Rabbah Rona Matlow uses the just passed Transgender Day of Visibility as a starting point for today’s post. The need for such a day shows that being visible can be dangerous. And, while all major religions preach love there are too many that promote orthodox doctrines which makes “othering” people easy.
Rabah Rona Matlow takes a look at how the words of ancient religious texts are too often cherry picked for justification of modern prejudices. A deeper study of the texts would reveal the true meaning but too many people cling to the superficial understanding as it agrees with what they believe.
Today Rabbah Rona looks at holy texts and concludes that being nonbinary, transgender, intersexed or asexual is far from being the abomination that many who profess to adhere to Christianity believe. God created the world (and the whole universe) with many different options. Being LGBTQ+ is just as natural as anything in that universe.
With Martin Luther King day coming soon Rabbah Rona Matlow finds a connection between the struggles of the Black community fighting for quality and freedom, and the suffering of the Israelites under the foot of an insecure pharaoh in ancient Egypt.
Rabbah Rona feels that the current president does not have the best interests of the transgender community at heart. She feels, as do many others, that he has at best, paid lip service to the important issues affecting the whole LGBTQ+ community. She not only looks at this president from a practical viewpoint but in a spiritual manner as well.
During the High Holy Days Jewish people recite a classic prayer that lays out the different ways people will die in the coming year. Today Rabbah Rona writes about the prayer, Unetane Tokef, and while it is a remnant from the early days she finds that it does offer a way to reduce the number of deaths through righteous deeds and repentance.
People all over the United States have been “Crowing” joyously because of the selection, and now nomination, of Kamala Harris as the candidate for Vice President. As a transgender activist I could not join the celebration. Like many trans activists, I see her as a transphobic tool of the carceral prison-industrial complex. I know these […]
Today Rabba Rona, a disabled queer trans rabbi who served in the U.S. Navy writes that she was appalled and outraged when federal agents beat a Navy veteran on the street in Portland, Oregon when he did nothing wrong except ask them a question about what they were there to do. Whether you are conservative or liberal you should read Rona’s post and view the video of the vet being beaten. It should be a warning to all of us.
Rabbag Rona expresses her opinion on police murdering black people. “People who claim to value human life do not. Genesis 1:27 states (doubled for absolute emphasis) that we were ALL created in God’s image. The Talmud states that when one destroys a life it is as if one destroys the world. Yet when it comes to Black people, and particularly Black trans people, there seems to be a pervasive attitude in this country that they are somehow less than. This could not be further from the truth.”
Rabbah Rona Matlow, our spiritual correspondent, writes about faith in the current virus epidemic. Some people feel cut off from their spiritual anchors because they are unable to gather with others of their faith. Others deny faith as not being helpful and turn to science for instruction and information. As a former scientist, and current spiritual counselor who works with people of all religions — or none, Rabbah Rona shares more of her thoughts on the subject.
Rabbah Rona Matlow, our spiritual correspondent, writes about faith in the current virus epidemic. Some people feel cut off from their spiritual anchors because they are unable to gather with others of their faith. Others deny faith as not being helpful and turn to science for instruction and information. As a former scientist, and current spiritual counselor who works with people of all religionsn — or none, Rabbah Rona shares her thoughts on the subject.
First let me introduce myself. I’m Rabbah Rona Matlow. I’m an AFAB NB trans woman, and I use ze/hir pronouns. Rabbah in the modern context means woman rabbi. I use ze/hir deliberately rather than they/them to engage people in discussions and learning because I believe that religion, science and sociology all clearly show that the […]
Today our spiritual advisor Beverly Anne Thomas (until recently know as Tommie/Tammie Smith) looks at how The Wizard of Oz delivers a message very similar to the message of all religious and spiritual conditions. She advises that you pay no attention to the man behind that curtain and if the ruby slippers fit then perhaps you should wear them.
We experience life in our own unique way as an expression of our values, beliefs and aspirations. I participate in a religious faith, and I attend an inclusive church, but I’m not a religious person. When I found something deeper than religion during a crisis many years ago, I found myself. I found that a […]
Why are there so many trans people coming out and showing their true selves? Is it simply that the media has started to cover the story and more people have come to realize that they don’t have to keep themselves hidden? Or is it that the transgender support group movement and trans activism that burgeoned at the end of the last century achieved its goal? Maybe it’s bigger than that. It could be that there is a spiritual evolution taking place. That’s the theory that Tommie Smith expounds on today.
Today we introduce a new contributor to TGForum. Tommie Smith will blog for us on matters of a spiritual and religious nature as they relate to members of the trans community. She begins her blog with us by sharing her views on organized religion and how it affects our culture and what that in turn does to those who are viewed as outsiders. Many of our Christian sects, despite no specific language in the Bible, condemn LGBT people as immoral or mentally ill. Tommie shares her point of view on how to avoid feeling that you are “not right” when they judge.
For some reason many religious people, who claim to follow God’s laws, find that judging LGBT people is just fine. Even though it says in the Bible, “judge not….” And most of the time they judge us to be sinners. That leads to LGBT people who believe in God being abused and mistreated by their fellow Christians. They are tossed out of their congregations and must wander in the wilderness trying to find the promised land. Today Josy C blogs about her experience with religion.
In many people there is an innate need for a spiritual connection to something greater. For some it is God. Others feel one with nature. Still others see the universe through science and appreciate its complexity as an indication of a celestial planner. Dana Bevan sees trans-ness as a scientist does but she has a friend who sees it as a spiritual experience. Which one is right depends on who you are.
Did you see the lottery this last week? Three hundred and twenty-six million dollars is one heck of a jackpot. The Mega Millions lottery will pay the ridiculous amount of money to one winner. IF that person invests those riches wisely, they will be set for life. It probably comes as no surprise that when […]
Life can be trying at times. The life of a trans person can be doubly so. Today Meggan Sommerville has some spiritual advice about the journey through life and she illustrates it with a story about her daughter when she was a little girl, and with a quote from St. Paul. How does she bring those things together. Begin your journey to enlightenment by reading Reward at the End.
Yolanda was introduced to readers of Perpetual Change back in 2001 when she fronted a band called The Plastic Family. Since then Pamela DeGroff has featured Rev. Roger Anthony Yolanda Mapes several times. Today she talks with Yolanda about her new CD. And more!
