. People who love him were already going to buy the book. Now, so will people who hate him and people who just want to see what all the noise is about (myself included). The fastest way to sell books is to make people angry. Congratulations, Rob Bell. If you aren’t already rich, you are about to be.

So my biggest concern is not with the book—because frankly, no one has read it yet so no one knows what it is going to say. But it is very upsetting to me the flagrant dismissal given so flippantly by people who are so prominent within the church.

Some people say that it is uncool to talk about God’s wrath. I disagree. I say that a deep search into God’s love and the meaning that gives to the fact that all people are not believers is a much harder subject to wrestle with in modern Christianity. Why is it orthodox to explore God’s wrath and not his love? And why is it that as soon as someone starts asking hard questions in order to find truth with regards to God’s love, Christians begin to crucify him?

I’m not saying Rob Bell is right—like I said, I haven’t read the book. I don’t know what it says yet and neither does anyone else. But can I say that I have integrated my faith and learning if I’m ready to attack him based on the idea of what he might say in a book I haven’t read yet? And does it love the brotherhood to dismiss him so simply, readily, and hatefully? Even if, as Piper seems to think, Bell’s theology places him outside the Christian community (again, we haven’t read the book yet!) we are still called to honor him. Honor does not include hate and slander. These behaviors are unacceptable always for those who follow Christ.

At times like this, I am amazed that we think anyone outside the community would want to become a Christian. Look at how we treat each other, let alone those outside! It’s ridiculous. One blogger referenced 2 Cor. 11:14-15, which says, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

We are so ready to be right that as soon as someone questions our ideas we attack them, holding nothing back. Christians are judging Bell too harshly and too quickly. As people who are dedicated to becoming thinking followers of Christ, I pray that this campus will reject this behavior and raise up leaders who deal with one another in peace, love, and grace.

This is one of the CRAZIEST things I've ever heard.

If you've got an hour to listen to a radio show, this is worth the time. It's the story of Lucy-- a chimp raised as a human.

Yes.

Thanks NPR.

This is what happens when you don't leave the house:

I'm a, I'm a, a diva.

P.S. Happy belated Anna Howard Shaw day.

I need you.

Well kids, I need a little help.

I'm looking for something to do this summer. I'm open to pretty much any suggestions. But I've already committed to a week in Jamaica in January. (It's not vaca, so calm down.)

Further, I've decided that I'm going to start a new blog when I move to Ft. Worth and it's actually going to be decent. But, it needs a good title. I'm also open to suggestions. It's going to be about navigating adulthood, my theological education, etc. Let me know if the Spirit enlightens you with any zingers.

Also, votes: is it worth it to donate plasma when you're in a bit of a money bind?


-- These are just a few of the questions in my life lately. Ha.

Valley Maker

So I heard about this from Anna, via Ben. This guy made a folk album about Genesis for his senior thesis and it is phenomenal. You can get the whole album at valleymaker.com for $5. Here's my fave:

Enjoy! :)

Look out for our awesome snowpocalypse boredom video next post... or you can find it on facebook right now.  Ha.

I think I've finally done it.

Recently, I think I decided on my top five favorite movies of all time. They are as follows (in no particular order):

1. Amelie

  

2. Moulin Rouge

3. Stranger than Fiction

4. Love Actually

5. Garden State

Honorable mentions: The Village, Little Miss Sunshine, Armageddon, Mean Girls, A Beautiful Mind.

Thoughts? Yours?

Poetry

At the Smithville Methodist Church-- by: Stephen Dunn

It was supposed to be Arts & Crafts for a week, 
but when she came home 
with the "Jesus Saves" button, we knew what art 
was up, what ancient craft. 

She liked her little friends. She liked the songs 
they sang when they weren't 
twisting and folding paper into dolls. 
What could be so bad? 

Jesus had been a good man, and putting faith 
in good men was what 
we had to do to stay this side of cynicism, 
that other sadness. 

OK, we said, One week. But when she came home 
singing "Jesus loves me, 
the Bible tells me so," it was time to talk. 
Could we say Jesus 

doesn't love you? Could I tell her the Bible 
is a great book certain people use 
to make you feel bad? We sent her back 
without a word. 

