The Underground Railroad

Slavery Begins At Home

I've been trying to reconcile Biblical doctrines that have justified slavery during bible times, throughout history, and into today. It's not an easy task. Once I sense I've grabbed onto a valid thread, my mind is assaulted with the sad and broken way Jesus was used to destroy other people.

Today in church it was announced that we would be featuring the movie Courageous in March. I haven't seen the movie yet, so I will refrain from personal comments since I don't have a right to them yet. Comments from brothers and sisters who have seen the film stem from "It was the best movie ever!", and  "We need more films to show what it means to be a dad!", to  "As a black man, why do Christian movies insist on steretyping us again and again?" and "As usual, us Latinos are the labourers and brunts of jokes. This is all white, suburban Christianity has to say about humor?", all the way to the issue of egalitarian parenting v. complementarian. Again... withholding judgement until I see it personally. 

But I did do some digging. The movie has sparked some issue as to the oppression of women and racism, which, for some seems ridiculous and that those who pick up on these perceived themes are missing the point of the whole movie. Possibly. I'm not discounting that. Those who claim these themes are evident insist that this is the true agenda of the film: not that fathers need to be present, but that they need to dominate the family. Possibly. I am not black or Latina, so I have not lived in a cultural setting where my entire people, to this day, are still often seen as "less". But I am a woman, and one that is whole and complete in Christ, and equal to my brothers in Christ.

How does this relate to slavery?

If minority groups, single moms, people of color, and other marginalized groups are suggesting the film is backing a system of thinking that has brought about violence, lies, hatred, oppression, and other "-isms", these are not voices to be ignored. They might not be correct point-for-point, but once again: many of us have not been raised to be ridiculed as a "Spic", or be the "token black" in the media. The Kendrick Brothers, Southern Baptists by association, produced the film and may very well have had one single message to get across: we need dads. Perhaps not. As I kept researching, I saw that the brothers have been linked to Vision Forum, a fundamentalist Christian pro-family group.

So I kept digging. Here are some comments found on "Doug's Blog":

"Adoption isn’t charity, it’s war." (concering the LGBTQ community taking in foster/adoptive children)

"Even as caging and exploiting tribal people for exhibition is wrong (as was famously done in 1904 at the Bronx Zoo to a Congolese pygmy named Ota Benga), so too is elevating their backwards pagan culture as superior to more developed civilizations that owe their advancements to Christian ideals." (referring to how Christians should approach tribal civilizations still present in our world today)

"Our founding fathers intended religion and morality to be the pillars of the new republic, providing the restraint that would allow maximum liberty for the citizenry. Today, this delicate balance of religion and the state has been eroded by a secularist push to isolate Christianity in our culture and render it irrelevant. The choice in our day is a stark one: As a people we either return to our Christian roots or we divorce God altogether. Returning to the principles established by our founders is the way to restore moral sanity and rebuild the foundations that made our nation great." 

There is more to read, and I'll leave you to do so at your leisure. However, when recurring themes of patriarchy, racism, domination, colonization, hyper-nationalism keep appearing, we must understand that these are integral ingredients that create a world ripe for slavery. Why are people still insisting on instilling such values in their children when the bible was taken so far out of context before, used as weaponry even, to "civilize the noble savage", or to degrade gay people as less than human (or doomed to hell), or judge single moms as incomplete families?

The oppression of women in the family and in society creates vulnerability. They are the first to be bought and sold, because the man of the house must remain to hold his kingdom together. Women are the weaker sex, thus easier prey. When we twist the Bible into the white colonized version that Vision Forum has done, we create more vulnerable women, men and children. 

Do the Sherwood brothers subscribe dogmatically to VF? I don't know for sure. Does this make Courageous suspect in its message(s)? Well, as believers we are to be wise, calm and open to what others have to say. So yes, I do believe the message of dads getting back on track is a critical theme - dads that serve, dads that love, dads that seek help when required, dads that are examples. However, racism and slave-states were built on covert and subtle messages of incorrect theology many times over. VF is an example of this. 

I, for one, am going in with caution. VF has made its mandate clear. However... a movie is just a movie. If I disagree with Courageous or its message, no one's making me watch it. Furthermore, disagreement can lead to fruitful discussion more than every person in the room experiencing a tearful altar call. It can also lead to pointless divisions, as much as tearful altar calls lead to emotional changes that last but a day.

My larger point here was to uncover some of the "family values" that aren't exactly family values at all, but rather Scripture guised in the American/Canadian dream, the white middle class ideal, and the continuing oppression of colonizers around the world in the name of evangelism. By doing so, Christians continue to contribute to slavery instead of abolishing it. 

But hey... that's just my take.

My Bible Says Slavery Is A-Okay

I've been mulling this discussion over and over again in my head. When I encounter believers who are extremely uncomfortable and even disgusted at the modern faces of slavery (as we all need to be), but become confused as to what the Bible actually says about slavery, some deep and serious questions arise.

