I find it necessary to state out right that I advocate for women's rights to be equal with men's. I think that in the United States all people should have equal rights and opportunities. Having said that there seems to be a growing voice within the feminist community that seems to be more about bullying people who do not agree with their ideology, rather than simply advocating for equality. There are two recent examples of this in the news this past week. The first example of this bullying happened when Dr. Matt Taylor helped land a space craft on a comet. This is the first time this has ever been done in human history, and there is much we can learn from this achievement. However celebration for this event was not unanimous because when interviewed Dr. Taylor was wearing a bowling shirt that a female friend had made for him and it had women that (for lack of a better term) weren't dressed for church. While I do not agree with this man wearing this shirt in public, and especially for an interview, and while I would not wear a shirt like this myself, I find it hard to focus on man's shirt in the wake of such an important moment in human history. While this event may not bear the same significance as putting a man on the moon, it does hold as much importance as man's first probe in space. Dr. Taylor was brought to tears asking for forgiveness from the people he had offended. These are the same people who said things like, "I don't care if you landed a spacecraft on a comet, your shirt is still sexist and ostracizing." Dr. Taylor who accomplished a feet that should have brought humanity together has been accused of encouraging women to stay out of the sciences for no other reason but the shirt he was wearing. In this situation these over zealous feminists devalued the importance of many people's hard work and time by taking this achievement and making about sexism. While I agree the man does not have the best choice in clothing, there was no reason he should have been brought to tears just for what he wore to work. The next example of this bullying comes when the Times magazine had a pole about which word should be banned in 2015. It should be noted that this was just a poll and in no way effected legislation.The word feminist was only this poll and won in a landslide. There was such an outcry against this that eventually the Times posted a retraction and an apology for including the word in the first place. These are just two examples of the many that I have seen in the news recently. I personally am appalled to see these acts of bullying taking place within the public square like this. I would not dare say that those who advocate for feminism should be silenced or not allowed to think and believe what they want, but why do they have to be so loud about it, and then it hit me. This could be the same thought that many atheists have had about Christians in years past. I was finally getting a taste of what many others have gone through while Christians had been the loud voice in the media. I can think of times when Christians would make a fuss over movies such as Harry Potter, and the Da Vince Code. The amount of Christians who argue for prayer to be in school, and the Nativity scenes to be up in the public square, and now that I was seeing another ideology that I did not agree with do similar things I did not like it. In that moment I was humbled before the Lord and I started to think about what Christians could learn from Feminism. Christians and feminists alike have made a big fuss about how society should follow their tenets. If you feel as if feminism is being forced down your throat, then perhaps you know how those who do not believe God now feel. I looked back over the gospels and I do not find where Jesus proclaimed to the Romans, that they should close down their shops on the Sabbath, or where Jesus said that the Romans should make slavery illegal because all of humanity is equal under God. I do see Jesus preaching about the kingdom of God, and I see him rebuking his followers. Perhaps this is the example Christians should seek follow. Do we hold ourselves to a higher standard, or are we quick to judge the lost and give grace to the saved? Please understand I am no way stating that Christians give in on what society deems acceptable, however we should not be surprised that lost people do not act like Christians. Perhaps we should be harder on the Christians who act like lost people. Trying to get a show or person thrown off the air because something they said offends Christians is not going to lead people to Christ. Preaching about the kingdom of God and the gospel will lead people to Christ. We cannot hope to change culture by merely pointing out its flaws and hoping others will do something about it. Culture will change when the people decide for it to. When people see the value in living a Christian life they will seek to live a Christian life. There is value in having a relationship with God. There is value in not giving into to every desire your heart has, and learning self control. There is value resisting what is evil and clinging to what is good, and there is value in trusting in the Lord with all your heart and leaning not on your own understanding. If Christians believe this, then by the grace of God, and with Christians living like Christians people will see why we have faith in Christ,and why that is the best choice they can ever make. Christians should not try affect culture the way these feminists do by loosing sight of what is a great moment in human history because a shirt offends us, or by complaining about a website to change something that we do not like. Christians should affect culture, by being Christians and leading others to Christ trusting that in the end God is the one in control, and will has the final victory of all sin and corruption in the world. Amen
Salutations,
It is my hope that this blog post is another way for me to show who I am and express certain ideas and thoughts I have that I cannot always express while I am preaching. I hope that this provoke you to thought and perhaps discussion. While some of these posts will be well thought out and researched, some will be more stream of mind. I hope that this will be as beneficial for all who read it as it is for me to write it. Since I am starting my first blog in November I thought it best to talk about Thanksgiving. I know people have talked about this before, however it seems that many time Thanksgiving is one of those Holidays that is more of a burden rather than a blessing. Halloween brings candy, costumes, and carnival rides, and Christmas brings joy, music, presents, and more. What does Thanksgiving bring? Good food yes, but beyond that that there is not much that is to bought or sold when it comes to Thanksgiving, yet one still must deal with family fights, preparing food, and a mountain of dishes to clean after the meal is over. In the US, what has become associated with Thanksgiving is Black Friday.The time when stores have more deals than dogs have flees. It has even gotten to the point that now some companies start Black Friday on Thursday. I think the problem is that Thanksgiving is one holiday that goes against culture in that like it or not we are a consumer culture. We value the free market and can always be looking forward to new and better items to buy. Thanksgiving is a time for us to stop being consumers (except when it comes to food) and be thankful for all that we have, rather than looking to acquire more. I'm sure you have heard this before and yet the point still stands that it is important that we take time to reflect on all that we have. If you are reading this, it means you have a computer, an internet connection and time to read it. These simple things means that you also have so much more, such as eyes to read this with. In the world that we live in there is much suffering and many times when we must face disappointments. With all of this it is good to remember all that we have been given, and all that makes life worth living. For all humans we have the opportunities experience art, laughter, beauty, victory, mercy, love, and so many other aspects of human life. For believers we know what it means to be forgiven and shown true mercy and love from our Holy God. We know the joys of having a relationship with our savior Jesus Christ, and all the fruits of the Spirit we have been given. This Thanksgiving I cannot think of one person that I know who isn't suffering in one way or another, but even with all that we go through, anyone can look back at their life and find something with which to say, "I'm thankful for..." |
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February 2023
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