It had been so long since we believed, so long 
since we needed Jesus 
as our nemesis and friend, that we thought he was 
sufficiently dead, 

that our children would think of him like Lincoln 
or Thomas Jefferson. 
Soon it became clear to us: you can't teach disbelief 
to a child, 

only wonderful stories, and we hadn't a story 
nearly as good. 
On parents' night there were the Arts & Crafts 
all spread out 

like appetizers. Then we took our seats 
in the church 
and the children sang a song about the Ark, 
and Hallelujah 

and one in which they had to jump up and down 
for Jesus. 
I can't remember ever feeling so uncertain 
about what's comic, what's serious. 

Evolution is magical but devoid of heroes. 
You can't say to your child 
"Evolution loves you." The story stinks 
of extinction and nothing 

exciting happens for centuries. I didn't have 
a wonderful story for my child 
and she was beaming. All the way home in the car 
she sang the songs, 

occasionally standing up for Jesus. 
There was nothing to do 
but drive, ride it out, sing along 
in silence.

A little behind.

So it's been a couple weeks. But I have been busy, I swear.

Instead of going back and doing the weeks I've missed in our 30 week experiment, I have just finished my colloquium on Darwin and culture and I thought I'd let you know some of my thoughts. For my faithful readers, I think I'll attempt to get back on the 30 week train over Thanksgiving break, never fear.

But I have come to realize this weekend that perhaps Darwin has been unfairly vilified, at least in this part of the country. After all, as a person, and especially as a scientist, he really was a remarkable man. Further, I've heard some say that Darwin didn't really purport macro evolution, only micro. But that's not really accurate either.

What frustrates me is the line drawn in the sand that some would say separates creationists and evolutionists. When in actuality, creation speaks to the "who" of the origin of matter and evolution speaks to the "how." To say that you are uncomfortable with the idea that apes and man have a common ancestor, then I might just say, "Shame on you for letting your comfort dictate scientific discoveries." Because, of course, evolution is not a fact. It is a theory. But, before you say that as a reason it should not be taught-- it is a very very good theory. And Darwin did a lot of very good science before he came to the conclusions that he did. After all, gravity is also just a theory but we don't have anyone rioting about that... except for maybe the flat earth people. (Oh yeah, those people are real.)

All of that to say, perhaps because of Darwin the world-- the west in particular-- is less religious. But I do not think that the Darwinian idea of evolution is an immediate threat to faith. Darwin did not negate God, but the idea of God which was at that time popular in the Church of England. Because, unfortunately, with Paley's watchmaker God argument, we began to decide that if there was something we couldn't understand then it must have been created by the hand of God. However, just because I don't understand something is not proof for God's existence. More importantly, just because I do understand something does not mean that it is not directly caused by God. After all, I understand that when I breathe in my diaphragm moves down so that my lungs will be filled with air that is then used by the alveoli to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide in my blood. But that does not mean that I do not draw every breath by the grace and hand of God. In the same way that the fact I get paid for working a job does not mean that God has not provided every penny which I call "mine."

Some might say (and I might be one of these) that Darwin did the church a favor by introducing into 19th century England a viable explanation for existence that did not necessarily depend on God. Before you stone me, I only mean to posit that if you have never chosen between God and anything else you have never chosen him at all. Faith that is held only because there is no other option is not real faith. Further, Darwin allowed us to see that perhaps our perceptions of God are not the same thing as God himself. Just because the God of the gaps was torn down does not mean that God does not exist-- instead, our understanding of him has been refined.

All this to say, is that Creation is something of a sign for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. I learn about evolution and how things came to be the way they are and think, "Wow, isn't God so marvelous." At the same time, Richard Dawkins may take the same facts and say, "See, we have no need of Him." Is that Darwin's fault. Oh, I don't think so. And if we teach our children good science about evolution are we trying to turn them all into Atheists? Probably not. And further, is the secular classroom the proper arena to talk about the Creator? I don't really think so. After all, if we have ears to hear, then creation itself will point to God-- regardless of how he did it.

Ha. Things you can come to think at a Baptist school in Oklahoma.

Oh God of truth, save us from the fear that will keep us from finding You. Amen.

This is Halloween.

I love Halloween.

I know, I know. It's the most pagan of all holidays. But I really love costumes, carving pumpkins, scary movies, candy, and, of course, the occasional dance party. Call me a hedonist. This year's was delightful. Highlights included the 3rd annual roommate pumpkin carving contest as well as a dance party hosted by the junior class (unofficially). Unfortunately, in my love for celebration, I put off doing real things and then stayed up until 3 in the morning translating Greek and studying for church history. But, all's well that ends well and I did just fine on the test on Monday. Without further ado, here's some pictures:

I am not quite ready to give this up. 

