Love & Respect: Biblical? Freebie

Found a link.
Actually it was left on Wendy's blog.
But I feel the need to pass it on at no extra cost to you all.

Love & Respect: Biblical?

This is a thorough review.
Click on it when you have time.
If you don't have much time, you could still click on it and just read the comments.

I Get Cranky With Driscoll, [Ever notice ? ;) ]

But even though I get very cranky with him over many issues, I still know he's my brother in Christ and I have to remind myself that he's not evil incarnate. He'd just made many mistakes and is under a good deal of self-delusion.

Anyway, because I have to pull back and regroup and remind myself and my readers that Driscoll is not evil, I like to include critiques of him and/or his teaching by those who are either more objective than I, or have a better understanding of the Mars Hill culture through personal experience, or both.

That's why I had guest posts by WTH here and also why I'm linking this, a review of Driscoll's "Real Marriage" book by people who went to church at Mars Hill during the times Driscoll describes in the book. So here it is:

Our Review of Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll

Then also, here are WTH thoughts on this review.

WTH thoughts

WTH thoughts part 2

Announcing My Link Page

My blog list has become freakishly long.

I'm still going to leave it up for a while, maybe forever.

But in addition to my regular blog list I'm building a links page that can get freakishly longer.

It is a work in progress and I'm not nearly done putting in all the links I want. But I've gotten a good start and wanted to go ahead and share it with people.

There are links on that page that never made it to the blog list, but not because they were not worthy. It was just a matter of my limited time or attention span or something else or something else, who knows.

Anyway, here it is:

Link Junction

You can also get there, anytime, by clicking "Link Junction" next to "Home" under the title line of this blog.

Modesty Doctrine and Men

I've linked Sierra before and she's another one that I should just have in my blog roll. Or perhaps I should get busy with that link page I've mumbled about before.

Any way, before I get to the link, reading her post reminded me of another conversation I had with my son.

We were at the orientation for his college and some young Muslim girl made some sort of sign toward him that seemed positive and could have been a flirt. Neither of us were sure.

At least we think she was Muslim since she was dark complected and had her head covered with a scarf. On our way home from the orientation we were talking about it and it came up, why do (some) Muslim women cover their heads.

While I knew that I didn't have all the answers nor was I trying to say that this particular girl covered her head for this reason, the conversation did go in the direction of the modesty thing. So I mentioned where, in some places women are covered from head to toe, including face, because they are more or less held responsible for the sexual sins in men.

My son didn't like this. So I mentioned that in some countries women are even held responsible and punished for their own rapes.

The flash of fury in my son's eyes was one of the most rewarding things I saw that day. He could see the injustice of such things and was, in fact, incredulous that such attitudes towards women existed anywhere. It's in moments like these that I know that, as a parent, I'm not a total failure.

Anyway, enough about me and my son. Here's the link to Sierra's blog post:

http://nonprophetmessage.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/how-the-modesty-doctrine-hurts-men-too/#more-689
(It appears this link is broken. Sorry. It was pretty good.)

Freedom of Ideas

Okay, I had lost a blog post that I wanted to link here a few days ago. I was getting ready to look for it, but is found me by linking one of my blog posts. Boy, does that make life easier.

Sallie Borrink points out how the Internet has helped women find their freedom.

http://sallieborrink.com/the-internet-and-freedom-for-christian-women/

I would add that the internet has helped countless silenced women find their God-given voices.

Here is one of my favorite verses in the Psalms.

^{Psalm 68:11} The Lord gives the command;
The women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:

Could it be that, besides referring to the time it was written, that this verse could also be looking forward to this day when a great host of women are actually given the opportunity to proclaim good tiding through the power of technology?

I've heard grumblings from some men that are not happy about this new found freedom that women have. I've heard grumbling and shamings from certain men who don't want women to have so much freedom. These men fear the freedom of their women. Otherwise, why would thy work so hard to bring women under the bondage of religions and legalism?

Yet, God has called us to freedom.

And one of the good tidings that women are proclaiming is:

GOD DOES NOT FAVOR MEN OVER WOMEN. God is not the author of the injustices that certain men have done against women in His name. The hierarchy that certain men have been enforcing over women is based in the traditions of men and have nothing to do with the heart of God.

This is good news. These are good tidings of great joy.

When some men make it their ministry and life work to tell women to sit down and shut up in church or anywhere, they are NOT speaking with authority from God. They are bullying from their own broken and deceitful hearts. And we don't have to listen to them. The voice of a stranger, we shall not follow (John 10:5). We will follow the voice of the Shepherd who, for freedom's sake, set us free. (Gal 5:1)

Rumors of God's Patriarchy...

...have been greatly exaggerated.

Some titles are so good, I wish I had come up with them. Like the one above.

But I didn't. My friend, Retha from South Africa did.

https://biblicalpersonhood.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/rumors-of-gods-patriarchalism-have-been-greatly-exaggerated-part-1-zelophehads-daughters/

And here's another freebie:

http://bwebaptistwomenforequality.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/the-greatest-commandment-embraces-equality/

Yeah, I know. Link Junction January is over. But I keeponalinking.

Womanhood Confusion and 12 Step Recovery

Just call me the blog link junction this month.

All I seem able to do is link other people's blog posts. And I'm okay with that. I hope you are too, and I hope any new visitors will be as delighted over some of the things I'm finding in the blogsphere.

The two I have today aren't as related as the title of this post makes them look. I'm not linking a 12 step recovery for Womanhood Confusion, I just have two unrelated posts that, for women, might have a bit of a connection, but I leave that for the individual to decide.

Certain sectors of American Evangelicalism seem to be over wrought and wringing their hands concerning "Gender Confusion". As a result, Herculean measures are being taken to heal our generation of this horrid monster of Gender Confusion. Unfortunately, these Herculean measures are only confusing the issue far worse than what it was to begin with because, apparently, American Evangelicals are the most confused on what Womanhood is of any other group on the face of the planet.

Karen, over at "That Mom" discusses some of the mixed and confusing messages coming out of the American Evangelical Gender Confusion Hand Wringing Fest:
http://www.thatmom.com/2012/01/25/purity-balls-christian-princess-syndrome-and-mom-haircuts-evangelicalisms-mixed-messages-for-women/

On a different note, Cindy, over at Under Much Grace, is very concerned about the damage that is being done to all people by many of the excesses going on in American Evangelicalism of which Womanhood Confusion is only one. Cindy is all about healing and being truly set free in Jesus Christ. It is good that Cindy put up:

Finding Healing Through the Twelve Steps: Recovery from the Emotional Wounds of Childhood (and from Spiritual Abuse)

http://undermuchgrace.blogspot.com/2012/01/finding-healing-through-twelve-steps.html

Neither of these ladies are in my blog role yet. Both ladies belong there. Better yet, I'm toying with the idea of making a links page here. I really don't mind being a link junction. I believe in the Wisdom of as Iron sharpens Iron so one man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17 NAS).