get back to this essay on articles in 3-20-2011 HOU CHRON

draft- - In yesterday's HOUSTON CHRONICLE there was a review by - - of a book, I AM J, about a transsexual teen who always thought of him or herself an a male, a boy.
The reviewer, the author and the teen in the book all have the same attitude about the youth's quest to become male- that it is right. I disagree. I want to use the reviewer's review as a basis of an essay coming from MY world view.
Since I don't have that review in front of me right now, that will have to be later.
I remember 15 or 20 years ago, when I heard some Christians speak of "world view" and how the culture was in the process of teaching a misguided world view to the young, I thought that those ones were silly and paranoid to worry that way.
Now, this 20 years later, I think they were right, at least in that; and I was wrong.
I sort of knew what the reviewer's, author's and fictional youth's attitude (one, identical) was before I read the review.
one of the things I really appreciated about Charlie Kaufman's movie, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK was his expose' (in my view) of the enormous effect of being raised and inculcated in a certain world view. It was heart-breaking, and so true.
(I hope 'inculcate' is the right word.)

ANNE ORTLUND ON REVIVE OUR HEARTS

Nancy Leigh DeMoss, God bless her, is persevering in teaching and exhorting and correcting our attitudes about women submitting to husbands and men, in general. The reviveourhearts website is pretty much dedicated to that goal- showing it to be God's way.
This week she interviewed Anne Ortlund, who wrote the book THE DISCIPLINES OF A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN (I think). The interview was very edifying to me, and I recommend it to all, especially women -both those who are already onboard with the concept that God wills that women submit with grace, trusting Him to work in the heart(s) of the man or men involved, and those who believe that the guidelines of our present American culture which steer differently are the correct course, and "biblical", also.

I refer you to that website, and to Anne Ortlund, (and to 1st PETER 3) with only one other comment: Anne mentioned in response to the general disapproval emanating from the American culture about the general topic of women submitting (the idea being that women are so oppressed by men in cultures where submission is a main principle, by saying that it is in Christian cultures that that women are treated the best. It is cultures that hate Christ that are most oppressive toward women.

WHICH WAY TO FREEDOM?

at present, egypt has, by popular protest, ousted mubarak. Libyan people who are protesting Ghadafi's dictatorship are under attack by Ghadafi who has brought in mercenaries to attack his people.
the topic of my blog is: rethinking the 1776 decision. Therefore, of course i think about these activities to bring about freedom from that perspective. I don't know if i'm right. Jesus did say "I have come to set the captive free . . . ." But I take that to mean free from spiritual oppression and the power of sin and death. At any rate, we can and need to pray for those in the turmoil areas. Pray that Holy Spirit will restrain the violence; that the innocent will be protected by angels; that God's Kingdom will come so very soon. And Holy Spirit, pray for us (as in Romans 8, around verse 25) the prayer that needs to be.

MUST FREEDOM BE OUR HIGHEST VALUE?

freedom, freedom,FREEDOM,freedom . . . freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose, freedom is worshiped in this country; to realize how true that is, consider how heretical it sounds- "freedom is worshiped in this country."

MRS. D'S STORY, CONTINUED

In my post titled ROMANS 8:28, I started telling about Mrs. D, my next door neighbor up in Cottage Grove in Houston, back in 1983. My husband and I had married that April; and he was from an Assembly of God background. I was interested in different expressions of Christian faith, so I was not rejecting the way my husband's parents' church expressed themselves in their service and in general conversation. But knowing Mrs. D helped me so much to understand and accept their ways.
Mrs. D had been a "pentacostal" Christian, as had my in-laws, for many years, since the THIRTIES. She went to the RAYMOND T. RICHIE EVANGELISTIC TEMPLE when she could.
She spoke in 'an unknown tongue' whenever she felt inspired to. She listened to Bible teachers and other Christian programs on radio daily. She actually took it all seriously, talking to others about Jesus and telling them how important it had been for her to find Jesus and to be able to go to Him for forgiveness and comfort. She was willing to tell her story- that she had been bullied into having THREE abortions by her sisters-in-law (they applied pressure to her husband, and he knuckled under to them, I guess because they were giving some support to the couple)- in order to impress to her hearers how important and loving Jesus is. She gave out tracts to whomever would take them. She even invited some boys in the neighblorhood to go to church because their parents were not church-goers. They walked.
So I got to know this amazing, almost blind, kind-of-silly-sometimes woman over the course of two years, doing everyday things, sitting and talking, sitting on the porch swing enjoying the weather, washing her hair, etc. In this way I got to know about the 'pentacostals' in a way I never could otherwise. I am so thankful.

CLEMENTINE

A movie that has profoundly inluenced me is ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND.
I think it is a very beautiful movie some themes of which are redemption, forgiveness, acceptance of imperfections of others and of life. (The movie-mainly by Charlie Kaufman (yeay for Charlie Kaufman)- DOES include sex outside of marriage. Though Charlie's characters embrace that lifestyle, and the movie portrays that as a possible root to happiness-which is not part of my value system, I accept that as a story line that appeals to many people.)
I want to talk a very beautiful part of that movie that really expressed a concern/phenomenon that I believe really needs expressing. I AM GIVING YOU A SPOILER ALERT HERE IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE W/O KNOWING STUFF ABOUT IT: At the start of the movie, which we later find out is closer to the end of the story, the two main characters/the dear ones/ the romantic couple meet for what they think is the first time. When she tells him her name is Clementine, he, Joel, says, "Oh cool. Did you know that means 'merciful'?" It was only later that I realized that Joel was only able to come up with that true original meaning for the name "Clementine" because all of his previous memories of meeting Clementine and learning her name had been erased. Because of that, all the "joke-y"
meanings -"Oh my darlin', oh my darlin'. . ." , the cartoon hounddog, and the diminutive delicious oranges- had been erased from his memory along with all his previous memories of her. How sweet and transcendent that Joel thought of 'merciful' when heard "Clementine." Was Author Charlie commenting on how clogged all our communications are with silly, "joke-y" talk; that we are so geared
toward making jokes and being amusing (and amused) and appearing smart, that we have become poor in meaningful communication?

COMBINING

i now cannot gain access to my other blog "APOLOGIA" at rethinking1776.blogspot.com. therefore, i will put all my stuff, such as it is, on this site and theologica.ning.com. the access denial has to do with my having started the other blog using a non-google address. maybe i'm not supposed to be doing this anyway.