Disch and I carved the fail whale. But the winners of the night were Derek and Lane with "pumpkin eating a pumpkin." Congrats!

So there you have it. There are more pictures on facebook.

Oh, and for those of you keeping score at home, costumes included: Frank from 30 Rock, a casserole disch, king of the world, french kiss, Twiggy, a cat, someone from star wars, and Dan and Leah as each other. Pumpkins included: pumpkinception, Lionel Richie, Daniel age 15, fail whale, pumpkin eating a pumpkin, and the headless horseman.

Happy holidays, ladies and gentlemen.

Week 18- A picture that makes you feel...

Feel what? Nostalgic? Ecstatic? Frisky?

All the above...

Love my family.

Week 17- Something I want to be remembered for.

One day late. Sorry.

I want to empower people. I want to take the downtrodden, oppressed, ostracized, and disenfranchised and remind them that Jesus loves them while giving them some of the tools they need to become the person God has created them to be. I want to fight power structures. I want to open the eyes of my students (whatever form that takes) of the freedom and life that is only found in Christ. I want my life to be an example of the gospel-- the truth that Jesus is king and Caesar is not. I want to live in a way that says I do not obey Pharaoh anymore. I want to walk by the Spirit-- to hear the words of Jesus, see what his eyes would see, and dream his thoughts.

That is who I am learning to be. That is how I want to be remembered.

This week's article.

A Case for Pacifism

Stories are the frame by which we make sense of our lives. Stories are the truth that give meaning to events and allow humankind to interpret our experience. I ask you, by what story are you living?

A professor told us the tale of a small boy in Sunday school, learning about the cross of Jesus for the first time. As the Romans began to nail him to the cross, the 9-year-old stood up and cried, “If Roy Rogers was there he would’ve showed them who’s boss! He would’ve stopped them from killing Jesus!”

This is the American story. The good guys come in with guns blazing, fighting valiantly to victory in the name of justice. But should this be our story?

The story of the people of God is different. For Israel, even when it came time to make war, their story said that they depended on God for their victory. Ultimately they were a bunch of “wandering Arameans” who could do nothing unless empowered by YHWH.

In Genesis 4, the result of humankind’s disobedience is revealed dramatically in a story of brother killing brother in the context of worship. No longer able to live in unhindered relationship with God, we work out our frustration in violence. By chapter 6, God is “grieved to his heart” that the earth is “full of violence.” From the beginning and continuing until now, violence is the quintessential human problem.

Is not the cross the ultimate commentary on this? God sent us his son and confronted with our own inadequacies, the best we could come up with was to kill Him.

But we are called to follow the path of Christ. This means when we are slapped to turn another cheek. We are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

Does that mean Jesus has asked us to simply stand by and watch the world go to ruin?

No! Jesus calls us not to “passivism” but to seek out creative ways to promote peace—i.e. non-violent resistance. To turn the other cheek is to confront your attacker with the reality of their wrong. They are demeaning a person equal to them in the eyes of God. By turning the other cheek, you remind them of your dignity—that your hand will not be your advocate, but YHWH himself. This is the life Jesus lived. It was at his weakest moment, when he inhaled his last breath, that the Roman Centurion realized, “Surely this man was a son of God.”

As Paul encouraged us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” We must actively seek ways to promote peace. That is our highest, most counter-cultural call. As it is written, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

What is your story? Who is your advocate? Will you depend on the might of Pharaoh or the faithfulness of your God and Redeemer?

I will not trust in chariots, but I trust in the name of YHWH my God, knowing that though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.

I am committed to a life of non-violence. What if I am attacked? My kingdom is not of this world. But if I forsake all in order to live the life to which he has called me, then I will receive 100 times more in the life to come—but I must not expect to live this life without persecution. When I confess that Jesus is Lord, I say that I will do things His way. Ultimately that must include adopting a story of dependence on God and a commitment to non-violence.

Veronica Pistone

Contributing Columnist

On a lighter note I am making myself wear scarves. This is my attempt to be girly. More scarves, less t-shirts. So far so good. Totes M'gotes.

