Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
The Mystery of an Outlandishly Queer Creation

The Mystery of an Outlandishly Queer Creation

Last updated on: October 1, 2013 at 9:15 am by Susan Cottrell

The Mystery of an Outlandishly Queer Creation 2013-10-01T09:15:52-05:00 Susan Cottrell

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

sunda-colugo

Queer: 1 strange; odd: she had a queer feeling that they were being watched.

Creation: 1 the action or process of bringing something into existence: the creation of a coalition government | job creation.

This planet has some crazy schtuff in it. The Sunda Colugo.

Yeah, I never heard of it either, but here it is in a picture! The giraffe. The whale. The duck-billed platypus. Countless varieties of flowers, birds, and some 9 million species of bugs. 9 million varieties of bugs!

And let’s not even get started on the universe beyond our little planet.

It’s a queer creation indeed. The world is full of such strangeness—things none of us would’ve begun to imagine.

Queer: 2 informal, chiefly derogatory (esp. of a man) homosexual.

Creation: 2 (the Creation) the bringing into existence of the universe, esp. when regarded as an act of God. • everything so created; the universe: our alienation from the rest of Creation.

Then we come to people—just look at the variety. Height, weight, shape, color, hair, abilities, preferences. The combination of variables is truly endless.

I learned the words “boy” and “girl” when I was tiny. I could easily tell one from the other. But the older I grew, the more variation I saw even in that; it’s not the simple “boy” “girl” I always thought it was. Some boys are quite masculine, some are quite feminine. Same with girls. On a sliding scale of masculine to feminine, you can find any gender anywhere along the way. Not only that, but some people have both or neither genders. As a young adult, I saw a guest on Oprah who had neither gender. Neither “boy” nor “girl” body parts. What? How could that even be?? Truly, it boggles the mind.

I realize that this can be disconcerting for many. Okay, for most. Because we like to fit things neatly in a box. Too many variables can be unnerving, even downright frightening. But to artificially limit variety to make us feel comfortable and safe does a grave injustice to the infinite variety God created for us—and for Him—to enjoy!

I’d been having a discussion with a commenter on my blog about gender, and she actually wrote this: “The Bible is not a mystery.” The Bible is not a mystery? Seriously? We’re talking about what many of us believe to be a long-preserved book inspired by God, written by a variety of men (presumably men, not women), over some thousand-plus years, to be read over the millennia. And a commenter says, “The Bible is not a mystery.” I wonder if she might say God is not a mystery?

The Bible is a mystery. God is a mystery. The universe is a mystery. Human beings are a mystery. Gender is a mystery. As much as we might want to put fold it up and fit it neatly into a box, none of this will go in a box. To try to force it in a box is to minimize and distort it. It may feel more comfortable but it is inauthentic.

How about this instead?

Let us revel in the mystery! Let us enjoy the unfolding wonder of something so far beyond our comprehension that any attempt to confine it simply strains our brain. Let us set our fears aside and see what the wild variety of the universe, and of God, has to teach us. If we trust, if we have faith, we will find something much more beautiful than a misshapen and squished reality. We will find wonder beyond our wildest imagination. That is how queerly God created it!

christians with gay children

ex-gay ministries

exchanged life

gay Christian

gay christian community

help my child is gay

homosexuality

homosexuality and sin

homosexuality and the bible

homosexuality and the church

how to respond to a gay child

parent of a gay child

parenting in Christ

parents of gay children

parents of gay kids

queer theology

to christian parents of gay children

trusting God with our children

what do you do when your son is gay

when your family rejects you

Previous Post

September 30, 2013

I Do Love Gays, But...

Next Post

October 3, 2013 Zero or Hero - What Kind of Neighbor Are You?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Church & Religion Dear Susan Family Support Gay Weddings & Marriage GCN Conference Jesus Blog LGBTQ Support Parenting Personal Stories Suicide The Real Jesus Theology Transgender Uncategorized X Archived Posts

Select a Month August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 June 2022 December 2021 May 2021 February 2021 November 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 May 2019 March 2019 January 2019 November 2018 March 2018 January 2018 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the first high priest of Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Moses Aaron Joshua Levi

Support this
Column