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Purity Culture: A Corrective (in Two Parts)
Part 1: The Context Purity is good. Purity culture, not so much. Purity culture isn’t new. And it’s global. While a young son may live the wild life, family honor depends on the daughter’s virginity. People tend to connect worth and worthiness with a woman’s sexual purity. Muslim, Hindu, Christian, atheism. Name your major belief system, and you’ll find purity-culture elements manifested in its subcultures. In the US, purity culture reveals itself differently in different geographical areas and ethnic groups. But in the past few decades it has had a deep hold on the evangelical church. Especially the white evangelical church. Women of color already had their own unique challenges. …
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What Really Matters in How We Spend Our Time?
I walked into class and saw friends scurrying through their notes, stuffing their brains with facts like squirrels hoarding nuts. I froze. I forgot about the science test. Instead of studying the night before, I played Rummy with mom and watched an episode of Quantum Leap with a bowl of popcorn. I sat down and quickly skimmed my notes. The teacher handed out the exam and I filled in circles with graphite, half-guessing. I passed the test—barely. It’s been decades since memorizing facts about neutrons and electrons, but sometimes I feel the same way. Like I show up to my life, unprepared. Especially in raising three kids. I’m busy, sure.…
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The Magdalene: Mary from Magdala or Mary Tower?
Who was Mary Magdalene? Because early New Testament manuscripts were more difficult to search than today’s books, Mary M. has at times been confused or combined with other Marys. “Mary” is a form of Miriam, the name of Moses’s sister, whom the Bible describes as a prophet and leader. Some have conflated Mary Magdalene with the sinful woman who anointed Jesus (Luke 7). Thus, Mary M. has been described in prose and depicted in art as a reformed prostitute. Others have suggested she had a romantic relationship with Jesus—or even married him! But the Scriptures suggest none of these things about her past. The actual details (given in Luke’s Gospel) are…
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Bible Backgrounds: When Is It Legit to Appeal to Them?
A few months ago, a friend expressed discomfort with appealing to culture, or “backgrounds,” to explain some difficult Bible passages. “Aren’t we just explaining away what we dislike?” he asked. “Can’t an appeal to culture become a way to change obvious meanings? Isn’t that what liberals do?” He asked great questions. Important questions. Sometimes people do use knowledge of Bible backgrounds to explain away what they dislike in the text. But that doesn’t mean all such appeals come from having a low view of Scripture. A few weeks after that conversation, I heard a Bible expert discourage appealing to Bible backgrounds to help with understanding texts because, “the text itself…
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The Brain on Stress
Those who grew up in the 80’s can’t forget this gem of a PSA: YouTube While the war on drugs continues to rage on, another battle happens almost every day in traffic jams, breakrooms, and around dinner tables: the battle within the brain as it deals with stress. According to the American Psychological Association, the stress situation in America is “chronic.” That’s putting it mildly. Many would say modern-day Americans are the most collectively stressed-out population in history. Could we really be worse off than our ancestors, who dealt with things like tribal wars, natural disasters, and animal predators? Several MD’s answer that question with a resounding ‘yes.’ Their reasons merit another…
