Tag Archives: identity

femfest…what I learned

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Yesterday was supposed to be the final day of FemFest, but as usual, I’m a little late to the party.  Oh well…I can live with it.  One thing I’m learning…slowly but surely…is that if I’m going to make this blogging-thing work, I have to control it, and it cannot control me.  The world will not implode without my measly little post being published…I get that…believe me, I *so* get that.

So, better late than never, here it is…

feminisms-fest-badgeToday’s conversation starter is this:

What surprised you this week? What did you take away from the discussion? What blog posts did you find particularly helpful? What questions do you still have?

One thing that surprised me is that there are so many tentative feminists like myself.  So many who are completely sold out to the the idea of equality, as set forth and promoted by Jesus and the Bible, and yet still feel the need to ‘clarify’.  (Yes, I realize some disagree with that very basic premise, that Jesus and the Bible set forth equality.  That’s okay.  I absolutely believe it to be true and will write here from the standpoint of it as a given.)  I was encouraged that plenty of others, like myself, still cringe and pull away from the militancy of extremists…be they feminist extremists or christian extremists.

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Jesus…a feminist??

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These are the questions being posed today, for the second day of the Feminisms Fest synchroblog…

feminisms-fest-badge

What is at stake in this discussion? Why is feminism important to you? Are you thinking about your children or your sisters or the people that have come before you? Or, why do you not like the term? What are you concerned we’re not focusing on or we’re losing sight of when we talk about feminism? Why do you feel passionately about this topic?

“Why is feminism important to you?”

Feminism, in and of itself, is not important to me.  We can call it whatever we want.  People are important to me.  If a word trips you up, then toss it and focus on the concept.  PEOPLE are important.  Feminism is a tool to correct an injustice.  Women have been treated wrongly, and suffered injustice.  Incorrect thinking, misunderstanding and plain old sin have too long held back all the goodness that God intended life to have, coming through the contributions of male and female.  Feminism is merely a tool to bring about a change…a correction toward  God’s original intent…absolute equality as male and female, together reflecting the Image of the Creator. 

So when we ask what is at stake…I would say…in a word (okay, two words)- redemption and restoration.  It’s bigger than my feelings, goals or ambitions.  It’s more than wanting to see the next generation of girls thriving in their gifts and talents (though that is certainly part of it).  I believe it’s about God’s heart…God’s design.

It’s about returning to Plan A.

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hemlines and the heart

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To wrap up this week, I thought I’d be brave and bring up a very touchy subject…modesty.  It’s come up in bits and pieces over the past week in all these various discussions on the net, and it was one aspect of what I’ve been chewing on.

I think the reason this conversation can be so volatile is because it is so easy to slip into legalism, something I have definitely been guilty of myself.  We like things all nice, and neat, and tidy…with very clear instructions and guidelines.  Sometimes freedom can actually seem scary, because so much is left up to discretion, wisdom and good motive…which I think we often doubt that we have enough of.  However, it was for FREEDOM that Christ set us free, and He is able to work in us all of these qualities, and guide us through the Holy Spirit so that we don’t have to look to rely on a set of ‘rules and regulations’ in order to live.  (That is what ‘grace’ is, after all!)

I believe God actually wants us increasingly free from this way of thinking.  He doesn’t want to give us a set of ‘rules’, because he wants us to learn to act from the heart.  This is evidenced by the transition of leading through through the law, in the Old Testament, to leading through the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.  God is moving and progressing us into ever growing freedom.

He is FAR more concerned with the internals…our attitudes, and what motivates us to the actions we choose…than with the externals.  He wants us to be spurred on in our choices, not by guilt, burden, insecurities or fear…but rather by love.  Rules are only good for governing the external, but do nothing to change our hearts.

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Beyonce, girl power and redemption

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For as much as the past days have felt like I was looking through a lens that caused everything to seem blurry, I finally have that same feeling that you get at the eye doctor’s, when they finally click to the correct lens for you, and the infamous “How about now?” is finally answered with a “Yes!  Yes, that’s much better!”

As I wrestled and attempted to sort things out, I discovered that, for me, the topics that I mentioned yesterday that have been swirling around the blogosphere have sort of snowballed and morphed into one big, tangled ball of yarn, and in order to fairly and accurately process them, they need to be broken down into bite-sized pieces, and addressed individually.  So here we go.

Today I will simply address the latest ‘hot topic’ buzzing around the Christian corners of the Net…Beyonce’s performance at the Super Bowl.  While some are vehemently defending the display, still other Christians have begged the question why this even needs to be talked about.  For them, it is quite clear…it was impure and lustful, end of discussion.  And I understand, and on some levels could almost easily and readily agree.  It would be the easy thing to do, that’s for sure.

However, again…if our aim in our culture is to do more than stick our heads in the sand and “hang on, while the world goes to hell in a handbasket”…if we want to actually have influence in our world in the direction of redemption… then we must be willing to engage, understand and delve into the issues our society faces. 

Unfortunately, the stark reality is, we have so lost our bearings as a sex-soaked society, that we are really far beyond giving ‘pat’, black-and-white answers.  They are unhelpful, and seem trite.  They ignore the real stories, the real hurts and the real injustices that are at the root of what drives people, and our society in general.  In order to offer anything right, healthy, or healing…we must first understand what is wrong, hurting or broken.

We can’t claim to offer a solution if we don’t actually understand the problem.

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why it matters

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I felt like maybe I should take a moment, and today’s post, to sort of ‘back the truck up’ a bit, and give some explanation as to why I think the discussions we have been having here about marriage, and submission, and authority, and all that good stuff really…and the discussions that will come in the future…REALLY matter.

Maybe I should start by giving some background where I’m coming from, and why I’m endeavoring to do what I’m doing, so it doesn’t seem like I’m just being a general rabble-rouser, looking to stir up an argument.

It’s more than that. Continue reading →