Evangelicals assuage the OT's take on slavery by interpreting it as being more of an employer/employee relationship. If we make it look like our modern business world as much as possible, then God for sure would be against all forms of REAL slavery.

The thing here is: that interpretation doesn't hold water. At all. When purchasing a slave (in Bible times and into modern times), the master often purchased the whole family, all of their possessions, and rights to property. The master did not just buy someone's services. They bought the person. In the flesh. Slaves were owned as property just like cattle, graineries, fields and vineyards. While we might find this difficult to swallow ("How could our God EVER allow such a thing?!"), it is important to have an accurate perspective from the outset before placing our perceptions not only of God, but of our cultural world onto things that took place in the past.

So what about slavery in the Bible?

What about slavery that was church sanctioned in past centuries? What theologies justified such action? What ramifications are we living with now?

What about today?

One woman wrote her thoughts in an email agreeing that sexual slavery is most certainly an offense to God at all times, especially against children. However, she found no problem with labor trafficking. If we were to effectively end labour and chattel slavery in our world today, our entire economic and employment systems would collapse. In her mind, there is a time and place to purchase people.

Could just be me, but I feel as if I've heard such claims before...

Anyway... in the coming weeks, I'm going to delve in the Bible and other documents to get a better grasp of why slavery ever existed to begin with, why Christians sanctioned it throughout history (and why some didn't), and... does God sanction slavery? Did He ever?

For some, freedom for captives isn't even remotely a part of the Gospel so these discussions might stop for some before they start. Others find social justice to be a vehicle TO their version of the Gospel. I'll be up front and declare that social justice IS a part of the Gospel as a whole. It cannot be divided from the Good News, nor taken from Christ's heart for the poor and oppressed.

So that's where I'm coming from. Stay tuned. The ride could get interesting.

You Lost Me: A Book Review

It's a church's nightmare: discipleship programs, VBS weeks, 'evangelism Sundays', Bible studies, stadium rock, altar calls, all for the Busters and Mosaics... and they're leaving the church.

Correction: we're leaving the church.

Recently, I picked up David Kinnaman's 2007 work unChristian and grappled with why outsiders perceive insiders to be judgmental, hypocritical, antigay, boring, and resentful. While I wrestled with Kinnaman's beginning perspective which, obviously, affected his conclusions regarding his outcomes, I actually discovered that I, as a more liberal believer, agreed with his findings.

Yet his tone, I perceived, still contained that air of hubris endemic to many evangelical voices, including my own, where we "just know" we're right, "how do we make the world see we're right?" in better ways, etc. Still, he also asked some tough, straight forward questions many evangelicals have already asked and have been condemned for it, or have quietly gone to sit in the corner knowing condemnation is not far off.

First off... I highly recommend you read both books back-to-back. Begin with the earlier work (unChristian), and continue to You Lost Me. If you're like me, you will discover something quite profound: Kinnaman's tone has changed. His message has not, and his research methods are sound, but there certainly has been... maturity... openness... depth. While there still are points I disagree with, I found myself actually engaging with the author more in this work than in the first! I found it to be more honest, authentic, and truly a more respectful forum to ask those scary questions.

Let's begin by reviewing some of Kinnaman's definitions, and adding a couple of new ones just so we're all clear about where/how the author is coming from:

Outsiders: those claiming to be looking at the Christian faith from the outside in
Insiders: those claiming to be of the Christian faith looking at it from the inside out 
Busters: those born between 1965-1983
Mosaics: those born between 1984-2002 

Drop Outs:
Nomads: categorical group described as having left the church, but not the Christian faith
Prodigals: categorical group described as having left both the church and the Christian faith
Exiles: categorical group described as having struggles, doubts, & isolation, often wanting to leave the church or the faith, but sensing the need to stay; often feel abandoned by traditional forms of church and seek to express new forms of church

In his research, Kinnaman sets forth some broad characterizations of each group based on his findings. I appreciate his honesty when he firmly posits (often) that he does not always agree with the rationale of nomads, prodigals, or exiles; yet he is equally firm with the church that it take the rationale seriously. Here is a quick summary of the aforementioned characterizations (bear in mind these are broad and dwell on a continuum, rather than stand each alone in a black/white stance; drop outs also tend to be fluid in their own characterizations of themselves, going through phases of their faith journeys).

Nomads (p.64):
~ still describe themselves as Christan
~ involvement in a Christian community = optional
~ importance of faith has faded
~ most are NOT angry/hostile towards Christianity
~ many are spiritual experimentalists

Two questions I wish Kinnaman would have delved into more is: "what do you mean 'The importance of faith has faded' ?"... the faith of the traditional church? Christianity? Faith searching overall?

And...

Kinnmann sounded to me to be a bit ambiguous about what it means to be spiritually experimental. He vaguely referenced Nomads trying out other religious experiences (p.65), but is this to mean Nomads are turning to Buddhism? Or are Nomads trying out Tibetan singing bowls? To me, they are vastly different things and this point needed some clarification.

