Monthly Archives: July 2008

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Most of us have heard it taught that "Christ and the church" is a metaphor for marriage.  We look at a human marriage and then look to Christ and His bride as an example.

John Piper (although I do not have a direct link) has put it in the opposite:  Marriage was created by God (true) for the benefit of humans (true) in part as a metaphor to illustrate to the world the picture of Christ and His bride (not so clear).

One thing is clear (to me) - the parallel of husband and wife to Christ and the church is written in Scripture often enough for me to believe there is a significant lesson to be learned.

Which way does the metaphor run?  I think perhaps both ways.

I believe that God is eternal and omniscient.  He knew from eternity what man would bring and He knew the metaphor that He would inspire in Scripture.  Do we really think that the "Christ and the church" idea was a sudden revelation to God?  Of course not.  I believe that the parallel between God/Israel and Christ/the church were there from eternity - before creation.

I believe that they are intertwined - a person can learn about marriage by looking at God's relationship with Israel and Christ and the church...and the world should be able to look at a Christian marriage and see it reflect Christ and the church.

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For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (ESV)
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (NIV)

It occurs to me that the "narrow path" may be envisioned as not only a road with forks and corners (as many of us envision the "straight and narrow") -  but also as a sort of "foot path" - a straight and narrow foot path, making its way surely and carefully along the ridge of a mountain.

In the Badlands, and similar places, on one side of a path you will find a flat place - filled with cacti, sharp growing things, and maybe a few snakes and creepy crawly things.  On the other side is a steep and slippery slope.  If you step off the edge, you do not know how far you will slide.

In Michigan, on a Lake Superior cliff, I found a path.  On one side was a deep and dark woods, complete with poison ivy - a lot of it. On the other side, a steep slide into the pounding waves.

The path is there for a reason.  Somebody wise knew it was safe there.  The One who created the path gave us the Way.  Those who have gone before traveled the path safely.

On the path is safety.  Off the path is danger - and a slippery slope.

In a debate, "slippery slope" can be a logical fallacy (see here for "In Defense of the Slippery Slope")

It may also be a pattern.

The thing is...life is not a debate and there are slippery slopes that are real.  And have real dangers.

For example...any guess where the likes of Todd Bentley might end up?

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A while ago I did a research paper on "Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder" and did a Yahoo! search (yes, that long ago) for "adult ADD".  My search results were an entire page o:

  • ADD ADULT sounds to your web page!
  • ADULT images ADD to your hits!

and so forth.

I learned that even if one is NOT "the H" (hyperactive), it's a good thing to add it to the search string.

I got my "official" diagnosis when my son was in third grade.  I took Ritalin for a while and the folks I worked with at the time could tell when I didn't "take my meds".

When I went to talk to the psychologist, I took my elementary school report cards...if "ADHD" had been around then, I think I would have been a good example.  The problem is, many girls are "missed" because "ADHD" tends to manifest along gender lines.

Girls tend to be "space cadets" and boys tend to be the "wild child".  So boys get drugged and girls get passed over.

My personal belief is that ADHD is not a "disorder", it is a personality type.  Distractable?  YES!  a mental disorder?  No.

Here is a link to a paper I wrote to explore the "disorder vs personality type" idea.

How does this personality type manifest in me?

  • easily distractable.  I use a kitchen timer for almost everything!
  • "Leaps" in logic - how do I get from one place to another?  I just do...and although sometimes others fail to see the connection, most often I can explain it.
  • difficulty tracking conversations.  Especially on blogs - if there are more than 3 or 4 people on the "other side" (no matter what the topic is), I try to be very careful when replying, since I will most likely lose the train of the conversation.
  • Not seeing "personal".  Somebody will accuse me of "getting personal" and I will sit back and truly not know where or how.
  • Taking things personally - this I am getting better at.  Some people's issues are just their issues and have little or nothing to do with me personally.  Sometimes they do, most times they don't.

ADHD can be a fascinating thing to look at.  As with many people with ADHD(ADD) my IQ is high.  As with many people with ADHD/ADD, the common sense factor is sometimes low.

The more I work with people with special needs, the more this issue comes into play.   Shoot...the more I work with people, the more this issue comes into play.  Strategies, tricks to play on myself, ideas to stay focused.  All of these get attention.

And the classroom view of little boys...a whole different topic.

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But, he said, because of Clinton's campaign, "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." SacBee.com

Did you catch that?

Girls will take it for granted that they can do anything that the boys can do, and do it better.  Hardly the words of "equality".

(this post is set to moderate all comments until I return from vacation. you can comment, it just needs to be approved)

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This is from one of my favorite "mom-blogs".
Reflections of a Former Feminist:

As a Christian-come-lately, I spent my life before Christ having it my way. During the 70’s Second Wave of feminism, I studied the gospels according to deBeauvoir, Freidan, Millett, and Firestone; together they formed a New Testament to the Old Testament of the First Wave feminists who’d won us the vote, but it seemed not much else.

Humility and contriteness of spirit stood diametrically opposed to the Women’s Movement logo – the fist inside the woman symbol. Helen Reddy’s anthem captured the take-no-prisoners approach of the 70’s feminists:

I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend
'cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again

As a philosophy major then, I created my own one-woman women studies department, wrapping any course I happened to be taking – existentialism, Hegelian logic, Dewey and the Amercian experience – around my core passion: to see women delivered from the condition the Rolling Stones described as “Under My Thumb” into absolute freedom and a level playing field with men.

(this post is set to moderate all comments until I return from vacation - or until I find a internet cafe in the deep dark woods.  you can comment, it just needs to be approved)

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A woman of my age, a single mom...it is usually assumed that I'm divorced.

Why do I simply say "single"?  The answer is complicated, and yet simple.

Since being single, I have discovered being one of the "second class citizens" of the church.  And even among that class, there are some that are lower than others.

I choose to let others assume a "divorce" because in doing that I have gained such humility and understanding for those who are not accepted because of their divorce.

I am not a member of the "I've lived a better life than you" club, nor am I assumed to be.

I am reminded every time somebody "assumes" before they act that I also should not assume before I act.  Many times I fail.

I wrote about a couple of my experiences (one woman scolded me for not sending my kids to see their dad..."their dad is in heaven with Jesus...I would do hard time for sending them there...")

I have been ignored by a particular woman at work who thought I was divorced...until somebody told her otherwise.

Being divorced is not a sin.  Sometimes the reason for the divorce is, but that is not to be assumed.  Grace asks us to assume otherwise.   My silence of the issue of my own singleness reminded me of that grace.

(comments are moderated: you can comment, it just needs to be approved_