As Opposed to Actually Doing Anything . . .

Christians Urged to "Light Up" for Poverty.

I would forgive you for assuming that Christians are being urged to smoke some substance or another, because that's exactly what I thought.

Hundreds of thousands of Christians are being invited to “light up” beacons of hope for the world's impoverished communities through a week of prayer.

"Light up" "beacons of hope", huh? Well, I'm sure all the hungry children are now full, the homeless are now sheltered and those without access to healthcare have been miraculously cured. Smoking some weed would at least provide the drug dealer with some cash.

Or not.

Nothing pisses me off more than a call to prayer in lieu of either actually doing something or admitting there's nothing you're willing to do.

Tearfund has produced resources to help Christians reflect on some of the most urgent social justice issues.

Nope, still doing nothing and acting like you're doing something. Every time I end up in the hospital, two sorts of people emerge. The one sort of person is like my sisters-in-law*, who visit me, call me, clean my house and do my grocery shopping, all while brushing aside my gratitude because this is not special behavior to them, this is just how people are supposed to act. The other sort of person sees me after I'm out of the hospital and says, "Oh, I prayed for you!" and then pauses expectantly, clearly waiting for me to express my deepest gratitude for their efforts.

I don't care who prays or not. I know one of my sisters-in-law prays for me- while she's stopping by my house to pick up clothes and toiletries to bring to the hospital for me. That's my point. Pray all you want- while you are actually doing something. Praying while doing nothing is doing nothing. Don't congratulate yourself for doing nothing and don't expect any gratitude for doing nothing.

*I got wicked lucky in the in-law department.

Why Does Building Up Men Inevitably Mean Tearing Down Women

I am highly suspicious of anything that calls itself a "men's movement", probably because this [trigger warning: rape] calls itself a "men's movement", as well. Yet again, I am right to be suspicious.

The Christian Men’s Network will be putting on a conference designed to serve as “a radical revolution calling men to a higher standard of masculinity.”

Men from around the world will converge in Dallas, Texas, next week to learn how to be “a real man.”

Oh, yes, "real men". You know that's just going to be horrible. I have promoted my concept of femininity here before, but in case you're new, I believe that anything a woman does is feminine. So a woman playing hockey is as inherently feminine as a woman baking a cake while wearing a pink dress. Whatever floats your boat. I feel the exact same way about masculinity. Anything a man does in inherently masculine. A man baking a cake while wearing a pink dress is as masculine as a man playing hockey. Men are, by definition, manly.

Ergo, we don't really need to teach men to be manly and that's not what they're talking about, anyway. What they're really talking about is teaching adults to act like adults, i.e., fulfill obligations responsibly. Is there some reason we can't say that without invoking adulthood as masculine and femininity as lesser?

Apparently not.

Cole says he bases this movement on Timothy 2:2.

“Paul commanded Tim , find faithful men and teach them and they’ll be able to teach others. What God is looking for is what every woman is looking for – not a man of great power, but a man who will be faithful. When we develop faithful men, we develop mature men,” he said.

Are men not looking for faithful women? Are women looking for nothing else in men? Is faithfulness really the end all and be all of maturity, and if so, why is not the end all and be all of maturity for all adults, women and men alike?

All I can conclude is that women aren't ever really mature, no matter how old they are. Women are children forever.

The younger Cole explained that there is a need for teaching leadership and maturity in culture. In dealing with various cultures around the world, he finds that maturity in men is lacking across the board.

Women are either not a part of culture, or not in need of possessing leadership and maturity.

“The issue in our culture today is the immaturity in our men,” he noted. “To be a real man is to be more like Christ. Jesus was a strong man; he wasn‘t a wimp man, he wasn‘t a feminine man, yet he was highly compassionate. The stronger a man is at the core of his character, the more compassionate he can be in the outreach of his hands.”

*sigh* The "wimp man". The "feminine man". Because strength and maturity are the traits of men and femininity is weak and to be despised. Immaturity is bad in men, and to be expected in women.

Every damn day. Every damn day girls in our society are exposed to this message, that strength is for boys, leadership is for boys and "girly" is an insult.

Every damn day.Every damn day boys in our society are exposed to this message, that strength is for boys, leadership is for boys and "girly" is an insult.

It's just as bad for the boys as it is for the girls, and it's just as bad for the adults they grow up to be. I'm all for adults acting responsibly and fulfilling obligations. I'm all for fathers fulfilling their parental duties. I just don't think it needs to be accomplished by means of degrading women and forcing a particular gendered ideal upon us all.

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