Prodigals (p.68):
~ varying levels of resentment towards Christianity and Christians
~ disavowed returning to church
~ moved on from Christianity
~ regrets (if any) often centre around parents
~ feel as if they have broken constraints

Kinnaman is quick to point out that Nomads are for more common than Prodigals (p.69). Page 70 finds the author stating that we see a 1:9 chance a young person will become a total prodigal. While there are concerns for both Nomads and Prodigals, Kinnaman rightly establishes a tenor of hope in that most youth are seeking new expressions of church and faith, and are struggling with the institutionalized church. All things considered, this is a good and positive trend in my opinion.

Exiles (p.77):
~ not inclined to be 'separate from the world'
~ are skeptical of institutions, but not wholly disengaged from them
~ sense God moving outside the walls of the church
~ not disillusioned with tradition; but are frustrated with slick, shallow expressions of religion
~ mix of concern/optimism for peers
~ have not found faith to be instructive to their calling or gifts
~ struggle when other Christians question their motives

Here is where I will input my bias: categorically speaking using Kinnaman's terms, I am an exile. It's a struggle when other Christians question my motives as a believer; I am seeing the institutional church not as church, but rather a staunch arena that demands adherence rather than relationship; I am more inclined to find wisdom in the early Church/desert mothers/fathers than I am in the writings of fundamentalism in the past 100 years; I believe God is moving in brothels and bars as much as He is in 'the church'.

What I find interesting is Kinnaman's use of the story of Daniel in the OT. A story often used in conservative churches to show how people should NEVER compromise, Kinnaman uses the narrative to show how Daniel and his three friends actually needed to learn to bend here and there in order to survive and to bear witness to YHWH. Forced to take on new names (of idols, no less), learn new languages, act differently in and out court, what was worth taking a stand on and what required acceptance? Kinnaman compares Babylon to America (and Canada can be included here too, I have no doubt), and the literal exiles of Daniel&Co., with the church exiles of today. We are navigating a technological super age where the institutional church has fallen into disrepute, has not offered valid or viable answers to current issues, has not extended relationships where needed or desired, and has insisted on re-hashing the same forms of the message over and over to a generation that is lost in translation.

So why are the dropouts dropping out? What are the disconnects? Kinnaman goes into 6 broad categories he found in the responses participants gave. I found it interesting that many of the responses dove-tailed the ones found in unChristian. Patterns are emerging, and it is crucial people within and without the institutionalized church pay attention. They are as follows: overprotective, shallow, antiscience, repressive, exclusive, and doubtless.

Overprotective
With the church answering every question, having a program for every niche, and acting like helicopter parents, kids are going to burst. What I appreciated in this chapter is the mention this is especially difficult for creative kids (like me and my siblings) -- stifle us too long and make sure each and every little sin is insulated against, and we die. I can't find a better word for it. Yes, parents need to be discerning (Kinnaman's answer to overprotection), yet I hope my kids have tonnes of gay friends, friends who cut, friends who steal, and friends who question God. I hope my kids are the ones to question God, question me, have solid friends if they ever struggle with cutting or addictions, and are presented with that supportive community church is meant to be.

As a youth leader, I respect parental authority deeply. However it must be said: Parents... get out of the way. Sometimes it is impossible to have a relationship with your kid because you need to be in such massive control of everything. Yet then when things go wrong, the youth leaders aren't doing their 'job'. Sometimes, parents, you need to step aside and support other supportive adults who love your kids deeply.

Shallow
We come in. We sit. We stand. We sing. We pray. The guy speaks. We leave.

That's church?

Don't think so.

Kinnaman (p.122) describes a Bat Mitvah he was invited to, and sees the void many flavours of Christianity have created: we have no rituals.

Rituals? That's legalism! There's no salvation in rituals!

There's that reductionist dogma again, making church a heaven/hell, "repent or perish" issue. If it's not commanded in the Bible, it's not needed! Yet... nomads, prodigals, and exiles alike are seeking cultural, traditional, and new expressions of ritual that expresses a profound faith that the Sunday preacher simply can't encompass on a weekly basis. (oh yeah, legalism can be found everywhere... so if anyone is thinking for a second that our version of church has overcome legalism, think again)

Antiscience
Young people struggle when they cannot reconcile faith and science, or when the church poo-poos science, or science proudly demonstrates humanity's ability to overcome 'god'. I have to admit, if I hear the creation/evolution debate one more time, I might just have to pull out of my hair to get rid of the wood bores burrowing into my brain. Christians still often believe that apologetics are THE WAY to persuade people that we're correct.

Ummmm... no offence, but please be quiet now.

I have been just as guilty as making massive arguments out of useless scientific debate, and I have also been a bystander watching Christians derail those with differing opinions, and being proud of trouncing the opposition. Might there still be a place for healthy debate? Perhaps. Note I said: healthy. Are we healthy right now to be debating? Are Mosaics and Busters really being persuaded through the art of debate?

I don't think so.

