The ex-gay movement fits the definition of genocide as outlined by the UN, according to startling new scholarship.

Using UN documents, professors Sue  Spivey and Christine Robinson present genocide as a continuum with "social death" at one end and mass murder at the other.  The UN definition of genocide includes "causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group."

If causing serious MENTAL harm is genocide, then art by ex-gay survivors illustrates the genocidal damage. More info

(Credit: "The Broken Image" by Christine Bakke)

Bestselling author Anne Rice announced recently that she is quitting Christianity because she refuses to be anti-gay and anti-feminist.

Lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry wrote an open letter to Ms. Rice.  It begins, "Believe it or not, you can be Christian AND support gay rights and feminism!"

Dialogue continues in the comments at the Jesus in Love Blog.  More info

St. Wilgefortis prayed to avoid marriage to a pagan king -- and her prayers were answered when she grew a beard! 
 
People have honored this virgin martyr since the 14th century, but today's skeptical scholars suggest that her story is sheer invention.  More info

The love between Saint Boris and George the Hungarian ended tragically in 1015 in medieval Russia.  Boris was a married prince who had enormous love for his servant George.  

Legend says that when assassins attacked Boris, George flung himself on the body of his prince, exclaiming: "I will not be left behind, my precious lord!  Ere the beauty of thy body begins to wilt, let it be granted that my life may end."  More info

(Credit: "Saints Boris and George the Hungarian" by Robert Lentz, trinitystores.com)

Mary and Martha of Bethany were two of Jesus' closest friends.  The Bible calls them "sisters" who lived together, but reading the Bible with queer eyes raises another possibility.  Maybe Mary and Martha were a lesbian couple.  

They formed a nontraditional family at a time when there was huge pressure for heterosexual marriage.  More info

(Credit: "Mary and Martha" by Bernardino Luini)

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(Image credit: Keetsa)