Monthly Archives: July 2008

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Come on, ladies...You all know how we can get.  All of us...we're sinners.  There's a reason for the saying, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

A very wise, very wonderful pastor's wife - Linda - once told a group of us, "a woman is the barometer of the home."  If we are content, the home is content.  If we are not content, the house will most likely be discontented.  What a privilege and responsibility - the way that we are (good or not) has an effect on everybody around us...such is the way of human beings.

We are affected by those around us.  If we have a child who is whining, it affects us.  If we have a spouse who refuses to take out the garbage, that affects us.  If we (women) are selfish and controlling...that affects those around us.  If you don't get like that sometimes...you are a perfect saint and I most likely don't want to hang out with you because you would make me look bad...  😉

Now...those of us who are married...our "one-flesh" partners - our heads - can be especially effected by our attitudes (good or bad).  If we are selfish and controlling, he can be angry and cranky...sometimes downright abusive.  Or he can shut down and become a couch potato.  Both are sin...but just as we are sinners...so are men.

It's the way of this lost and fallen world.  We are sinners...and we are affected by those around us, just as we affect those around us.   It's reciprocal - human beings react to each other.  Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

The way of the Spirit is the right way.  We submit to our husbands as the church submits to Christ...we follow his good leading (but not into sin).  He loves us as Christ loves the church.  We don't interact identically, but reciprocally.  We each have our jobs and when we do them to the best of our ability, the entire home runs smoothly.

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Side note:  Spell check knew "glossolalia", but not "xenoglossy".

Both  can be referred to as "speaking in tongues", but they are different and (as one website put it) should be distinguished from each other as often as possible.

Definitions:

Glossolalia. From (from Greek γλωσσολαλιά and that from γλῶσσα - glossa "tongue, language" and λαλεῖν (lalein) "to talk") - this is copied and pasted so if it's not exactly correct, hopefully it's good enough for a lay person.
Trying to find an "official" definition that clearly defines glossolalia as different than xenoglossy and isn't biased in terms of Continuationist vs. Cessationist has turned out to be an interesting side trip.  It was easier to get the definition from a secular dictionary.

The ability or phenomenon to utter words or sounds of a language unknown to the speaker, especially as an expression of religious ecstasy. Also called glossolalia, speaking in tongues.

The important key words are "words or sounds".

A less generous defintion (both from answers.com):

Fabricated and nonmeaningful speech, especially such speech associated with a trance state or certain schizophrenic syndromes.

Xenoglossy.  (from Greek ξενογλωσσία - xenoglossia, from ξένος - xenos, "foreign" + γλώσσα - glossa, "tongue, language").

This was an easier defintion (from worldwidewords.com):

The ability to speak a language without having learned it.

The important key word:  language.

Compare:

  • both glossolalia and xenoglossy use "sounds" or "words" that do not belong to a language that the speaker knows.
  • Both can be associated with religious activity.

and contrast:

  • glossolalia belongs to no known language.  Pentecostals call this "tongues of angels" and it may be referred to as a "private prayer language" that nobody (except presumably God) can understand.
  • xenoglossy can be identified as a real language and can be understood by a person who speaks that language.  In some cases it is claimed that a 2-way conversation has taken place between a native speaker and the "tongues-speaker" who has never been exposed to that language.

In short:  real language vs. not real language.

Other handy definitions:

  • Cessationism:  the view that the charismatic (or prophetic) gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as tongues, prophecy, and healing, were only given to the new church for a period of time and ceased either at the end of the apostolic era or shortly after.
  • Charismatic: the general term used to describe Christians who believe that these same gifts are available to Christians today (see "Continuationism").  Closely related to Continuationism, and I'm not sure of the difference, other than continuationism is the belief and charismatic is the movement.  Also see "Pentecostal" - although, you can be charismatic without being Pentecostal.    Mark Driscoll refers to his church as being "charismatic with a seatbelt", which I think is a way of saying, "we're charismatic but not Pentecostal."
  • Continuationism: the view that these same gifts continue to this present age and are available for all Christians alive today.
  • Pentecostal: the belief that a "born again" Christian can (and should) receive a subsequent experience of a "baptism of the Holy Spirit", the initial evidence of which is speaking in tongues as the Sprit gives utterance.  Some Pentecostals believe and teach that a person who has not spoken in tongues (received the baptism of the Holy Spirit) is not saved.  All Pentecostals believe that the "gift" of tongues is THE gift that proves the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).  The other gifts were given later and a believer does not have tongues or another gift...it is always tongues plus the rest of the gifts listed later.

Here's the problem:  Christians are not the only group of people who experience glossolalia and xenoglossy.

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Abuse exists...and it happens way too often (once is way too often).  I am not writing about real abuse.

I am writing about those who cry "abuse" where there is no real abuse present or no abuse intended.

Sexual harrassment

  • A woman who has an employer that bases hiring and promotion on the cut of her blouse...bad
  • A woman who sues a co-worker for telling her that she looked nice on a particular day...get a grip.

Verbal abuse

  • You're stupid and not worth wasting time on...the person saying this should be disciplined by the "powers that be"
  • I think that you are showing a lack of understanding on this issue...this is a reasonable statement and could very well be true (or not)...but it is not abuse.

Physical abuse:

I believe that a false accusation is a form of abuse.  And "abuse" is an accusation from which there is little or no defense.  Like "racism" - denying abuse may only confirm the accusation.  In this political season, any disagreement with Barrack Obama may be seen as racism...likewise, a person who questions a woman in a debate-like conversation may be accused of "abuse".