All those viral emails of how students prove to their atheist professors that God exists... wow... didn't know chalk, glasses of water, or talk about being unable to see one's brain with our physical eyes 'proved God'. If the church truly has faith in a Creator God, why be afraid of the science He's created? If we have questions about how faith and science can co-exist, why are we afraid to ask them? We're human... we don't have power to debunk God, and science is constantly changing (just like we are) enough that questions are required. Think about it.

Repressive
Did someone say "sex"? Yes. Yes I did. Youth leave the church because of various reasons relating to sexuality. I must hand credit here to Kinnaman. He handled a hot subject with grace, finesse, and challenge. The distinction he made between tradition and traditionalists (p.154) was well spotted. Older generations perhaps are not exemplifying a healthy sexuality any more than individualistic Mosaics are, thinking that sex is "just sex". Neither paradigm is working, nor do they fully explore God's vision of sexuality.

I agree that more transparency is needed (p.162), that we share our struggles with sex, and our questions. For example, when a colleague of mine was called to the ER to help calm a female rape victim, she found a woman in complete disarray. Why? Not initially because of the rape, but rather because the first person the woman had called was her pastor. What did he say: "Well dressed like that, you asked for it!"

Epic fail.

When we talk about doctrines of "purity" and lay it on the shoulders of our kids, we aren't really thinking through what we are asking of them. Celibacy is a calling of God, and for some it is a life long call. Yet we don't communciate that to the Mosaics (or the Busters, I must say). It's just "until you get married". Or we say "Sex is dirty, dirty, dirty! But then when you marry THAT ONE PERSON, it's great!"

Personally, the "sex is dirty" message coupled with "it's beautiful in marriage" confused me. How can a dirty thing make marriage beautiful? But we still communicate this to our kids.

So... if people are waiting longer before getting married, temptation for sex outside of marriage lasts longer. It can be harder to deal with. Our churches aren't set up for this sociological pattern. We still assume our kids will marry in their early twenties.

We rarely talk about persistent thoughts of lust as being "as bad" as premarital sex.

We create the illusion that sex is just fab in relationships. My marrierd friends tell me: "Sometimes, Erin, it ain't that great. In fact, I wish I could just sleep right through it."

Now again, Kinnaman and I butt heads a bit. Refer back to my review on UnChristian and my concerns with his assumption about the LGBTQ lifestyle being all wrong all of the time. The author does not seem to see any difference in orientation v. behaviour, or relationship v. hook ups here. However he appreciates that Mosaics are far more accepting of the LGBTQ lifestyle.

Kinnaman also goes on to posit that perhaps we need to discuss sex from God's perspective and not as traditionalism would (p.64), or as individualists. Sex is about us -- we in community and relationship with one another. When old time preachers screech out on YouTube about masturbation being a sin, it's hard to connect with a young male who maybe had a wet dream the night before, or a young woman who orgasmed during her sleep. Everyone's touched themselves, even in surprise. As one pastor friend told me (and I agree with him): masturbation alone isn't wrong! If it leads to lust/needs lust, porn or violence to occur, THEN we're dealing with something entirely different. As Dr.Tony Campolo once said to us in what I have come to affectionately refer to as The Campolo Method: "In talking about transparency, ask your pastor if he or she masturbates. If s/he cannot answer or won't, it's probably safe to assume other issues won't be allowed out on the table either."

When abuse victims are told they are no longer "pure", or when young people perhaps "go to far" and lose their virginity and are told "that's it. You damaged your goods", I get pissed off (a truly academic term). Do I advocate for loose sex and hooking up? NO! My work in the abolition arena supports that. However, a 14 year old boy who has an erection and "works it", or a girl who lets a boy touch her between her legs are suddenly not impure. Little flaps of skin does not purity make. Yet does the church have open and honest places where we can talk about this stuff?

Speaking from many experiences... no. We don't. Furthermore, we often surpress well meaning pastors who try and address sexual issues forthrightly and in a relational manner.

We are our own worst enemies.

Exclusive
Here again, Kinnaman and I disagree. He sees evangelism as a verbal sharing of one's faith (p.177). I do not. So his assertion that Mosaics not verbally evangelising is of grave concern is not as concerning to me. Evangelism isn't what fundys define it to be... or Catholics... or libs. In fact, our lifestyles often speak more volumes than our words, as expressed in Kinnaman's 2007 study of how oustiders see us. Is it wrong to verbally share? No! But I don't believe we ought to be oppressing ourselves so severely if we haven't shared "The Gospel" with at least 10 people by the end of today.

Query... what IS the Gospel?

For me, there is a holistic and beautiful vision to it. For others, it's about Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. For others, again, it's a "REPENT OR PERISH!" force of coercion. If we aren't told repeatedly about our sins and just how sinful we are from Day 1, we cannot truly know the Grace of God. Eeesh... (personal bias, true, but I am glad I can thoughtfully declare them and not simply accept all of Kinnaman's conclusions at face value).

