Dan J. Brennan

The Romantic Myth and Marriage 2

Here are Dennis Hiebert's 10 cultural myths in our Western society.

He states, ""Christian concepts of marriage are embedded in culture, and it can hardly be otherwise.  Though the gospel remains distinct from all human cultures (gospel versus culture) and calls all cultures to change (gospel to culture), it can only be only expressed in human cultural forms, contextualized to facilitate understanding and response (gospel in culture)....it is imperative that we consciously and constantly attempt to keep at least our Christian notions of marriage from the more insidious infidelity of consorting with culture."

Alien Sex

Alien Sex: The Body and Desire in Cinema and Theologyis a book written by Gerard Loughlin of the University of Newcastle.  Stanley Hauerwas if it matters to you, blurbed that this book is, "Absolutely brilliant." 

   I came across this book in my research for my book.  Forgot how, but I was in one of my "tracer" paths.

The Wimp Factor: The Politics of Anxious Masculinity

  The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars, & the Politics of  Anxious Masculinity by Stephen Ducat

"Much of the mental suffering of my male patients seems to derive from a deep fear of women, as well as the paralyzing dread of the 'feminine' within themselves.  These anxieties have been particularly evident in their denial of dependency needs, their inability to sustain intimate ties with women or other men, their preoccupation with holding positions of dominance and control in relationships, and their various sexual dysfunctions...It is not that there is something pathological about being male.  Rather, the problem is the psychological cost of developing a male identity in a culture that disparages the feminine and insists that the boundaries between masculine and feminine remain unambiguous and impermeable...There are few places where men's fear of the feminine has been more manifested more dramatically than in political rhetoric and behavior."

Something to Think About: Feminism, Femininity and the Girlfriend Industry

I am enjoying this funny read on women written by a woman, The Female Thing: Dirt, Envy, Sex, Vulnerability by Laura Kipnis:

It is a witty, entertaining, thoughtful read.  As one blurb puts it, "When its good, it's very, very good; when it's nasty, it's better."  I'll make the judgment call and keep the language without editing.

Separating abusive relationships from struggling marriages

"People, especially women suffering from abuse, hold together relationships and marriages that should be separated.  At the same time, marriages are dissolved that should have been sustained.  This judgment, 'should have been sustained,' implies a commitment to, not simply a marriage as a set of practices that carry basic goods of human life.  A common contributing factor to divorce is that divorce itself is seen as a solution to disagreements and the logical resolution to static or weakened interpersonal communications.  In other words, disagreements, expressions of anger, and dissatisfaction with a husband's or wife's role in the family should not undermine marriage.  In fact, learning to confront one's spouse, resolve conflicts, and overcome dissatisfaction foster marital love.  Not anger but disdain, not conflict but coercion, and not confrontation but withdrawal, bring a bad end to married life."

Sex and Love in the Home

The Emerging Conversation and Gay Christians

One of the weaknesses in the emerging conversations among Christians, according to David Fitch, is that the conversation keeps going, and going, and going, and going, just like the energizer bunny, never arriving to truth. At some level, I am in agreement with him that we need to arrive at the truth. 

Then at another level, I am with Brian McLaren (has he revealed his position on gays yet?) that we really need a thick view of gender dynamics and socialization.  I don't think its a slam dunk that homosexuality is not according to God's heart and plan in the new kingdom.   My postmodern hermeneutic of suspicion won't allow a Michael Jordan slam dunk special.  For example, for years traditionalists have used Genesis 19 as a justification against homosexual practice.  Yet there are some theologians who embrace the traditional view now, but say Genesis 19 shouldn't be anywhere close in the contemporary discussion.

Andrew Goddard points out that Christians arguing for homosexuality, "argue either that the biblical prohibitions are not universal moral laws and so no longer binding or that homosexuality today is something so different from that found in the biblical world that we cannot treat it as requiring a similar response to that found in Scripture" (Semper Reformanda in a Changing World in Alister McGrath & Evangelical Theology.

It's not a slam dunk. 

Andrew Goddard continues, "In some circles, evangelicals and evangelical theology are understood as inherently conservative (even reactionary), with part of their popular appeal allegedly lying in the constancy and certainty they offer in a world of rapid change.  Although there are elements of truth there, if evangelicals are serious about being heirs of the Reformation who seek to conform their lives and the life of the church to the voice of the living God, then mature evangelicalism should be a vital and dynamic theological movement neither resisting all challenges to its traditions (as if all challenges were a sign of unfaithfulness) nor adapting uncritically to trends in society." 

I like that.

Something to Think About: Sex and Love in the Home

"When all is said, sex, particularly for women, is hard work.  While sex is assumed to be natural and basic to the self, one must labor to reproduce sex.  Men's magazines and popular literature on sex diverge from this sexual work ethic to the degree that they develop an ethics of access.  A recurring theme, here, is the fantasy of the extraordinary woman who wants sex from average guys.  She is ready, and she desires to give access to all men.  Along with this theme of effortless sex, a complementary (or contradictory) work ethic for men pertains to fashion, body, and ways to get what you want (i.e. from sex) from women....In magazines for women as well as men, women are objects of sexual desire.  Mademoiselle and Cosmopolitan are clear in their advice to women: you will not become properly sexualized without careful self-analysis and adaptation.  You must make yourself desirable.  For men, sex is both ordinary and an achievement; for women, it is both an achievement and a tool."
David Matzko McCarthy

Sex and Love in the Home: A Theology of the Household 

Rethinking Friendship: Fragmentation of Social Life?

Spencer and Pahl ask, "Is it the case that community has fractured, that people in the Western world are selfish, isolate and irresponsible, turning away from public and private responsibilities?  Or is it possible that our pessimism is overstated, even unfounded, that we are, perhaps, looking in the wrong place, basing our concerns on the decline of old solidarities rather than being alert to the possibility of new forms of social cohesion?  Are friendships simply 'shards of community', 'pieces of jetsam afloat on the seas of economic and political egoism', or 'one of the main sites of activity giving life meaning'?

Michael Vick: I Found Jesus

In America here, the big news, especially in the sports world (although this is a major news item too) was the plea agreement by Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick who pled guilty today for running a dogfighting business on his multi-million dollar estate.  Christianity Today reports Vick "found Jesus." 

Let's pray for him and hope his conversion bears much fruit in the days to come.

The Gospel, Pop Culture, and the Emerging Church

In the September 2007 issue of Touchstone Russell Moore writes: "The gospel of Jesus is always combated by other gospels--today by one that is often embedded in music, film, and visual art."

Moore: "in place of certainty that the gospel required Christians to keep themselves separate from the world of popular culture, many Christians are now just confused about how to relate to the two." 

He sees two large groups in American Evangelicalism.  One he calls the "off-brand Evangelicals."  They "take trends in popular culture and reproduce them in Christian dialect for us within the Evangelical sub-culture."  The other he labels "South Park Evangelicals."   According to Moore, "They turn up their noses at Christian pop culture and look for 'signs of redemption' in the products Hollywood and Manhattan create."  He says, "This model is popular among a generation that humbly dares to call itself 'the emerging church,' although it includes aging baby boomers who have been writing movie and music reviews for Christianity Today and Campus Life since the Partridge Family last had a hit record."