Week 16- Some things I want to do in the next 5 years

-Graduate
-Grad school
-Get a masters
-Maybe start on a doctorate
-Meet someone
-Maybe, get married. Maybe.
-Live overseas
-Get experience preaching
-Go to Paris, Israel, and/or Hawaii


... but mostly, I figure I want to keep doing the things I'm doing now. It's a pretty good life.

Week 15- A moment that changed your life.

One time, about ten years ago, someone said, "Come, follow me."

So I left everything and followed him.

Rocking the Bison Hill Boat

So this week, I put an article in the student newspaper-- something I've been doing regularly now because Disch and I split a column called "Bursting the Bubble." Anyway, it's been making some pretty big waves over here, so I thought I'd post it in case anyone else wanted to read it and join the conversation. Furthermore, I'd like to say that before I submitted this article, I had no idea that the trustees were going to be on campus this week. So there's probably a large group of SBC deacons who have it out for me now. Oh well.

Why I am a Christian who Supports Same-Sex Marriage

I begin this brief treatise with a presupposition: marriage does not belong to the church. Allow me to explain. Marriage is a rite of the church in the literal sense—in Civ we all learned that marriage is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. However, historically people outside the church have gotten married all the time. Even today, if two Satanists currently living in sin decide to go down to the courthouse and get hitched, I would be hard pressed to find a good Evangelical looking to stop them.

Historically, marriage has been more about economics than anything else. Farmer needs a business partner, girl needs an income, their parents do some exchanging of money and boom! A love story made in heaven. In fact, it is the changes which heterosexuals made to marriage that have caused homosexual marriage to become an issue.

That brings me to my second presupposition: marriage is no longer about sex or bearing children. In fairness, for me, marriage is about sex because I have made the decision to abstain until then. But for society at large, sex has been removed from marriage by the prevalence of birth control and changing social standards. I don’t know anyone who would argue that because a child is born outside of wedlock he is any less entitled to both parents’ resources and love. But historically, that is a ridiculous argument. In fact, a major part of getting married, historically, was about determining which offspring should legitimately inherit the manor.

Instead, we have decided that marriage is about love and personal fulfillment. That means if someone does not ever want to get married then that is their choice. Or if a couple wants to get married and never have kids, that is also their choice. And (outside of the evangelical context) if a couple chooses to live together and have a family without ever getting married, that is an option. Single mothers or fathers are not looked down upon and divorce is no longer as stigmatized as it once was.

Socially speaking, we should not be surprised that homosexuals are demanding the right to marriage. After all, weren’t we the ones who decided it was about being happy? If the only real requirement to marriage is being in love, why do we get to choose which in love people get to get married?

Third presupposition: marriage is about inheritance, property rights, and plenty of other things I never think about. Did you know that it is more expensive to live as a homosexual than as a heterosexual? This is because rules about employment benefits, insurance, etc. apply only to immediate family. And if you are not allowed to get married, then you can never become immediate family. Imagine, if I got married today to someone with great life insurance, and he died in 3 weeks, I would get all of the benefits of that life insurance policy. If someone has been in a relationship with someone of the same gender for 67 years and dies, the other partner receives nothing because they are not technically immediate family. Being a homosexual makes wills and assigning next of kin for medical purposes more difficult, if you want to include your partner. Really, legally and financially if you are not a heterosexual, your life is just going to be more complicated.

There are many more things I could mention. But I will end with this: I do believe that homosexuality is a sin and the bible is very clear about that. But, I have come to decide that as an American, it is not my job to legislate the bible. I do not see my choice to vote in favor of gay marriage as voting for sin, but rather choosing not to vote against sin for the greater value in voting for equality. Above all things, I believe that it does not love homosexuals to take away their civil liberties. If we are going to legislate based on sexual sin, then anyone who has had sex outside of marriage should not be allowed to get married. Anyone who uses pornography should not be allowed to get married. Anyone who has ever been divorced or cheated or lusted (which Jesus said is the same as adultery) should not be allowed to get married.

What should we do instead? Instead of dictating to the world who can and can’t get married, I believe that the church should glorify God with their own marriages. The evangelical community has a divorce rate slightly higher than that of the rest of the world. Perhaps, if we allowed everyone to get married and then really sought to glorify God with our marriages, we would be salty and illuminating and the world would say, “Oh hey, Christian marriages work really well. Maybe there’s something to that.”

I believe that being a defender of marriage has little to do with how I vote, but instead how I live my life as an example to the world of the identity of my Savior.

Veronica Pistone

Contributing Columnist

Thoughts?