Mosaics are less likely to desire denominations, and I would count myself among them. I don't have to be an evangelical to go to heaven, as it were. I'd rather hang out with people on their turf and talk God, than show up at a glitzy building where the preacher is the main show.

Doubtless
Often Mosaics and Busters express their frustration that they were never given the chance to share their doubts about the Christian faith. Doubt is seen as rejection of God, or a lack of conviction (p.187). Here is where I found Kinnaman's largest expression of maturity since 2007 to be. Even his subtitle "Shades of Doubt" caused me to smile a little. Doubt not only is inherent to faith, but there are different kinds of doubt that need to be addressed in different ways.

As I read through his definition of institutional doubt (pp.190-191), I immediately sensed an affinty. Accordingly, he said that exiles were more likely to express their doubts here: that being traditional forms of church that suppress life, and oppress exiles in their newer expressions of church (The Simple Way being used as an example here - bravo!). Preaching/teaching have taken over as THE way to expound upon the Bible. Yet... there's so much more.

Personally, doubts are like issues surrounding sex. We simply do not know how to respond. So we react. And we think we're reacting Biblically, but we're reacting in a morally uptight way that destroys the human spirit. We take the easy answers and plaster them over festering wounds... or go so far as to suggest those wounds don't even exist. So why are we doubting? When pastors preach that going to counselors or therapists are silly because they simply tell people what they want to hear, I cringe. Wounded... I needed just such a therapist for a while, and she certainly didn't tell me all of what I wanted to hear. Nor is any pastor immune to that itch to just preach what people want to hear.

What's Old Is New
One of the most profound ideas Kinnaman presents to deal with this incredible disconnect between older generations and Mosaics is to redefine intergenerational relationships (p.202). We have modeled church programs based on an outdated public school system that generates mass converts, unrooted in faith, but insist this is the right and true way. So we separate off: kids with kids, youth with youth, marrieds with marrieds, singles with singles (although I can attest that these groups are usually the church's attempt to create a holy dating scene... really not cool, to be honest), elders with elders.

Instead of digging ourselves into the grave, can we not redefine what it means for older women to mentor the younger? As Kinnaman proposes:

Original assumption: The church exists to prepare the next generation to fulfill God's purposes
New Thinking: The church is a partnership of generations fulfilling God's purposes in their time.

Yes, elders need to be listened to and learned from, but here is where I struggle: it is the elder groups who continue to spit out doctrine after doctrine that makes no sense to me, that is not biblical, that is condescending, and creates divisions. Who am I supposed to look up to? I suppose the elder groups feel very much the same about us younger folk. It's true: how can we have a real talk when you young things always have your heads bent down texting or some such thing.

Noted.

Mosaics are born into technology. We cannot change that. Yet we can influence how they use that technology, and how face-to-face relationships flourish when we put distractions aside. This is a valid and vital point, I believe, for Mosaics. They (and us Busters too) need to put the phones down... log off... power down... unplug. Right or wrong, agree or disagree, none of us can hope to truly mentor one another together when we are always relying on technology to make our friends for us.

Kinnaman ends the book with 50 ways we can consider that might help us reach out to one another better. Again, he precedes the list with the disclaimer that he does not agree with all the views here, but his deliberate inclusion of diverse viewpoints showed me that he is more open than he was even four years ago. He is as intentional about his honesty in disagreeing as he is about inviting diversity -- that spoke volumes to me. And it was much appreciated.

Summary... At Long Last!

I definitely connected with this book far more than I did the first, although unChristian certainly expressed many of my personal feelings and thoughts about the modern church. When all is said and done, many of our issues are communication issues. That might be easy to say when we are dealing with a generation of Mosaics glued to their cell phones, yet that is not quite what I am trying to say.

When someone expresses a different doctrine, a doubt, a question, or something that appears to usurp the status quo in the church, we are largely reactionary. We ask close ended questions (yes/no, right/wrong, black/white), rather than open ended (what I hear you saying... when you use that word, are saying...). We make sure the person knows all of their sins (or at some point confesses all real or perceived sins), understands our statements of faith, declare them ungodly, self-righteous, proud, or some other name intended to hurt rather than to heal. By and large, we do not how to listen deeply. In fact, many of us do not wish to listen at all. We already know what's right, so why bother hearing out all of what this person has to say because we already know our answers?

Dehumanizing.

Sometimes... we don't want answers. We just want YOU.

If we could lay down the guns we have aimed at people, not just in the name of doctrine, but to also keep ourselves protected, we are going to discover a world of hurt in broken people. But we might just be stupefyingly surprised that perhaps that correct answer/doctrine/zinger was not what we needed to give in the first place; but rather we needed the presence of the other person too.