Abuse is NOT a one-way street (meaning that male-on-female abuse is the only way the street runs).

On previous shows, "Primetime" has staged scenes of abuse in which the man is the aggressor, and the woman is the victim. And in these situations, passersby -- men and women -- often stepped up and intervened. So producers were curious. What would happen if the tables were turned, and the man was suddenly the victim? Would people be just as willing to come to his defense? (...)
"There are some data that suggest that women actually hit more than men do," says Keating. "Men create more damage, but women hit more than men do."

A report prepared for the Centers for Disease Control estimates that each year there are over 800,000 serious cases of men being physically abused by women. But the actual figures are believed to be much higher, since many men are often too embarrassed to admit being the victim of abuse by a woman.

One after another, passersby witnessed the abusive scene… and kept right on going.

Mathilda was one of those bystanders. She says she didn't think the man was in any physical danger, and could probably take care of himself. "I didn't immediately think to protect the man at all," she said. "It didn't look like any harm was being done."

The reaction of another woman, Lynda, was stunning. As our actress continued to heap abuse on her make-believe boyfriend, she walked by the scene and pumped her fist in a show of sisterly solidarity.

"Good for you. You Go, Girl!" is how Lynda recalls her reaction.

A pattern of false accusation, inattention and (one) actual support for a female abuser - all of this points to a problem of how we deal with abuse.

  • Abuse is always wrong.
  • False accusation is a form of abuse that has nothing to do with gender
  • False accusation is also always wrong.

The more I read about false accusations in the news, the more likely I am to view any accusation with skepticism.

The more people cry "wolf", the less likely we are to hear when there is a real one around.

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The "Big Mac"..."Mighty Mac"...the Mackinac Bridge.

The Mackinac Bridge is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world. In 1998, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan became the longest with a total suspension of 12,826 feet. The Great Belt Bridge in Halsskov-Sprogoe, Denmark, which also opened in 1998, is the second longest suspension bridge in the world with a total suspension of 8,921 feet. The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. The total length of the Mackinac Bridge is 26,372 feet. The length of the suspension bridge (including anchorages) is 8,614 feet. The length from cable bent pier to cable bent pier is 7,400 feet. Length of main span (between towers) is 3,800 feet. (...)

The height of the roadway at mid-span is approximately 200 feet above water level. The vertical clearance at normal temperature is 155 feet at the center of the main suspension span and 135 feet at the boundaries of the 3,000 ft. navigation channel.

All suspension bridges are designed to move to accommodate wind, change in temperature, and weight. It is possible that the deck at center span could move as much as 35 feet (east or west) due to high winds. This would only happen under severe wind conditions. The deck would not swing or "sway" but rather move slowly in one direction based on the force and direction of the wind. After the wind subsides, the weight of the vehicles crossing would slowly move it back into center position.

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I am Reformed, but not rabidly so.  I believe the Solas and I  am pretty sure about TULIP (really sure about the "T").  I think that you could say that I'm "Calvinistic" in sotierology, but not in ecclesiology.
Since yesterday was 499 and we have a year until #500, it seems like a good idea to put a little bit of focus on Calvin and other Reformers.

Passions run high over religion...they always have and most likely always will.  We can attempt to look at history and theology as best we can.

I grew up Arminian (or at least mostly) and my entire family is in Arminian churches now.  My brother-in-law is a pastor and (on my husband's side) my sister-in-law is an elder.  Most of my adult life has been spent in Arminian churches.  I had been looking at the Calvinism v. Arminian debate for a while...then one day I was talking with my kids and asked them if they remember where and when they were saved.

My son knew.  Where he was, who was with him.

My daughter..."Mom, do you mean the first time, or all the rest of the times?"

That was when I started looking for a "Calvinistic" church.

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From Glenn Sacks:

Him: Hey you remember Linda, the woman who was here a few weeks back?
Me: Yeah.
Him: She's in jail!
Me: No way, really? What happened?
Him: She got into a fight with her husband and she hit him and he called the cops.
Me: Good for him!
Him: No, he's a real jerk.
Me: Oh, did he hit her first?
Him: Well, no.
Me: Did he push her or something?
Him: No, but he's a real scumbag, and has probably hit her in the past.
Me: He has?
Him: I don't know, but he's a real jerk so probably.
Me: Did she ever say he did? Call the cops?
Him: No, but that doesn't mean anything.

Subtle message...it's always the man's fault.

From Barack Obama:

"My daughters and all your daughters will know there's no barrier to who they are. ... They will take for granted women can do anything that the boys can do, and do it better, and do it in heels. I still don't know how she does it in heels."

Subtle message...girls are better than boys.  Even in heels.

From Scotland:

Ten police officers had been involved in the case at a substantial cost to the taxpayer, so Lindsay was charged with wasting police time.(...)

Sheriff Veal said she had shown little sympathy for Graeme and didn't care about the impact of false allegations on genuine rape victims.

But last week judges at the Justiciary Appeal Court in Edinburgh overturned the sentence, after her defence counsel argued that the Sheriff should have taken into consideration the fact that Lindsay could be viewed as "vulnerable".

Subtle message:  false accusations are a "waste of police time", not destruction of a reputation.  False accusers DO NOT CARE about the falsely accused.  False accusers get off.

False accusations hurt.  Just say no.