New article in the local paper by my pastor: Purity culture opposes the Gospel.
"Within American Christianity, we’ve seen the rise of “purity culture” in the last generation. At the heart of this movement are the best intentions. The goal was to keep our children from the devastation that results from sexual sin, including unwanted pregnancy and disease.
Purity culture places a lot of emphasis on sexual abstinence until marriage. As a father who raised daughters, I did the same. One of my goals for them was to make sure they didn’t fall prey to charming scoundrels. Y’know, young men who are just like I was.
Purity culture has its downfalls, though, and they are serious and damaging. Two books that have been very successful in Christian circles exemplify this. One is “The power of a praying wife,” by Stormie Omartian and the other is “Every man’s battle” by Arterburn, Stoeker, and Yorkey.
Together, they teach the worst tenets of modern purity culture. Those are, that men are hard-wired to see women as sexual objects. They can’t control it, and, to some extent, they can’t be held responsible for it. They remain all their lives as slaves to what they see.
The other pillar of purity culture is that women and girls must take responsibility for the consequences. That is, since men have no real control over themselves, and cannot be expected to, it’s on the ladies to make sure this ever-present fire doesn’t break out and burn everything down.
These ideas (the slavish inability of men, and the great responsibility of women) combine to create an environment of abuse and victim-blaming. This is exemplified in the documentary series, “Shiny happy people.”
Even young girls are trained to dress modestly, covered from neck to wrist to ankle, for the sake of not enticing the men around them, including those in their churches and their own families. If a woman is sexually abused, it’s common for her to deal with accusations that she must have tempted her attacker. It’s all on her. She’s the sexual gatekeeper, and the man is hard-wired to constantly storm the gates. He can’t help it.
In marriage this becomes “duty sex,” where the wife is obligated to be the outlet for his uncontrollable urges, whether she wants to or not in the moment. She must keep him on the straight and narrow. He can’t be moral on his own, for Pete’s sake!
If he’s a villain, addicted and abusive, it’s on the Christian wife to pray harder; have more faith; do a better job submitting to his authority, and, have more (and raunchier) sex with him. If he doesn’t get better, or he gets worse, she’s not doing enough.
To top it off, you can’t leave or divorce him. If you do, you’ve failed God. She can’t go to her church for help because they’re the very ones teaching this nonsense.
Purity culture combines unrelenting male domination with inescapable female culpability. It mocks the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which promises power to change, and the faithfulness of God to make it happen. Even for men. Go figure.
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4
Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at:
reformnm@yahoo.com"
https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2023/07/12/opinion/purity-culture-opposes-the-gospel/24937.html #faith #bible #christian
Jerry Seinfeld: I hate clothes, okay? I hate buying them. I hate picking them out of my closet. I can't stand every day trying to come up with little outfits for myself. I think eventually fashion won't even exist. It won't.
I think eventually we'll all be wearing the same thing. 'Cause anytime I see a movie or a TV show where there's people from the future of another planet, they're all wearing the same thing. Somehow they decided "This is going to be our outfit. One-piece silver jumpsuit, V-stripe, and boots. That's it."
We should come up for an outfit for earth. An earth outfit. We should vote on it. Candidates propose different outfits, no speeches. They walk out, twirl, walk off. We just sit in the audience and go, "That was nice. I could wear that."
Maybe you missed the bit on how proselytizing would be prohibited.
Biblical laws produces about as radical libertarian of a system as you can get pal.
When you rope in sex crimes and other degeneracy, sure. Those are valid things to prosecute but simple private idolatry would be hard to prove according to the Biblical standard of two or three witnesses.
What do you propose to stop private worship of false gods and what are the relevant Biblical laws you're drawing from?
You would be free to worship Baal in the privacy of your skull and home. But any public altars you build would be torn down and any proselytizing would result in exile/perhaps execution if you refuse to stop.
It's pretty slick.
1.5 years for me pretty much doing beef butter bacon & eggs. I've recently added tuna, sardines, and cod liver. I love this WOE! One to two meals a day and I'm good to go.
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 10th)
Love the Church
Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. — Psalm 102:13-14
Yes, our prayers for the church will be heard. The set time is come. We love the prayer meeting, and the Sunday school, and all the services of the Lord's house. We are bound in heart to all the people of God, and can truly say, "There's not a lamb in all thy flock I would disdain to feed; There's not a foe before whose face I'd fear thy cause to plead."
If this is the general feeling, we shall soon enjoy times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Our assemblies will be filled, saints will be revived, and sinners will be converted. This can only come of the Lord's mercy; but it will come, and we are called upon to expect it. The time, the set time, is come. Let us bestir ourselves. Let us love every stone of our Zion, even though it may be fallen down. Let us treasure up the least truth, the least ordinance, the least believer, even though some may despise them as only so much dust. When we favor Zion, God is about to favor her. When we take pleasure in the Lord's work, the Lord Himself will take pleasure in it. #faith #bible #christian
I'll check it out. The reformed community on reddit is a dumpster fire. I've found some measure of meaningful interaction on twitter surprisingly.
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 9th)
Faithful and Useful
Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me — Psalm 101:6
If David spoke thus, we may be sure that the Son of David will be of the same mind. Jesus looks out for faithful men, and He fixes His eyes upon them, to observe them, to bring them forward, to encourage them, and to reward them. Let no true-hearted man think that he is overlooked; the King Himself has His eye upon him.
There are two results of this royal notice. First we read, "that they may dwell with me." Jesus brings the faithful into His house, He sets them in His palace, He makes them His companions, He delights in their society. We must be true to our Lord, and He will then manifest Himself to us. When our faithfulness costs us most it will be best rewarded; the more furiously men reject, the more joyfully will our Lord receive us.
Next, he says of the sincere man, "he shall serve me." Jesus will use for His own glory those who scorn the tricks of policy, and are faithful to Himself, His Word, and His Cross. These shall be in His royal retinue, the honored servants of His Majesty. Communion and usefulness are the wages of faithfulness. Lord make me faithful, that I may dwell with thee, and serve thee. #faith #bible #christian
The fear of man is strong, the opposition of this evil world is mighty, the lusts of the flesh rage horribly, the fear of death is terrible, the devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour; but Jesus is stronger than them all. - J.C. Ryle
Browned butter bites are amazing.
My favorite verse. I preached it recently https://pca.st/episode/5c848ef6-c873-45e4-a337-c2bfb4c71292
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
— Romans 6:12-13
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 8th)
An Angel Encampment
The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. — Psalm 34:7
We cannot see the angels, but it is enough that they can see us. There is one great Angel of the Covenant, whom not having seen we love, and His eye is always upon us both day and night. He has a host of holy ones under Him, and He causes these to be watchers over His saints and to guard them from all ill. If devils do us mischief, shining ones do us service. Note that the Lord of angels does not come and go, and pay us transient visits, but He and His armies encamp around us. The headquarters of the army of salvation are where those live whose trust is in the living God. This camp surrounds the faithful, so that they cannot be attacked from any quarter unless the adversary can break through the entrenchments of the Lord of angels. We have a fixed protection, a permanent watch. Sentineled by the messengers of God, we shall not be surprised by sudden assaults, nor swallowed up by overwhelming forces. Deliverance is promised in this verse - deliverance by the great Captain of our salvation, and that deliverance we shall obtain again and again until our warfare is accomplished and we exchange the field of conflict for the home of rest. #faith #bible #christian
Thanks for sharing Melvin. I was introduced to Calvinism through the ESV study bible I bought right after my conversion. Then I found R.C. Sproul and James White and read a number of their books.