It Is Selfish To Have A Surrogate Baby

Indian surrogate mothers listen to a doctor at 'surrogate mothers' home in Anand, near Ahmedabad. Photograph: Sam Panthaky/AFP/Getty Images

In an age when people are getting married later, are choosing to live alternative or designer lifestyles, and the gap between rich and poor is ever-growing, we must be all the more vigilant as to how our lifestyles can continue to oppress others. Baby-markets are turning children into commodities even before they're born. The impulse to have a child of one's own, especially if it is biologically impossible between partners, is daunting. Yet we cannot allow our impulses to dictate actions that create more buying and selling of people, and rifts between "the haves" and "the have nots". There are children in Canada, the US, and the UK all waiting desparately for homes - many of whom have been shuffled around a good deal already. Instead of creating baby factories and destroying the lives of women and children for our own desires, perhaps we need re-tune our desires to make an impact on the lives children right before our eyes.

I would posit that the desire to have children is certainly not selfish, but the process of "rent-a-womb" certainly is, especially when considering children already needing homes and families. Thoughts? Questions? Reactions?

As Julie Bindel of The Guardian puts it:

The documentary Google Baby, transmitted on Channel 4 earlier this year features a clinic and "surrogacy house" in India, the "rent-a-womb capital of the world". Many of the women having babies for rich westerners have been pimped into surrogacy by their husbands, and are powerless to resist. The women sleep in cramped conditions and are controlled to the point of being told when to eat, drink and sleep. There are serious physical and mental health consequences for both the egg donor and the surrogate, and yet this practice is becoming increasingly normalised.

In India hundreds of brokers benefit from reproductive tourism now worth an estimated half a billion dollars a year. There are 350 clinics offering surrogacy around the country. Prices in India for the full service including eggs, drugs, the surrogate and all medical treatment are significantly lower than in Europe or the US, prompting many individuals and couples from Europe to opt for its services.

For the full article, click here: It Is Selfish to Have a Surrogate Baby

NoKo One Large Trafficked Culture?

When you take a good long look at a picture of one man, one woman, one child, one person, it is hard to believe that a solitary figure could embody the seed of so much destruction, poverty, damnation, and evil. (I'm not going to use the Hitler analogy, as others have done, since the guy has become the stereotypical basis of comparison of our age). Kim Jong Il was his own form of dictator.

After reading the comments and persecptives of people in the 'free world', reeling from the shock of Kim's death, I was struck by the massive comparison of North Koreans and trafficked people, with Kim Jong Il being the most powerful pimp of the Asian world.

What do I mean?

I mean, North Koreans were subject to a life of fear, deprivation, punishment, and absolute forced loyalty to the political state. Without this, people were hauled off to concentration camps, families divided, citizens killed outright.

"If you do not do what I say right now, I will hurt you and your loved ones."

Classic pimp manouver. Classic power tactics. Yet these tactics have been used for so long, and used so well that many North Koreans feel a deep sense of commitment still to their deceased leader. Comments from the West: "Why?! They're free now! What's wrong with them??"

In the West, we have been so trained to believe that when freedom is offered, oppressed people will automatically jump at our offers, race towards freedom, and be thankful for the end of the nightmare.

Not so.

People... we must be patient. First of all, the world is watching and waiting to see if the totalitarian regime will continue under Kim's 3rd son or if there will be an uprising. Or... will some altogether different happen? No matter the course, believers of the kingdom must continue to support those voices in NoKo who are daring to speak out for freedom, for the malnourishment of their people, for the beauty of their culture, and for singing those songs rising from the underground. They do so at their peril, at the risk of their lives, and at the risk of their families.

When a person or people group is oppressed for a long period of time, or when the oppression is so pervasive that you cannot stand or sit without the blessing or permission of the 'benevolent' leader, people's minds demand a reconciliation of this collision of worlds -- good and evil, freedom and slavery. Often this can look like oppressed people's loving and being devoted towards the almighty pimp - god, in their worlds. To do anything otherwise is to betray the only being who truly cares for them.

Sound familiar?

I cringe to think on it.

Instead of being angry or frustrated with North Koreans who may exhibit these tendencies at this time, we ought to be supporting the 'dissidents' who are valiantly working as change agents in their home country, and praying for all North Koreans and their beloved status before Jesus Christ... not a human dictator seeking undiluted power. This will take time... patience... and also a broadening of our own minds. When the freedom seeds that have been planted in NoKo sprout, they might bear fruit -- true fruit -- to which we are unaccustomed to seeing. Here, too, we must be patient as we learn from our brothers and sisters as they use their voices for the kingdom.

In the meantime, as much as we desire human rights, dignity, and the love of Christ to rise up within NoKo, we must never, ever forget the indignities and the affronts to people in our 'modern' countries. Democracy has shown itself to have its own form of terror and degradation. It is easy to point fingers at violent expressions of human abuses (North Korean concentration camps), but we justify our funny little Arab jokes, spits towards aboriginal people, or even to brothers and sisters in our Body. We even get more than a little pissed off when these seeds of malice are pointed out to us. Undercurrents such as these are the makings of a dictatorship, as well as poison to ourselves as persons. Yet... we're still 'better off' and better people than 'them'. Are we?

It is at times I am thankful we are not accountable to any form of political regime, leader or movement. Our allegiance is to the Creator... our Sustainer... our Saviour... our Eternal... our Messiah -- Jesus the Christ, Son of the Living God. His reign is that of love for all peoples and this world, for all peoples and the world the Word created. And His reign will know no end.

