Patrik Olterman
Living whole hearted
Read more: Living whole heartedIf you have heard me teach, chances are you have heard me teach on Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” (2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV)…
In god’s queer image …
Read more: In god’s queer image …A dear friend and mentor wrote: You ask whether your post will make you an outcast from the Christian community. I hope it does not because we could do with a dose of clear thinking, careful theological reflection, and honesty on this subject, and others. Of course, the Christian community cannot bear such questions because,…
The sacrament of coming out of the closet …
Read more: The sacrament of coming out of the closet …The biggest problem with wearing a mask is that as long as we wear it only the mask receives love. The psychology is as simple as it is diabolical, I know that what I am presenting is not real me, therefore I also know that the person you are loving is not really the real…
The omniamourous god.
Read more: The omniamourous god.As soon as you say the words: god is love, some people make a face and sigh. The notion is that when you speak about god as love and when you talk about grace, it is a sign that you have gone soft. Implying that you have compromised the “high standards” of Christian living and…
Marriage is meaningless …
Read more: Marriage is meaningless …After years of deconstructing both my worldview, my faith, my theology, my sexuality and every other aspect of my faith I have come to this conclusion (among many others to be sure), marriage is meaningless. Marriage has meant many different things in many different times and many different cultures. Most of the time marriage has…
Being myself …
Read more: Being myself …Anyone that knows me knows that the last year has been a theological and emotional roller coaster of self discovery. I have been to the depths of me and re-examined my core beliefs and my standard scripts, realising that I live like most people behind the mask that I think will be accepted by the…
Truth and grace revisited
Read more: Truth and grace revisitedI love my blog readers, they are not many but they are faithful. Recently a new but dear friend has been reading my blog from the beginning, charting the twists and turns of both my life and my faith. This has provoked more than a few very interesting questions. One of the more poignant questions…
Taking the G out of the kingdom ….
Read more: Taking the G out of the kingdom ….I was listening to a Homebrewed Christianity – Theology Nerd Throwdown (TNT) when I was struck with this beautiful idea. It was Tripp Fuller who said (Not the exact quote, though these are his words) If you take the G out of Kingdom you get kindom with no cock and no crown. The kindom of…
Why tolerance is not good enough.
Read more: Why tolerance is not good enough.Tolerance has long been a hobby horse of many within the evangelical movement (to make fun of and hate it) and the liberal movement (to advocate it). Recently my friend and former pastor Peter Baranowsky have been blogging about the book the new tolerance and it seems to me that Peter and possibly the authors…
A larger container
Read more: A larger containerOften in these theological conversations we are presented with a set of polar opposites. Monica Coleman states in a recent Homebrew podcast that when presented with polarities in conversation all you need is a bigger container. Think of the earth (or the Earth as Jeanine Slettom and John Cobb would have it), a globe with two…
People are still having sex
Read more: People are still having sexI have been putting of writing this post for nearly a week now, I get both uneasy and angry just by thinking about it. Stephen Court wrote the following in his blog the other day: Evangelicals Encouraging Contraception for Singles? It turns out that 80% of American Evangelicals are going to hell. That is, they admit…
I cannot dance to Pipers tune.
Read more: I cannot dance to Pipers tune.Out of Ur recently posted this outrageous interview with John Piper where Piper states that: “It’s right for God to slaughter women and children anytime he pleases.” I must say that I am flabbergasted with the smile on Pipers face as he makes these horrible claims for god. I have a very hard time believing that…
Wrestling with god.
Read more: Wrestling with god.My good friend Mackan Andersson came by today for a chat and a coffee. He brought me this beautiful one page of a 16th century vulgate bible with a woodcut of Jacob wrestling with god. Reminded him of me he said … And yes that is what it feels like, wrestling with god. Yet I…
On the mystery…
Read more: On the mystery…Yesterday we had the honour of having two good friends on furlough visit us at work. We sat down for an hour and talked about the church where they where now serving, life in general and much, much more. In the middle of our conversation they told us an incredible story (and I mean that…
On the recent silence…
Read more: On the recent silence…So if you been following this blog for a while, you may have noticed the silence of late. There are many reasons for this. For one, I have been ill with strep throat although it is of course entirely possible to blog while you are ill. No the silence is due to the fact that…
The big masturbation post
Read more: The big masturbation postNot so long ago I sat in a room with a group of young Christians, no longer teenagers but rather young adults. We where talking about the bible and Jesus. Was it possible that Jesus could have sinned and what does it mean that Jesus felt every human emotion, did he then lust? Masturbate? The…
Sex at dawn …
Read more: Sex at dawn …I have just finished reading Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan. It may be the first time in a long while that I read a book that so persuasively and thouroughly deconstructs one of the often unspoken meta-narratives of our contemporary culture, namely the hetero-normative monogamy centred narrative of human sexuality. I also realize that this…
Love is where the rubber meets the road …
Read more: Love is where the rubber meets the road …I recently received the following IM from one of my soldiers in the corps. I can’t or don’t want to continue as a Soldier … I feel that I want to fall in love, love and feel loved back. Therefore I wan’t to become an adherent. Personally this is one of the most heartbreaking messages…
Jesus in drag
Read more: Jesus in dragWhy are you doing this? Why do you take such an interest in the LGBTQ and sexuality? The question has been asked of me many times. By my leaders, by the people in my congregation and by my family. In fact I think it was my brother who asked the million dollar question one day…
Who is queer?
Read more: Who is queer?I am not underprivileged, marginalised or persecuted in any ways. I am a Caucasian, heterosexual male with a DipHE in Theology and Mission. I am employed as a full time minister, doing what I love to do: to teach theology; to build and nurture relationships; to be a sign towards a mystery I may never…
Getting down and dirty with god.
Read more: Getting down and dirty with god.“God is not sexual” my friend stated matter-of-factly. It is odd that he did because he also does not believe in god. How the god he does not believe in can be, or not be, anything is beyond me. It is a common notion though to separate the divine from the worldly. It is even…
A recipe for more queer theology (or the shameless hat in hand post)
Read more: A recipe for more queer theology (or the shameless hat in hand post)Every now and then I post something like this. It is always with one tablespoon shame and a teaspoon of hope. It’s with a handful of trepidation and some good old fashioned fear thrown in for good measure. I read a lot, if you know me and hang out with me, then you know that…
Sex as a sacrament.
Read more: Sex as a sacrament.There was this praise song on my favorite worship album, it always bugged me. “Take me, I am yours”, the woman sang with such throaty passion that it sounded almost sexual, indecent. I mentioned it once to a friend who told me, it’s just your perverted mind that hears it like that. I never broach…
Meeting an adulterous god
Read more: Meeting an adulterous godI don’t know how I never saw it; One of the tenets of classical biblicism is faithfulness, I mean I even have it tattooed on my body, inked onto my skin so as to never forget. It is a label given to me by the voice of god on top of a mountain in wales.…
The centrality of sexuality
Read more: The centrality of sexualityWhy is this such a big deal? Why does it matter? It should be a non issue! This is what both right wing and left wing, conservatives and liberals are saying all over the place. In churches people are taught that their sexuality, while important, is not essential. Sexuality does not define you, or who…