Now if that sounds like brainwashed, unrelenting loyalty to you...

... ask audacious questions of this Christ.

See what happens.

When A Girl Says "No", She Of Course Means "Yes"

(picture taken from Jezebel Magazine, Anna North, Dec 09, 2011)

A new study coming out of the University of Surrey in the UK indicates that participants identified more with the comments of real life rapists than with the harmless comments found in men's magazines. For the full article, please click on Can You Tell The Difference Between a Men's Magazine and a Rapist?

The exploding information sharing platform TED had a conversation this past week (see conversation here at TED Conversation) that I was watching closely. What I found disturbing -- more than the cited statistic that the average age of a boy's exposure to hardcore porn is now only 11 years old -- was the desire for parents to continue to use porn as a way of positive sexual education for their children. Of course they're going to experiment, so why shouldn't they know how to make themselves feel good as long as it's consenual?

So when I read about adults identifying more with the comments of convicted rapists rather than these educational magazines about liberating sexuality, I become seriously concerned.

1. The reality is: our hyper-sexualized culture has become so demanding that we have whatever kind of sex we want, when we want it, that we have lost focus. Instead of evolving or being liberated from the oppressive Victorian Age, we are descending into a kind of animal frenzy with a thin veneer of justification on top of us.

2. Porn is not educational. It is still largely male-centric: that is, women are still the objects and men are still the consumers. Despite what liberated feminists believe, or want to believe, women are still glossy pin-ups for guys to get off by. We haven't evolved nearly as much as we would want others to be. And despite what liberated feminists declare ("Well I know plenty of smart, sophisticated, learned, intelligent sex workers!"), I have yet to met a sex worker who fully loves her choices, or even sees her role in society as a choiceto begin with. Granted, I have not met every sex trade worker in the country, but I've met and known enough to be convinced that prostitution and porn are not black/white choices, if choice as we know it even enters the picture. (and by 'liberated feminist', I'm using a term LFs use to declare that they are women fully embracing all forms of sexuality, and that expressions of such sexuality must be engaged in to be fully woman... fully human... any suggestion to the contrary is seen as oppression. Please do not confuse this rather lopsided form of feminism with other uplifting, spirit-serving forms)

3. If people are struggling to have conversations with kids about sexuality and are turning to porn for it, what is lacking in our churches and spiritual circles where there ought to be a better chance for truth and a fuller scope of relationships? I understand movements like the Family Movement or the Purity Movement, but parts of me wonder: if we declare "what is a family" or "what is pure" so starkly, are we effectively creating an elitism without considering the ramifications? Are kids looking at porn not just for curiousity, but because they are scared to share their questions in spiritual circles for fear of being branded a sinner or given a bunch of theology that might just... kill their spirits? I hate porn. I hate it with a passion. I hate what it's done to our kids, our communities, and our families. But if a girl loses her virginity and is told "You're not pure anymore", I get almost as equally disturbed. Since when did sex determine purity? I thought that was the Spirit's work... the reaction of our churches has sometimes been as fanatical and puritanical as porn has become hardcore and extreme. 

4. In this hyper-sexualized culture, I know we need to draw attention to the realities of porn -- that it is selfish, deceitful, oppressive, and crude. It does nothing but take, take, take and has nothing to do with equality, liberation, or rights. But I need to say this too: as big of a part that porn plays in the sex trade, are those wanting to stand in abolition truly wanting to end sex's big dollar grip on our lives or... are we still drawn just to the sex aspect of it?

Ouch.

I can testify truly that to find volunteers to be advocates for those caught in labor trafficking are suddenly much harder to find when the sex aspect is less involved. Why is that? Are we all voyeurs at heart? I'd like to think not, but I can't help but wonder. Some days, I hate sharing the reality of sex trafficking having met people who use such a ministry to get the juicy goods. There are many people of great character who are not as such, but yes... I have met those who kind of fall away when the sex aspect is diminished. 

5. I hardly think returning to the Victorian era is any kind of answer. Being prudes or uptight people when it comes to sexual dialogue only pushes the porn agenda further -- then it really does become a viable option of learning. What are ways we can engage our kids with truth and love while exposing porn for what it is: abusive, addictive, oppressive shit that has destroyed millions of lives?

When men's magazines and rapists are both giving the SAME MESSAGES... do you think the violence is going to stop? Do you think the lust will? Do you think the trafficking will?

Oh but I forgot... women choose this lifestyle as fully liberated women who deserve the equal respect of the sex trade. Men have needs. They all look so happy in those mags... bars... hotel rooms... 

Conspiracy Christmas Challenge 04: Creating Advent

Every year for the past few years, I've encouraged readers to follow the great Advent Conspiracy -- claiming that Christmas can still change the world. It can only happen, however, if we as ordinary people of God change our spending habits.

"Like it's going to help."

"It's not like it's wrong to own an XBox. Just chill."

"Some of us have more money than others. Why are those others envious just because we can afford certain things for our kids?"

This isn't Advent, folks. This is consumerism; and while we think we are the consumers, each year I am more and more convinced that we are the ones being consumed -- by greed, lust, and deceit that we NEED to have the latest gadgets, games, wheels, threads, or what have you. We are being eaten alive and the worst part about it is: we like it. We have justified it in every way. 

So this year's challenge is simply this: find our way back to Advent -- the waiting in expectation and pregnancy before Christ comes. Journey on this road towards this holy place, and walk thereon. Many evangelicals do not adhere to the church calendar, and these "rituals" are often glossed over since they aren't seen as an inherent need to salvation. Some even deride these practices because they are not based in Scripture.

Well if we're going to go THERE, then perhaps we should start with the true meaning of the Christmas tree?... mistletoe?... holly?... how about Christmas itself not technically being mentioned as an observance in the Bible? No? Save that for another day. Fair enough. 

So many of us are starved at Christmas -- not physically, but spiritually malnourished. Our cores are screaming for connection and nourishment from something Deeper than an iPod or a Halo game. There's GOT to be more than this... there HAS to be... If not, why the stupid tree?

We have the chance to take this time before Christmas to prepare (like Lent before Easter) for the coming Messiah. Each day can be intentional in holiness, wonder, awe, and grief. As Israel was waiting in pain for her Messiah, as Mary was waiting in discomfort and slanderous rumours for her child, as God was waiting for the precise moment, we are able to wait too. We can return to this place of preparation, observe the trasnformation in ourselves and others by God, and sense the entire season becoming one of intense beauty, grief, grace, and wonder.

Come.

Come find this place of Advent.

Come reclaim Christmas that releases us from being devoured, and sets us on a path of relational and agape love winding up at the foot of a manger. 

Fair Trade Black Friday

Happy Black Friday.

Sense the sincere lack of enthusiasm in those wishes? Good.

Forget for a moment the glaring double-standard of people tenting outside of major store outlets or mobbing them once the entrances are opened are now time-honoured Christmas traditions, but Occupy tents and peaceful protesters are pepper-sprayed and forcibly disbanded. This just goes to show where our priorities are. It's sad. 

My deeper concern?

Fair Trade companies, and those micro-businesses and social enterprises working to assist marginalized people groups (women out of the sex trade, villages revitalizing themselves, etc), are jumping on the advertising bandwagon to keep up with Target, Apple, Wal-Mart, and the huge giants that tell us we NEED all their crap.

While I appreciate the need for these smaller operations to stay sustainable and alive as a part of vibrant community living and health, it is my person opinion that using the Black Friday ethos to peddle fair trade wares lives in direct opposition to the reasons why social enterprise and fair trade exists at all.

Why bother?

If these do-good enterprises are only feeding our gluttony, rather than helping to establish a more just and equitable world, why buy from them and not target? We're still perpetuating the cycles of greed and consumerism.

Soap box down.

Now down to the problem solving part.

How can we support both the ethos of social enterprise (peace, relationships, unity, community, equality, etc), as well as the enterprises themselves without falling into the tempatation consuming, consuming, consuming?

Thoughts? Ideas?

Coming Home Goes LIVE!!

Are you as excited as me and little Judy here? Judy is one of the incredible children I met while in the Philippines this past summer. Living in intentional community with her mom, she plays each day with the other children at YWAM Olongapo, while her mom learns lifeskills, helps with discipleship, and lives as an example of a woman being freed from slavery.

Can this happen in Canada?

You bet!

The Coming Home Community is seeking to begin formal groundwork -- Edmonton, Alberta. Want to be part of it? Want to know more? Want to see how community can become family for those youth who have been exploited right in our own country? Check out: The Coming Home Community Project on This Global Village.

Tara Teng, this year's Miss Canada 2011, is being a terrific champion for this fledgling crazy experiment, but it's awesome to have her on board! Thank you, Tara!

What now?

Got a website, but what else?

You can donate through This Global Village and receive a charitable tax receipt. We need over $27,000 between now and December 2012 to lift this project off the ground. 90% of what you donate will be put towards CH's budget, and 10% goes towards This Global Village's technical and administrative costs.

Interested?

Shoot me an email! Would love to hear from you!

Another Voice of Hope in the Dark...

If any of you are familar with Kurt Willems and The Pangea Blog, you'll be familiar with his thought provoking posts, his insights and his questions. Today's post was a book review regarding the sex trafficking of children. 

No easy topic to discuss, as we all know. But I thank Kurt for bearing with the book (which I am now waiting to read!), for furthering his knowledge about the subject, and for seeking the hope and peace of God for all people. Check out "When Children Become Sex Slave and People Turn A Blind Eye: Reflections on God in a Brothel", and see what you think.

For me? I am always glad to have another person on board ready to stand for Life and Love, in order that chains may be broken, and those Songs from the Underground will continue to rise up from the hidden places in the world.